This is December’s edition of Comet Over Hollywood’s classic film references in music videos.

Going with the Christmas season, is the song “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” played by Kenny G in 1997.

Though I’m not a Kenny G fan, I have to admit this is a very heartwarming video.

It stars classic film star Burgess Meredith, who’s career ranged from “Idiot’s Delight” (1939) to his role of the Penguin in the 1960s Batman TV show.

Meredith appears to be a projectionist at a movie theater who is sad, lonely and missing his family at Christmas.

He reminisces on past Christmases by watching clips of classic holiday films such as “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944), “Miracle on 34th Street (1947), “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946), “Little Women” (1949), “A Christmas Carol” (1938) and “Bells of St. Mary’s” (1945).

Meredith was 90 when this video was filmed. He died that same year of melanoma and Alzheimer’s disease, making this video a little more heartbreaking than it already is.

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Part of why I love Christmas is getting to watch my favorite classic holiday films such as “Christmas in Connecticut”, “White Christmas” and “Remember the Night.”

But I also love looking at Christmas related photos with classic actors and actresses.

Every day since December 1, I’ve been posting a Christmas related photo on Comet Over Hollywood’s Facebook Page, and searching for the day’s photo can be an addicting task.

Even long after I find the photo of the day, I keep browsing-marveling at the ridiculousness of vintage Christmas photos.

I’ve found these classic photos can be divided into categories. Here are some examples:

Glamour: These photos show actors looking beautiful and wealthy at their homes during Christmas.

Gina Lollabrigida looking glamorous in her Christmas tree

Carole Lombard

Paulette Goddard

Jean Harlow

Anita Page in 1932

Jennifer Jones

Adorable and cute: These involve child actors or actresses looking sweet and angelic. 

Jackie Cooper

The Bogart: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and their son Stephen.

Joan Leslie

Buster Keaton and Natalie Talmadge with Junior and Bob

The children of Our Gang

Little Natalie Wood

Shirley Temple in 1935

Priscilla Lane

Rita Hayworth

Ridiculous or funny: Photos that try way to hard to make a photo Christmasy or make it a sexy Christmas photo.

Dorothy Jordan and Gwenn Lee, I don’t even understand what’s happening.

Joan Crawford flirting with Santa in 1932

Janet Leigh with a Christmas tree hat

Esther Williams in unreasonable winter clothing

Maureen O’Sullivan…..dressed as a choir boy.

Margaret O’Brien…wrapped as a package?

Clifton Webb as the most unlikely Santa Claus

Visit Comet for more holiday fun this month!

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Though some people find 1940s child actress Margaret O’Brien cute and spunky, I think she is a nuisance. Particularly at Christmas time.

1940s child actress, Margaret O’Brien

From attacking snowmen to nearly killing her pregnant mother, O’Brien can really put a damper on the Christmas season.

Her brattiness particularly shines through in two Christmas films “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944) and “Tenth Avenue Angel” (1948):

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944):

“Meet Me in St. Louis,” a personal favorite, is simply the story of a family, set in the early 1900s when the World’s Fair is coming to St. Louis. The family has four daughters: Rose (Lucille Bremer), Esther (Judy Garland), Agnes (Joan Carroll) and Tootie (Margaret O’Brien)

Though Garland is the true star of this film, O’Brien steals several scenes by simply being a brat.

I’m fairly convinced that Tootie manipulates her family by being an obnoxious brat and turning on the waterworks in order to get what she wants.

O’Brien as Tootie telling lies to Mary Astor, playing her mother-saying that John Truitt tried to kill her on Halloween.

At the start of the film, Tootie tells the iceman (Chill Wills) that her doll has “four fatal disease” and how she will bury  her and have a funeral for a perfectly good doll (maybe this is just a ploy to get new toys?).

At Halloween she really is a little hellion. She throws flour in the face of an unsuspecting neighbor and shouts “I hate you!”-part of a turn-of-the-century Halloween tradition that we never should bring back.

Still on Halloween, she nearly turns her sister Esther (Judy Garland) against her boyfriend John Truitt (Tom Drake).

Tootie and Agnes stuff a dress and put it on the trolley tracks. John Truitt drags Agnes and Tootie out of the way so they don’t get hurt or caught by police. As a result, Tootie splits her lip and loses a tooth.

She is carried into the house sobbing and saying, “John Truitt tried to kill me!” prompting Esther to go next door and beat him up.  Her family comforts Tootie by letting her wear one of Esther’s nightgowns and giving her a gigantic piece of cake (has anyone else noticed cake in classic films is HUGE?). Even after her mother (Mary Astor) discovers Tootie was lying, they let her keep the cake and nightgown, because she was a “good girl when the doctor was there.”

But the real clincher is the Christmas scene.

O’Brien attacking snowmen early Christmas morning (screencapped by me)

Understandably, Tootie is upset about leaving their home in St. Louis to move to New York.  Esther comforts her younger sister by singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Does this calm the child down? No! Inexplicably, she runs outside in the snow after midnight, starts attacking snowmen they worked so hard to build earlier that day.

Because of Tootie’s crazed snowman moment, father (Leon Ames) changes his life plans to make his family happy, again Tootie getting her way.

Tenth Avenue Angel (1948):

In “Tenth Avenue Angel,” O’Brien plays Flavia; a little girl who lives with her pregnant mother Helen (Phyllis Thaxter) and Aunt Susan (Angela Lansbury).

Steve and Flavia wait to see if a cow will kneel for baby Jesus on Christmas morning. (screencapped by me)

Flavia was told that Susan’s boyfriend Steve (George Murphy) has been on a trip around the world but really he has been in jail.

Other harmless white lies and old wives tales are told to Flavia such as mice turn into money, cats all have nine lives and wishes on stars come true. When Flavia finds out none of these are true- including that Steve really didn’t travel around the world- she is sent over the edge.

“If it isn’t the truth then it’s a lie, isn’t it,” she says to her pregnant, bed-ridden mother. “I don’t know who to believe or what to believe. Everybody lies to me.”

In a Margaret O’Brien moment of hysterics complete with sobbing, she runs out of the apartment with mother running behind her, who falls down the stairs and becomes ill…basically because of Flavia.

However, regardless of her bratty moment, Flavia finds a miracle in order to save her mother.

And the cow kneels. This scene is utterly ridiculous. (screencapped by me)

The movie ends ridiculously with Flavia and Steve waiting at the stroke of midnight on Christmas morning to see if a cow will kneel to honor the newborn king-another old wives tale her mother told her.

If the cow kneels, it will be a miracle to make her mother better and will restore Flavia’s faith in her family. Lo and behold, the cow kneels and everyone lives happily ever after.

To review:

Maybe I’m being unnecessarily harsh because I’m simply not a fan of Margaret O’Brien. I’m not sure if O’Brien is the brat or if it’s the characters, but regardless I can’t take the sobbing and would be really angry if a hysterical little girl knocked down my snowman.

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For me, it’s always a treat when there is a Christmas scene in a film that isn’t considered a holiday film.

Not only is it because I’m a lover of Christmas, but usually something important or climatic happens during Christmas related scenes.

Below are a few non-Christmas films with important holiday scenes:

1. Battleground (1949): “Battleground,” starring a plethora of stars such as Van Johnson, John Hodiak and George Murphy, is a World War II film set during the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne. The Battle of the Bulge (Dec. 16 to Jan. 25) is when the Allies were surrounded by the Germans and were unable to get airborne assistance due to heavy fog and snow.

During one scene, a Lutheran Chaplain played by Leon Ames delivers a Christmas sermon for the men. It is a particularly moving scene, because he describes the importance of why they are fighting this war. It’s my favorite scene in the whole movie and still holds meaning today.

2. A Summer Place (1959): “Summer Place” is a stereotypical late-1950s sleezy melodrama. Already married Sylvia Hunter (Dorothy Malone) and Ken Jorgenson (Richard Egan) were teenage sweet hearts and rekindle their romance one summer when their families meet on vacation in Maine. This breaks up their marriages with Bart Hunter (Arthur Kennedy) and Helen Jorgenson (Constance Ford). To complicate things further, Sylvia’s son Johnny (Troy Donahue) and Ken’s daughter Molly (Sandra Dee) fall in love.

While over-bearing Helen is decorating their Christmas tree, she discovers her daughter Molly has been writing and meeting up with Johnny.

In a rage, Helen slaps her daughter and sends her hurtling into their plastic Christmas tree which she earlier described as “solid plastic” and that it should “last for 10 years.”

Helen Jorgensen angrily slaps her daughter Molly in “A Summer Place” sending her into their plastic Christmas tree- Screen capped by Hollywood Comet

In this unintentionally hilarious scene, Molly looks up from behind the strewn Christmas tree branches, tinsel and ornaments and says, “Merry Christmas, Mama.”

Helen looks at 18 stockings in “Yours, Mine and Ours”

3. Yours, Mine and Ours (1968):  Frank (Henry Fonda), who has 10 children, marries Helen (Lucille Ball), who has 8 children, putting entirely too many people into one home.

The comedy follows the adventures of how a family that large serves breakfast, gets to school and how the older children accept their new parents.

Christmas also gets complicated. Frank is up all night playing Santa trying to put toys together and is still working when the children get up in the morning. Christmas morning is chaos with one daughter eating candy canes off the Christmas tree and a bicycle breaking as a child rides it around the house.

But the real climax comes when Helen finds out that she is pregnant again…with their 19th child.

4. Since You Went Away (1944): A film that is my all-time favorite movie, “Since You Went Away” follows Anne Hilton (Claudette Colbert) and her two daughters Bridget (Shirley Temple) and Jane (Jennifer Jones) as they adjust to life on the home front during World War II. Though this film gets shown frequently during the Christmas season, it really isn’t a Christmas movie.

It begins when Anne’s husband leaves for war and goes through fall, summer, spring and ends at Christmas.

The last 20 minutes of the movie is Christmas making you laugh and cry. Jane has transformed from a selfish young teenager to a young lady, who has lost her boyfriend to the war and is now working as a nurse. Anne has come to terms that her husband is lost in action and is trying to have a normal Christmas with her family.

Christmas party scene in “Since You Went Away” with everyone playing charades. -screencapped by the Hollywood Comet

The Hiltons throw a Christmas party with a woman Anne met through her war work, a soldier Jane helped nurse, a family friend Lt. Tony Willet (Joseph Cotton) and his friend (Keenan Wynn) and their boarder Col. Smollett (Monty Woolley).

The party scene is fun and happy, but after all the guests leave Anne sees their servant Fidelia (Hattie McDaniel) putting presents under the tree that Tim sent her both he was reported missing.

Anne Hilton (Claudette Colbert) receiving the cable gram that her husband is home safe. -screen capped by the Hollywood Comet

Anne opens her gift from her husband, a musical powder box that plays their song, and starts to cry. Then the phone rings and it’s a cable gram saying Tim has been found and is coming home.

The movie ends with happy tears, hugging and excitement.

What are some of your favorite non-Christmas movie holiday scenes? Share them below!

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Merry Christmas! 

A Christmas card from me to you. Screencapped from Summer Place by Me

With some help from my coworkers at the Shelby Star, I recorded a Christmas Eve video for everyone.

As my present to all of you, here is an anecdote I found from the official Tyrone Power page: King of 20th Century Fox.  David Niven tells how Tyrone Power plays Santa at a children’s Christmas party (sadly I have no photos): 

One Christmas I gave a party for my two small sons, and Tyrone Power offered to play Santa Claus. He lived a few blocks from me, and I went over to help him dress and brief him on the impending operation.

He was extremely nervous.

“This is worse than a first night on Broadway,” he said, helping himself liberally to the scotch bottle. “I’ve never performed for a bunch of kids before.”

I pushed and pulled him into the padded stomach, bulky red outfit, and high black boots rented from Western Costume Company and helped him fasten on a black belt, a huge white beard, and little red cap.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “It’s all fixed. I’ve left the gate open at the bottom of the garden. I’ve rigged up some sleigh bells down there and stashed away the presents, and at exactly six o’clock we’ll give ‘em the bells; then you pick up the sack and make it up the lawn to the house — they’re all expecting you.”

After discovering he would be entertaining 50 children- including the offspring of Gary Cooper, Rosalind Russell, the Fairbanks’, Deborah Kerr, Loretta Young, Charles Boyer, Edgar Bergen and Jerry Lewis- Ty was drinking a great deal of scotch.

During the five minute drive to the party Ty begged me to let him off the hook.

“Why don’t you do it? he asked. “It’s your party.”

“You suggested it,” I said firmly.

By six o’clock Santa Claus was loaded; sack on shoulder and hidden in some bushes at the bottom of my garden.

“Off you go,” I said to Ty. “Lots of luck!”

When he was spotted by the excited children, shrill shrieks and applause broke out. At that point I had intended to turn on the garden lights to illuminate the scene but for some reason I missed the switch and turned on the sprinklers. Ty fell down. He picked himself up, gave me a marked look and squelched on toward the shining, expectant faces in the windows.

Like all actors, once the curtain was up and the adrenaline had started pumping, Ty was relaxed and happy in his work.

“HO! HO! HO!” he boomed.  “And who is this lovely woolly lamb for, eh? Candace Bergen. Come here, little girl. HO! HO! HO!”

He was doing beautifully by the time I had sneaked in by the back door, seated in a big chair in the hall with excited children climbing all over him.

“Maria Cooper! My, what a pretty girl! HO! HO! HO! You tell your daddy that old Santa thought he was just dandy in High Noon and ask him for Grace Kelly’s phone number while you’re about it. HO! HO! HO!”

Maria Cooper was a little more sophisticated than the other children. “Where did you see the picture, Santa?” she asked sweetly.

“Oh,” said Ty, pointing vaguely above him, “Up there!”

After a while Santa made his good-byes and staggered off down the lawn. Some of the children cried when he left.

Back at the bottom of the garden, I helped him out of his outfit. He was as excited as if he had just given a triumphant Broadway performance of King Lear.

“I really enjoyed that!” he said. “Weren’t the kids a great audience?” 

And Merry Christmas from one of my favorites- Annette Funicello

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As a reporter, sometimes you have to do things like work Christmas Day.

So as I am here at work, I will entertain all of you good people with more classic Hollywood Christmas photos.

Gloria Swanson

Mary Martin in 1940

Louise Brooks, sort of matching her Christmas tree

Jean Arthur and Lillian Roth fighting over toys by the tree

Joan Crawford with charity Christmas presents in 1943

Eddie Cantor as Santa at the Hollywood Canteen with Service men and Shelly Winters, Lynn Merrick, Maxine Fifie and Leslie Brooks.

Diana Lynn with Frosty the Snowman. She’s always been a favorite of mine.

Peter Lorre dressed as Santa in between takes while playing Mr. Moto.

Bette Davis in “The Man Who Came to Dinner.”

Annette Funicello

Bela Lugosi, famous for playing Dracula, dressed as Santa Claus

Merry Christmas from Comet Over Hollywood

Me here at the Star being festive for all of you!

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Last Valentine’s Day I reviewed the many unsuccessful relationships of actress Lana Turner. This Valentine’s Day, I wanted to look at some of the successful Hollywood relationships. As I started making my list of couples I was dumbfounded to find I had a list of over 60 long Hollywood marriages! Though this isn’t everyone and some of the marriages have a sprinkling of infidelity, here are a surprising amount of lengthy Hollywood couples of the Golden era.

With each marriage I tried to add some back stories or quotes. Some of the relationships have little information, due to the fact that I couldn’t find anything online.

Celebrity couples:

Mary Pickford and Charles Buddy Rogers on their wedding day in 1937

Charles Buddy Rogers and Mary Pickford: (Married June 1937 to her death in May 1979) Adopted two children, Ronnie Charles (1937) and Roxanne (1944-2007). Mary Pickford and Roxanne were estranged when the daughter eloped with a man her parents didn’t approve of. “Wings” (1927) star Rogers said actor Clark Gable said that the marriage wouldn’t last 6 months since Rogers was 11 years younger than Pickford, America’s Sweetheart of the silent era. However, their marriage lasted 42 years. Rogers and Pickford met in 1927 on the set of “My Best Girl” and hit it off. However, Pickford was married to Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. and she was trying to hold their marriage together, which ended in divorce in 1936. After Pickford’s death, Rogers remarried. He passed away in 1999.

The Lloyd Family. Harold with his wife Mildred and their children.

Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis: (Married Feb. 1923 to her death in Aug. 1969) Three children, Harold Jr, Gloria and Marjorie. Silent film actors Harold Lloyd and Davis met in 1921 while filming “Grandma’s Boy.” After the couple married, Davis retired from films.

Julie London and Bobby Troup

Bobby Troup and Julie London: (Married Dec. 1959 to his death in Feb. 1999) Seven children in between them from previous marriages but three children together: Kelly and twins Jody and Reese. London, a jazz singer, and Troup, jazz piano player, were both in the music business. They met in 1955 at the Celebrity Room and he encouraged her career and produced her “Cry Me a River” record. The couple starred in the 1970s medical TV drama “Emergency!” from 1972 to 1979. London played Nurse Dixie McCall and Troup played Dr. Early. Troup said the series was ideal for raising their children.

The Hope family in 1955

Bob Hope and Dolores: (Married on Feb. 1934 to July 2003) Adopted four children: Eleanor, Anthony, Linda and Kelly. Though Dolores wasn’t famous like Bob, the couple could be compared to American figure heads like a president.  As of 2004, the Hopes hold the record for the longest Hollywood marriage at 69 years.

Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon with their daughter, Barbara Bebe, in 1933

Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon: (Married June 1930 till her death in March 1971) Two children, Barbara Bebe and Richard. The couple met in 1925 and Bebe didn’t like Ben until they met again in 1928, according to an article by Phil Watson. From 1950 to 1961, the couple had a radio show about raising their family called “Life with the Lyons.”

Fred MacMurray and wife June Haver with their adopted twin baby girl Laurie Ann and Katherine Marie in 1956

Fred MacMurray and June Haver: (Married June 1954 till his death in Nov. 1991) Two adopted twin girls, Laurie Ann and Katherine Marie. Musical star Haver left a nun convent to marry MacMurray, who was 18 years her senior. Haver retired from film in 1957 and MacMurray continued on a successful career on television and Disney films. Haver died in 2005.

Singers Phil Harris and Alice Faye with their daughters

Phil Harris and Alice Faye: (Married May 1941 to his death in August 1995) Two daughters, Alice and Phyllis. Faye’s career with Twentieth Century Fox ended in 1946. From 1948 to 1954 the couple had a radio comedy show called the “Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show.”

Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward: (Married Jan. 1958 till his death in Sept. 2008) Three children, Melissa, Nell and Claire. The couple met early in their acting in 1953, but Newman was married. They married after his divorce.  Newman was once asked how he stayed true to his wife while being surrounded by beautiful women. He said, “Why go out for hamburger when I have steak at home?” He said their long marriage can be attributed to correct amount of lust and respect.

Tony Martin holding Cyd Charisse in 1953

Cyd Charisse and Tony Martin: (Married May 1948 until her death in June 2008) One child, Tony Jr. The couple met while Charisse’s fame was still growing at MGM.  “She stepped out of a dream,” Martin said about Cyd.

Actress Mitzi Gaynor and her producer husband Jack Bean

Mitzi Gaynor and  Jack Bean: (Married Nov. 1954 till his death Dec. 2006) The musical star married talent agent and producer Jack Bean; he called her Yummy and she called him Daddy. Bean helped Gaynor secure her memorable role in “South Pacific” (1958). Bean managed her career with successful television specials. His death nearly ended any desire she still harbored to resurrect her public career. However, Gaynor went back on tour in 2008. The couple had no children.

Comedic couple George Burns and Gracie Allen in 1936 with their children Sandra and Ronnie

Gracie Allen and George Burns: (Married Jan. 1926 to her death in Aug. 1964) Two children, Sandra and Ronnie. The comedic couple met in 1922 and Allen first played the “straight-man” and Burns had the jokes. Burns switched it he realized Allen was getting all the laughs.

Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling in 1954.The couple starred in the Topper TV series together

Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys: (Married Nov. 1951 until his death in May 2006) Three children, Jeffrey, Dana and Tyler. The couple acted on the television series “Topper” from 1953 to 1955.

Frances Dee and Joel McCrea in the 1930s

Joel McCrea and Frances Dee: (Married Oct. 1933 until his death in Oct. 1990) Three sons, Jody (1934), David (1935) and Peter (1955). The couple met on the set of “The Silver Cord” (1933) and he had a crush on her since seeing her in  “An American Tragedy” (1931) and requested that she be cast in his movie.  Joel and Frances began dating after the movie was completed. It was her relationship with McCrea that compelled her to sign with RKO. In 1935, Dee and her McCrea separated, but soon reconciled. Then in 1966, McCrea filed for divorce, charging Frances with cruelty, but they stayed married until McCrea’s death.

Gene Raymond and Jeannette MacDonald in 1955 at a circus themed benefit

Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Raymond: (Married June 1937 till her death in Jan. 1965) No children.  The couple made one movie together, “Smilin’ Through” in 1941.
MacDonald said in 1943, “I can’t believe how blessed I am! I’m married to the most wonderful man, Gene Raymond, whom I’m deeply in love with, and, my career is right where I want it to be. I can live like this forever!”
Raymond said in 1972, “We had 28 glorious years. Jeanette and I respected and loved each other, very deeply. We put one another before anyone or anything. I am blessed to have known her, loved her and been loved by her – absolutely, an incredible lady!”

Ann Rutherford and William Dozier: (Married Oct. 1953 to his death in April 1991) No children together. Rutherford, “Andy Hardy” series actress, married producer Dozier, who later produced and narrated the 1960s television series “Batman.” After their marriage, Rutherford retired from films to be a wife and raise her daughter Gloria, from a previous marriage.

1940s teeny bopper actress Jean Porter with director Edward Dmytryk and their daughter

Jean Porter and Edward Dmytryk: (Married 1948 to his death in July 1999) Three children: Richard, Victoria and Rebecca. Jean Porter was a teenage star of the 1940s who usually played Shirley Temple or Virginia Weidler’s friend. The couple had a difficult time during the 1950s when Dmytryk was blacklisted as one of the Hollywood Ten who refused to testify before Joseph R. McCarthy’s House of Un-American Activities Committee. Dmytryk was in jail for 6 months. In the mid-1950s he was allowed to his direct again and he worked with Jean in her last movie, The Left Hand of God (1955). After her acting career, Jean became a real estate agent  in the San Fernando Valley.

Newly weds child star Bonita Granville and producer husband Jack Wrather at the breakfast table

Bonita Granville and Jack Wrather: (Married Feb. 1947 to his death in Nov. 1984) Four children: Molly, Linda, Jack and Christopher. Wrather produced some of the former child star’s young adult films such as  “The Guilty” (1947) and “The Lone Ranger” (1956). ‘The Guilty” was the first film he produced. As Bonita began to have children, she took a step back from acting. Wrather produced television shows such as “Lassie” and was convinced by Walt Disney to build the Disneyland Hotel.

Silent actors Vilma Banky and Rod La Roque in 1927

Rod La Rocque and Vilma Banky: (Married June 1927 until his death in Oct. 1969) Their wedding was paid for by producer Samuel Goldwyn and was considered one of the most extravagant of all Hollywood parties at the time. La Rocque retired from films in the 1940s and worked in real estate, and Bánky established an educational fund called the Banky – La Rocque Foundation.

John Farrow and Maureen O’Sullivan in 1936

Maureen O’Sullivan and John Farrow: (Married Sept. 1936 until his death in Jan. 1963) Seven children: Michael, Patrick, John, Mia, Tisa, Prudence and Stephanie.

Helen Hayes and Charles MacArthur and son James. 1955

Helen Hayes and Charles MacArthur: (Married Aug. 1928 to his death in April 1956) Adopted two children: James (of Swiss Family Robinson fame) and Mary (died in 1949 at the age of 19).

Bandleader Kay Kyser with his wife and girl singer, “Gorgeous” Georgia Carroll

Kay Kyser and Georgia Carroll: (Married June 1944 until his death in July 1985) Three children: Kimberly, Carroll and Amanda. Carroll was the singer for Kyser’s jazz band, and he fell in love with her. The couple met during World War II and married two years after Carroll started singing for his band. After World War II ended, Kyser retired to Chapel Hill, N.C. with his wife in 1951. The couple remained there for the rest of their marriage.

Actresses:

Eva Marie Saint and Jeffrey Hayden

Eva Marie Saint and Jeffrey Hayden: (Married Oct. 1951 to present) Academy Award winning Best Supporting Actress for “On the Waterfront has been married to director Hayden since 1951. The couple has two children together, Darrell (1955) and Laurette (1958) and three  grandchildren. Saint gave birth to Darrell two days after winning her Oscar.

Jeanne Crain and her husband Paul Brooks in 1953.

Jeanne Crain and Paul Brooks: (Married Dec. 1945 to his death on Oct. 2003) “State Fair” actress Crain met Brooks, real name Brinkman, in 1943 while he was a young actor and engineer graduate. The couple eloped in 1945, a marriage her mother was against causing the two to be estranged for several years, according to Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen. The couple had seven children together: Paul (1947), Michael (1949), Timothy (1950), Jeanine (1952), Lisabette (1958), Maria (1961), Christopher (1965). Though the couple remain together for many years, some of it was rocky. Crain filed for divorce in 1956, but they reconciled. Despite the fact that they remained married for so long, from 1978 to 2003, the two live separately  remaining friendly and stay married, because of their Catholic beliefs. Brooks dies two months before Crain does.

Rosalind Russell and Frederick Brisson at the Stork Club after Brisson returned from Europe, serving as General Arnold’s chief of radio activities during the war. (1941)

Rosalind Russell and Frederick Brisson: (Married Oct. 1941 to her death on Nov. 1976): “His Girl Friday” actress Russell and producer Brisson were married until Russell’s death and had one son, Lance in 1943. Brisson died in 1984

Priscilla Lane and Joseph A. Howard: (Married May 1942 to his death on May 1976): “Arsenic & Old Lace” actress Priscilla Lane met Howard, an Army Air Force lieutenant, in 1942. After World War II ended, the couple lived in New Mexico and then moved to California where Howard was a building contractor. Lane retired from movies, a decision her husband left to her, in 1948 and the couple had four children together: Joseph (1945), Hannah (1950), Judith (1953) and James (1955). The couple later moved to New England where Lane was a Girl Scout troop leader, went to church and volunteered at hospitals. She said she never regretted leaving Hollywood. Howard died in 1976, something Lane never got over. He was buried in Arlington Cemetery in Virginia and Priscilla was buried with him when she died in 1994.

Shirley Temple and Charles Black in Washington, DC in 1953.

Shirley Temple and Charles Black: (Married Dec. 1950 to his death on Aug. 2005): On their way to get married, Black admitted he had never seen any of the child actress’s films. Shirley Temple said it’s corny but it was love at first sight when they first met in Honolulu where he was working for a shipping company. Black served on a Commerce Department advisory committee and National Research Council panels. He co-founded a Massachusetts-based company that developed unmanned deep-ocean search and survey imaging systems. He also served in the Navy during the Korean War. The couple had two children together: Charlie (1952) and Lori (1954) and Black adopted Temple’s daughter from her marriage with John Agar, Linda (1948). Shirely Temple is still living.

Claudette Colbert and Joel Pressman in 1938 at the “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” premier

Claudette Colbert and Dr. Joel Pressman: (Married Dec. 1935 to his death on Feb. 1968). The “It Happened One Night” actress Colbert married Pressman, a surgeon at UCLA, and were married for 33 years. The couple had no children.

Joan Leslie and Dr. William G. Caldwell: (Married March 1950 to his death on April 2000): “Yankee Doodle Dandy” actress, Joan Leslie, married the UCLA graduate and retired from acting when she had her twin daughters Patricia and Ellen. Caldwell passed away in 2000 and Leslie is still living.

Irene Dunne and Francis Dennis Griffin in 1952

Irene Dunne and Frances Dennis Griffin: (Married July 1928 to his death on Oct. 1965) “The Awful Truth” actress married a New York dentist and kept a long distance relationship with him in the first few years of their marriage. Frances finally gave up his dental practice and joined Dunne in Hollywood. The couple adopted their daughter named Mary Frances 1936.

Dorothy McGuire and John Swope: (Married July 1942 to his death on May 1979): The “Old Yeller” actress married LIFE Magazine photographer Swope in 1943 and the couple had two children: Mark and Topo. McGuire died in 2000.

Ann Blyth and Dr. James McNulty

Ann Blyth and Dr. James McNulty: (Married June 1953 to his death on May 2007) The couple had five children:Timothy, Maureen, Kathleen, Terence and Eileen. ”I picked the right man. He has a great sense of humor, and has always been very supportive,” she said about being able to keep a successful relationship in Hollywood.

Actors: 

Fredric March and his wife Florence in 1946.

Fredric March and Florence Eldridge: (Married May 1927 to his death April 1975) Adopted two children: Penelope (1932) and Anthony (1934). Though Florence was not as big of a star as her “The Best Years of Our Lives” acting husband, the couple acted alongside each other in films, on the radio and in plays. These include The Studio Murder Mystery (1929), Les Misérables (1935), Another Part of the Forest (1948), An Act of Murder (1948), Christopher Columbus (1949), and Inherit the Wind (1960). On TV, she appeared with him in the “Producers’ Showcase” (1954) presentation of ‘Dodsworth’ on April 30, 1956.

Robert Mitchum in 1945 with his wife Dorothy and sons, Christopher and James

Robert Mitchum and Dorothy: (Married March  1940 to his death on July  1997)  Two children Christopher (1945) and James (1941). Though the couple was together for many years, unfortunately Robert had several affairs throughout the 60 year marriage.

Don Ameche and Honore Prendergast: (Married Dec. 1932 to her death in Sept. 1986) The couple had 6 children: Ronald, Dominic, Thomas, Lonnie, Bonnie and Connie.

Dan Duryea with wife Helen and their two children

Dan Duryea and Helen Bryan: (Married April 1932 to her death on Jan. 1967). two children: Peter (1939) and Richard (1942). Though Dan Duryea usually played a slimy character in movies, he was a friendly fellow in real life. He enjoyed gardening and was active as a Boy Scout master and in the school PTA. His gravestone even reads, “Our pop-A man loved by everyone.”

Walter Brennan and  Ruth Wells: (Married Oct. 1920 to his death on Sept. 1974). Three children: Ruth, Arthur and Andy,

Walter Pidgeon and his wife Ruth

Walter Pidgeon and Ruth Walker: (Married Dec. 1931 to his death on Sept. 1984) Ruth Walker was Pidgeon’s secretary when they got married in 1931. They had no children together.

Danny Thomas wife his wife and three daughters

Danny Thomas and Rose Marie Mantell Thomas: (Married Jan. 15, 1936 to his death on Feb. 6, 1991). Three children: Tony, Terre and Marlo, of “That Girl” fame. Danny met Rose while performing on the radio show “The Happy Hour Club.” His children continued to work as actors and producers.

Robert and Rosemarie Stack in 1961

Robert Stack and Rosemarie: (Married from Jan. 1956 to his death in March 2003). Two children: Charles and Elizabeth. Both acted in Hollywood, but Rosemarie was not as successful in acting as Robert. Rosemarie gave up her acting career temporarily while their children were young. The couple enjoyed outdoor activities such as sailing and riding.

Basil Rathbone and his wife on their wedding day

Basil Rathbone and  Ouida Bergère: (Married on April 1926 to his death in July 1967). Adopted one daughter, Cynthia in 1939. Swashbuckling actor Basil Rathbone met scriptwriter Ouida in 1923. They fell in love and Rathbone had to divorce his current wife before they could marry. Basil and Ouida enjoyed reading books and watching boxing, baseball and golf. Ouida gave up her writing career to help Basil manage his acting.

James Cagney’s family visiting him on the set of “Run For Cover” in 1955.

James Cagney and Frances: (Married on Sept. 1922 to his death in March 1986): Two childre: Casey and James Jr. Cagney married dancer Frances after meeting in the chorus line of “Pitter Patter.” Though Merle Oberon tried to seduce Cagney, he never cheated on his wife.

Charles Boyer and his wife Pat

Charles Boyer and Pat Paterson: (Married on Feb. 1934 to her death in Aug. 1978) One child, Michael. The couple met at a dinner party in 1934 and married after a three month courtship. Pat had a few small roles in Hollywood while Charles was more successful in acting. Boyer was described by friends as a “happily married book-worm and a stick in the mud.” Boyer committed suicide two days after his wife died of cancer. Their only son died in 1965 by committing suicide after having a fight with his girlfriend. At the time of Michael’s death, Charles was filming a movie in Europe. Pat and Charles never recovered from their son’s death.

Joseph Cotten and Patricia Medina: (Married Oct. 1960 to his death in Feb. 1994)  In Cotten’s autobiography “Vanity Gets You Somewhere,” he said Medina was the love of his life.
Joseph once said:  “My wife told me one of the sweetest things one could hear: “I am not jealous. But I am truly sad for all the actresses who embrace you and kiss you while acting, for with them, you are only pretending.”

Louis Jourdan with his wife

Louis Jourdan and Berthe Quique’ Frederique Jourdan: (Married March 1946 to present.) One child, Louis Henry who predeceased his parents in 1981. Louis met Berthe through the Underground with the French Resistance. The couple married in Paris, which was a day Jourdan said was “the happiest day of his life.”

Gregory Peck and Veronique in 1962

 Gregory Peck and  Veronique: (Married Dec. 1955 to his death in June 2003) Two children, Tony (1956) and Cecilia (1958). The couple met while Veronique, a young journalist, was interviewing him in 1953 for France Soir in Paris. Veronique became a U.S. citizen in 1976. The couple raised over $50 million for the American Cancer Society in the 1960s and were actively involved in politics.

James and Gloria Stewart with their twin daughters

James Stewart and  Gloria Stewart: (Married Jan. 1949 to her death in Feb. 1994) Two children, twin girls Judy and Kelly. Stewart adopted his wife’s children from a previous marriage as well, Ronald and Michael. Stewart married Gloria, a former model, after returning from serving in World War 2. “I pitched the big question to her last night and to my surprise she, she, she said yes,” he said. Their son Ronald was killed in action during the Vietnam War. Throughout his time in Hollywood, James was always faithful to his wife.

Jack Benny and Marry Livingstone

Jack Benny and Margaret Livingstone: (Married Jan. 1927 to his death in Dec. 1974) One child. Jack met Mary Livingstone in Vancouver British Columbia when he was appearing there,  at the Orpheum there as well. Ten years younger than him, Benny feared Margaret was to young to marry him. However he eventually proposed. The two performed on the radio together. The comedian delivered a rose to his wife almost every day until he died.

Dennis Morgan and Lillian Vedder: (Married Sept. 1933 to his death in Sept. 1994) Three children. “It’s not the easiest thing in the world to be a success in Hollywood and still be the ordinary husband and father,” Morgan said.

Dana Andrews and his wife Mary

Dana Andrews and  Mary Todd: (Married Nov. 1939 to Dec. 1992) Three children: Stephen,  Katharine and Susan.

Kirk and Anne Douglas in 1957 at the Golden Globes

Kirk Douglas and  Anne Douglas: (Married May 1954 to present) Two children: Peter and Eric. Douglas married the German producer, Anne, after ending his first marriage with Diane. This past Thanksgiving, the two helped serve Thanksgiving Dinner to the homeless in Los Angles.

Ricardo Montalbon and his wife Georgiana in 1951 with their children Laura, Mark and Anita

Ricardo Montalban and Georgiana Young: (Married Oct. 1944 until her death in Nov. 2009) Four children: Victor, Laura, Mark and Anita. Georgiana was the sister of Loretta Young, making Montalban her brother-in-law. Ricardo nicknamed his wife “Georgie.”

Paul Henreid and Elizabeth “Lisl” Camilla Julia Gluck: (Married Jan. 1936 until his death in March 1992) Two children.

Eddie cantor and his wife Ida

Eddie Cantor and Ida Tobias Cantor: (Married June 1914 to Aug. 1962) Four children: Marilyn, Marjorie, Natalie, Edna and Janet. The comedian had a running joke in his jokes about his “five un-marriageable daughters” which didn’t always please his daughters.

Donald O’Connor and his wife Gloria on their wedding day

Donald O’Connor and Gloria Noble: (Married Oct. 1956 until his death in Sept. 2003) Three children: Alicia, Donald Frederick and Kevin.

Cecil B. DeMille with Hestons: DeMille makes a contract for baby Frazer to play Moses with his dad in “The Ten Commandments”

Charlton Heston and Lydia Clarke: (Married Mach 1944 until his death in April 2008) Two children: Frazer and Holly. Charlton married Lydia the same year he joined the military. After the war, the couple tried to find work as actors in New York until they decided to manage a theater in Asheville, NC before Charlton became famous in Hollywood.

Robert Young in 1954 with his wife and daughters.

Robert Young and Elizabeth Louise Henderson: (Married 1933 until her death in April 1994) Four children: Betty Lou Gleason, Carol Proffitt, Barbara Beebe, and Kathy Young. Young, 17, met Elizabeth, 14, when they were in high school, according to his New York Times obituary. Though Young played the perfect father and husband, he also had alcoholism problems and bitterness towards Hollywood. With the help of his wife Elizabeth, he was able to overcome it.

Pat O’Brien and wife

Pat O’Brien and Eloise Taylor: (Married Jan. 1931 to Oct. 1983) One child, three adopted: Sean, Terry, Brigid and Mavourneen.

Though this is not a complete list of long Hollywood marriages, this is a pretty good example that some acting marriages can survive. Others not included are Harry Carey Jr. and Marilyn Fix, Randolph Scott, Harry Carey and Olive Carey, and Nancy Davis and Ronald Reagan.

Who are some long marriages you can think of?

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The Hollywood Bowl has held historic performances from Olivia de Havilland and Mickey Rooney in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 1934 to the Beatles in 1964 and 1965.

It also holds an Easter sunrise service every year.

The tradition started in 1919 when silent film stars held a sunrise service near the area of the Hollywood Bowl. The service was then moved to the site in 1921, when the Bowl was basically a rocky, weedy hillside that had excellent natural acoustics, according to the Hollywood Bowl’s website.

Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in 1921.

At the 1921 service, the Los Angeles Philharmonic performed and over 800 people attended.

In 1922, the Los Angeles Philharmonic performed for 50,000 at the Easter Service and the Hollywood Bowl officially opened four months later on July 11, 1922.

Easter Service in 1922 with 50,000 people in attendance.

The shell on the stage at the Hollywood Bowl was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright’s son, Lloyd Wright, in 1928 but seems to have been removed for the service.

Hollywood Bowl Easter service in 1928

The Hollywood Bowl Easter Sunrise Service is held every year but has been canceled at least three times in recent years: in the mid-1990s for renovations, 2010 due to lack of funding and 2012 for maintenance on the Hollywood Bowl, according to a Los Angeles Times article.

Ariel view of the 1929 Easter service

Mary Pickford recites “Salutation to the Dawn” in 1953 on her 61 birthday.

17,000 attend the service in 1956

Easter service in 1962

Happy Easter everyone!

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My mother has been instrumental in my classic film interest.

Without her, I wouldn’t have seen 501 musicals…or any classic films for that matter.

When I was five, my mom introduced “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” (1954) to my sisters and me. My sisters and I giggled at “The Lonesome Polecat” song but even in the “pan and scan” VHS format, I loved it.

When I was 10, we watched “The Philadelphia Story” (1940) and I remember laughing when Cary Grant pushes Katharine Hepburn in the face and knocks her down at the beginning.

One of our all-time favorites “Since You Went Away” (1944)

Along with life lessons and quizzing me on how photosynthesis works, Mom was my IMDB before I knew what IMDB was.

She told me about Ingrid Bergman’s exile from Hollywood because of her affair with Roberto Rossellini, about Annette Funicello’s battle with Multiple Sclerosis and that John Wayne was dying of cancer in “The Shootist.”

My mother has even been amazing enough to record movies off of Turner Classic Movies via VHS for nine years.

Since 2004, I’ve made lists of about 30 films a month that I would like to see.

An example of all the movies my mom records.

And since then, even when I’m not living at home, my mom still records movies for me and rarely misses any. I probably have at least 200 VHS recorded films waiting to be watched thanks to my mother’s help. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t see any movies.

Each night, when I’m picking out a movie to watch, I set aside movies that I know my mother would want to see.

“Oh this one has Loretta Young,” or “I don’t think she’d want to miss Myrna Loy in this one,” I think as I save the films to watch with her.

Colorful musicals, down to Earth stories and heartwarming romances are some of our favorites to watch together.

Here are a few movies that make me think of my mom:

-Since You Went Away (1944): My mom was dying to introduce “Since You Went Away.” She’s a huge Claudette Colbert fan. I saw it for the first time back in 2005 when TCM showed it during a “Films of the 1940s” series. Between us, there isn’t a dry eye in our living room when we watch this movie. After that, it became my favorite movie, replacing my past favorite, “West Side Story” (1961).

One of our favorite outfits in “Gidget”

-Gidget (1959): My mom and I categorize the Sandra Dee and James Darren movie as one that we never want to end. She showed it to me for the first time in 2004 and I was enchanted. Our favorite things about this film are Dee’s outfits, the lighthearted theme and looking at James Darren.

-Doris Day movies: When Doris Day was Star of the Month in January 2003, I had only seen “Pillow Talk” (1959). To make sure I was introduced to more Day films, my mom recorded several including “The Glass Bottom Boat” (1966), “The Tunnel of Love” (1958), “Julie” (1956) and “Love Me or Leave Me” (1955). After that, Doris Day became my favorite actress.
Since then, Mom has aided me and in seeing all but three of Day’s films. Our favorites to watch together are “On Moonlight Bay” (1951) and “I’ll See You in My Dreams” (1951).

-Jane Powell Films: Whether it’s “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” (1954), “Luxury Liner” (1948) or “Two Weeks With Love” (1950), we adore Jane Powell. One of my mom’s personal favorites is “A Date with Judy” (1948).

-MGM Series films: There isn’t a “Maisie” or “Dr. Kildaire” movie that we dislike, and we have seen them all. Ann Sothern, Lew Ayers and Lionel Barrymore brighten our evenings. Even though we aren’t huge Mickey Rooney fans, we also love the Andy Hardy series, especially “Love Finds Andy Hardy” (1938).

Dana Andrews and Jeanne Crain’s dresses are just two of the reasons why we love “State Fair”

-State Fair (1945): We die for Jeanne Crain’s dresses and Dana Andrews in “State Fair.” We also mourn that no state or county fair is actually like the one in this Roger’s and Hammerstein musical. The colors, the music and the spiked mince meat scene always leaves us smiling.

-Classic Christmas films: I think it’s safe to say that my family has seen nearly every classic Christmas film, because we go out of our way searching for them. “Holiday Affair,” “Christmas in Connecticut,” “White Christmas” and “It Happened on 5th Avenue” are just a few we enjoy.

Other movies we like: Trashy 1950s ones such as “Susan Slade” or “A Summer Place,” Judy Garland Films, the “Four Daughters” trilogy, Hayley Mills films and most 1940s World War II era movies.

I could go on all day with movies my mother and I love, but instead I should thank her for introducing her to my hobby of classic films.

Even with my blog (which she is probably proof reading as she reads this), she’s been supportive of the beauty tips-even bathing in milk and washing my hair with champagne- just as long as I wash out the tub. She also helped me make my fruit hat when I was Carmen Miranda for Halloween in 2010.

I even got a little sad during the Turner Classic Film Festival, because she wasn’t there to hear Kate MacMurray talk about Fred MacMurray or to see Ann Blyth in person.

When I was a child, I’m sure she had no idea what sort of fanatic she was creating as she introduced us to old movies, but I don’t think she minds.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

Myrtle Beach with Mom

College graduation in 2011 from Winthrop University with my Mom and grandmother

Dressed as Ado Annie when my mom and sister came to see me in Oklahoma

Warner Brothers star, Wayne Morris in he 1930s

He can be seen playing alongside Bette Davis as a boxer in “Kid Galahad” (1937) or a cadet running amok at the Virginia Military Institute in “Brother Rat.”

Wayne Morris may not be a name you’re familiar with but you have most likely seen the husky, affable blond in Warner Brothers 1930s and 1940s films.

But you may not be familiar with Morris’ war time record.
We frequently hear about Hollywood actors such as James Stewart, Clark Gable and Mickey Rooney who enlisted and were decorated for their bravery during World War II.

However, Morris is rarely recognized for his service and was one of World War II’s first flying aces.

His interest in flying started in Hollywood.

While filming “Flying Angles” (1940) with Jane Wyman and Dennis Morgan, Morris learned how to fly a plane.

Morris in 1944 in his plane “Meatball.” The decals show how many Japanese planes he shot down.

Once World War II began, Morris joined the Naval Reserve and became a Naval flier in 1942 on the U.S.S. Essex. He put his career on hold to fight. The same year he was married to Olympic swimmer Patricia O’Rourke.

“Every time they showed a picture aboard the Essex, I was scared to death it would be one of mine,” Morris said. “That’s something I could never have lived down.”

Morris flew 57 missions-while some actors only flew 20 or less- and made seven kills, which qualified him as an ace.  He also helped sink five enemy ships.

He originally was told he was too big to fly fighter planes until he went to his uncle-in-law, Cdr. David McCampbell who wrote him a letter, allowing him to fly the VF-15, according to “McCampbell’s Heroes: the Story of the U.S. Navy’s Most Celebrated Carrier Fighter of the Pacific”, Edwin P. Hoyt.

Three of his planes were so badly damaged by enemy fire that they were deemed unfit to fly and were dumped in the ocean, according to IMDB.

“As to what a fellow thinks when he’s scared, I guess it’s the same with anyone. You get fleeting glimpses in your mind of your home, your wife, the baby you want to see,” Morris said. “You see so clearly all the mistakes you made. You want another chance to correct those mistakes. You wonder how you could have attached so much importance to ridiculous, meaningless things in your life. But before you get to thinking too much, you’re off into action and everything else is forgotten.”

For his duty, Morris was honored with four Distinguished Flying Crosses and two Air Medals.

When he returned to Hollywood after four year at war, his once promising career floundered and Warner Brothers did not allow him to act for a year.

Jack Warner welcoming actors home from the war in 1945 including Wayne Morris, Ronald Reagan, Army Air Forces; Jack Warner; Gig Young, Coast Guard; and Harry Lewis, Army.

Morris’s most notable post-war films include “The Voice of the Turtle,” “John Loves Mary” and “Paths of Glory.” His career ended with several B-westerns.

At the age of 45, Morris passed away in 1959 from a massive heart attack.

But his service to his country was not forgotten. Morris is buried in Arlington Cemetery and was given full military honors at his funeral.

Morris with his wife Patricia and daughter Pamela in 1946.

Though I am thankful for all men and women who serve our country, I wanted to recognize Wayne Morris.

For years I saw Wayne Morris in films and knew nothing about him except that I liked him. He is one of those character actors that can make a movie special.

Morris seemed like a regular guy. Before he started out in Hollywood, he played football at Los Angeles Junior College and worked as a forest ranger.

After I researched him and discovered his war record, I wanted to honor his service and his work in films.

Thank you to Wayne Morris and men and women in the military for serving our country.

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My dad, Bill Pickens, is a practical movie watcher.

When the Wicked Witch of the West cries “I’m melting!” after water is thrown on her in “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) he says, “Water wouldn’t make her melt. She would disintegrate.”

James Stewart as George Bailey asks Thomas Mitchell as Uncle Billy how he lost the money in “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

When Uncle Billy in “It’s A Wonderful Life” (1946) loses the check that would save George Bailey’s bank, my financially responsible father is furious.

In mystery films, he is always trying to figure out the plot twist or who-done-it before the movie is over.

Maybe it’s because he’s an engineer.

But along with teaching me to drive, helping me with long nights of math homework and moving me into new apartments in college and for jobs, my dad has always been supportive of my classic film watching.

Classic films are what my parents grew up on and in return, showed my sisters and me when we were young.

It was even my dad who suggested that I watch “West Side Story” (1961) in 2003 since I was starting to show an interest in musicals.

When I became obsessed with the movie, trying to learn the dances and listening to the soundtrack every day my dad later said he “created a monster.”

But without my dad suggesting that film, I wouldn’t have gone on to see 502 musicals.

Whenever I’m home, my mom, dad and I pick out a classic movie to watch together in the evening. I try to pick out one I didn’t want to watch without them or that I feel everyone would enjoy.

Doris Day as a sheep raising suffragette in “The Ballad of Jose” (1967)

My dad has been a pretty good sport over the last 10 years with my selections. He has sat through frothy musicals such as “Luxury Liner” (1948) starring Jane Powell and even sat through Doris Day’s last and probably worst film “The Ballad of Josie” (1967).

Another time my mom and I had him watch the smutty 1950s film “A Summer Place” (1959) starring Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue.

We chuckled as Dad shouted things about Sandra Dee’s crazy mother in the film. He made jokes like “Whatever you do that woman shoots dogs, I wouldn’t trust her” about Dorothy McGuire who was also in “Old Yeller.”

Doris Day singing “Deadwood Stage” in “Calamity Jane” (1953)

One of the only movies he has ever snuck out on and never returned was “Calamity Jane” (1953). I think it was the rather long song “The Deadwood Stage” that starts as soon as the movie begins that drove him from the room. I guess I don’t blame him.

But my favorite movies to watch with my parents are World War II films and thrillers. We all seem to enjoy those.

Films like “Battleground” (1949), “The Longest Day” (1962), “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” (1944) and “Objective Burma” (1945) are some of our favorite war films.

Alfred Hitchcock, John Wayne movies and live action Disney films are more of our favorites.

Some of dad’s other favorite films are “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), “TThe King and I” (1956) and “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962).

I guess I’m a pretty terrible daughter. After my dad has watched everything down to “Gold Diggers of 1935” (1935) and “Rose Marie” (1936), I have never seen “Lawrence of Arabia.” I guess well have to watch that sometime.

Peter O’Toole in “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962)

I call my mom the agent of my blog Comet Over Hollywood, because she proof reads everything and listens to my ideas.

But my dad has helped out with my film interest as well.

In 2006 we went on a family vacation to Hollywood to tour studios such as Paramount and take pictures of the hand prints in the cement outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

Recently when I was traveling again to Hollywood for the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival, my parents drove me two hours to the Atlanta airport. Atlanta was a straight flight to Los Angeles and they worried about their youngest child making a connecting flight.

When I was a child, I don’t think my parents had any idea what sort of film fanatic they were creating as they introduced us to old movies, but I don’t think they mind.

Happy Father’s Day!

2007 at Disney World with Dad

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Sometimes holiday family gatherings can be awkward, if not disastrous.

One cinematic example of an unhappy Thanksgiving is in “Giant” (1956) starring Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean and Rock Hudson.

The film follows Bick (Hudson) and Leslie (Taylor) and their life as cattle ranchers in Texas. Leslie, originally from Maryland, marries Bick after knowing him for a short time, and their marriage is tumultuous.

At one part of the film, Leslie travels back to Maryland with her children to evaluate her marriage, participate in her sister’s wedding and spend Thanksgiving with her family.

During the visit, Leslie’s three children become attached to the turkey named Pedro…

(Comet Over Hollywood/Screen Cap by Jessica P)

Here is to hoping your Thanksgiving is less dramatic.

Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for everyone of you who reads Comet Over Hollywood and shares the love of classic film.

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It’s easy for this Christmas film to slip through the cracks.

It isn’t as well-known as other Christmas classics such as “Miracle on 34th Street” or “White Christmas.” And many of the leads are character actors rather than super stars who star in other Christmas films like Barbara Stanwyck or Loretta Young.

You may have never seen or heard of “It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947) but this film is far too charming for that not to be remedied- and soon.

The story begins with homeless Aloysius McKeever (Victor Moore) sneaking in to the wealthy mansion of Michael J. O’Connor (Charles Ruggles), the second richest man in the world. The O’Connors live in Virginia during the winter. For the past four winters, McKeever has stayed in the O’Connor home in New York from November 3 until March 13 while the family is away.

McKeever eats their food, wears Mr. O’Connor’s clothes and occasionally dusts off the furniture.

When the O’Connor’s come back to New York, McKeever heads to their winter home in Virginia.

Homeless McKeever (Victor Moore) dressed in Michael O’Connor’s clothes as he stays in his home.

With a set of keys to several mansions in New York, McKeever explains one day he got tired of working and has been house hopping for the last 20 years and never has been caught.

But this winter, McKeever has company for the first time.

He meets Jim Bullock (Don DeFore), a veteran who was recently evicted from his apartment. The apartments are going to be torn down by Michael O’Connor’s company to build a skyscraper.

McKeever finds Jim sleeping on a park bench and invites him to his home, vaguely explaining that he is a guest of the O’Connor family.

But the O’Connor house gets more crowded than just the two men.

O’Connor’s daughter Trudy (Gale Storm) runs away from finishing school and goes to the house for clothes. The men think she is a thief, and she doesn’t correct them, but they let her stay.

Then Jim runs into his old Army buddies (Alan Hale, Jr., Edward Ryan) with their wives and children who are living in a car. They are invited to the O’Connor mansion too until they can find a home.

Wives of Jim’s Army buddies use the foyer of the O’Connor home for hanging laundry as the house gets more crowded.

The kicker is when Michael J. O’Connor (Charles Ruggles) and his ex-wife, Mary (Ann Harding), stay at their home-pretending to be homeless- in search of their daughter.

All the while, Jim and his Army friends are trying to bid on an Army camp for veterans who can’t find a home. Their bidding opponent is O’Connor.

“It Happened on Fifth Avenue” was originally supposed to be a Frank Capra Liberty Film, but he chose to make “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946) instead, according to “Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas” by Alonso Duralde.

Wealthy Michael O’Connor (Charles Ruggles) exchanges his fancy clothes to dress like he is homeless.

The film was originally supposed to be released during the Christmas season in 1946 but wasn’t released until Easter of 1947, Duralde wrote.

It isn’t surprising that Capra considered this film. The theme of the poor creating life lessons for the rich is similar to many of his other films.

“It Happened on Fifth Avenue” is funny, far-fetched and charming.

It’s a comedy that makes fun of the rich, like the O’Connors, and makes the poor the heroes. The O’Connors have an opportunity to look at their lives with the help of McKeever: Michael has disregarded everything for money, Mary lives in Palm Springs and denies she’s middle aged, and Trudy is unhappy.

Romance blossoms between Trudy (Gale Storm) and Jim (Don DeFore)

Money is what broke up Michael and Mary O’Connor’s marriage. It takes a homeless man to bring them back together again. Trudy finds love and happiness with Jim, the unemployed veteran.

“There are richer men than I,” O’Connor says of McKeever.

Amongst the life lessons and heartwarming scenes, the movie is also very funny.

With lines such as:

“That joint is as empty as a sewing basket in a nudist camp”

And

“He called me ‘Sugar,’ because I was hard to get”-referencing rationing during World War II.

While on a mission to see every classic Christmas film I could get my hands on, I came across “It Happened on Fifth Avenue” back in 2010 when it was shown on Turner Classic Movies. Since then, it has become a family favorite in the Pickens household.

Add this one to your yearly Christmas viewing and see that, “a house is only what its occupants make it.”

Catch “It Happened on Fifth Avenue’ on Turner Classic Movies at 6 p.m. ET on December 24.

This is part of the Christmas Movie Blogathon hosted by our friends at Family Friendly Reviews! Check out the posts over there!

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
“Holiday Inn” (1942) –Musical #22

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Mark Sandrich

Starring:
Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale, Walter Abel, Louise Beavers

Plot:
Singer Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby) and dancer Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire) are both in love with Lila Dixon (Virginia Dale). When Lila jilts Jim for Ted, Jim decides to quit show business and live on a farm.Jim ends up converting his farm into a nightclub and hotel called the Holiday Inn which is only opened during the 15 holidays of the year.
When Jim meets Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds), she agrees to appear in his shows at the inn, and the two fall in love. However, Jim works to keep Linda from meeting Ted -who was also jilted by Lila-so he doesn’t steal her for an act and her heart.
Holidays and their songs include:
Christmas (twice)-  ”White Christmas”
New Years (twice) -”Happy Holidays” and “Let’s Start the New Year Right”
Valentines Day- “Be Careful, It’s My Heart”
Abraham’s Birthday: “Abraham”
Washington’s Birthday: “I Can’t Tell a Lie”
Easter: “Easter Parade”
Fourth of July: “Song of Freedom” and “Let’s Say it with Fireworks”
-Thanksgiving- “I’ve Got Plenty to Be Thankful For”

Trivia:
-The hotel chain Holiday Inn was inspired by the title of this film, according to the hotel founder Kemmons Wilson’s New York times obituary.
-This film introduced the song “White Christmas.” Irving Berlin thought of the song “White Christmas” in 1935 on the set of “Top Hat” and wanted to use it for a Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers film. Astaire liked the tune but it was never used until their film. Irving Berlin and Moss Hart worked and copyrighted the idea for a musical revue revolving around tunes for each holiday, according to “The Complete Lyrics of Irving Berlin” by Robert Kimball and Linda Emmett.

- Irving Berlin had a hard time writing the Christmas song “White Christmas” since he was Jewish. He ran the song by Bing Crosby, who thought it would be great, according to “Christmas’s Most Wanted“ by Kevin Cuddihy.

Bing Crosby and Marjorie Reynolds (dubbed by Martha Mears) sing “White Christmas” which became a hit due to this film.

-The film originally was supposed include a dance number for Labor Day.

-The original version of the song “White Christmas” talked about basking in Los Angeles and longing for an old fashioned Christmas in New England. But the version we know now is more nostalgic, discussing a Christmas that a person won’t experience first hand-much like the soldiers fighting over seas during World War II, according to “World War II and the Postwar Years in America.”

-Mary Martin turned down the role of Linda played by Marjorie Reynolds because she was pregnant, according to her autobiography.

-Fred Astaire’s shoes he danced in during the Firecracker routine were auctioned off for $116,000 that went towards the war effort.

-The popularity of the song “White Christmas” created the spin off film “White Christmas” (1954) also starring Bing Crosby and co-starring Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney, according to the book “Christmas’s Most Wanted.”

-Fred Astaire was the first choice for the Danny Kaye Role in “White Christmas” (1954) to be a reunion after “Holiday Inn,” but Astaire turned down the role, according to the “Christmas Encyclopedia” by William D. Crump

-Paramount Pictures did not market this film as a Christmas movie since it covers many other holidays, according to “World War II and the Postwar Years in America” by William and Nancy Young.

Fred Astaire in firecracker number for the Fourth of July.

-The Fourth of July number was expanded and made more patriotic after the bombing of Pearl Harbor; including the song “Song of Freedom,” “Let’s Say it with Firecrackers” and a movie reel of war workers and soldiers marching.

-Paramount thought “Be Careful, It’s My Heart” would be the hit from the film. Though it made the Hit Parade first with Tommy Dorsey’s Band, “White Christmas” was the true hit, according to “World War II and the Postwar Years in America.”

-Won an Academy Award for Best Original Song- “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Score by Robert Emmett Dolan and Best Original Story by Irving Berlin.

-Marjorie Reynolds is dubbed by Martha Mears.

Highlights:

Fred Astaire dances with Marjorie Reynolds during the New Years scene where he took drinks of bourbon before each take.

-Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby imitate each other in the number “I’ll Capture Your Heart Singing.” 
-Fred Astaire’s drunken New Years Eve dance. Supposedly Astaire had a drink of bourbon before each take-it took seven-to appear drunk in the scene.
-Fred Astaire’s “Say it With Fireworks” dance for the Fourth of July number where he throws down fireworks while he taps.
-The cartoon turkey on the calendar that runs between the dates for Thanksgiving Day. This is referring to “Franksgiving,” a controversy that occurred during the Roosevelt administration. President Roosevelt wanted to make Thanksgiving a week earlier.

Notable Songs: 
Since the music is by Irving Berlin, all of the songs are fantastic. The top songs include:
-”White Christmas” sung by Bing Crosby. This is the most famous song in the movie. The version sung by Cosby in the movie is the one you hear most on the radio.
-”You’re Easy to Dance With” sung and danced by Fred Astaire and Virginia Dale
-”I Can’t Tell a Life” sung by Fred Astaire for Washington’s Birthday dressed in period clothing.
-”Easter Parade” sung by Bing Crosby to Marjorie Reynolds for the Easter portion.

My Review:
When I first saw this movie several years ago, I didn’t like it.
I thought Fred Astaire was a bit of a heel and had no redeeming features. However, as I rewatch it, I see both men are heels at different points in the movie.
Characters aside- the thing that stands out the most is the music-all revolving around holidays. Irving Berlin’s songs written for each holiday are catchy and clever.
Fred Astaire also is able to show off his dancing abilities both with partners and in solo numbers. Bing Crosby has an excellent score and sings the song he is most remembered for.
“Holiday Inn” is an interesting topic for a film and is musically beautiful.
If you are looking for a Christmas movie, it doesn’t completely revolve around the holiday (but Christmas is in the film three times) and introduced one of the most loved holiday songs.

Bing Crosby, Marjorie Reynolds, Fred Astaire, Virginia Dale

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Applesauce cake, decorating the tree and a blooming Christmas cactus.

All of these are characteristic of the Walton family Christmas, but one thing is missing.

John Walton, the father, hasn’t returned from his job 50 miles away. It’s snowing and the Walton family heard over the radio there has been a bus accident.

On Christmas Eve in 1933, it’s John Boy Walton’s job to find his Daddy.

This isn’t an episode of “The Waltons” but the made-for-television-movie “The Homecoming: A Christmas Story” that aired on Dec. 19, 1971.

The 100 minute movie became the pilot for the television series “The Waltons” that aired from Sept. 1972 to 1981.

The television film is set in Virginia on Waltons Mountain and introduces the Walton children, grandparents and mother as they wait for John Walton to return on Christmas Eve.

Mary Ellen wants to decorate the Christmas tree with a bird’s nest and Olivia Walton agrees it makes the tree look nice.

We see the growing pains of 13-year-old Mary Ellen, Erin as a young tattle tale, Jason’s desire to become musician and the youngest children’s excitement about Santa Claus.

As it gets later, Olivia Walton (Patricia Neal) gets anxious about the return of her husband and sends her oldest son John Boy (Richard Thomas) out to find his father.

During the search, John Boy runs out of gas and stops at an African-American church and gets help from Hawthorne Dooley (Cleavon Little).

Hawthorne and John Boy visit the Baldwin sisters (Josephine Hutchinson, Dorothy Stickney), known for their bootleg whiskey, for help during the search.

As John Boy searches for his father, we get a glimpse at how he wants to be a writer, how he feels like a “mother duck’ to his brothers and sisters, and wants to be like his father, but isn’t good at farming and doesn’t like to hunt.

The Walton family originally appeared as the Spencer family in the film “Spencer’s Mountain” (1963) starring Henry Fonda, Maureen O’Hara and James McArthur.

The film was inspired by a book written by Earl Hamner, Jr. about life in Virginia.  Hamner was not directly involved in the filming of “Spencer’s Mountain” like he later was with the 1970s TV show, according to “The Waltons: Nostalgia and Myth in Seventies America” by Mike Chopra-Gant.

The family again appears in “The Homecoming,” but the name was changed from Spencer to Walton to avoid legal problems with Warner Brothers, according to Chopra-Gant’s book.

Hamner said “The Homecoming” was a story he planned to write for many years based on his childhood and he also wrote the screenplay and narrated the film, according to the Chopra-Grant book.

Lines in the film such as “What a woman I married” and “All my babies are thoroughbreds” are part of Hamner’s childhood. They were said by his father Earl Hamner, Sr, according to the book “Earl Hamner: From Walton’s Mountain to Tomorrow: a Biography”  by James E. Person.

The popularity of the television film spawned the television series.

“The Homecoming” gives us a glimpse at a Southern family living in the Blue Ridge Mountains during the Depression.

All Elizabeth Walton wants for Christmas is a doll. When she receives one from a missionary, it’s broken.

Olivia Walton can’t afford toys for the children and only plans on giving them hand-knitted scarves for Christmas. The family doesn’t have a phone and buying the sugar for the applesauce cake was an extravagance.

All little Elizabeth Walton wanted for Christmas was a page of dolls from the Sears-Roebuck catalogue.

There are several funny scenes as the children bicker or as we meet the Baldwin sisters.

John Boy and Hawthorne stop at the Baldwin sister home for gas.

We also see the family’s strength and love through moving and heart-warming scenes such as when John Walton finally returns home and recognizes John-Boy’s yearn for writing through his Christmas gift of writing tablets.

It is the perfect mix of drama, comedy and heart.

While all the child actors are the same, several of the characters in the television movie are different from the actors on the television show:

It’s difficult to say if I like the casting of the show more than the film. After watching both for many years, each cast has their own special touch.

While I love the television show, Patricia Neal as Olivia Walton has a certain grit and realism to her. Michael Learned is tough and motherly with her children but is glamorous in comparison to Neal.

Patricia Neal and Andrew Duggan play John and Olivia Walton in the Walton TV movie. Michael Learned and Ralph Waite play the parents on the TV show.

Andrew Duggan is a bigger and more rugged man as John Walton in comparison to Ralph Waite.

Grandpa Walton played by Edgar Bergen and Will Geer are similar characters. Both loveable, kind and constantly scolded by Grandma Walton.

Fun fact: This is a reteaming for Ellen Corby and Edgar Bergen whose characters were married in “I Remember Mama” (1949).

Though the family is struggling during the great Depression in both the film and series, they aren’t poor hillbillies but are working the best they can to stay afloat with little complaint.

I have watched the television show and the film since I was a child, and the warmth that comes from the series feels like you are welcomed into the Walton home.

John Boy receives writing tablets for Christmas from his father.

“We walked a fine line between sentiment and sickeningly sentimentality,” Hamner later wrote about the film. “In the homecoming, Mary Ellen asks her mother if she’s pretty. Olivia replies, without missing a beat of the work she’s doing, ‘No, I think you’re beautiful.’ No tear in the eye, no touching, just a matter of fact statement.”

If you have the opportunity to see “The Homecoming” (and it’s on Youtube), you won’t be drowned in saccharine sweetness but realism and heart. It’s sentimental and welcoming.

Some of my favorite quotes:
Elizabeth: I’m not going to have any babies
Erin: What are you going to have, Elizabeth?
Elizabeth: Puppies!

Mary Ellen: You’re all a bunch of pissants.
Erin: Mama! Mary Ellen is calling us names.
Elizabeth: She said we were pissants. I don’t feel like a pissant.

Missionary: Why look to a foreign country for heathens when the Blue Ridge Mountain are full of them!

Mamie Balwdin: Papa always called them cousins, sister!
Emily Baldwin: Well, they sure dropped out of the family after papa died.

Emily Balwdin: The nice thing about life is you never know when there is going to be a party!

The Walton children in the movie are the same actors as on the show.

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While bringing in the New Year, why not celebrate with a classic film star flare?
Here are a few beverages that some of your favorite stars may have been drinking on New Year’s Eve:

Vivien Leigh: Gin and Tonic
4 to 5 tonic water Ice Cubes
3 ounces gin
4 ounces tonic water
1 tablespoon squeezed lime juice
Lime wedge for garnish
Source: Vivien Leigh historian Kendra Bean

Charles Buttersworth: Martin with Gin
2 ounces dry gin
1 ounce dry vermouth
Ice
Olives or a twist of lemon, for garnish
Source: World’s Biggest Cookbook

Jean Harlow:
2 oz Bacardi 151 light rum
2 oz sweet vermouth
lemon peel for garnish
*The Comet’s personal favorite
Source: Kitty Packard Pictorial

John Wayne:
12 oz Cola
5 count Grenadine
6 count Jack Daniels

Marilyn Monroe:
Dom Perignon 1953 Champagne
Source: World’s Biggest Cookbook

Robert Benchley: Orange Blossom
3/4 oz gin
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
3/4 oz orange juice
Source: World’s Biggest Cookbook

Joan Crawford
Vodka on the rocks
Source: Confidential magazine, January 1957

Humphrey Bogart:
Scotch
Source: World’s Biggest Cookbook

Ginger Rogers:
Ginger Rogers didn’t drink and the “bar” in her home was a soda fountain.
Source: Ginger Rogers’s autobiography “My Own Story”

Happy New Year everyone from Comet Over Hollywood! Have a wonderful New Year’s Eve and stay safe! See you in 2014!

Cheers from Comet Over Hollywood (and Joseph Cotten)

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Feel free to listen to this tune as you read:

Love comes in many forms and opposites attract- Paula Abdul even said so in her music video with the singing cat.
However, sometimes people marry who just don’t quite seem to fit.
Here are a few examples of some odd Hollywood couples.  Apparently, these celebrities agree that the puzzle pieces didn’t quite fit since all of these marriages ended in divorce.
These prove that Neil Simon doesn’t have the market cornered on odd couples.

Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman (June 26, 1964 – July 28, 1964)

Ethel Merman and Ernest Borgnine on their wedding day in 1964.

Borgnine was the gruff working man in films and Merman was the glamorous Broadway diva. The two met in November of 1963, the same year Borgnine divorced from his wife, Mexican actress Katy Jurado.
Merman was nine years older than Borgnine. After they met, Borgnine started courting Merman.
“I’ve never been in love, really in love, before,” Merman told reporters according to Ethel Merman: A Life by Brian Kellow. “For the first time in my life I feel protected.”
After a six month courtship, the two were married.
“Everyone thinks she’s loud and brash. But she’s the opposite,” Borgnine was quoted in Brass Diva: The Life and Legends of Ethel Merman by Caryl Flinn. “She’s soft, gentle and shy. And you know me, I’m ‘Marty.’”
The two married on June 26, 1964 and were divorced 32 days later on July 28, 1964.
Merman never gave reasons for the divorce and Borgnine said in interviews it’s because more people knew him than her on their honeymoon.
“Everybody knew me, but they didn’t know Ethel overseas,” Borgnine said in an interview. “The more they recognised me, the madder she got. That’s what hurt her, so she started taking it out on me.
After the divorce, Merman referred to the marriage as “That thing.” In her autobiography, the chapter “My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine” is one blank page.

Ava Gardner and Mickey Rooney (Jan. 10 1942 – May 21, 1943)

Mickey Rooney and Ava Gardner in 1941.

Newcomer to MGM Ava Gardner met star Mickey Rooney when he was dressed as Carmen Miranda for “Babes on Broadway.” While dressed as the Brazilian Bombshell, Rooney asked Gardner for her number.
North Carolinian, inexperienced Gardner had just arrived to Hollywood and Rooney was a well-known playboy.
“I married him because he wanted to get in my britches,” Gardner once said. “And I wasn’t going to let him until we were married.”
MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer and Rooney’s parents were not pleased with the couple’s marriage.
“I fell madly in love with Ava the first night I went out with her,” Rooney once said. “And later when I asked her to marry me, she wouldn’t have any part of it, like the problem I had getting her number, until I wore her down.”
Rooney spoke fondly of his brief marriage to Gardner in a documentary on her life. The documentary said Gardner thought their marriage would be like her parents: cooking for Rooney and having children. Rooney preferred the night life.

Gloria Swanson and Wallace Beery (March 27, 1916 – March 1, 1919)

Wallace Beery and Gloria Swanson

“Two of the more trivial topics I never discuss are my marriage to Wallace Beery and those frozen dinners which have become famous with my name on them,” Gloria Swanson said.
The two were married after they starred in “Speedie Goes to College” in 1915.
Swanson was a glamorous leading lady and Beery was a gruff, burly man who was notoriously difficult to work with.
Swanson writes in her autobiography “Swanson on Swanson” that Wallace Beery made many forceful advances on their wedding night, leaving her bleeding and in pain.
Swanson also wrote he would pick up her salary for her at the studio and spend it before she saw it.
Beery cheated on Swanson and was abusive. In her autobiography, she writes that he gave her pills when he found out she was pregnant, and implies Beery made her get an abortion.
She woke up in the hospital and a nurse told, “You have nothing to be down in the mouth about, honey. You’re young. You’re pretty. You’ve got all the time in the world to have another baby.”
The couple separated and divorced two years later.

Richard Ney and Greer Garson (July 24, 1943 – Sept. 25, 1947)

Greer Garson and Richard Ney

Ney met Garson while he was playing her son in the film “Mrs. Miniver.”
He was 12 years younger than the Academy Award winning actress.
Ney asked Garson out for dinner and dancing, and she accepted, but she remained distant from her on-screen son during the remainder of the filming for “Mrs. Miniver.”
“I went dancing with Mr. Ney and I had the most beautiful time,” Garson was quoted in saying A Rose for Mrs. Miniver: The Life of Greer Garson by Michael Troyan.
MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer disapproved of their relationship and it would be unfavorable publicity for an on-screen mother and son to date, according to Troyan’s book.
They kept their romance secret until “Mrs. Miniver” premiered, and Mayer was right- the couple received unfavorable publicity. Garson told reporters she wanted to marry Ney because he made her feel younger, Troyan wrote.
However, gossip columns began talking about their unraveling marriage.
In the second Miniver film, “The Miniver Story,” Ney’s character was recast.

Linda Darnell and J. Peverell Marley (April 18, 1943 – Feb. 20, 1951)

Pev Marley and Linda Darnell on their wedding day.

Darnell was 20 when she married 42 year old Marley.
Darnell started in Hollywood as a teenager and didn’t have a father figure growing up. The cinematographer was sort of a mentor to the young girl, according to the Biography documentary, “Fallen Angel.”
Marley was a close friend of Darnell’s frequent leading man Tyrone Power. Marley helped sculpt Darnell’s Hollywood image, according to the book Hollywood Beauty: Linda Darnell and the American Dream by Ronald L. Davis.
Marley and Darnell would occasionally frequent night clubs but the press dismissed him as an old friend and escort, according to Davis’s book.
While Pev Marley remained a constant form of strength, the two eloped to Las Vegas. Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck was furious, saying it would ruin her image. No one had seen the two as more than friends.
“I like him and age doesn’t matter,” Darnell wrote in fan magazines. “I feel people meant well when they busy bodied about me marrying Pev. It’s just they couldn’t know the truth.”
Darnell announced the two separated while filming “My Darling Clementine” (1946), but then the two began seeing each other while she was filming “Forever Amber” (1947). The two then adopted Charlotte, nicknamed “Lola.” They separated again in 1948 and finally divorced in 1952.

Lupe Velez and Johnny Weissmuller (Oct. 8 1933 – 1939)

Lupe Velez and Johnny Weissmuller in 1935.

Velez’s relationship had recently ended with Gary Cooper when she met Weissmuller.
She was known as the “Mexican Spitfire” and Weissmuller was Hollywood’s Tarzan.
Velez and Weissmuller were staying in the same hotel one night. She called up his room to ask him down for a drink. He hung up on her because he thought it was someone joking. Velez called back and was furious. He apologized and went down to her room, according to the book Tarzan, My Father by Johnny Weissmuller.
Weissmuller was already married to Bobbe Arnst when he started his relationship with Lupe in 1932.
Weissmuller’s son wrote that Velez was good for Johnny, because she was funny and made him laugh. However, she was also supposedly a manic depressive and had low times and also had a very bad temper.
“Dad just couldn’t handle her,” Weissmuller, Jr. wrote.
Once they were married, the two realized they were opposites. Velez went to bed late and woke up late and Weissmuller went to bed early and woke up early. Lupe was spontaneous and Weissmuller wasn’t. She once said in 1934 she felt they would go on quarreling forever, according to the book Lupe Velez: The Life and Career of Hollywood’s “Mexican Spitfire” by Michelle Vogel.
The two separated several times and Velez had several affairs, Weissmuller, Jr. wrote.
But the couples split was supposedly over a dog, according to both Vogel and Weissmuller, Jr.
Weissmuller came home and his dog Otto didn’t great him. When he asked Velez where he was, she said a stranger came in and killed him. Weissmuller said she was lying, packed his bags and never returned.

Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe (June 29, 1956 – Jan. 20, 1961)

Play write Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe in 1956.

Though Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe were an odd couple, they seem normal in comparison to Monroe and play wright Arthur Miller.
Monroe’s glittering screen persona better matched DiMaggio’s baseball fame better than Miller’s literary standing.
Miller liked how Monroe listened to his ideas. Monroe liked how intelligent he was and how he supported her career and ambitions, unlike DiMaggio, according to the book The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe by J. Randy Taraborrelli.
When they married, Miller told the press that Monroe would make one film every 18 months, lasting eight weeks shooting time, and be a wife when she wasn’t making films, according to BBC.
Their relationship supposedly started to decline during the filming of “Let’s Make Love” (1960).  Monroe had an affair with Yves Montand, who was also friends with Miller, according to Arthur Miller: His Life and Work by Martin Gottfried.
Supposedly their divorce was over their different lifestyles. At the time of their divorce, Miller was working the script for Monroe’s film, “The Misfits” but it was said they barely spoke on set, according to the BBC.
Monroe died nearly a year later after their divorce.
Apparently Miller was “haunted by Monroe” because he “never resolved their relationship or understood his role in the public’s ongoing obsession with her,” according Gottfried’s book.

Betty Grable and Jackie Coogan (Nov. 20, 1937 – Oct. 8, 1940)

Jackie Coogan and Betty Grable in “College Swing” (1938)

The glamour girl marries the former child star turned comedian.
The couple had a long engagement and Grable’s contract didn’t allow her marry before she was 21, according to Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary.
Grable and Coogan were married while he was fighting his lawsuit over misappropriation of the salary he earned as a child star. Part of the reason their marriage dissolved was over the stress of Coogan’s trial trying to get his money back, according to Dickie Moore’s book no child stars ““Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (but don’t have sex or take the car).”
“Betty was working hard on her career getting nowhere (her career didn’t take hold until 1939), and she was paying all the bills,” according to Jackie Coogan: The World’s Boy King by Diana Serra Cary.
Once the lawsuit was finally settled, Grable came home from the studio to find all of their wedding gifts gone and Coogan had sold them. The only thing left in the house where the stove, refrigerator and beds, according to Cary’s book.
Coogan also started heavily drinking. For the millions of dollars squandered by his mother and stepfather, he received $80,000 in the settlement.
After Grable signed with Fox, she filed for divorce. In 1940, she became a star with “Down Argentine Way” and Coogan, who at one time had been on top, was struggling. His time spent fighting in World War II was what helped him straighten out, Coogan told Moore in his book.

Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles (Sept. 7, 1943 – Dec. 1, 1948)

Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles sign their marriage license in 1943.

Rita Hayworth was Hollywood’s love goddess, though rather down to Earth in real life. Orson Welles was the controversial intellectual, scaring the Americans with the “War of the Worlds” broadcast and getting his film “Citizen Kane” banned from mainstream movie houses.
They were labeled the Beauty and the Brain.
But of her five husbands, Hayworth is said to have cared for Welles the most and called him the love of her life, according to The Hollywood Book of Breakups  by James Robert Parish.
Hayworth was dating Victor Mature when Welles met her and Mature went to fight in World War II. Hayworth turned him down many time but Welles said he “persevered” and he won her over.
“It took me five weeks to get Rita to answer the phone,” Welles once said. “But once she did, we were out that night.”
Her shyness is what attracted Welles, according to Orson Welles: A Biography by Barbara Leaming.
Under Welles’ influence, Hayworth read more literature. He even transformed her sexy redhead image by making her an icy blond for his noir film “The Lady from Shanghai” (1947). The public was not pleased.
“Orson Welles was trying something new with me on The Lady from Shanghai (1947) but Harry Cohn wanted The Image — The Image he was going to make me until I was 90,” Hayworth once said.
Their marriage was disintegrating after “The Lady from Shanghai” was completed. Hayworth accused him of being with other women and Welles didn’t understand her jealousy. Though they tried to reconcile, Hayworth eventually filed for divorce, according to Leaming’s book.
“I can’t take his genius anymore,” Hayworth said when they divorced.

Who are some Hollywood couples you always thought were interesting matches? Comment below and tell us who and why!

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My eyes welled with tears behind my 3D glasses.
“If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard,” Dorothy Gale said at the end of “The Wizard of Oz” (1939).
I sat in the theater trying to collect myself during this unexpected emotional moment back in October when “Wizard of Oz” was re-released in 3D.
And then it dawned on me: I’m turning into my mother… and I’m fine with that.
For years I’d look over at Mom while we are watching a movie and say, “Mom. Why are you crying?”
Judy Garland singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in “Wizard of Oz.”
Judy Garland singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in “Meet Me In St. Louis.” And then again at the end of the movie when she excitedly says, “Right here, in our hometown” about the World’s Fair.

Now I get it. Now Mom and I wipe our eyes together during the train scene of “Since You Went Away.”
I’ve cried during movies for several years–”West Side Story” and “Music for Millions” at age 13 are the earliest times I can think of.
But now in half the movies I watch, I find myself empathizing instead of sympathizing.  As I have grown up, I find I share a deeper emotional connection with my mom through the movies.
At Turner Classic Movies Film Festival, I left “East of Eden” sobbing.
James Dean’s father, Raymond Massey, has a stroke in the film and they aren’t sure if he can make it.
Massey weakly whispers to his son, “Replace the nurse, but don’t get anyone else. You take care of me.”
The scene reminded me of my Mom care-giving for my Grandmama who passed away in January. Grandmama also gave me the movie as a Christmas gift one year.

James Dean talks to movie father Raymond Massey after his stroke in “East of Eden.”

When I was in elementary and middle school, I would pick on my Mom and sisters for crying during films. Now I join them.
As we get older and experience more of life, not only are we attached to the characters in the films, we can understand and relate more to what the characters in the films are going through. We may chuckle sheepishly with understanding as we reach for tissues.
Now when I see Bonnie Blue fall off her horse and break her neck in “Gone with the Wind,” I don’t think, “Stupid little girl should have listened to her parents.” I think about how the loss of a child can rip apart a family.

Scout with Boo Radley in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

When Scout sweetly says “Hey Boo” in “To Kill a Mockingbird ” as he’s hiding behind the door, I understand the innocence of a child who sees the good in a man feared by the whole town.
When nurse Paulette Goddard says goodbye to Marine Sonny Tufts in “So Proudly We Hail,” she knows that she may not see him again because he may die in battle.
But I’m not turning into Mom just through film watching. I notice I have picked up her traits as I’m cooking, cleaning and worrying about people I care about. Maybe one day I’ll be just like Mom, but right now I’m not sure if I could even scrape a mixing bowl as beautifully as Lisa Pickens.
My parents introduced me to classic film as a toddler. Now, even through our emotions, crying is just another way movies bring us closer together.
Happy Mother’s Day

I asked Mom to make me a list of films that she cries during.
“I think the list would have been shorter if you had asked for a list that I don’t cry during,” she said.
Here is Mom’s list of weepers:

Jennifer Jones says goodbye to Robert Walker as he leaves for World War II in “Since You Went Away.”

Gone With The Wind
Wizard of Oz
Sound of Music
Stella Dallas
One Foot in Heaven
Meet Me In St. Louis
Since You Went Away
To Kill A Mockingbird
The Best Years Of Our Lives
How Green Was My Valley
To Each His Own
Penny Serenade
Make Way For Tomorrow
Little Women ( from 1933 and 1949 )
White Christmas
Goodbye Mr. Chips
Mrs. Miniver
The Pride of the Yankees
West Side Story
So Proudly We Hail
Three Came Home
The Homecoming
The Glenn Miller Story
Born Free
Ben Hur
ET
True Grit ( with John Wayne )
Old Yeller
Parent Trap (with Hayley Mills )
Pollyanna
Little Princess ( with Shirley Temple )
Brave
Toy Story 3
Muppets Take Manhattan
Driving Miss Daisy
Field Of Dreams
Lassie Come Home
Homeward Bound
Cinderella
Little Mermaid
Harry and the Hendersons
Forrest Gump
Cheaper By The Dozen ( with Clifton Webb )
The Bishop’s Wife
It’s a Wonderful Life

With Mom, Dad and my two sisters at my sister Andrea’s wedding in February 2014.

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Seventy years ago today, Allied forces stormed Omaha Beach in the Normandy Invasion, known as D-Day.

A few of those soldiers were established actors or later pursued a career in Hollywood. Here are a few of those men that served in D-Day:

Lt Col David Niven, Royal Marine Commando, Normandy 1944

David Niven: The British actor was a Lt. Colonel of the British Commandos. He also worked in the intelligence branch and was later assigned to the U.S. First Infantry.
Niven was one of the first officers to land at Normandy. He later was one of 25 British soldiers to be awarded the U.S. Legion of Merit Medal, according to a 1983 book by Don McCombs and Fred Worth.

Alec Guinness in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve

Alec Guinness: The British actor operated a British Royal Navy landing craft on D-Day.

Richard Todd during World War II

Richard Todd:  Capt. Todd was one of the first British officers to land on D-Day. Todd was part of the British airborne invasion, known as Operation Overlord, that took place June 5 through June 7. During Operation Overlord, Todd’s battalion were the reinforcements parachuted in after the gliders landed and captured Pegasus Bridge to prevent German forces crossing the bridge and attacking.
Todd’s battalion was led by Major John Howard, who Todd played in “The Longest Day”(1962). The beret that Todd wears in the film is the one he wore on D-Day.

Robert Montgomery in his Naval uniform during World War II.

Robert Montgomery: American actor Montgomery enlisted in World War II before the United States entered the war.
Montgomery became a PT boat Lt. Commander and was part of the D-Day invasion on board the destroyer, USS Barton (DD-722).
After serving five years of active duty, Montgomery was awarded a Bronze Star, the Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Ribbon, the European Theater Ribbon with two Battle Stars, one Overseas Service Bar, and promoted to the rank of Lt. Commander. (1904-1981)

Actor Charles Durning during World War II. He served in the United States Army.

Charles Durning: American actor Durning served in the United States Army. He was in one of the first waves to land on Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion. Durning was the only soldier in his company to survive, according to KPBS broadcasting.
Durning was wounded nine days after the landing and earned a Purple Heart. Durning was also awarded the Silver Star.

Actor James Doohan was shot several times during the Normandy Invasion.

James Doohan: Canadian actor Doohan served in the Canadian Army.  Doohan was in the Juno Beach invasion on D-Day. During the invasion, Doohan was shot in the leg, chest and lost his right middle finger.

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If it wasn’t for either of my parents, I wouldn’t like classic films today.

As I have said on Comet numerous times, my parents rolled out films such as “Yankee Doodle Dandy” or “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” when my sisters and I were toddlers.

It was my dad who later introduced me to “West Side Story (1961) when I was 14, because he noticed my growing interest in musicals. Dad might have later regretted showing me the film when a full blown obsession followed our viewing of the modernized musical version of “Romeo and Juliet.”

This classic film encouragement is partially because they grew up with a love for the classics themselves.

For Father’s Day, I decided to do a brief Question and Answer session with Dad, Bill Pickens, about classic films.

Me: Who are your favorite actors and actresses?

Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart in “African Queen” (1951)

Dad: My favorite actors are Jimmy Stewart and Gregory Peck. I enjoy their movies and they seemed like they were down to Earth, good people. I also like Humphrey Bogart, because some of my favorite films are “African Queen,” “Casablanca” and “We’re No Angels.”

My favorite actresses are Maureen O’Hara (Dad has always had the hots for Maureen) and Katharine Hepburn.

Me: What are your favorite movies?

Dad: Lawrence of Arabia, The King and I, Twelve O’Clock High, Lion in Winter, The Longest Day, The King and I.

Me: What kind of movies would you go to see as a kid? (Dad was born in 1955, for some reference)

Dad: My older sister Katie and I went to see movies every Saturday afternoon, because we lived on a military base and it was only 25 cents. We would see everything that came out from Disney movies to westerns.

I remember one time, some GI was trying to get fresh with Katie and I kicked him in the leg. I was her bodyguard at the movies. I don’t remember what movie it was but we lived in Ft. Lewis in Washington.

Me: Why do you like older movies?

Dad: They are classy and have interesting story lines. The movies didn’t have to have all the action, like you do today, to tell a good story.

Me: What is the worst movie I have had you watch?

Dad: I can’t think of any really bad ones. “The Blob” was pretty bad though, because it was so campy.

The fearsome monster in “The Blob” (1958)

My Dad has been the only man in a family of all girls for the past 35 years. From putting together Barbie houses, helping us with math homework, nailing taps on the bottoms of dancing shoes or fixing our cars, Dad has been supportive and a good sport.

Probably two of the worst movies we all suffered through were the Doris Day films “Jumbo” and “The Ballad of Josie.” The only film Dad couldn’t take was “Calamity Jane.” He didn’t even make it through the eight minute intro song, “Deadwood Stage.”

“Calamity Jane isn’t a bad movie,” he said. “It’s just not my style.”

He’s been supportive of my film interest and, though he said he couldn’t think of any bad movies, has sat through some terrible ones, all for “the cause” of my movie love.

Happy Father’s Day, to my Dad who supports my interest and who I have even help expand on his.

Dad in a selfie with his three daughters. Comet is back left.

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