In 1939, ruggedly handsome, gravelly-voiced William Holden had the starring role in Golden Boy opposite Barbara Stanwyck. He followed that with minor, forgettable parts through the 1940s until his breakout role as Joe Gillis in Billy Wilder’s classic the hauntingly memorable Sunset Boulevard in 1950. William received his first of three Best Actor Oscar …
Orson Welles lived a life filled with accomplishment. At the age of 20, he presented a version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, reworked in a Haitian setting with the three witches as voodoo priestesses. The production was highly praised for its originality. In 1938, he gained international fame when he frightened the entire country with his radio …
Donna Reed’s career ran the full spectrum from her humble beginnings opposite Mickey Rooney in The Courtship of Andy Hardy to her popularity as a pin-up girl during World War II to her Academy Award-winning performance as prostitute Lorene Burke in 1953’s From Here to Eternity. Network executives must have been focusing on her role as …
Stanley Adams was a television staple for three decades, appearing in numerous roles in countless series. He was cast in parts as diverse as policemen and bartenders to con men and aliens. Among his more than a hundred guest spots, he played Otis the drunk’s equally-soused brother in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, a time …
Hungarian-born Michael Curtiz was one of the most prolific directors that ever worked in Hollywood. He directed over one hundred films beginning with The Third Degree in 1926, just after his arrival in America. (He directed nearly a hundred films in his native Hungary). As the 20s became the 30s, Michael was cranking out five …
Nine-year old June Preisser, along with her sister Cherry, performed as child acrobats from their hometown of New Orleans to New York City, to the famous music halls of Paris, Berlin and London. They even were given an audience with King George of England. Their act caught the interest of show-biz impresario Florenz Ziegfeld and …
Beginning with his first film, 1935’s I ragazzi della via Paal, Mario Monicelli wrote and directed over one hundred films and earned praise as one of the most beloved masters of the Commedia all’Italiana (Italian-style comedy) in a career that spanned eight decades. He worked quite often with stars Vittorio Gassman and Marcello Mastroianni, as well …
In the early 1920s, young Lee Nash developed a comedy vaudeville act and was soon joined by his childhood friend Morris Horowitz. Lee, now known by the stage name “Ted Healy”, told jokes onstage and was heckled by Morris, who was planted in the audience. Morris would then come up to the stage and engage Ted …
No one played the tramp like Gloria Grahame. After her 1944 film debut as trampy Sally Murfin in Blonde Fever, Gloria shot to stardom as trampy Violet in the Frank Capra holiday favorite It’s A Wonderful Life. She went on portray sluts, bad girls and tramps in a career that spanned five decades. With her pouty …
After appearing in bit parts in films throughout the late 1930s, Carole Landis made a huge splash as “Loana” in the 1940 prehistoric fantasy One Million BC. That film was a springboard for her career. Carole was cast in 22 films over the next eight years, mostly due to her secret affair with powerful producer …
