“Where stars are made, debts are paid and actors are a dime a dozen.”
The Times Square of Cinematown - Vine Street crosses Hollywood Boulevard. Feb, 1938.
Children enjoying ice cream at the Hoot Hoot I Scream hut in Los Angeles, CA - c. 1930s
The head rotated; the eyes, made from Buick headlamps, blinked; the sign: Hoot Hoot, I Scream, used elements of a theater marquee. For over 50 years, Tillie Hattrup ran this L.A.-area refreshment spot designed and built by her husband, Roy in 1926-27. It was demolished in 1979.
Ziegfeld girl Marilyn Miller during her years with “The Five Columbians” dance ensemble - c. Early 1910s
I passionately hate the idea of being with it, I think an artist has to always be out of step with his time.
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| — | Orson Welles (May 6th, 1915 - October 10th, 1985) |
Rudolph Valentino (May 6th, 1985 - August 23rd, 1926) Photo by Edward Steichen
The death of Valentino is a terrific loss to the screen. He brought it happiness„ beauty, and art as perhaps no other has. His loss can never be replaced; there was and can be only one Valentino; a great artist and one of the finest gentlemen it has ever been my privilege to term ‘friend’.” - John Gilbert
Buster Keaton’s Recipe For His Famous Pork Pie Hats (in his own words):
PORKPIE HAT
1 Stetson Hat
3 Heaping Teaspoons of granulated sugar
1 Teacup Warm Water
Mix water and sugar. Wet the top and bottom of the brim. Smooth it out on a clean, hard surface. Allow to dry until stiff.
I did the early ones myself myself, always - and then I trained my wife.
(The first one was created in 1917 for “The Butcher’s Boy”)
(via mothgirlwings)
Husband goes above and beyond the call of duty for wife during Downtown Dollar Days in Los Angeles, CA - September, 1933
It’s the birthday of the “First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald, born in Newport News, Virginia in 1917. She loved to sing and dance as a child and when she was 16 she entered a contest at the Apollo Theater. She had a dance routine worked out and walked on stage wearing ragged clothes and men’s boots, but she froze up. Later she said, “I got out there and I saw all the people and I just lost my nerve. And the man said, ‘well, you’re out here, do something!’ So I tried to sing.” She won the contest and soon became a celebrity across all of New York. She joined Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington as the only performers who could draw audiences at the Apollo from south of 125th Street.
Ella Fitzgerald said, “The only thing better than singing is more singing.”
It’s the birthday of Ella Fitzgerald | The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor
Alice Roosevelt - 1902
Theodore Roosevelt’s beautiful eldest daughter, who not only cut her wedding cake with a sword, defied all the conventions of her day regarding women and carried a dagger in her pocketbook, but who also had a pillow embroidered with her most famous quote on her couch; “If you haven’t got anything good to say about anybody, come sit next to me.”
Just A Few More Reasons Why I Love Alice Roosevelt
She got married in the White House shortly after her 18th birthday, and when it was time to cut the wedding cake for the reception, she did it with a sword.
She carrried a dagger and a copy of the Constitution in her handbag, along with (on some occasions) Emily Spinach, her pet green snake.
When her family moved out of the White House, after her father Teddy Roosevelt’s term was up, she buried a voodoo doll of the new first lady Nellie Taft in the front yard.
The popular song of the time, “Alice Blue Gown” was written for and about her, and a pale tint of azure was named “Alice blue” (which matched her eyes) and sparked a fashion sensation in the United States.
She had a long term affair with another man during her marriage to Nicholas Longworth, had a daughter with him, and the the two men remained friends. After her husband’s death, Alice remained in Washington and became known as “the other Washington monument.” Her home was a salon, full of politicians, writers, movie stars — anyone who kept her entertained.
When her father forbade her from smoking in the White House, she went up on the roof and did it there.
On May 11, 1908, she amused herself in the gallery at the House of Representatives in Washington by placing a tack on the chair of an unknown but “middle-aged” and “dignified” gentleman. Upon encountering the tack, the unfortunate fellow leapt up in pain and surprise while Alice looked away.
When she was older she had an African-American chauffeur who once almost got into a collision with a taxi, and the taxi driver got out of his car and yelled “What do you think you’re doing, you black bastard?” and the chauffeur reacted calmly but Alice screamed back ”He’s taking me to my destination, you white son of a bitch!”
She kept an embroidered pillow on her couch with one of her more notable quotes stitched upon it; “If you haven’t got anything good to say about anybody, come sit next to me.”
She never lost her rapier sharp wit, out lived all of her younger siblings, and passed away in 1980 at the age of 96.
Alice Roosevelt with her dog Leo - 1902
She smoked cigarettes in public, chewed gum, placed bets with bookies, rode in cars with men, stayed out late partying, and kept a pet snake named Emily Spinach, which she often wore wrapped around one arm and took to parties. Her father President Theodore Roosevelt once said of her “I can either run the country or I can attend to Alice, but I cannot possibly do both.”
