While still a teenager, Rhea Mitchell performed on stages across the Pacific Northwest. It was during one performance in Vancouver, British Columbia, that she was noticed by a talent scout from Hollywood. She began her film career – one that would span five decades – with a short subject called The Hidden Trail in 1912. …
Sean Flynn, the only child from the marriage of silver-screen swashbuckler Errol Flynn and French actress Lili Damita, seemed to be destined to follow in his father’s footsteps. A brief role in a segment of TV’s The Errol Flynn Theatre and a background part in his friend George Hamilton’s film Where The Boys Are in 1960, led …
Nineteen-year-old Ruth Steinhagen went to a Chicago Cubs game in 1947 and was never the same. She became obsessed with Eddie Waitkus, the Cubs’ good looking, young first baseman. Ruth began to gather every bit of information she could on Waitkus. She sought out photos and newspaper clippings about him. Her room in her parents’ …
When Elizabeth Taylor, in the prime of her career, graced the silver screen…. it sizzled.
Many decades before another pair of namesake sisters were grabbing headlines, there was conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton. Born in the English coastal town of Brighton, Daisy and Violet were joined at the hips and buttocks. While they did share blood circulation, they shared no internal organs. Their mother, an unwed barmaid named Kate …
Continue reading ‘from my sketchbook: daisy and violet hilton’ »
Pascual Pérez wasn’t a great pitcher, but he certainly was an interesting one. After a brief stint with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pascual was traded to the Atlanta Braves. He had two consecutive career seasons, winning fifteen games in 1983 and fourteen games in 1984, despite joining the team after an arrest in his native Dominican …
When 24-year old Gwili Andre (the former Gurli Andresen) arrived in Hollywood from her native Denmark, she had aspirations of movie stardom. She was undoubtedly beautiful — blond hair, blue eyes and statuesque. She was a near double for Hollywood darling Greta Garbo. Producer David O. Selznick was taken by her appearance and signed her …
Curtis Ousley began playing the saxophone at twelve years old. In a relatively short time, he became an accomplished musician. Curtis turned down college scholarships in favor of joining the great Lionel Hampton‘s big band. Using the stage name “King Curtis,” he earned a reputation as a respected session musician, playing on recordings by artists …
Gladys George made her stage debut at age 3 alongside her showbiz parents. It was her Broadway debut, at age 18 opposite Isadora Duncan, that seemed to be Gladys’ path to stardom. She was a hit in the comedy Personal Appearance, which Mae West adapted for the film Go West, Young Man. West took Gladys’ …
Prolific director Allan Dwan saw 12-year-old Jane Peters playing baseball on a Los Angeles street and cast her in his film The Perfect Crime in 1921. Young Jane was a contract player in low-budget films for Fox and Pathé, until both studios dropped her and she signed with Paramount. Jane, now using the stage name …
