Moira - When get an update from Brian on the Brent TV documentary I'll let you know. It's supposed to be broadcast later this summer in Ireland.
Here's Ruth and George ... when they still liked each other.

Hibi – Kay Francis is the sentimental favorite. She seemed to be hovering over me during the whole process. It was fun connecting with her closest friends, Jetti and Lou Ames. They invited me and my partner to stay with them on Nantucket. We also visited them twice in their winter home in Tucson. We...

For Professional – here is the URL you requested. Have fun! You’ll be on there for days.

http://archive.org/details/mediahistory

Moira – Brent, the “human tranquilizer”—hadn’t heard that one! After viewing 63 of his films (with more to go!) I will have to admit that I often catch him staring at the camera during a reaction shot and nothing registers. He can be quite wonderful depending on who his co-star is. He’s attractively...

Interesting question Fernando – From what I discovered, Ruth was the most pampered star on the Warner lot. Her elaborate bungalow had a smart kitchenette, an elaborate green-carpeted dining room, two fireplaces—you get the idea. She and Brent honeymooned there after their wedding. During 1932-33, sh...

You’re welcome Christy – I sometimes think “Oh, they probably know that already.” I’m glad there is some element of surprise to what I’m sharing.

Fernando – thanks for the fine compliment! And you … I’ve very much appreciated some of the translation work you have so graciously offered. :wink: In her autobiography Davis mentioned how nervous she was at the prospect of working with Chatterton. She had a great deal of admiration for her--a theat...

Joe – Glad you’re aboard! When I talked with Ruth’s cousin Brenda she told me that Ruth could be really funny. One of the reasons Ruth liked Ralph Forbes was that he could easily make her laugh at herself. She was at his bedside when he passed away in 1951. William Wellman and Ronald Colman enjoyed ...

Good question Christy – Bette Davis and George Brent both pushed for Jack Warner to consider Ruth for Mrs. Skeffington . I think she would have been a knockout in that role. She was also a top contender for The Glass Menagerie , which went to Gertrude Lawrence. The way Christopher Plummer raved abou...

Hibi Fortunately private collectors have rescued some of the Paramount product. You can find copies on-line (ebay/ioffer) and other private collections. I was able to locate copies of all the Chatterton films except: Sins of the Fathers (considered lost), The Doctor’s Secret , The Dummy , The Right ...

Hibi – I appreciate the good wishes. While writing about Ruth, I was contacted by an Irish filmmaker (Brian Reddin) who was filming a documentary on George Brent. Reddin flew to California to interview me (in Northern California) and Brent’s daughter Suzanne (San Diego). I took a sabbatical from Rut...

Hello Hibi and thanks! Ruth Chatterton is perhaps the most ambitious, adventuresome and adept at making transitions than my other subjects. Her marriage to George Brent in August 1932, took place after several months of rendezvousing. They both confessed to falling in love on the set of The Rich Are...

Erik, In 1936, Clara Studer, the editor of Sportswoman Magazine wrote, “Few people besides the man who taught her and her friend Amelia Earhart know what an able pilot [Chatterton] actually is.” Ruth paid tribute to Earhart after she disappeared in 1937. Ruth told the press: “She was a very great fr...

Hi Christy – As I mentioned, I didn’t care for the finish of Journal of a Crime . It just didn’t work for me. Menjou gives an fine performance. However, I felt he simply did not have the looks to play a theatrical producer that all the ladies are ga-ga over. The film begged for a William Powell/Rona...

Wendy – Maurice Evans, a good friend of Ruth, asked her to play Gertrude for a two-hour Hallmark TV production. It was the big hoop-de-doo for 1953 television, watched by millions, at a cost of $180,000. Ruth had already done six teleplays (1948-53) and “live television” was not to her liking. “It m...