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I love Mary Wicks
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Lucille Ball and Bea Benaderet were close friends. Lucy really pulled strong for Bea to play Ethel, but it was Desi Arnaz (and apparently Marc Daniels) that wanted Vivian Vance. Lucy apparently found Vivian "too pretty" to play the role, which makes you wonder: did she think Bea was ugly? Certainly not, I'm sure, but she probably thought Bea was more appropriate to play an older sidekick.
Benaderet ended up co-starring on THE BURNS AND ALLEN SHOW, and even did a guest gig on I LOVE LUCY. She played an older neighbor who Lucy tries to setup with the milk man.
I can see Marc Daniels leaving I LOVE LUCY for I MARRIED JOAN, especially if the salary was higher.
Benaderet ended up co-starring on THE BURNS AND ALLEN SHOW, and even did a guest gig on I LOVE LUCY. She played an older neighbor who Lucy tries to setup with the milk man.
I can see Marc Daniels leaving I LOVE LUCY for I MARRIED JOAN, especially if the salary was higher.
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Lucy had expected Ethel to be played by an older and/or frumpier character actress. Aside from Bea and Mary, Barbara Pepper was also considered. Vivian was only slightly older than Lucy and, in the earliest episodes, actually slimmer; Lucy had not yet lost the weight from her pregnancy. Great effort was made to make Lucy look 10 years younger, and Vivian 10 years older. Vivian being made to appear so dumpy had the effect of depressing her and she gained weight, thereby making her appear dumpy for real.
Even though they were very funny in their own way, ILL would have been very different if Fred & Ethel had been played by Gale Gordon and Bea, as was Lucy's first choice.
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Lucy and Barbara Pepper's friendship went back to their RKO days in the 1930s. They had been friends for twenty years by the time I LOVE LUCY was getting started, and naturally Lucy wanted her old pal as her co-star. CBS didn't want Barbara because she had a strong reputation as a heavy drinker, even though she did turn up in guest gigs during the show's six-season duration. William Frawley was also a drinker, but he was the ideal Fred Mertz.
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one of my favorite Lucy Stories though i've never been a huge fan of her's i don't hate her or anything i just can't really get into her shows that's all. but the story that Robert Osbourne used to tell since he sadly passed away which still hurts since he was TCM"s best host they ever had or ever will have period! on how when he met her in the 50's he had auditioned for a role in her show i think he said & they became friends and she convinced him to give up acting and pretty much do what he ended up doing become a film historian pretty much. they stayed close friends until she died if i'm not mistaken
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did you know that Maureen O'Hara was only 19 years old when she did Jamaica Inn (1939) with Alfred Hitchcock. yep that was i think her 1st film as well
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Maureen O'Hara is probably known for MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET and for being John Wayne's favorite leading lady. O'Hara and the Duke appeared together in several films, such as McLINTOCK and THE QUIET MAN among others.
She was stunningly beautiful, and she retained her beauty as she aged. Even when she was in her sixties in BIG JAKE in the early seventies, she was still a beautiful woman.
She was stunningly beautiful, and she retained her beauty as she aged. Even when she was in her sixties in BIG JAKE in the early seventies, she was still a beautiful woman.
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she's known for a lot of roles not just 2 or 3. Only the Lonely (1991) is prolly one of my favorite films of hers
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Tallulah Bankhead was the poster woman for the glamorous, demanding, like-it-or-lump-it stage star. Every time I watch ALL ABOUT EVE, I think (in my fantasy mind) that this is how Tallulah behaved; entitled, temperamental, and bawdy.
I don't mean any of this as a threat to Miss Bankhead. I want that made perfectly clear. I have always been fascinated by her. Being a Southerner myself, I've always liked how Tallulah (and that was her real name) was born and raised in Alabama. Her family was very wealthy, and she began her career in show business when she was a teenager. She eventually made her way overseas, where she had great success on the British stage, most famously in a 1923 production of THE DANCERS. Her reviews were favorable, and she appeared in a few other plays during her stay in Britain before she finally returned to America. She found her way to Hollywood in the thirties, hoping to forego a film career. Her motion picture debut was in TARNISHED LADY (1931), directed by George Cukor, who became a lifelong friend. Bankhead reportedly behaved well on the set during production, but quickly found that she saw the film-making process as boring. Despite her disinterest in films, Bankhead was offered a salary of $50,000 per film, and she couldn't pass on the offer. Her 1932 film DEVIL AND THE DEEP is notable for her co-starring with Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton, and Cary Grant. She later said the only reason she wanted to make the movie was to sleep with "that divine Gary Cooper!"
Despite a healthy dose of film appearances at the start of the thirties (she appeared in seven films between 1931 and 1933), true film success eluded Tallulah. Her reviews had been mixed, sometimes completely negative, and her pictures had not been big hits in theaters. Bankhead instead refocused her career towards Broadway. She starred in productions of FORSAKING ALL OTHERS (played by Joan Crawford on the screen in 1934) and JEZEBEL (played in an Oscar-winning performance by Bette Davis in 1938), among other well-reviewed and popular plays. She also appeared in stage versions of DARK VICTORY and THE LITTLE FOXES, both which were adapted for the screen starring Bette Davis in 1939 and 1941, respectively. At the end of the thirties, she was briefly considered (and even screen tested) for Scarlett O'Hara in GONE WITH THE WIND, but producer David O. Selznick felt she photographed too old in Technicolor and that she lacked the innocence needed for the film's earliest scenes.
Bankhead's bread and butter continued to be her Broadway work. One has to wonder if she ever got annoyed that Bette Davis got to immortalized many of her stage characters on the silver screen. It would certainly be understandable had Tallulah been upset, but those films would not have been the award-winning box office hits they were had Bette Davis not been at the helm. Bankhead did eventually return to films in 1944 when she starred in LIFEBOAT, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Her performance drew almost unanimous acclaim, and she won the New York Film Critics Circle award for her work. When she accepted the trophy in New York, she exclaimed: "Dahlings, I was wonderful." She later starred in a production of PRIVATE LIVES, written by Noel Coward. NBC radio hired Bankhead in the early fifties to host their series THE BIG SHOW, in hopes of beating out the programs over on CBS.
Tallulah Bankhead and her entire career is wrapped up in caricature, especially in my mind. Her "dahling" talk and husky voice made her terribly distinctive, and yet easy prey of drag queens that were destined to impersonate her. Her late career turn in DIE! DIE! MY DARLING (1965; or FANATIC, whichever title) got a good performance out of her, even if it flew under the rug because it was psycho-biddy fare. Her colorful personal life also fueled interest in her, especially the rumors about her multiple affairs, and her leanings towards bisexuality and lesbianism.
Tallulah died in 1968, aged sixty-six.
I don't mean any of this as a threat to Miss Bankhead. I want that made perfectly clear. I have always been fascinated by her. Being a Southerner myself, I've always liked how Tallulah (and that was her real name) was born and raised in Alabama. Her family was very wealthy, and she began her career in show business when she was a teenager. She eventually made her way overseas, where she had great success on the British stage, most famously in a 1923 production of THE DANCERS. Her reviews were favorable, and she appeared in a few other plays during her stay in Britain before she finally returned to America. She found her way to Hollywood in the thirties, hoping to forego a film career. Her motion picture debut was in TARNISHED LADY (1931), directed by George Cukor, who became a lifelong friend. Bankhead reportedly behaved well on the set during production, but quickly found that she saw the film-making process as boring. Despite her disinterest in films, Bankhead was offered a salary of $50,000 per film, and she couldn't pass on the offer. Her 1932 film DEVIL AND THE DEEP is notable for her co-starring with Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton, and Cary Grant. She later said the only reason she wanted to make the movie was to sleep with "that divine Gary Cooper!"
Despite a healthy dose of film appearances at the start of the thirties (she appeared in seven films between 1931 and 1933), true film success eluded Tallulah. Her reviews had been mixed, sometimes completely negative, and her pictures had not been big hits in theaters. Bankhead instead refocused her career towards Broadway. She starred in productions of FORSAKING ALL OTHERS (played by Joan Crawford on the screen in 1934) and JEZEBEL (played in an Oscar-winning performance by Bette Davis in 1938), among other well-reviewed and popular plays. She also appeared in stage versions of DARK VICTORY and THE LITTLE FOXES, both which were adapted for the screen starring Bette Davis in 1939 and 1941, respectively. At the end of the thirties, she was briefly considered (and even screen tested) for Scarlett O'Hara in GONE WITH THE WIND, but producer David O. Selznick felt she photographed too old in Technicolor and that she lacked the innocence needed for the film's earliest scenes.
Bankhead's bread and butter continued to be her Broadway work. One has to wonder if she ever got annoyed that Bette Davis got to immortalized many of her stage characters on the silver screen. It would certainly be understandable had Tallulah been upset, but those films would not have been the award-winning box office hits they were had Bette Davis not been at the helm. Bankhead did eventually return to films in 1944 when she starred in LIFEBOAT, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Her performance drew almost unanimous acclaim, and she won the New York Film Critics Circle award for her work. When she accepted the trophy in New York, she exclaimed: "Dahlings, I was wonderful." She later starred in a production of PRIVATE LIVES, written by Noel Coward. NBC radio hired Bankhead in the early fifties to host their series THE BIG SHOW, in hopes of beating out the programs over on CBS.
Tallulah Bankhead and her entire career is wrapped up in caricature, especially in my mind. Her "dahling" talk and husky voice made her terribly distinctive, and yet easy prey of drag queens that were destined to impersonate her. Her late career turn in DIE! DIE! MY DARLING (1965; or FANATIC, whichever title) got a good performance out of her, even if it flew under the rug because it was psycho-biddy fare. Her colorful personal life also fueled interest in her, especially the rumors about her multiple affairs, and her leanings towards bisexuality and lesbianism.
Tallulah died in 1968, aged sixty-six.
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- 9
I find it hard to have much of an opinion on Tallulah Bankhead; there's not enough of her work to really judge her. Her legendary theatrical reputation is ephemeral, because nothing remains except reviews. Her films of the early 30s, in which Paramount tried to fashion her into an American Dietrich, are poor. (Although THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP is interesting at least; she also has Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton and Cary Grant as leading men!) Bette Davis snagged her famous stage roles when they made it to the screen and then, to rub salt in the wound, impersonated her in ALL ABOUT EVE. The other great missed opportunities of her career was not starring in any of Tennessee Williams' work, even though they were friends and he allegedly wrote both THE GLASS MENAGERIE and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE with her in mind. By the time she got around to playing Blanche on stage in the mid-50s, her reviews were poor. I think heavy drinking and years of playing essentially a parody of herself -- much like John Barrymore -- had dulled her talents.
So, really, at that's left to judge is Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT. She's good in the film, but really just playing 'Tallulah'. Likewise some of her TV appearances are fun, but she was just playing -- or spoofing -- her own persona.
So, really, at that's left to judge is Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT. She's good in the film, but really just playing 'Tallulah'. Likewise some of her TV appearances are fun, but she was just playing -- or spoofing -- her own persona.
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In my mind, I never see Tallulah as a real person, but always a caricature. Similar to Mae West and Jayne Mansfield, she spent almost the entirety of her career as a parody. I've never seen any of Tallulah's films, but I have seen her guesting on WHAT'S MY LINE, and that gig she did on THE LUCY-DESI COMEDY HOUR. Apparently that part had been intended for Bette Davis, but her health caused her to withdraw. One imagines Tallulah snatching up the offer to replace Bette as something of a stab at the fact that Bette had taken so many of Tallulah's roles over the years.
It is quite a shame that Tallulah never got to adapt her more famous stage roles for the screen. In saying that, I wouldn't take Davis out of JEZEBEL or DARK VICTORY in exchange for Tallulah for anything. And I certainly wouldn't back Vivien Leigh out of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE so Tallulah could ham it up.
I have watched LIFEBOAT once or twice. It seems to be her only credible mainstream picture, although I have also heard good things about FANATIC, the only film she made in the psycho-biddy sub-genre. It would have been delicious had she and Davis and her and Crawford teamed up for a camp-filled outing.
Tallulah probably shot her own self in the foot. She settled into her "dahling" image fairly early, and she never shook it off. She sunk into a career of self-parody, and playing the lifelong character that was Tallulah Bankhead. She invented that persona, and she played it until the day she died.
At least she gave us so many good characters, even if she was only the inspiration for them.
And she was quite lovely to look at, especially in her youth.
It is quite a shame that Tallulah never got to adapt her more famous stage roles for the screen. In saying that, I wouldn't take Davis out of JEZEBEL or DARK VICTORY in exchange for Tallulah for anything. And I certainly wouldn't back Vivien Leigh out of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE so Tallulah could ham it up.
I have watched LIFEBOAT once or twice. It seems to be her only credible mainstream picture, although I have also heard good things about FANATIC, the only film she made in the psycho-biddy sub-genre. It would have been delicious had she and Davis and her and Crawford teamed up for a camp-filled outing.
Tallulah probably shot her own self in the foot. She settled into her "dahling" image fairly early, and she never shook it off. She sunk into a career of self-parody, and playing the lifelong character that was Tallulah Bankhead. She invented that persona, and she played it until the day she died.
At least she gave us so many good characters, even if she was only the inspiration for them.
And she was quite lovely to look at, especially in her youth.
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She's actually quite good in DIE! DIE! MY DARLING even though it's one of those grand dame guignol things from the '60s. It may be her best performance on screen,
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- 9
Perhaps not quite as early as you think. With so little of her performances captured on film, it's hard to say for sure. Certainly by the early 50s she seems to have mostly stopped acting and settled into playing a caricature.
Her performance in DEVIL AND THE DEEP was nothing like what I had expected. The "Tallulah-mannerism" had not yet formed and her voice wasn't even very husky yet. Her acting was florid, but in a standard early 1930s kind of way; and far less mannered than, say, Norma Shearer. She did appear to play herself, more or less, in LIFEBOAT, but it's still a controlled, thoughtful performance.
Curiously the best judge of Tallulah's acting we have is Bette Davis' performance in THE LITTLE FOXES. Davis spoke glowingly of Bankhead's performance on stage and admitted that she replicated it on film. Weirdly, the film's director, William Wyler, said Davis did not copy Bankhead's performance and approached the role entirely differently. I don't know how to reconcile two such contradictory opinions, but I'll take Davis at her word that she did the role "exactly" as Bankhead had.
It's hard to say what Bankhead could have done with better roles in the 30s and 40s, but her reputation would suggest she could have been a great film actress. Even still, I suspect she could not have matched Vivien Leigh's nuance as Blanche, or even Scarlett for that matter since Bankhead was the early favorite for GWTW.
I haven't seen the movie in ages and only remember it well enough to place it a somewhat distant third in the psycho-biddy genre. I do recall being surprised that Bankhead's performance wasn't the "Tallulah-ish" campfest I had expected. So, I guess, even late in her career she was able to pull her talents together. Well, to some extent. The play "Looped" was based on an apparently true incident of a very drunk Bankhead requiring 8 hours to record a single line of dialogue for the film.
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In my alternative DYNASTIER world, she was one of Alexis', Caress' and Sable & Frankie's aunts, which is to say Bette's and Swanson's sister...
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Here's another face that I quite often think about when I frequenting these types of forgotten faces discussions. Carole Landis was a contract star for 20th Century-Fox in the 1940s.
She was born on New Year's Day 1919 in Fairchild, Wisconsin. Her father abandoned the family and her mother eventually moved to California with her children in 1923. As a teenager, Landis modeled under her given name Frances Ridste. As her ambitions grew to become famous, she bleached her hair and changed her name to Carole Landis after her favorite movie star, Carole Lombard. She saved one-hundred dollars and moved to Hollywood to become an actress.
Landis made her film debut in the 1937 original production of A STAR IS BORN, starring Oscar winner Janet Gaynor. She found work as an actress over the next few years, appearing in several films in small roles. Her star-making performance came when Hal Roach cast her in ONE MILLION B.C. in 1940. The movie was a hit and it turned Landis into a star. This recognition brought her to the attention of Fox, where she was quickly signed to a long-term contract. She also began an affair with the head of the studio, producer Darryl F. Zanuck. At a time when the singing voice of many stars was dubbed, Landis was thought to have a pleasant enough voice, so Fox used her in a few musicals during her tenure with studio, such as MOON OVER MIAMI (1941) with Betty Grable and WINTERTIME (1943) with Sonja Henie. Landis also had a substantial role in I WAKE UP SCREAMING, a gritty 1941 urban film noir that featured Betty Grable (in one of her few dramatic roles) and Victor Mature.
Landis appeared in a number of successful films. Her career was cut short, however, when she decided to end her romantic relationship with Darryl F. Zanuck. She was thereafter assigned thankless roles in forgettable B-movies. Her final two movies, NOOSE and BRASS MONKEY (both 1948), were filmed in Great Britain.
After ending her relationship with Zanuck, Landis began an affair with married actor Rex Harrison. Their relationship apparently blossomed, but she was wearied by the fact that Harrison would not leave his wife for her. Apparently shaken by Harrison's refusal to marry her, Carole Landis committed suicide with an overdose of Seconal on July 5, 1948. She was twenty-nine years old.
She was born on New Year's Day 1919 in Fairchild, Wisconsin. Her father abandoned the family and her mother eventually moved to California with her children in 1923. As a teenager, Landis modeled under her given name Frances Ridste. As her ambitions grew to become famous, she bleached her hair and changed her name to Carole Landis after her favorite movie star, Carole Lombard. She saved one-hundred dollars and moved to Hollywood to become an actress.
Landis made her film debut in the 1937 original production of A STAR IS BORN, starring Oscar winner Janet Gaynor. She found work as an actress over the next few years, appearing in several films in small roles. Her star-making performance came when Hal Roach cast her in ONE MILLION B.C. in 1940. The movie was a hit and it turned Landis into a star. This recognition brought her to the attention of Fox, where she was quickly signed to a long-term contract. She also began an affair with the head of the studio, producer Darryl F. Zanuck. At a time when the singing voice of many stars was dubbed, Landis was thought to have a pleasant enough voice, so Fox used her in a few musicals during her tenure with studio, such as MOON OVER MIAMI (1941) with Betty Grable and WINTERTIME (1943) with Sonja Henie. Landis also had a substantial role in I WAKE UP SCREAMING, a gritty 1941 urban film noir that featured Betty Grable (in one of her few dramatic roles) and Victor Mature.
Landis appeared in a number of successful films. Her career was cut short, however, when she decided to end her romantic relationship with Darryl F. Zanuck. She was thereafter assigned thankless roles in forgettable B-movies. Her final two movies, NOOSE and BRASS MONKEY (both 1948), were filmed in Great Britain.
After ending her relationship with Zanuck, Landis began an affair with married actor Rex Harrison. Their relationship apparently blossomed, but she was wearied by the fact that Harrison would not leave his wife for her. Apparently shaken by Harrison's refusal to marry her, Carole Landis committed suicide with an overdose of Seconal on July 5, 1948. She was twenty-nine years old.
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- 9
I think I've only seen Marie Windsor and Sylvia Sidney from their later work; Marie in SALEM'S LOT and Sylvia as the first Mrs. Carlson in WKRP, and in BEETLEJUICE.
I've seen enough of June Allyson's work to know I don't like it; I found her almost aggressively cheery and wholesome.
I know I've never seen anything with Sonja Henie; like Esther Williams, one of the great cinematic novelties!
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- 7
some of these folks i think are still remembered but than there's no doubt some of them that aren't unless you are like me and a hard core movie geek