Golden age: Roll call

[TopBilled]

0208 of 1300

Ohio native Mark Stevens ended up in the entertainment business when he took a job as a radio announcer. Radio work led to movies, and the young actor was in Hollywood pounding the pavement with other hopefuls. He signed on with Warner Brothers in the early 40s and had bit parts in a few of the studio’s war films. In 1945, Stevens moved over to 20^th Century Fox, where he would achieve stardom. Mostly, Fox cast him in film noir, such as THE STREET WITH NO NAME and THE DARK CORNER, opposite Lucille Ball and Clifton Webb. But there were musicals, too, usually with June Haver. He then moved over to Universal where he played leads in romantic comedies, but by the mid-50s, his movie career was in decline and he took jobs on several television series. During these years, he attempted to reinvent himself as a director. He starred in independently produced westerns and crime dramas—directing four such productions. By the 1960s, he had relocated to Europe, where the next phase of his career had him headlining a series of low-budget action adventures, occasionally with some of his old Hollywood friends. 

Mark Stevens present and accounted for..!

[rayban]

 

0208 of 1300

Ohio native Mark Stevens ended up in the entertainment business when he took a job as a radio announcer. Radio work led to movies, and the young actor was in Hollywood pounding the pavement with other hopefuls. He signed on with Warner Brothers in the early 40s and had bit parts in a few of the studio’s war films. In 1945, Stevens moved over to 20^th Century Fox, where he would achieve stardom. Mostly, Fox cast him in film noir, such as THE STREET WITH NO NAME and THE DARK CORNER, opposite Lucille Ball and Clifton Webb. But there were musicals, too, usually with June Haver. He then moved over to Universal where he played leads in romantic comedies, but by the mid-50s, his movie career was in decline and he took jobs on several television series. During these years, he attempted to reinvent himself as a director. He starred in independently produced westerns and crime dramas—directing four such productions. By the 1960s, he had relocated to Europe, where the next phase of his career had him headlining a series of low-budget action adventures, occasionally with some of his old Hollywood friends. 

Mark Stevens present and accounted for..!

 

I really enjoyed him in "The Street With No Name" and "The Dark Corner" and in his musicals with June Haver.

[TopBilled]

I really enjoyed him in "The Street With No Name" and "The Dark Corner" and in his musicals with June Haver.

If you get a chance, take a look at the noir CRY VENGEANCE (he starred and directed). And if you are a fan of westerns, he did a good one in the late-50s with Joel McCrea called GUNSIGHT RIDGE.

[GregoryPeckfan]

I have The Street With No name on DVD

[TopBilled]

I have The Street With No name on DVD

He plays a role in THE SNAKE PIT with Olivia de Havilland. And I have a feeling she will be Star of the Month in July on her 100th birthday, so we should see it on TCM.

[rayban]

He plays a role in THE SNAKE PIT with Olivia de Havilland. And I have a feeling she will be Star of the Month in July on her 100th birthday, so we should see it on TCM.

In my opinion, Mark Stevens had a great deal of sex appeal.

[TopBilled]

0209 of 1300

Luli Deste was the daughter of a German intellectual who had married a countess. In the twenties, Luli married a wealthy baron, taking the title of baroness. Eight years later, the marriage ended, and she left for London. While she was living in England, she took up acting as the sound era came in. British director Michael Powell was charmed by Luli’s aristocratic beauty and cast her in one of his early films. Later, she costarred opposite Edward G. Robinson in a drama called THUNDER IN THE CITY, which led to an offer from Columbia Pictures in Hollywood. Eager for her next adventure, she packed up and went to America. Major movie stardom eluded her, but Luli remained in southern California and married a German auto designer who worked for BMW. When that marriage failed, she refocused on her film career. There were a few pictures at Universal in the early 1940s, and an assignment at Paramount that put her in a Hopalong Cassidy film (where she seemed rather out of place). Then, she married a German inventor and dropped out of films. By 1949, she had written an autobiography about her colorful life.

Luli Deste present and accounted for..!

[TopBilled]

0210 of 1300

Red Skelton did it all. He played vaudeville, appeared on radio, starred in movies, had his own long-running television program and entertained audiences at nightclubs. And when he wasn’t performing, he was bringing joy to people with his paintings and charity work. He had started performing at age ten, when he left home and joined a traveling medicine show. By his twenties, he had become a national celebrity and made his first film at RKO in 1938. He soon moved over to MGM, where he would star in many hit motion pictures during the next fifteen years. But television is where he found his greatest success. He earned several Emmys for his variety show as a performer and as a writer. After his series ended in the early 70s, he spent time making numerous personal appearances across the country and continuing to make people laugh. 

Red Skelton present and accounted for..!

[rayban]

0210 of 1300

Red Skelton did it all. He played vaudeville, appeared on radio, starred in movies, had his own long-running television program and entertained audiences at nightclubs. And when he wasn’t performing, he was bringing joy to people with his paintings and charity work. He had started performing at age ten, when he left home and joined a traveling medicine show. By his twenties, he had become a national celebrity and made his first film at RKO in 1938. He soon moved over to MGM, where he would star in many hit motion pictures during the next fifteen years. But television is where he found his greatest success. He earned several Emmys for his variety show as a performer and as a writer. After his series ended in the early 70s, he spent time making numerous personal appearances across the country and continuing to make people laugh. 

Red Skelton present and accounted for..!

I loved him - he was a truly funny man.

[TopBilled]

I loved him - he was a truly funny man.

I don't think today's audiences know how to appreciate him. When I was in my mid-to-late twenties, I would volunteer on Sundays at a nursing home in my neighborhood. I helped the social activities director do things, like old-time trivia games, to help jog the residents' memories and keep them alert/sharp. Sometimes we showed clips of golden age movies and golden age TV shows. Keep in mind that most of the residents were in their 70s and 80s, often in failing health.

 

One day the activities director mentioned the name Clem Kadiddlehopper, one of Red's popular characters. It was like a magical light bulb had turned on. They all loved Red and remembered his routines. It bowled me over. I've never forgotten it, and every time I see a photograph or a movie with Red Skelton in it, I can't help but think of those senior citizens, many of them no longer around.

[TopBilled]

Can you guess the ones I'll be spotlighting?

 

In the week ahead:

 

Saturday April 2nd: Greek actress who earned an Oscar.

 

Sunday April 3rd: Robin & Marian.

 

Monday April 4th: A very wooden performer.

 

Tuesday April 5th: Played Kitty and Anna Lucasta.

 

Wednesday April 6th: Lynn Belvedere.

 

Thursday April 7th: British actress, costarred with Alan Ladd.

 

Friday April 8th: He said goodbye to my lady.

 

***

[CaveGirl]

 

Can you guess the ones I'll be spotlighting?

 

In the week ahead:

 

Saturday April 2nd: Greek actress who earned an Oscar.

 

Sunday April 3rd: Robin & Marian.

 

Monday April 4th: A very wooden performer.

 

Tuesday April 5th: Played Kitty and Anna Lucasta.

 

Wednesday April 6th: Lynn Belvedere.

 

Thursday April 7th: British actress, costarred with Alan Ladd.

 

Friday April 8th: He said goodbye to my lady.

 

***

 

Just reading the words "Lynn Belvedere" brings a smile to my face.

 

Thanks, TB!

[TopBilled]

Just reading the words "Lynn Belvedere" brings a smile to my face.

 

Thanks, TB!

Yes, and we don't mean Christopher Hewitt.

[TopBilled]

0211 of 1300

Katina Paxinou specialized in larger than life dramatic roles. Though she preferred stage work in her native Greece, she traveled extensively and appeared on stage in other countries. She also made a handful of films, and for her performance in one of these productions she earned an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress. In addition to the Oscar, she also received a Golden Globe for playing Pilar in Paramount’s adaptation of FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS. A few more Hollywood films followed in the 1940s, including her magnificent portrayal of an adulterous matriarch in RKO’s MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA. Soon afterward, she was in England working on a film with Jean Simmons. But by 1950, she had returned to her home country. There were occasional collaborations with Orson Welles in some of his European movies, as well as with other directors. But mostly she stuck to the stage where she was happiest, taking on challenging parts and enthralling audiences.

Katina Paxinou present and accounted for..!

[rayban]

0211 of 1300

Katina Paxinou specialized in larger than life dramatic roles. Though she preferred stage work in her native Greece, she traveled extensively and appeared on stage in other countries. She also made a handful of films, and for her performance in one of these productions she earned an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress. In addition to the Oscar, she also received a Golden Globe for playing Pilar in Paramount’s adaptation of FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS. A few more Hollywood films followed in the 1940s, including her magnificent portrayal of an adulterous matriarch in RKO’s MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA. Soon afterward, she was in England working on a film with Jean Simmons. But by 1950, she had returned to her home country. There were occasional collaborations with Orson Welles in some of his European movies, as well as with other directors. But mostly she stuck to the stage where she was happiest, taking on challenging parts and enthralling audiences.

Katina Paxinou present and accounted for..!

She was captivating - magnificent - in Luchino Viscounti's masterpiece, "Rocco And His Brothers".

 

She was superb, too, in "Mourning Becomes Electra", which is a very difficult film to sit through.

[TopBilled]

She was captivating - magnificent - in Luchino Viscounti's masterpiece, "Rocco And His Brothers".

 

She was superb, too, in "Mourning Becomes Electra", which is a very difficult film to sit through.

I don't think I've ever seen a bad performance from her. The Jean Simmons film she did was UNCLE SILAS, and she's brilliant in it. Without a doubt one of the most memorable actresses ever. She totally inhabited her roles.

[TopBilled]

0212 & 0213 of 1300

Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn first appeared together on screen in the 1935 swashbuckler CAPTAIN BLOOD. Both stars had recently signed with Warner Brothers. They were young, and their performances were perhaps not as polished as we see a year later in the Technicolor spectacle, THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, which made them household names. Jack Warner knew a good thing when he saw it, and the two were reunited in other big budget productions. There was the action adventure THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, as well as the western DODGE CITY and a biographical drama about Custer called THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON. Errol would go on to costar with other leading ladies at Warner Brothers, while Olivia became embroiled in a dispute with their boss over the terms of her contract. She would soon break away and reinvent herself at Paramount. But in the meantime, audiences had enjoyed watching eight de Havilland-Flynn collaborations. Something they still do to this day.

Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn present and accounted for..! 

[TopBilled]

0214 & 0215 of 1300

Charlie McCarthy was no dummy. He knew how to use Edgar Bergen to get a laugh. Though some critics considered his performances a bit wooden, audiences loved him anyway. Together, he and Bergen performed on radio, and their success over the airwaves led to a movie contract with Universal in the late 1930s. Perhaps their most well-known film is the one they did with W.C. Fields, called YOU CAN’T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN. During production, there were endless rumors that Fields was jealous of Charlie’s talent. A decade later, Charlie and Edgar split up when Edgar decided to go solo and make that dreadfully serious picture I REMEMBER MAMA. In the 1950s, while making public appearances, Charlie was sometimes confused with Senator McCarthy. He considered changing his name to Foster Kane, but Orson Welles threatened to sue. Eventually, Charlie retired from show biz, and he ended up outliving Edgar Bergen. Every now and then, he gets the idea he’d like to perform again…but his voice is not what it used to be.

Charlie McCarthy present and accounted for..!

[TopBilled]

0216 of 1300

During the early years of her motion picture career, Paulette Goddard was under contract to producer David O. Selznick. She had begun a relationship with Charlie Chaplin, and was contracted to make pictures with him as well. She and Chaplin appeared together twice on the big screen—in MODERN TIMES and THE GREAT DICTATOR. Her schedule for the second Chaplin film interfered with Selznick’s plans to cast her as Scarlett O’Hara (a part that would go to Vivien Leigh), and Selznick soon sold his ownership of her services to Paramount. That turned out to be a good move for Paulette, because she achieved stardom in comedies with Bob Hope, as well as in costume dramas directed by Mitchell Leisen. She stayed with Paramount until 1949, and then began to freelance. Her films in the early 1950s, though, were somewhat lackluster, and by the middle of the decade, Paulette had basically left motion pictures behind for marriage. She had several high profile marriages, and she amassed a personal fortune by investing her movie earnings in jewels and real estate that only increased with value. In her later years, she divided time between homes in New York, London and the Swiss Alps, not too far from where Chaplin lived. She was now an international socialite and her movie days were in the distant past. But every so often one of her old Paramount films would be rerun on television, and viewers would rediscover a fascinating personality from the golden age of Hollywood.

Paulette Goddard present and accounted for..!

[rayban]

Paulette Goddard donated her personal fortune to New York University.

 

On the main NYU campus, downtown Manhattan, there exists The Paulette Goddard Building.

[TopBilled]

Paulette Goddard donated her personal fortune to New York University.

 

On the main NYU campus, downtown Manhattan, there exist The Paulette Goddard Building.

Thanks for mentioning that. She bequeathed $20 million to NYU. I believe there is a building called Goddard Hall on 79 Washington Square East (a residence hall for freshmen). She didn't have children, so college students now benefit from her generosity.

[rayban]

Thanks for mentioning that. She bequeathed $20 million to NYU. I believe there is a building called Goddard Hall on 79 Washington Square East (a residence hall for freshmen). She didn't have children, so college students now benefit from her generosity.

Jarrod, it is an imposing building which is just across from Washington Square Park.

[TopBilled]

Jarrod, it is an imposing building which is just across from Washington Square Park.

Oh that's great. I just found a picture of it:

 

[rayban]

Leave it to you, Jarrod, you are one amazing guy!!

[TopBilled]

Leave it to you, Jarrod, you are one amazing guy!!

Thanks Ray. I am glad you told us about this. Provides an added dimension when we discuss the great Paulette Goddard.