Crushing on William Holden

He is my "Golden Boy"...hubba hubba.

"Va Va Voom" Star of the Day

I can't believe I haven't featured William Holden yet, after all the other posts about him...so here he is, our star of the day:

William Holden
William Franklin Beedle, Jr. was born in O'Fallon, Illinois in 1918. His family moved to South Pasadena when he was three. After graduating from South Pasadena High School, Holden attended Pasadena Junior College, where he became involved in local radio plays. He was spotted by a talent scout from Paramount Pictures in 1937 while playing the part of an 80-year-old man, Marie Curie's father-in-law, in a play in a small private theatre. His first film role was in Prison Farm the following year.

He was renamed William Holden after his talent scout Harold Winston's ex-wife, Gloria Holden. Holden's first starring role was in Golden Boy (1939), costarring Barbara Stanwyck, in which he played a violinist-turned-boxer. This gave him the eternal nickname in Hollywood of "Golden Boy."

After a few more film roles and a stint in the army during World War II, he made his name known when he landed the quintessential role in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (1950).  Initially the role was to go to Montgomery Clift, but luckily Holden snagged it, earning a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

Crushing on William Holden

Sweepea-TV©: No, You Morons! It's "Sunset Blvd"!!

Someone's got their Billy Wilder mixed up.

Crushing on William Holden

Dr. Macro's site, as always, provides the highest-quality scans, and his section dedicated to one of the best films of all time, Sunset Blvd., is no exception.

William Holden looks delicious in these stills. (Oh yeah...and Gloria Swanson's in the movie.)

Now if you haven't seen the movie yet -- rent it for chrissake! ...And read our previous post about the film.

Crushing on William Holden

More Than Lucy, I <3 William Holden

I Am Big. It's The Pictures That Got Small.

How could anyone remake this?? William Holden is just too adorable.

Good God, It's Another One

I just found out about another remake, and this one's a doozy. They're making a remake of Sunset Blvd. One of my favorite movies of all time, starring one of my favorite actors, William Holden... being regurgitated.

When the movie had been redone in to a musical stage version, I was disappointed. But now it's going to be turned back again in to a musical movie.

Another remake!

ANOTHER REMAKE! Who in their right mind thinks that this is a good idea? It's one thing to put something onstage, but putting it right back on the big screen is absolutely absurd.

For petesake, Gloria Swanson is being replaced with Glenn Close! Argghhhh....

Crushing on William Holden

Still...

William Holden: AFI's #25 Greatest Screen Legends

Hubba hubba...

Must-See Movie: Paris - When it Sizzles

Paris - When it Sizzles (1964)
Playboy screenwriter Richard Benson (played by William Holden) has been paid to write a screenplay for his boss. In his arrogance he's squandered his time in Paris drinking, tanning, and doing just about anything but writing a screenplay. Two days before the script is due he hires Gabrielle Simpson (the adorable Audrey Hepburn) to type the script. Richard and Gabrielle come up with various off-the-wall scenarios for his screenplay, called The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower. As the screenplay they write slowly develops, romance blooms between them.

This movie was filmed a decade after Hepburn and Holden's affair (during the filming of Sabrina) and apparently Holden wanted to pick things up where they left off. However, there is still visible chemistry between them.

The movie was later remade as Alex & Emma, starring Luke Wilson and Kate Hudson.

Here's the TCM trailer:

Crushing on William Holden

WWAD?

When faced with tough fashion, acting, or philanthropic dilemmas, do you ever ask yourself What Would Audrey Do? Well, Pamela Keogh does, in the book that doles out lessons in beauty, grace, and loveliness. Amazon.com describes:

• Dating and romantic advice from a woman who enjoyed romances with John F. Kennedy, William Holden [yum!!], and Albert Finney

• A primer on what made Audrey the icon she is today, and how to apply her style choices to twenty-first-century clothes, makeup, and accessories

• Raising children, raising husbands, and making home life balanced in every way

• St. Audrey: Long before Angelina and Bono got all the press, Audrey Hepburn did invaluable work for UNICEF, teaching us much about extending ourselves to others.

In an era fraught with selfishness, artifice, and sensational headlines, the reality and tranquility of Audrey is precisely what the world needs now.

And Amen to that! You can pre-order this book now.

Happy Anniversary, Sweepea's Lounge

Tomorrow will be our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, but since I'll be out of town this week due to Thanksgiving, I thought I'd post this today.

Wow!! It's been a whole year, and so much has changed! We used to be pink, and I used to be a blonde! So...taking a walk down memory lane, here's some of our momentous firsts:

First Post Eh-vah! (and first mention of Errol Flynn)
First "Va Va Voom" Star of the Day: Julie London
First Star Sighting of the Day: Sean Maguire. Now he's on that one sitcom with the guy who does that thing...
First Dumpster Drama... Act I, people!
First Must-Rent Movie: Sunset Blvd

...and as they say at the end of the birthday song: "and many more...!!" Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Mee-Yow Thursday

More on the Audrey Hepburn kick...

Humphrey Bogart didn't get along with co-star William Holden, but he was particularly unhappy that Audrey Hepburn got the title role in Sabrina, because he wanted his wife, Lauren Bacall.

When asked how it was working with Hepburn, Bogie answered, "It's great, if you like taking 20 takes."
While filming the love scenes, Bogie was so stiff and cold with his performance (which is how he always performs, IMO) that director Billy Wilder was heard to have said, "One of the most beautiful women in the world and he looks like he's forcing himself to kiss her."

Must-See Movie: Born Yesterday

Born Yesterday (1950)
Judy Holliday is brilliant in this comedy-drama, opposite the delicious William Holden. Holliday plays Billie, a woman who is in a nowhere relationship with a scrap metal tycoon named Harry, played by the gruff Broderick Crawford. She doesn't know how to mingle with the rich, and she's constantly being harrangued by Harry, who thinks she's a bubblehead. Harry decides to hire Holden to be her tutor, and as the movie progresses, Billie learns a lot more than what's in the books.

Judy Holliday picked up an Oscar for this performance, and it's easy to see why. She's absolutely riveting and is able to manipulate her voice in such a comical way. She goes from airhead to genuinely intelligent, and the transformation is subtle and real. I love watching her big, expressive eyes -- almost like Betty Boop.

The best scene is when she's playing Gin Rummy with Harry. Not only does she win 4 straight games in a row -- irritating her boyfriend -- but she has a routine of shuffling and re-shuffling her cards. Then she starts to hum a tune, and she gets so in to it she says "Na na na...Bum DUM BA DUM Na na na na..."

I saw this through my Moxi by looking for William Holden, and I don't see it showing any time soon, so you have to rent it!

Star Sighting of the Day (or Night)

Last night Dyno and I tried to catch the special showing of Sunset Blvd. at the Arclight in Hollywood, but we were 10 minutes late. Drat! But we took this lemon that we were given and made some mighty fine lemonade. We sat in the bar and drank bloody mary's and beers until midnight. That's when we spotted Caroline Rhea looking pretty shabby sitting in the lounge eating dinner with a man. She had visible pantylines, which is the biggest fashion taboo ever, in my book.

I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. Demille...

Hey, L.A. Movie-goers...
The Arclight is showing Sunset Blvd next Wednesday, June 21st at 8 P.M. Get your tickets online before they sell out!

This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to see the fabulous 1950 film noir movie on the big screen. And what a better place to see it than in Hollywood, on Sunset Boulevard itself.

I'm going to try to make it...if anyone else goes, drop me a line and tell me about your experience!

Friday's This & That

This week was a complete bitch, for so many reasons and on so many levels. I'm so glad it's over, because I'd rather be my former sunshine-y Pollyanna self than this bitter old woman I've become.

The only thing that's made me happy within the last week is watching this informercial for the Sweep N Mop. Now I want one. I mean, it's only 2 for $10 (plus S&H)! You can't beat that! Does anyone have one?

Bette Davis' new biography seems to be ultra-kind to her, despite her reputation for being a stage diva.

Errol Flynn's frequent co-star Olivia DiHavilland is featured in an LA Weekly article. She will be honored at the Academy on June 15th, and a tribute will be displayed for her at both the Academy and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from June 15 to July 1.

And Saturday, June 10th (tomorrow!) on TCM at 8 PM (EST, I assume) watch Sunset Blvd. It's also playing Sunday, June 11th at 6PM. This is the movie I raved about previously. The best film-noir movie of them all.

And yes, there will be a Romance Cheese Friday today!