Imagine if experience had been a requirement for one of the most iconic roles in movie history. Lana Turner, Katherine Hepburn, Loretta Young, Helen Hayes, and even Lucille Ball all auditioned for Gone with the Wind’s Scarlett O’Hara. But according to SLATE’s Rebecca Onion, it appearently wasn’t: The producer David O. Selznick took more than two years … Read more
This is a story about the legendary John Gilbert. No, not the venerable announcer of JEOPARDY and one-time emcee of MUSIC BINGO, still going strong today in his late 90s. The one that died more than 80 years ago and never saw his 40th birthday. When Louis B. Mayer, cofounder of MGM, wanted to break … Read more
Would you have swooned over someone named Archie Leech? Would you have been afraid of a showdown with someone named Marion Morrison? In classic Hollywood, many studio executives felt there would have been no way you could have felt that way. Many of the Old Hollywood stars you know and love—Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Judy … Read more
We celebrate Hollywood and its great history in these HOLLYWOOD FACTOIDS, which will continue through the end of this week before fading into obscurity. (Perhaps not, if perhaps the call to action at the top and the bottom of this musing is finally heeded). But have you ever wondered why Hollywood even exists in the … Read more
The legendary John Barrymore, patriarch of one of the most talented and successful families in the history of stages and screens, was known as THE GREAT PROFILE because of his rugged, handsome, chiseled features that had our great-grandmothers lusting. Probably a handful of our great-grandfathers as well. But for as cherished as Barrymore’s profile may … Read more
For as long as there has been Hollywood, there has been kissing. Per a 2014 NEW YORK TIMES profile on the topic people have been locking lips since the 19th century, As the TIMES described it: The very first moving-picture kiss, in a 25-second short made by Thomas Edison in 1896, shows the problem clearly. The … Read more
If you’ve been to Las Vegas, or even a Vegas-themed party, you’ve undoubtedly at some point indulged like a “rar packer”. Even though it’s been more than 15 years since the least well-known of them, Joey Bishop, passed away, The Rat Pack remains one of the most recognizable and relatable references to movie star glam … Read more
Today’s LEBLANGUAGE is devoted to the business prescience of John Landgraf, FX Chairman. A good deal of Landgraf’s executive success has been due to his alliance with Ryan Murphy, who first came to the FX family with the breakthrough drama NIP/TUCK 20 years ago and exploded into a full-fledged reliance on him for content greatness. … Read more
The next time you choose to eschew alcohol, think of how the namesake of the signature teetotaler drink may have really needed one. Way before Drew Barrymore ever froze at the sight of a snowy television screen, back when her relatives John, Lionel and Ethel commanded Hollywood, Shirley Temple was America’s sweetheart. Per Wikipedia, Shirley … Read more
Long before the Dodgers, let alone yours truly, migrated to the West Coast from points East, the nascent film industry had done the same. As a frustrated Mets fan staring into the abyss of yet another loooooong off-season sans a championship, that point is driven home aggressively on days like this. But it wasn’t just … Read more