Films of the Golden Age, Issue Number 88, Spring 2017 “My ups and downs have been well publicized. Looking back I realize I have been incredibly fortunate. As a kid I became a significant part of Hollywood.” A pint-sized, cinematic scene-stealer from the get-go, young BILLY GRAY (1938- ) showed off his early professional mettle…
Films of the Golden Age, Issue Number 78, Fall 2014 “Every Hollywood newcomer goes through a sex school. They have regular exercises to bring out your … uh … fire.” BARBARA BATES (1925-1969) made an unorthodox but stellar impression in the film ALL ABOUT EVE (1950) in which her conniving, self-indulgent character, never appearing until…
Classic Images, Issue Number 506, August 2017 “I was truly mortified! Watching yourself on the big screen for the first time can be a huge jolt … like hearing yourself on radio for the first time. It just doesn’t seem like you.” Tall, slim, light-haired CARLETON CARPENTER (1926-2022) first started out in the late 1940s…
Classic Images, Issue Number 458, August 2013 “The studio camera man enjoys working with me. You know why? It’s because he doesn’t have to worry about my bad angle. They are all bad!” Gruff PAUL DOUGLAS (1907-1959) was a rare blue-collar breed. Not since 1930’s palooka-like Wallace Beery would such a homely, unrefined lug reach…
Films of the Golden Age, Issue Number 93, Summer 2018 “I’ am one of those people that once I’ve done something, I’ve done it and that’s it. It’s history. I love being in the present and don’t need or have the desire to look back.” Making an unsympathetic name for herself, JOANNA BARNES (1934-2022) moved…
Classic Images, Issue Number 477, March 2015 “Growing up with parents in show business helped create that so-called ‘normal’ attitude about achieving and handling fame and the elusiveness of it all. It didn’t turn my head.” CYNTHIA PEPPER (1940- ) was a Hollywood by-product of the early 1960’s Kennedy era, an innocent moment of time…
Classic Images, Issue Number 445, July 2012 “The best way to deal with [Hamilton] Burger’s proclivity for absorbing punishment was to develop a sense of pride in the consistency of his endeavors. If you can’t win for losing, learn to love that losing streak!” An unforgettable “B” level bad guy of early to mid-1950’s film…
Films of the Golden Age, Issue Number 79, Winter 2014/2015 While his hip “Rat Pack” fraternizer, Kennedy hanger-on and noted substance abuse diminished his overall standing in Hollywood, the suave, lightweight image of handsome Britisher PETER LAWFORD (1923-1984) fit in quite well during MGM’s Golden Age at a time the studio’s primo stars were off…
Classic Images, Issue Number 488, February 2016 “[I] was the playboy, the white tie and tails, the elegant fellow with the good tailor. That was my movie image. But not for the theatre audience. They saw me as an actor.” Few actors came off slicker or smoother than FRANCHOT TONE (1905-1968). A posh, meticulous, shaken-not-stirred…
Classic Images, Issue Number 468, June 2014 “My looks hindered my picture progress. I just sat and sat and sat, waiting for the studio to cast me in a role into which I could sink my teeth. None came.” One of the tender beauties of the 1930s and 1940s, ANITA LOUISE (1915-1970), known as “the…