On This Day

Hi

On this day August 12th

123 years ago the veteran actor Arthur Aylesworth was born. He appeared in 130 pictures between 1915 and 1946 including among them I Cover the War.

101 years ago the film editor Warren Low was born he was suopervising editor on two of John Wayne's films True Grit and The Sons Of Katie Elder.

98 years ago the actor Leonard Strong was born, he played general Homma in Back To Bataan.

37 years ago the actor Dick Ryan died aged 72 he had begun his career n vaudeville in an act with his wife Mary. Turning to films he appeared in I Married A Woman.

[ATTACH]679]

6 years ago the actress Lorretta Young died aged 87 She appeared in Three Girls Lost and The Life of Jimmy Dolan
From IMDB

Quote

Sweet, sweeter, sweetest. No combination of terms better describes the screen persona of lovely Loretta Young.

When Gretchen Young was three years old her mother moved with her and her sisters to Hollywood, where she established a boarding house. Gretchen was appearing on screen as a child extra by the time she was four, joining her elder sisters, Polly Ann Young and Elizabeth Jane Young (later better known as Sally Blane), as child players. Gretchen later absented herself from the screen to attend convent school, but returned at age 14 with a bit appearance in the Colleen Moore vehicle Naughty But Nice (1927). Gretchen Young became known as Loretta Young and let her blond hair revert to its natural brown. With her blue eyes, satin complexion and exquisite face, she succeeded in short order and graduated from bit player to ingénue, then to leading lady. However, she made headlines in 1930 when Grant Withers, who was previously married and nine years her senior, eloped to Yuma, Arizona, with the 17-year-old Loretta (they had both appeared in Warner Bros.' The Second Floor Mystery (1930)). The marriage was annulled in 1931, the same year in which the pair would again co-star on screen, in a film called, ironically enough, Too Young to Marry (1931). Loretta has always shown an elegant sort of beauty in her films, many of which were rather pedestrian fare. Yet she could act if called upon, as witness her performance in The Farmer's Daughter (1947) or in Come to the Stable (1949). She retired from films in 1953 and began a second, equally successful career as hostess of "Letter to Loretta" (1953), a half-hour drama anthology series which ran on NBC from September 1953 to September 1961, and which in its first season was called "A Letter to Loretta". In addition to hosting the series, she frequently starred in episodes. Although she is most remembered for her stunning gowns and swirling entrances, over the broadcast's eight-year run she also showed again that she could act. She won Emmy awards (for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series) in 1954, 1956 and 1958.
     

4 years ago the actress Shirley Grey died aged 79, she appeared in Texas Cyclone, The Hurricane Express and The Life of Jimmy Dolan
From IMDB

Quote

Born Agnes Zetterstrand in 1902 in the small industrial town of Naugatuck, Connecticut, Grey was the seventh surviving and youngest child of Swedish immigrants. Her life and that of her family was sent into turmoil when her father died suddenly of a heart attack in 1911. Grey's family eventually moved to Waterbury, Connecticut while she was in her sophomore year of High School. She graduated from Waterbury's Wilby High School in 1919. Grey began her acting career with Sylvester Poli's Stock Theater Company, The Poli Players. She made her stage debut in the August 1920 production of "A Tailor Made Man" at the Lyric Theater in Bridgeport, Connecticut. While with the Poli Players, she performed in weekly stock performances throughout Poli's chain of theaters. She performed with the Poli Players until 1924. During the fall of 1924, Grey was "discovered" by Crane Wilbur while performing in a theater production in Springfield, Massachusetts. She was subsequently offered a part in Wilbur's play, "The Imported Wife". Although, the play was ultimately a failure, her exposure in this production opened numerous theatrical doors over the next several years. During the balance of the 20s she co-starred with many of the periods more popular theater performers including, Edward Arnold, William Collier Sr. and George M. Cohan. Grey married Jack Crosby, Ronald Colman's business manager, in 1927. Under Crosby's guidance, she was able to break into film. She performed in bit movie parts at first, but by 1929 and 1930 was working at RKO Radio Pictures' shorts division. In March of 1931, she was offered the opportunity to screen test for Samuel Goldwyn. Busby Berkeley subsequently signed her to a five-year contract for Goldwyn's company. Grey performed in more than 45 films during her brief movie career. She received great reviews, as Edith Varney in Secret Service (1931/I). The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (1935), a movie in which she co-starred in with Bela Lugosi, remains a cult favorite. She co-starred with Ralph Bellamy in the Inspector Trent film series at Columbia Pictures and was seen in numerous B westerns during her career supporting such actors as John Wayne, Tim McCoy and Buck Jones. She married British actor, Arthur Margetson, in 1936. This marriage, as with two prior marriages, ended in divorce. After her only son died in 1945 in World War II, her divorce, loss of her son and her inability to find work led to despair. She lived the remainder of her life - reclusive - with sisters in Providence, Rhode Island and Arlington, Virginia until she finally settled in Florida. She died in a Jacksonville Beach convalescent home in 1981.

Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day 13th August:-

84 years ago the screenwriter Scott Hale was born he did the screenplay for The Shootist which by coincidence and as reported this time last year 30 years ago the film was released in New York.

86 years ago the actor Neville Brand was born he appeared in Cahill U.S.Marshall
From IMDB

Quote

Neville Brand joined the US Army in 1939 meaning to make a career in the military. It was while he was in the Army that he made his acting debut, in Army training films, and this experience apparently changed the direction of his life. Once a civilian again, he used his GI Bill education assistance to study drama with the American Theater Wing, then appeared in several Broadway plays. His first movie was 1950's D.O.A. (1950). Among his earliest films was the Oscar-winning Stalag 17 (1953). His heavy features and gravelly voice made Brand a natural tough guy: "With this kisser, I knew early in the game I wasn't going to make the world forget Clark Gable", he once told a reporter. He played Al Capone" in The George Raft Story (1961), The Scarface Mob (1959) (TV), and TV's "The Untouchables" (1959). Among his other memorable roles are the sympathetic guard in Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and the representative of rioting convicts in Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954). Perhaps his best-loved role was that of the soft-hearted, loud-mouthed, none-too-bright-but-very-effective Texas Ranger Reese Bennett of Backtrack! (1969), Three Guns for Texas (1968), and TV's "Laredo" (1965).

79 years ago The writer James Oliver Gurwood died aged 49. Among the many western books he wrote one was called the Wolf Hunters which in 1934 became The Trail Beyond.

108 years ago the actor Regis Toomey was born he appeared in The High and the Mighty and Island n the Sky.
From IMDB

Quote

Pittsburgh-born and raised Regis Toomey studied drama at the university of his home town. One of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey, John Regis Toomey initially pondered a law career, but acting won out and he established himself as a musical stage performer. He was touring in "Little Nellie Kelly" in England when he developed an acute case of laryngitis. The problem forced a sincere rethinking of his career goals. With the birth of sound pictures, Toomey made an auspicious debut with Alibi (1929) starring Chester Morris where a climactic death scene sparked controversy...and a movie career that would include almost 200 pictures. His lead/second lead status opposite such stars as Clara Bow, Constance Bennett, Barbara Stanwyck and Evelyn Brent fell away within a few years, finding more work in streetwise character roles. Fast-paced crime action was his forte and he was prevalent throughout the 30s and 40s, but, with time, he moved further down the credits list. In the 50s he looked for employment on TV. Fellow one-time singer Dick Powell became a friend and Powell, having turned producer, saw to it that Toomey had involving roles on his TV series such as "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" (1957) and "Burke's Law" (1965)_ . Toomey played roles well past his 80th year. His marriage (from 1925) to Kathryn Scott produced two children. He died of natural causes on October 12, 1991 in Woodland Hills, California at age 93.

Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day 14th August

136 years ago the veteran actor Nelson mcDowell was born in pictures between 1919 and 1945 he featured in 173 pictures including Dark Command and Santa Fe Stampede.

112 years ago the actor Bill Wolfe was born he appeared in Three Faces West New Frontier Santa Fe Stampede, Wyoming Outlaw and The Hurricane Express.

109 years ago the actor Lan Chand Mehra was born in India. His last appearance was as a doctor in Hellfighters.

41 years agho the director Mack V Wright died aged 71 an actor and director he directed Winds of the Wasteland and Somewhere in Sonora.

37 years ago the actress Sigrid Gurie d aged 58. Originally it was thought that she was born in Norway, it later turned out that she had been born in Brooklyn and moved to Norway as a young child. Labelled the Norweigien Garbo. She only appeared in 13 pictures one of which was Three Faces West.

Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day August 15th

We salute the unsung heroes again

103 years ago the writer Charles Grayson was born he wrote The Barbarian And The Geisha.

100 years ago the Cinematographer Loyal Griggs was born among the man fine films he was responsible for shooting was The Greatest Story Ever Told.

95 years ago The film Editor Frak Doyle was born. He only worked on eight pictures one of which was the 1947 film Tycoon.

78 years ago the British stunt man and actor Nosher Powell was born. Although un-credited he did some of the stunts on Brannigan.

32 years ago the actor Edmund Cobb died. In films from 1913 he appeared in a staggering 608 films

From IMDB

Quote

[/I]Edmund Fessenden Cobb, son of William Henry Cobb (1860-1909) and Edwinna (Eddie) Ross (1862-1945), was the grandson of Edmund Gibson Ross (1826-1907, Governor of the Territory of New Mexico and the Senator from Kansas credited by many as having cast the deciding vote in the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson). Edmund F. Cobb's parents ran a photography studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and some photographs of Edmund F. Cobb dressed as a cowboy (one dated December 1911), attired in a Civil War-era soldier's uniform, and standing next to a 1920s/1930s-style automobile are in the photo archive collection at the Museum of New Mexico, Palace of the Governors. Edmund Fessenden Cobb had two sisters, Susan Ross Cobb (1894-1987) and Daphne M. Cobb (1898-1928), and a brother, Wilfred B. Cobb (1901-1982). Edmund F. Cobb married first wife, Helen Hayes, daughter of Charles T. Hayes and Martha B. Marshall, about 1914, and their daughter, Eddie Marie Cobb (1915-1969), was born in Illinois. In 1920, Edmund and Helen were living in Denver, Colorado, and listed their occupations as "Actor" and "Actress," in "Motion Pictures." Edmund Cobb and Helen Hayes appeared together in A Rodeo Mixup (1924) and Riders of the Range (1923). Edmund and Helen divorced when their daughter was about 10 or 12 years old, and both remarried. Helen's second marriage was to a Mr. Jackson, as his second wife, and Helen died about 1932. Edmund F. Cobb's second wife, Vivian, was born January 16, 1894, in Wisconsin, and both died at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in 1974.

Regards

Arthur

Hi Jim

Glad to see you up and about. I hope you are well.

Best Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day 16th August

101 years ago the actor Lucien Littlefield was born he appeared in Born to the west.

On the same day the cinematographer W Howard Greene was born he shot Tycoon.
From IMDB

Quote

Howard Green, a pioneer in color cinematography, was nominated for an Oscar seven times, including five straight years from 1940 to 1944. All of his nominations were for his work in color, in the days when color and black and white cinematography were different categories at the Academy Awards.

Color cinematography was not recognized as a distinct category by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences until the 12th Academy Awards, held in 1940 for the 1939 production year. For the 1936 to '38 production years, a committee of leading cinematographers made a recommendation to the Academy for an Honorary Award after viewing the color movies produced during the year. In 1937, Howard was the first winner of the Honorary Academy Award, a plaque, for color cinematography, along with Harold Rosson, for their work on "The Garden of Allah" (1936). Singly, he received the Honorary Award plaque for color cinematography in 1938, for his work on "A Star is Born" (1937). He won a competitive Oscar in 1944, along with Hal Mohr, for their work on "Phantom of the Opera" (1943).

As befitting a man with his surname, Greene began specializing in color photography in the early 1920s. He shot the color sequences for "Ben-Hur" (1925) in Technicolor's two-color, subtractive cemented-dual-print process. Later, he worked as a camera operator at Warner Bros.-First National on "Doctor X" (1932) and "Mystery of the Wax Museum" (1933), both of which were photographed with Technicolor's newer, subtractive two-color dye transfer process.

Warner Bros. was the industry leader in making Technicolor films in 1930, producing 15 color films, 11 of which were fully in color, the four others having color sequences. "Wax Museum" generally is considered the most beautiful color feature film produced under the two-color Technicolor process. Herbert Kalmus, the president of Technicolor, considered it to be one of the best examples of what was possible with the two-color system. However, color usage waned in 1931 due to the economic effects of the Depression, the lack of novelty, and audience dissatisfaction with the limited palette of colors. Audiences had grown content with sound and seemingly didn't need color, which was expensive to shoot.

It wasn't until the later part of the 1930s, with the advent of Technicolor's three-strip, three-color dye transfer process that color film matured into a real medium of artistic expression. The new process required an innovative, custom camera, outfitted with a film magazine that contained three reels of specially prepared B&W film. The process was made possible by the advent of panchromatic B&W film, which was sensitive to all of the colors in the visible spectrum, and was used to shoot reds and greens on two separate reels of films. The third film, which was for blue, consisted of the older orthochromatic B&W film stock, which was not sensitive to light at the red end of the spectrum. The three B&W prints registered the effects of red, green and blue light. They were optically printed and later dyed with the appropriate colors to create what was heralded as "Glorious Technicolor" prints.

"Becky Sharp" (1935), which was shot by Ray Rennahan under the supervision of Kalmus wife' Natalie (who also served as a consultant on "Mystery of the Wax Museum" and later on "The Garden of Allah" and "A Star is Born"), was the first feature film to use the three-color process. "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" (1936), which was shot by Greene and documentary filmmaker Robert C. Bruce, was the first Technicolor film shot in the out-of-doors. Technicolor chief Herbert Kalmus didn't believe it could be done outside of a studio as he thought that the light and color couldn't be controlled, but director Henry Hathaway insisted, and the on-location photography was a success.

Now working for David O. Selznik, Greene established a reputation as one of the best color directors of photography in the film industry, working with the new three strip Technicolor that reproduced the visual spectrum. He got his first honorary Academy Award for "Garden of Allah," but it was Selznik's "A Star is Born" that cemented Greene's reputation. His use of Technicolor to create a glistening palette of color was groundbreaking.

Subsequently, Greene shot "Arabian Nights" (1942) for Universal, which was their first color film, and won his Oscar statuette while at Universal for "Phantom of the Opera."

He would go on to win one more Oscar nomination, for "When Worlds Collide" (1951), and shot his last film in 1955. His career as a leading cinematographer was cut short when he died in 1956.

Display More

96 years ago the actress Mae Clarke was born known as the girl who hadf a grapefruit pushed in her face by James Cagney in Public Enemy she also appeared in Flying Tigers.

94 years ago Beulah Archuletta was.She only appeared in four pictures two of which were The Searchers (as Look) and How The West Was Won.

82 years ago the actor Benny Bartlett was born he was in A Lady Takes a Chance
From IMDB

Quote

Bennie Bartlett was not only an actor but also an accomplished musician. In fact, he was such a child prodigy on the piano that, at eight years of age, he appeared in an RKO musical, Millions in the Air (1935), playing the piano. The next year he appeared in a short for Paramount, performing a composition he had written (at the age of nine!). The studio signed him to a contract soon afterwards. Bartlett began appearing with many of Paramount's biggest stars, and became such a hot property that he was often loaned out to other studios. By the early 1940s, though, he had reached the awkward age where he couldn't play juveniles anymore but wasn't quite ready for adult roles. The problem was solved when he joined the military during the war. After his enlistment was over he resumed his acting career, and was cast as a member of the gang in the Bowery Boys comedies. He exited the series in 1955, and shortly afterwards left the film business entirely.

42 years ago Jack Pennick died he was in nearly everything
From IMDB

Quote

Worked in nearly every sound picture directed by John Ford as part of "The John Ford Stock Company".
Originally a horse wrangler, he played small parts in many westerns.
Was known to be an expert in the "manual of arms" for existing and some extinct military units. Can be seen marching as "right guard" at the very beginning of Stars and Stripes Forever (1952), uncredited.
Appears at the end of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) (at the party) choreographing the escort squad, in a scene that someone in Continuity should have caught. Clearly knew his military drill.
A former Marine, Pennick served not only in WW I and WW II, but also fought in "The Banana Wars", a series of US occupations of such Central American and Caribbean countries as Nicaragua, Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Haiti in the 1920s and 1930s. Re-enlisting in the Marines at nearly 50 years of age during WW II, he received a Silver Star after being wounded in battle.
Was an acknowledged expert in military weapons, drills and customs. While filming a picture at West Point, Pennick pointed out that a pair of crossed swords hung in a display at the Army Museum, which had been there for countless years, were upside down. Army officials checked and found out that Pennick was right.

Display More

14 years ago the actor Malcolm Atterbury died aged 85 he was in Rio Bravo
From IMDB

Quote

Philadelphia native Malcolm Atterbury was born into a wealthy family - his father was president of the Pennsylvania Railroad - but he himself had no desire to go into the family business. He had always wanted to be an actor, and to that end got himself a job managing a radio station. From there he went into vaudeville, then into stage work in both musicals and dramas, gaining a reputation as a solid and reliable stage actor. He made his film debut in Dragnet (1954). Although he soon became a busy supporting actor in films, he still kept his hand in the theater world; he owned two theaters in upstate New York. A versatile actor, he could play anything from a priest to a senator to a hotel clerk to a gunfighter to a cranky, cantankerous old codger. His last film was Emperor of the North Pole (1973). He died in Beverly Hills of old age in 1992.

13 years ago the actor Stewart Granger died aged 80 he was in North to Alaska
[ATTACH]680]

From IMDB
With a dearth of leading men for British movies he quickly landed his first film opportunity The Man in Grey (1943) for Gainsborough Pictures. This was the first installment of the company's successful series of romance films. Not to be confused with American actor 'James Stewart' , James Leblanche Stewart became Stewart Granger (though he was 'Jimmy' to his off-screen friends). But the film work was unsatisfying. He was forever cast as the dashing hero type, while fellow up-and-coming actor 'James Mason' always garnered the more substantial Gainsborough part. When Mason got the nod from Hollywood, Granger inherited better parts and in some star company in one case, the sophisticated Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) with Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh and a very young bit player already being noticed, 'Jean Simmons' . Grangers lead roles to the end of the decade were substantial, but Simmons was unwittingly moving on into British film history with small but memorable roles for 'David Lean' , 'Michael Powell' , and in a big way, 'Lawrence Olivier' , as Ophelia in his historic Hamlet (1948) for which she received an Oscar nomination. Granger and she were brought together as co-stars in the comedy _Adam and Evelyne (1949) . This time around the chemistry off camera was there as well, and they became engaged. About the same time Granger's hope of interesting Hollywood was realized for him and his bride-to-be. He married and signed with MGM in 1950. Once in Hollywood he was getting star billing leads in romantic roles that the audiences loved, but he found them still unsatisfying. He also found himself heir apparent to 'Errol Flynn' as a swashbuckler in two popular films: the remake of The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) and Scaramouche (1952). He and Simmons were paired in Young Bess (1953), where Granger had the romantic lead, but Simmons was the focus of the movie.

Through the 50s, the films of each might have fairly equal production values, but as the fortunes of Hollywood go, Simmons was the more memorable star in films that were more popular-some very big hits, the later Elmer Gantry (1960) and Spartacus (1960). That sort of undeclared competition for a married Hollywood couple was poison to the marriage. In 1960 they divorced. Granger did a lot of work in Germany, along with some in Italy and Spain in the 60s. Interestingly, in the same period Simmons was finding the same lack of challenging roles in the US. In the 70s and 80s, Granger was relegated to small screen subsistence with regular TV roles along with a few movies and a stint on the New York stage. And ironically, Simmons was in the same boat during that period. Granger's typecasting was nothing new, but certainly his often scathing criticism of Hollywood and its denizens that came out in his autobiography Sparks Fly Upwards was understandable and rang true with so many other stories dealing with illusive stardom. Though he was candid in his disgust with his whole career - and admittedly he did not have the depth for the range of roles allotted to bigger named actors - nonetheless he always turned in solid performances in the roles that became his legacy.

Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day 17th August

108 years ago the actor Dewey Robinson was born he entered the film world in 1931 and appeared in 251 pictures including among them Lady For A Night.

102 years ago the writer Stuart E McGowan was born he worked on the screenplays of The Sea Spoilers and King of the Pecos.

Finally

Happy Birthday Maureen.

Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day 18th August

110 years ago the actor Jack Pickford was born. The brother of Mary he appeared in Brown of Harvard.
From IMDB

Quote

Nepotism certainly has had its advantages in Hollywood, none more so than in the film career of Jack Pickford, whose famous older sis, "America's Sweetheart" Mary Pickford, saw to it that Jack had all the advantages her star weight could muster. Born in Toronto, Canada, in 1896, Jack was prompted by his actress/mother, Charlotte Smith, to follow Mary into show business. As a child actor on stage, he quickly developed into a colorful juvenile player. It was Mary who made him a fixture with Biograph pictures starting in 1909 at the age of 13. When Mary signed her famous million-dollar contract with First National in 1917, one of her stipulations was that Jack receive a lucrative contract as well. However, the boy just couldn't stay out of trouble no matter what or where he was. A stint in the navy proved disastrous when Jack was accused of accepting bribes from rich men to help them stay out of front-line action. With the help of his family, he was exonerated. Despite limited acting talent, Jack found boy-next-door success as Pip in Great Expectations (1917) and the title hero Tom Sawyer (1917), and went on to become a fairly popular star on his own. He even produced several of his own films. Some of his better films during this time included The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1920), The Man Who Had Everything (1920) and Waking Up the Town (1925), but a taste for the high life soon took over. A ne'er-do-well playboy and carouser, he aroused more public interest because of his scandalous off-camera life than in the light romantic films he appeared in. He picked up alcohol, drug and gambling addictions to accompany his partying lifestyle. First wife actress Olive Thomas, a heroin addict, committed suicide in 1920 after only four years of marriage, and his next two marriages--to Broadway musical star Marilyn Miller and minor actress Mary Mulhern--would also end disastrously. All three wives were Ziegfeld girls at one time. By the late 1920s Jack was completely undependable and, with the advent of sound, his career ground to a quick halt, despite ever-faithful Mary's continued attempts to rescue it. Jack's health deteriorated considerably after this letdown, with frequent bouts of syphilis adding to the complications his abuse of various substances had already caused. He died young at 36. The cause was listed as "progressive multiple neuritis", but it was almost certainly precipitated by his chronic alcoholism--a tragic and seemingly unnecessary end for a boy who chose to tarnish the silver platter readily handed to him.

64 years ago the Italian actress Rafaela Ottiano died aged 54 . She appeared with Garbo in Grand Hotel and in John Fords The Long Voyage Home.

33 years ago the actor Frank Mills died age 82. He appeared in 267 pictures during his career including Lady and Gent, Tycoon and Wake of the Red Witch.

14 years ago the director John Sturgess died aged 81. The Master of the Panoramic Sweep, besides directing films like The Magnificent Seven he also made McQ.

Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day 19th August

107 years ago the British actor Charley Hall was born. He played a window cleaner in Without Reservations and between 1923-1956 appeared in 253 pictures.
From IMDB
Born in Birmingham, England, Charlie Hall was a member of the famed Fred Karno vaudeville troupe, which gave the world Charles Chaplin and Stan Laurel. Hall arrived in the U.S. in the early 1920s, after Chaplin and Laurel, and entered films playing a foil for many of the era's top comics. He is best remembered, though, as the short, stocky, black-haired, bad-tempered nemesis to Laurel and Oliver Hardy in scores of their films, often playing a husband jealous of Hardy's attentions to his wife, a competing store owner, or just a bystander who winds up in an altercation with the duo.
Immigrated to the United States in 1920.
In most of his appearances in the Laurel & Hardy films, Hall doesn't have a lot of dialogue, and what lines he has are usually growled or barked angrily at either Laurel or Hardy. That was to disguise his British accent, which was more pronounced than Stan Laurel's. Laurel thought it would be a bit too implausible and distract from the scene to have two Englishmen fighting in the middle of an American comedy, so he had Hall disguise his voice whenever possible (although there are times when his English accent is quite obvious).

86 years ago the actress Marilyn Harris was born. In her first film she played a young pioneer girl in The Big Trail but is best known for being the young girl thrown into the river and drowned by the Frankenstein monster.

1938 the actress Diana Muldaur was born. Star Trek fans will recognise her instantly, she was also in McQ.

35 years ago the actor Billy Vernon died aged 59 he only appeared in 7 films his final part - a drunk in Jet Pilot.

26 years ago the actor George Meeker died aged 80. Appearing in 179 pictures between 1928-51 he was in Four Sons and The Life of Jimmy Dolan
From IMDB
This durable co-star-turned-character man had the steely eyes and overall slickness of somebody never to trust...and for good reason. For over two decades George Meeker fit the bill as the guy you loved to hate in movies. Frequently the spineless third wheel of a romantic triangle, he always lost the woman in the deal. In politics or business, he was the crooked lawyer or shady exec who'd sell his own mother for a quick buck. He specialized in crime mysteries and was invariably the guilty party or the victim who deserved it anyway.

Meeker was born in Brooklyn on March 5, 1904 and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Art following high school. After some stage experience he made his Broadway debut with "Judy Drops In" in 1924 and went on to appear in a handful of plays including "A Lady's Virtue" (1925), "Back Here" (1928) and "Conflict" (1929). From then on he focused on films. He started his career auspiciously as silent pictures were just about to become a part of Hollywood history. A strong featured part in John Ford's Four Sons (1928) led to his top-billed role in the mystery Thief in the Dark (1928) and co-star duty opposite both Nancy Carroll in the comedy Chicken a La King (1928) and western star Rex Bell in Girl-Shy Cowboy (1928). Meeker's voice was found quite suitable for talkies and he forged ahead in roles that grew more unappetizing with time. Often bespectacled and dressed to the nines, he played the fusty, wimpy, sour-looking fiancé who loses lovely Sidney Fox in Preston Sturges' comedy-drama _Strictly Dishonorable' (1931)_ , a role he would play time and again. He went on to lose Joan Blondell in The Famous Ferguson Case (1932) Irene Dunne in the classic Back Street (1932) and Margaret Sullavan in Only Yesterday (1933), among other ladies. He showed more of his corrupt side in the pre-Code Afraid to Talk (1932) and just how homicidal his tendencies could be in the thriller _Night of Terror (1933) in which he manages to out-evil Bela Lugosi. His slick looks were nudgingly unpleasant and just this side of good-looking--ideal for "B" mysteries. He was on the losing end in plenty of crimers, including King for a Night (1933) with Chester Morris, The Dragon Murder Case (1934) and Murder on a Honeymoon (1935). When he did appear in an "A" picture, he was often uncredited as in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Stella Dallas (1937), Gone with the Wind (1939), Casablanca (1942) and The Ox-Bow Incident (1943).

By the 1940s and WWII, Meeker started appearing further down the credits list playing everything from featured roles to one-liners. Still up to his debonair bad guy antics, he played everything from Nazi spies in Spy Ship (1942) and _Secret Enemies' to slick-haired gangsters in Mr. Muggs Rides Again (1945), Crime, Inc. (1945) and Below the Deadline (1946). He also served up some shady suspects in cliffhangers with Brenda Starr, Reporter (1945) and Superman (1948) topping the list. Meeker retired from movie-making in 1951 and wasn't heard of much until his death from complications of Alzheimer's disease on August 19, 1984 in Carpenteria, California.

Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day 20th August

102 years ago the art director Ralph Berger was born he worked on Without Reservations and Back To Bataan
From IMDB

Quote

One-time head of the Desilu art department, Berger was the supervising art director on a number of television series including: "I Love Lucy," "Our Miss Brooks," "December Bride" and won an Emmy for his work on "The Untouchables." Berger started his career in 1925 at Universal, later working with RKO and Bing Crobsy Enterprises

45 years ago the actress Dorothy Burgess died aged 54. A leading lady in B Movies she appeared in Lady For a Night.

29 years ago the actor Eddie Waller died aged 88 he was in Dakota A Lady Takes a Chance and The First Rebel.
From IMDB

Quote

Eddy worked in Vaudeville and the theater before he entered movies in 1936. Within a few years, he was being cast in the character actor parts. In the 40's he would be a mainstay in the Westerns that were put out by Republic Pictures and he would work with 'most every actor that worked at the studio. He would work with the Cowboy Stars from Tim Holt to Allan Lane. With Allan 'Rocky' Lane, his billing would be as high as second as he played the grizzly old prospector Nugget Clark. Nugget Clark added the comic relief to a picture with such pearls as "He is as square as the day is long". After B-movie Westerns fizzled out by the mid 50's, so did his career

24 years ago the director Edward Ludwig died aged 83 he directed Big Jim McLaine
From IMDB

Quote

Russian-born Edward Ludwig came to the U.S. as a child, and was educated in Canada and New York City. He entered the film business as an actor in silents, then became a scenarist and screenwriter, and in the early 1930s started directing. Although most of his films were routine second features, he showed a flair for action pictures, a good example of which is a John Wayne war epic he made for Republic, The Fighting Seabees (1944), one of Wayne's better - and most successful - films for that studio. In the mid-'60s he turned to directing TV series.

Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day 21st August

117 the actor Foresst Stanley was born he was in The Virtuous Wife or Arizona.

115 years ago the actor Bert Roach was born he was in 3 Girls Lost and during a career that began in 1914 and lasted until 1951 he was in something like 319 pictures.

103 years ago the actress Olive Blakeney was born she appeared in Dakota.

90 years ago the singer Bill Lee was born he was a memmber of the singing group The Mellomen and backed up the singer in El Dorado.

Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day 22nd August

125 years ago the actor Walter Wills was born he appeared in The Night Riders and Santa Fe Stampede

101 years ago the actor Wade Crosby was born he appeared in Angel and The Badman, War of the Wildcats and In Old California.

69 years ago the actress Ann Shirley married John Payne. Ann Shirley was in The life of Jimmy Dolan.

64 years ago the actor Murdoch McQuarrie died aged 63 a veteran actor of 283 films between 1912- his death he was in Winds of the Wasteland, The lonely Trail, The New Frontier randy Rides Alone Ride him Cowboy and Texas Cyclone.

47 years ago Cliff reid died aged 62 he was an assitant producer on They were xpendable

37 years ago Virgil Hart died aged 75 he was an assistant director on Flame of the Barbary Coast and an un-credited assistant on The Big Trail.

42 years ago the actor Charles Stevens died aged 71 half Mexican and half Apache he was the grandson of the apache chief Geronimo and played Lopez in The Big Trail.

33 years ago Richard Carruth died he was the music editor on In Harm's Way.

Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day 23rd August

126 years ago the English actor Wyndham Standing was born he made 128 pictures beginning his film career in 1915 and was in The Long Voyage Home.

104 years ago the writer and producer John Lee Mahin was born he wrote the screenplay for North to Alaska and produced The Horse Soldiers.
While making the film John Wayne and William Holden in an effort to get away from John Ford for the night went into the nearest town on the pretext that Wayne's teeth needed to be whitened. After a night on the town. Mahin went to pick them up and fearing that Ford might be angrey at any delay was speeding back to the location.
Wayne told him to slow down saying that if there was a accident no matter what happened Mahin was only going to get third billing.

78 years ago the actor John Lupton was born. He played the Speaker at Caperneaum in The Greatest Story Ever Told.

21 years ago Hank Patterson died aged 86 he began his career in 1939 and appeared in 141 screen credits among which was Three Faces West.

5 years ago the actress Kathleen Freeman died aged 82 she was in North to Alaska.

2 years ago the actor Chuck Stubbs died aged77 he was a juvenille actor in the 1`930s and only appeared in seven pictures. One of these was an un-credited role in Stagecoach.

And finally a happy 77th birthday to Vera Miles.

Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day August 24th

136 years ago the actor Charles Sellon was born he appeared in Baby Face Central Airport and Ride Him Cowboy.

127 years ago the actor Lew Kelly was born he was in In Old California, Three Texas Steers Winds of the Wasteland and Lady And Gent.

120 years ago the cinematographer and producer Arthur Rosson was born he was the co-director of Red River.

116 years ago the actor and sportsman Duke Kahanamoku was born he was in Wake of the Red Witch
From IMDB

Quote

Duke Kahanamoku was one of the great Olympic heroes of all time. Born in Hawaii, Duke grew up swimming and entered the 1912 Stockholm Olympics for the United States (Hawaii was not yet a state, but a U.S. possession)and became an international star by winning the Men's 100-Meter Freestyle, something he repeated eight years later at the 1920 Antwerp games (there was no 1916 Olympics as there was World War I) and he won the silver medal to Johnny Weissmuller (Duke's brother Sam won the bronze) at the 1924 Paris Olympics. All told, Duke won three gold and two silver medals in four Olympic games. He later had a Hollywood career in which he usually played a native chief or a Hawaiian king.

110 years ago Jack Trent was born he appeared in They Were Expendable but in a career that covered two decades between 1926 and 1956 he appeared in oml 31 pictures.

99 years ago Gil Perkins the actor and stuntman was born. He was in numerous films with John Wayne and must have been one of his favourite stunt men as he played one of the Tennesseeans in The Alamo.
From IMDB

Quote

A champion athlete and trackman in his native northern Australia, Perkins always wanted to get into films; as a teenager he virtually ran away from home, taking a job as a deck hand on a Norwegian freighter. He eventually landed in Hollywood in the late '20s, during the era of part-silent, part- talkie movies, and (because his accent was mistaken for English) he played young Englishmen in some of his first films. He soon drifted into stuntwork, regularly doubling cowboy star William Boyd, putting a red toupee over his own blond hair to double Red Skelton, etc. Some of his most notable stunt jobs were in the sci-fi/horror field: He doubled star Bruce Cabot throughout "King Kong" (1933), stood in for Spencer Tracy as Mr. Hyde in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1941) and replaced Bela Lugosi as the Monster in the climactic battle sequence of "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" (1943). In addition to his feature films, Perkins turned up regularly in serials and on TV On many occasions, he also worked with special effects and rigging departments and helped set up large action scenes. By the 1960s, he was doing more acting than stunts; he ^Óofficially^Ô retired in 1972, although he took a number of subsequent jobs.

91 years ago Donald Douglas was born he made almost 130 pictures between 1929 and 1948 including Tall in the Saddle

64 years ago the actress Carmen Laroux died aged 32 she was in The Desert Trail.

59 years ago Anne Archer was born she was in Cancel My Reservation.

Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day 25th August

122 years ago the actor James C Morton was born. He made 185 pictures between 1921-1944 including Lady From Louisiana.
From IMDB

Quote

Comedy character actor whose bald head was often hidden underneath a policeman's hat; in which guise he was most familiar in films. Appeared in many Hal Roach productions, supporting Our Gang and Laurel & Hardy among others, and also turned up in several 'W.C Fields' vehicles

110 years ago the actor Dick Ryan was born he was inI Married a Woman.

98 years ago both Phillip Coolidge and Walter Burke were born the former was in The Greatest Story Ever Told, the latter was in How The West Was Won.

79 years ago the tennis great Althea Gibson was born. She appeared in The horse Soldiers.
From IMDB

Quote

Althea Gibson is likely the most important African American athlete in the history of professional sport. Her contributions to sport include becoming the first African American player in a major US tournament and at Wimbledon, and also the first African American LPGA player. Gibson was well known for her "serve and volley" style of playing, and her reach and strong serve.

She was born on August 25, 1927 in Silver, South Carolina, growing up in the Harlem section of New York City during the Great Depression, where she first took up playing sports by playing billiards and basketball. At the age of nine she took up playing table tennis, and took up tennis after a suggestion from a Police Athletic League supervisor. At the age of fifteen, with the sponsorship of boxer Sugar Ray Robinson, she became the New York Black Girls' Champion. Her success led to a sports scholarship to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Gibson's tennis career in college was disappointing, as she even considered quitting sports and joining the army.

Her early career comprised of competing in tournaments held by the American Tennis Association, a tennis league for African American athletes. In 1950, three years after Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, Gibson became the first African American player in the National Tennis Championship. In 1951, Gibson made history when she was invited to Wimbledon, becoming the first African American player to play in the tournament. The following year she was ranked in the top ten female tennis players in the world. In 1956, she won a singles title in the French Open and US Open, and became the first African American winner of a singles title in Wimbledon in 1957.

Gibson played tennis in the years before Billie Jean King, when female players still made significantly less than their male counterparts, and decades before modern athletes who make most of their money from endorsements. She ventured into singing, recording an album, and also into acting, with a small role as a maid in the 1959 John Wayne film The Horse Soldiers. After retiring from professional tennis, Gibson took up golf, becoming the first African American player for the LPGA. Her golfing career was nowhere near as successful and her tennis, as she never won a title, but she did manage to rank number three in 1967. After retiring from professional golf in 1977, Gibson held many important government athletics positions in New Jersey from 1975 until 1992. Gibson spent her final years suffering from financial and health problems, and became a recluse. Gibson died on respiratory failure in East Orange, New Jersey at the age of 76.

Althea Gibson was a pioneer, at a time when black athletes were denied access to country clubs and hotels. Her success broke barriers for many prominent female athletes, from Billie Jean King to Venus to Serena Williams, who have named Althea Gibson as a major inspiration.

Display More

Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day August 26th

102 years ago the actress Tina Menard was born she appeared as a bumboat girl in The Long Voyage Home.

100 years ago the producer Jack Moss was born he produced The Shepherd of the Hills.

97 years ago the actor Jim Davis appeared. One of my favourite supporting stars he featured in Big jake, Rio Lobo and ElDorado.
From IMDB

Quote

Tall, rangy character actor in many westerns and outdoor dramas. Born and raised in Missouri, Jim Davis' relaxed, easygoing manner and Southern drawl typified the image of the cowboy, and he spent many years at Republic doing just that. He alternated between good-guy and villain roles, one of his better roles being that of the devious, murderous fur trapper working for Kirk Douglas' competition in The Big Sky (1952). He is best known, however, for his role as the Ewing family patriarch Jock in the long-running TV series "Dallas" (1978).

Hi

On this day August 27th

114 years ago the actress Helen Gibson was born she played a saloon girl in Stagecoach
From IMDB

Quote

Helen Gibson was one of the earliest serial stars, taking over the title role in The Hazards of Helen (1914) from Helen Holmes. Known for her athletic abilities and willingness to do dangerous but exciting stunts, she made the transition from serials to features easily. She was the second wife of cowboy star Hoot Gibson. After her starring days ended in the early 1920s, she went on to become one of the industry's best stuntwomen, while also taking small acting parts, until her retirement in the early 1950s

110 years ago the actor Morris Ankrum was born. A baddie in Hopalong cassidy movies he also was your steryeotype crooked lawyer or storekeeper in westerns. he appeared wth John Wayne in Re-Union in France.
From IMDB

Quote

A graduate of the University of Southern California School of Law, Morris Ankrum was an attorney and an economics professor before switching careers and joining the theater. He was a veteran stage actor by the time he entered the film industry in the 1930s, where he spent much time in westerns, playing everything from Indian chiefs to crooked town bankers. It was in the 1950s, though, that he hit his stride in the genre for which he is most fondly remembered - science-fiction films, where his gruff, no-nonsense demeanor and authoritative voice perfectly fit the role of the military officer helping scientists fight an outer-space menace, most memorably as Col. Fielding in the classic Invaders from Mars (1953). Toward the end of his career Ankrum had a recurring role as a judge on the "Perry Mason" (1957) TV series.

101 years ago Gordon Sawyer was born. Who? Gordon was aone of the sound engineeers making The Alamo.

Regards

Arthur

Hi

On this day 28th August

118 years ago the actor Larry Mcgtath was born he appeared in Pittsburgh.

109 yeras ago the actor Huey White was born he was a handler in The Life of Jimmy Dolan.

100 years ago Yet another unsung worker David Tamkin was born. He was the orchestrator on The High and The Mighty.

Regards

Arthur