"Va Va Voom" Star of the Day: Ava Gardner

This is an updated version of a previous post.
Ava Gardner
Beautiful, shining star of the MGM studio, Ava was born in 1922.  She was the youngest of 7 children living on a cotton and tobacco farm in the rural southern town of Smithfield, North Carolina.

Her show business beginning began just as simply.  Her brother-in-law, a professional photographer took her photo in 1941 and displayed it at his studio.  A theater clerk saw her photo and told the photographer that she oughta' be in pictures, and the in-laws sent her information and photo immediately to MGM.

According to reports, when Gardner first arrived at the studio and did a screen test, Louis B. Mayer said "She can't sing. She can't act. She can't talk. She's terrific. Sign her." She got a 7-year contract with MGM.  The studio worked with her to remove her Carolina drawl and teach her to act.  Soon she had been in several films with little to no notice, but was gaining experience on set.  It wasn't until 1946 in the film "The Killers" that Ava rose her to sex symbol status and made her a big star.

"Va Va Voom" Star of the Day

Grace Kelly
Today let us highlight the Princess of Monaco.

Grace struck out on her own after high school, heading to New York's bright lights to try her luck. Grace worked as a model but made her acting debut on Broadway in 1949. She also had a brief stint in television. Not content with the work in New York, Grace moved to Southern California for the more prestigious part of acting -- motion pictures.

In 1951, she appeared in her first film Fourteen Hours when she was 22. It was a small part, but a start nonetheless. The following year she landed the role of Amy Kane in High Noon, a western starring Gary Cooper and Lloyd Bridges which turned out to be very popular. In 1953, Grace appeared in only one film, but it was another popular one, Mogambo. The film was a jungle drama in which fellow cast members, Clark Gable and Ava Gardner turned in masterful performances. It was also one of the best films ever released by MGM.

Must-See Movie: High Society

High Society (1956)
With a stellar cast and some catchy tunes, this is a no-brainer to see...but there are still some cons that go with the pros of how "must-see" this movie is.

Here's the story:  Jazz musician C.K. Dexter Haven (Bing Crosby) still holds a torch for his ex-wife, Rhode Island socialite Tracy Samantha Lord (Grace Kelly). He stays at a neighbor's house, bringing his full jazz band (including Louis Armstrong) to disrupt Tracy's upcoming nuptials to to a boring but wealthy man (John Lund).  But that's not the only conflict.  Reporter Mike Connor (Frank Sinatra) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Celeste Holm) from Spy Magazine, a fictional tabloid newspaper, are there to cover the wedding.  They are essentially blackmailing their way in, holding on to some embarrassing information about Tracy's father.  So to prevent the tabloid from getting the true story, Tracy begins an elaborate charade, pretending to be overly snobbish and frivolous, as well as introducing the tabloid to the wrong people.  To make matters even more confusing, Mike falls in love with Tracy, and she wakes up on the day of her wedding confused and unsure of what to do.

Happy Birthday, Dean Martin!

The Perfect Day

Well, since today is my $#@!&-th birthday, I thought I'd put together my best day. A day where everything went perfectly, and I got to do whatever I wanted.

First of all, I'd wake up next to Dyno. (Or maybe a young James Garner, if we're really wishing here.) He'd bring me a Starbucks café mocha, nice and hot, and we'd watch television in bed. Perhaps "Snapped" on Oxygen, or "Dog Whisperer" on NatGeo.

Then after a couple hours Dyno and I would finally get up and take my dog on a nice walk along the beach. (The dog wouldn't poop the entire time -- it'd be a miracle.) And it'd be a beautiful, sunny, and clear day, too. Oh yeah, and I'd be tan and weigh about 20 pounds less.

I come home and all the laundry is done, the house is clean, the dishes are out of the dishwasher, and a nice lunch of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and pickles have been made. And a nice Manhattan to go with it all. I turn on the television to relax and eat, and the newest episode of "Survivor" is starting -- yes, even though it's Monday, and not Thursday.

Dean Martin, Joan Crawford, Errol Flynn, and Esther Williams call during the day to wish me a happy birthday and to ask what my plans are. I speak briefly with them, but really I just want to spend the day on the couch with Dyno. I fall asleep and end up napping until it's time for dinner, preempted by a few cocktails.

For dinner, Dyno takes me to the Playboy Club circa 1965, and I'm like Doris Day, wearing a beautiful gown with a matching coat, hat, and gloves. We sit and watch Bob Newhart do a stand-up routine, and then Mel Tormé comes out and croons to us. Dinner is a thick prime rib steak, lobster mashed potatoes, and a bold red wine.

I'm not going to go in to what happens after dinner. But let's just say (as they do in the old movies), the curtains flap in the wind and the camera pans left and then we fade out.

...And that's my perfect day!

Classic Quotes: Cocktail Edition

"What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork out of my breakfast?" - W.C. Fields

"The trouble with the world is that everybody is three drinks behind." - Humphrey Bogart

"Imagine getting up in the morning and knowing that's as good as you're going to feel all day." - Dean Martin

[source]

Bob Newhart: Superman and the Drycleaner

A classic comedy routine: Bob Newhart doing his "Superman and the Drycleaner" sketch from his album The Windmills Are Weakening on the first episode of the "Dean Martin Show" from 1965.

Bob Hope Christmas Party 1975

Dean Martin makes an appearance at this 1975 Christmas Special.

Monday's This & That

While we try to beat the heat here in the Lounge with a little dip, take a look at what's going on...

The Rat Pack Ultimate Collectors Edition is now on sale at Amazon.com, and includes "Oceans 11," "Robin and the 7 Hoods," "4 for Texas," and "Sergeants 3."

And it's been 45 years since the fantastic war adventure "The Great Escape" was released. Steve McQueen heads up an all-star cast that includes James Garner, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and many others. Watch it on AMC this Sunday. Check local listings for time. (Tonight on AMC is "The Magnificent Seven," also with McQueen, Coburn, and Bronson. Check AMC's website to see what time in your area!)

And I saw "Iron Man" over the weekend. Loved it! It's the perfect summer blockbuster movie. Good to see Robert Downey, Jr. back in action. Can't wait for the sequels.

Classic Quote of the Day

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink; when they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they are going to feel all day." --Frank Sinatra

Crushing on Peter Lawford

Friday's This & That: The X-Rays Show...

As I get over the chill of this exam table, here's what's going on in the world:

Jose Luis de Vilallonga, author, aristocrat and actor who starred as the dashing Brazilian multimillionaire in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” died Thursday at his home on the island of Mallorca at the age of 87. A colorful character in Spain’s high society, Vilallonga had worked as a journalist and wrote an official biography of Spain’s King Juan Carlos. A high point in Vilallonga’s acting career came when he was in Blake Edwards’ classic 1961 movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's," playing Jose da Silva Pereira, whom Hepburn’s Holly Golightly planned to marry.

Two new DVD sets are out that you should definitely buy! The Esther Williams Collection gives you five films: "Bathing Beauty," "Easy to Wed," "On An Island With You," "Neptune's Daughter" and "Dangerous When Wet" -- all of my favorites! Among the co-stars are Red Skelton, Peter Lawford, Lucille Ball, Van Johnson, Jimmy Durante, and Ricardo Montalban. These movies also contain some fantastic performances from Helen Forrest, Xavier Cugat, and others of the swinging era of the golden age. (We've discussed many of these movies in previous posts of Van Johnson, Peter Lawford, Helen Forrest, and the Mermaid herself.) Waves of extras include outtakes, cartoons and classic shorts. (Warner)

The Elvis Collection stars the King with a bevy of beauties in this four-disc set. Elvis portrays a boxer, riverboat entertainer, and good-ole-boy in "Follow That Dream," "Frankie and Johnny," "Clambake" and "Kid Galahad." (MGM)

Set Your Moxies for Esther Williams!

This Friday, TCM -- the greatest channel of all time -- is having a mega-plex of our favorite bathing beauty Esther Williams!

(all times are PST)

9:30 AM Thrill of a Romance - one of my favorites with Van Johnson

11:30 AM Easy to Wed - also with Van Johnson, and Lucille Ball

1:30 PM Neptune's Daughter - with Ricardo Montalban

3:15 PM Dangerous When Wet - with a cameo by Tom & Jerry!

5:00 PM On An Island With You - with *hubba hubba* Peter Lawford

Enjoy!

Sweepea-TV: Friday Night

I went to see Casino Royale at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Being an L.A. native, I never took the time to look at the stars and famous footprints. Well, I finally did Friday night. First I got a snapshot of my favorite big band leader's star, Glenn Miller.They just gave Kevin Costner a hunk of pavement, so I had to see it. I was astonished that my Amazonian feet are almost exactly the same size as his. Then again, I'm a tall drink a'water...
Next up was ol' blue eyes, Frank Sinatra. I was like a 1940's schoolgirl, swooning at the sight of one of the greatest crooners of all time.
There's all these weird characters hanging around there...some are tourists, others are like this guy in an oversized wizard costume. Not promoting anything or handing out anything. Just staring at people when they walked by. Scared the bajeezus outta me.
I have pictures from my Saturday night, too...which will come later.

Hello, Norma Jean

I saw a Moxied episode of Quantum Leap last night entitled "Goodbye, Norma Jean," where Sam leaps into the body of Marilyn Monroe's driver. He has to get her to the set of "The Misfits" so that she can complete the movie before her alleged suicide. An odd mission, seeing as how this wasn't the last film she worked on. She went on to film "Something's Got to Give" the following year with Dean Martin but it was never completed because of her death.

Anyway, I was fascinated by the woman who plays Marilyn Monroe, named Susan Griffiths. Not only did she look like Marilyn (not just your typical big eyelashes and platinum wig) but she sounded like her, too. Looking her up on the net, I found that she has an extensive career as a Marilyn-impersonator, even being featured in big films like "Pulp Fiction."

Check out her resume and a short film reel of her work at her website.

"Va Va Voom" Star of the Day

Peter Lawford
Saturday morning I fell in love. I was watching the Esther Williams' flick On An Island With You, and her leading man was a tall, tan wonderful navy pilot. His soft voice, his big puppy eyes, his thick eyebrows, and his gleaming white smile made my heart melt. And I was completely transfixed by the 1948 version of Peter Lawford. (Don't we look cute together?)

British-born, Peter's parents were un-wed when he was conceived. This caused a scandal that drove the family to the United States, where they travelled constantly. Because of his family's travels, Peter was never formally educated, and his lack of education was a sore subject. It contributed to his feelings of inadequacy later on as a member of the Kennedy family (his brother-in-law was JFK), and throughout his adult life.

Injuring his arm in a childhood accident kept Peter from entering World War II, the greatest thing that could happen to his acting career. Hollywood was infatuated with heroic Englishmen and as war movies were being churned out by the dozens. Peter Lawford was just what America was looking for.

Once he signed with MGM, his mother insisted that studio head Louis B. Mayer pay her a salary as Peter's personal assistant. Mayer declined, so Mrs. Lawford responded by claiming her son to be homosexual and that he needed to be "supervised". When Peter learned of his mother's actions their relationship was never the same.

Perhaps to prove to everyone his sexuality, Lawford had a reputation as a ladies' man, even as he was married to Patricia Kennedy. He allegedly had many affairs with famous women, including Ava Gardner, June Allyson, Lana Turner, Janet Leigh, Rita Hayworth, Dorothy Dandridge, Lucille Ball, Judy Holliday, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Kim Novak, Jackie O, Nancy Reagan, and Elizabeth Taylor, to name a few.

These affairs made Peter more of a celebrity than a movie star, especially when he was made member of the "Rat Pack." Later in life, Lawford fell into drug and alcohol abuse. This plus strained relationships and financial difficulties caused a great deal of stress on his increasingly fragile health. Lawford died alone in a hospital in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve 1984 of liver and kidney disease culminating in cardiac arrest at the age of 61.

Interestingly enough, none of the Rat Pack members attended the funeral. This is possibly due to a falling-out between Frank Sinatra and Lawford over Peter's involvement with Ava Gardner.

Must-See Movie: What a Way to Go!

What a Way to Go! (1964)
I Moxied this and finally got to see it last night. Since it won't be on anytime soon (that I know of), you're going to have to rent it!

The star power alone is reason to watch: Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Dick Van Dyke...

MacLaine plays Louisa, a woman who wants the simple life: a little cottage in the country, true love, and maybe a couple kids. She only seeks men with meager lifestyles, but no matter what she does, she ends up with men with too much ambition and motivation!

Thinking she's cursed, she tries to get rid of the bad luck by giving a check to the IRS for all her millions. Instead of accepting it, they believe she's crazy and send her to a shrink, where we hear about her life as a black widow amongst unfortunate -- yet fortunate -- men.

Mee-Yow Thursday

Frank Sinatra had bad vibes about Marlon Brando after being passed over for the role in "Waterfront." His animosity flare up during the making of "Guys and Dolls" in 1955. During a scene Sinatra had to eat some cheesecake, and Brando insisted on retake after retake (in contrast to "one-take-Frank") until Sinatra eventually exploded with the classic line "Just how much f#%$ing cheesecake can a man eat??"

The King & Ol' Blue Eyes

The unlikely friends sing "Love Me Tender."

Where'd You Put the Quarter?

Who knows how Bob Newhart can keep a straight face for as long as he does, but Dino is just losing it from the very beginning. Now let's all put on our imagination sunglasses...