*CANDIDS*

[Western Guy]

Friends of George Tobias said that he had an offbeat sense of humor and would have found amusement in those escapades preceding his "final ride".

Is it just me or color blonde Nancy Olson's semi-peek-a-boo and you've got Veronica Lake's twin.

[mongoII]

Larry, glad to hear that I made your day. I always felt that Mr. Robertson was a true gent.

Stone, not exactly her twin.

[Western Guy]

Well, maybe not, Joe. But I've gotta say that to my eyes I find the resemblance striking. And I really love Ronnie.

[mongoII]

The Ultimate Movie Star

[mongoII]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT is 68 today
Virile, handsome and square-jawed youthful star of the 1970s and 1980s whose early potential at super-stardom fizzled out. Jan-Michael Vincent originally made a name for himself portraying rebellious young men bucking the system, as in Tribes (1970) (TV), White Line Fever (1975) and Baby Blue Marine (1976) or as a man of action on either side of the law, as in The Mechanic (1972), Vigilante Force (1976), in the superb surf movie Big Wednesday (1978) and "The Winds of War" (1983).
In 1984 Vincent landed the role of Stringfellow Hawke in the helicopter action series "Airwolf" (1984), co-starring the late Ernest Borgnine.
Suffered permanent damage to his voice after getting into a near-fatal auto accident in 1995 that resulted in a broken neck. Paramedics had to insert a tube down his throat and the tube damaged one of his vocal cords.
Supposedly retired and living in Mississippi with his third wife.


PATRICK WAYNE is 73 today
Possessing his father's durable good looks, vigor and charm, this tall, strapping, exceedingly handsome second son of John Wayne had huge boots to fill in trying to escape his legendary father's shadow and corral Hollywood fame on his own terms. But attempt he did and, looking back, he may not have achieved the outright stardom of his father but certainly did quite admirably, making over 40 films in his career -- nine of them with his dad.
Although the scope of his talent was seldom tested over the years, he was a thoroughly enjoyable presence on all the popular TV shows of the 1970s and '80s, including "Fantasy Island" (1977), "Murder, She Wrote" (1984), "Charlie's Angels" (1976), and "The Love Boat" (1977). And he certainly wasn't hard on the eyes.
Following the death of older brother Michael in 2003, Patrick became Chairman of the John Wayne Cancer Institute. Divorced in 1978 from Peggy Hunt, he is married (since 1999) to Misha Anderson.


JOE TURKEL is 85 today
Turkel was born in Brooklyn, New York, and served in the U.S. Military during World War II.
His first film appearance was 1948's City Across the River. His most famous roles are Dr. Eldon Tyrell, the eccentric God-figure in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982), and Lloyd, the ghostly bartender in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980). He has the distinction of being one of only two actors (the other being Philip Stone) to work with Kubrick as a credited character three times: in The Killing (1956, as "Tiny"), in Paths of Glory (1957, (as the doomed Private Arnaud), and in The Shining.
He currently lives in southern California, and has been involved in writing screenplays.


PHILIP CAREY (1925 - 2009)
He was born with the rather unrugged name of Eugene Carey on July 15, 1925, in Hackensack, New Jersey. Growing up on Long Island, he served with the Marine Corps during World War II and the Korean War.
The 6'4" actor impressed a talent scout with his brawny good looks while appearing in the summer stock play "Over 21" in New England, and he was offered a contract with Warner Bros as a result. Billed as Philip Carey, he didn't waste any time toiling in bit parts, making his film debut billed fifth in the John Wayne submarine war drama Operation Pacific (1951). Phil could cut a good figure in military regalia and also showed strong stuff in film noir. A most capable co-star, he tended to be upstaged, however, by either a stronger name female or male star or by the action at hand. He was paired up with Frank Lovejoy in the McCarthy-era I Was a Communist for the FBI (1951), and Steve Cochran in the prison tale Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951). Warner Bros. star Joan Crawford was practically the whole movie in the film noir This Woman Is Dangerous (1952) co-starring the equally overlooked David Brian and Dennis Morgan; Calamity Jane (1953) was a vehicle for Doris Day; and he donned his familiar cavalry duds in the background of Gary Cooper in the Civil War western Springfield Rifle (1952).
In 1979 he had his biggest success as Texas oilman Asa Buchanan in "One Life to Live" (1968). His popularity soared as the moneybags manipulator you loved to hate. Residing in Manhattan for quite some time as a result of the New York-based show, he played the role for close to three decades until diagnosed with lung cancer in January of 2006. Forced to undergo chemotherapy, he officially left the serial altogether in May of 2007, and his character "died" peacefully off-screen a few months later.
Divorced from his first wife, Phil married a much younger lady, Colleen Welch, in 1976 and had two children by her -- daughter Shannon (born 1980) and son Sean (born 1983). Phil lost his battle with cancer on February 6, 2009, at the age of 83.


MERVYN VYE (1913 - 1976)
Born Marvin Wesley Vye, Jr., this Massachusetts-born, Yale-trained character actor was associated for a time with the Theatre Guild in the 1940s.
In 1947 he made an auspicious film debut (third billed) in Golden Earrings (1947) starring Marlene Dietrich and Ray Milland, playing Zoltan, a gypsy who sings the title tune. Playing next a baddie in the Alan Ladd starrer Whispering Smith (1948) and Merlin in the Bing Crosby remake of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949). Vye became a standard fixture in mobster pics including Pickup on South Street, Al Capone (1959) as Bugs Moran, King of the Roaring 20's: The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961) and The George Raft Story (1961). With a homely, imposing mug made for adventure tales, he played everything from warrior chiefs to Blackbeard the Pirate. On TV he portrayed a number of corrupt characters on such shows as "The Untouchables" and "77 Sunset Strip" and sometimes even played his tough guys for laughs. In between he appeared in musical productions of "Oklahoma!" and "South Pacific," among others. Vye died in 1976 at age 63


MARJORIE RAMBEAU (1889 - 1970)
Born July 15, 1889 in San Francisco, unappreciated character player Marjorie Rambeau worked on the stage from the age of 12. In the 1910s and 1920s, she became a prominent Broadway lead, noted for her serene beauty, elegant poise and touching theatrics.
Marjorie surprised everybody and turned in sterling, flashy support work as blowsy, aging floozies and other pathetic, hard-luck dames. She played an alcoholic mom in Min and Bill (1930) opposite Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler, then succeeded Dressler herself as the salty waterfront title character in Tugboat Annie Sails Again (1940). Nominated twice for Oscars as the prostitute mother of Ginger Rogers in Primrose Path (1940) and the mother at odds with daughter/star Joan Crawford in Torch Song (1953), Marjorie was never given the acclaim she deserved. Her versatility was for all to see in such roles as the backwoods Bessie Lester in Tobacco Road (1941), and she continued to own her own scenes in such films as A Man Called Peter (1955) , The View from Pompey's Head (1955) and as Steve Cochran's alcoholic mom in Slander (1957).
Offscreen, her private life proved as stormy and difficult as those of her characters. She married three times, her first husband being actor/writer/director Willard Mack. Moreover, alcohol played a strong, sad part in her personal life as well. A number of serious car accidents left her in disabled health for much of her later life. Sadly, she is little remembered except by the most devoted fans of film trivia. In all fairness, her films are definitely worth a look, if but for her scenes alone. Marjorie passed away in 1970 at age 80.

[pvitari]

Hi Joe, today is National Ice Cream Day. Do you have any good candids of the stars enjoying ice cream? :)

Marilyn, what are you waiting for? :)


Paul Newman digs in, with furry friend.


[youtube][/youtube]

[mongoII]

CELESTE HOLM (1917 - 2012) R.I.P.

[Professional Tourist]

Not a candid, but the best I can do for National Ice Cream Day:

[mongoII]

Robert Montgomery, Carole Lombard & Mischa Auer


Lana Turner


Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson


Bette Davis


Tab Hunter & Terry Moore

[CineMaven]

That picture of Joan Crawford above in the revolving doors is stunning. Love Art deco. As for this picture:

Tab Hunter & Terry Moore

[Professional Tourist]

Here are a couple more ice cream candids in honor of the day, which I had posted here a long time ago:


James Mason with Judy Garland


Tallulah Bankhead with Dickie Moore

I'm going to have to have ice cream with my dinner now. . . .

[moira finnie]

Here's a few more to cool us all off...


Original caption from 1936: Eleanore Whitney and Jack Oakie, Paramount performers, share a container of ice cream on the set at the West Coast Studios.


Original caption in 1933: Mary Pickford, "America's sweetheart" chatting with Bing Crosby radio and movie crooner over their dishes of ice cream between scenes in the movie short they are making here.


Original caption in 1933: What! No Lion-Aise Potatoes. "Jackie", a very well-mannered lion, has a weakness for ice cream, so when he and Buster Crabbe were finished with a scene in Paramount's King of the Jungle, they strolled over to the caf? and had a sundae. This is the luncheon scene--and please notice Jackie's irreproachable table manners.


Original caption from 1929: Hollywood, California: Merchants in Hollywood, California seek self expression in constructing their store to resemble the commodity they sell. In the above photo, Esther Ralston, screen favorite is seen beside unique hut made to resemble a huge ice-cream freezer. The handle on top maintains a continuous movement.

Ahhhh, I feel cooler already....

[mongoII]

Very nice array of ice cream images. I had myself a chocolate cone today.

CineMaven, what are you getting all bulgey-eyed about? It's only a push-up.................ooooooooooh,
my goodness

[pvitari]

I had some Mayfield's chocolate ice cream today to celebrate. I'm glad I mentioned it was Ice Cream Day because these are some great photos.

The Tab Hunter and Terry Moore one, though, is in a category all its own. That's the most X-rated G-rated pic I've ever seen, if you know what I mean. :)

[mongoII]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

STANLEY CLEMENTS (1926 - 1981)
After a short stint with the East Side Kids, he set out on his own, this time landing roles in more prestigious pictures. He was featured in the Bing Crosby hit Going My Way, and scored a great success as a jockey in the Alan Ladd feature Salty O'Rourke. His career was interrupted by military service in World War II, and when he returned, he began appearing in lower-budgeted films, including Johnny Holiday (cast against type as a psychopath). He starred in a series of action/detective pictures at Allied Artists for producer Ben Schwalb and director Edward Bernds.
Schwalb soon became staff producer for The Bowery Boys, and when he needed a replacement for Leo Gorcey in 1956, he asked Clements to step in. Clements comfortably settled into the role of Huntz Hall's sidekick, beginning with Fighting Trouble, and co-starred in the final seven Bowery Boys comedies. Clements went on to a steady career of supporting roles in film and TV until his death from emphysema in 1981. His first wife was sultry Gloria Grahame.


WILLIAM BISHOP (1918 - 1959)
William attended grammar and high schools in New York and New Jersey. Upon graduation, he enrolled at West Virginia University where he planned to study law and played football and tennis. One summer, his uncle got him a job at the Suffern County (in New York) Theatre. He worked with actors Broderick Crawford, George Tobias, José Ferrer and Kent Smith. After that experience, he decided to continue with theatre and left college and toured with "Tobacco Road". He had a brief stint with the Mercury theatre in New York and then left for Hollywood and was signed to an MGM contract which included numerous small parts. He was supposed to have made a movie with Esther Williams which never came about. Then it was off to the Army. Discharged in 1946, he spent three years with Columbia before freelancing. He starred for the entire run of the TV series "It's a Great Life" (1954). Cancer took his life at age 41.


SONNY TUFTS (1911 - 1970)
He went to Hollywood in 1942 and for most of the 1940's appeared in supporting roles or as second leads in light comedies produced by Paramount Pictures, noteworthy was "So Proudly We Hail" as Paulette Goddards honey pie. An old college football injury had disqualified him for military duty, and so, with many of Hollywood's younger leading men serving overseas in World War II, this tall, blond, blue-eyed actor became something of a star, if only by default. But by the turn of the decade he had found his name in print on account of his off-screen activities. In 1949 he had been found drunk on a Hollywood sidewalk. In 1950 he was sued by two women for allegedly biting each of them in the thigh. In 1951 his wife had him jailed for drunkenness. The name Sonny Tufts itself became a joke. Thereafter he made few films, but could be found in occasional guest appearances on inconsequential TV shows. He died of pneumonia at age 58.


GINGER ROGERS (1911 - 1995)
The movie that enamored her to the public was Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933). She did not have top billing but her beauty and voice was enough to have the public want more. She suggested using a monocle and this also set her apart. One song she popularized in the film was the now famous, "We're in the Money". In 1934, she starred with Dick Powell in Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934). It was a well received film about the popularity of radio. Ginger's real stardom occurred when she was teamed with Fred Astaire where they were one of the best cinematic couples ever to hit the silver screen. This is where she achieved real stardom. They were first paired in 1933's Flying Down to Rio (1933) and later in 1935's Roberta (1935) and Top Hat (1935). Ginger also appeared in some very good comedies such as Bachelor Mother (1939) and 5th Ave Girl (1939) both in 1939. Also that year she appeared with Astaire in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939). The film made money but was not anywhere successful as they had hoped. After that studio executives at RKO wanted Ginger to strike out on her own. She made several dramatic pictures but it was 1940's Kitty Foyle (1940) that allowed her to shine. Playing a young lady from the wrong side of the tracks, she played the lead role well, so well in fact, that she won an Academy Award for her portrayal. Ginger followed that project with the delightful comedy, Tom Dick and Harry (1941) the following year. It's a story where she has to choose which of three men she wants to marry. Through the rest of the 1940s and early 1950s she continued to make movies but not near the caliber before World War II. After Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957) in 1957, Ginger didn't appear on the silver screen for seven years. By 1965, she had appeared for the last time in Harlow (1965/II). Afterward, she appeared on Broadway and other stage plays traveling in Europe, the U.S. and Canada.
After 1984, she retired and wrote an autobiography in 1991 entitled, "Ginger, My Story" which is a very good book. On April 25, 1995, Ginger died of natural causes in Rancho Mirage, California. She was 83. The lady was married 5 times including to Lew Ayres and Jacques Bergerac.
Her tied-to-the-hip relationship with her mother, Lela E. Rogers, proved eternal. They're buried side by side at Oakwood Memorial Park. The grave of Ginger's screen partner, Fred Astaire, is just yards away.
She was named #14 Actress on The AFI 50 Greatest Screen Legends.


BARBARA STANWYCK (1907 - 1990)
In 1928 Barbara moved to Hollywood, where she was to start one of the most lucrative careers filmdom had ever seen. She was an extremely versatile actress who could adapt to any role. Barbara was equally at home in all genres, from melodramas, such as Forbidden (1932) and Stella Dallas (1937), to thrillers, such as Double Indemnity (1944), one of her best films, also starring Fred MacMurray (as you have never seen him before). She also excelled in comedies such as Remember the Night (1940) and The Lady Eve (1941). Another genre she excelled in was westerns, Union Pacific (1939) being one of her first and TV's "The Big Valley" (1965) (her most memorable role) being her last. In 1983, she played in the ABC hit mini-series "The Thorn Birds" (1983), which did much to keep her in the eye of the public. She turned in an outstanding performance as Mary Carson
and won the best actress Emmy Award.
Her stormy marriage to Frank Fay finally ended after a drunken brawl, during which he tossed their adopted son, Dion, into the swimming pool. Despite rumours of affairs with Marlene Dietrich and Joan Crawford, Stanwyck wed Robert Taylor, who had gay rumours of his own to dispel. Their marriage started off on a sour note when his possessive mother demanded he spend his wedding night with her rather than with Barbara.
Barbara was considered a gem to work with for her serious but easygoing attitude on the set. She worked hard at being an actress, and she never allowed her star quality to go to her head. She was nominated for four Academy Awards, though she never won. She turned in magnificent performances for all the roles she was nominated for, but the "powers that be" always awarded the Oscar to someone else. However, in 1982 she was awarded an honorary Academy Award for "superlative creativity and unique contribution to the art of screen acting." Sadly, Barbara died on January 20, 1990, leaving 93 movies and a host of TV appearances as her legacy to us.


PERCY KILBRIDE (1888 - 1964)
He had a long career in theater before making movies, playing hundreds of roles, mostly rustic bumpkins, in stage and stock. His film career included two isolated early films: White Woman (1933) and Soak the Rich (1936). It began in earnest with the part of Orion Peabody in the Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn wartime drama Keeper of the Flame (1942) followed by a funny bit in "George Washington Slept Here" and the dramatic "Fallen Angel".
The movie public really came to recognize him when he played the part of Pa Kettle (against Marjorie Main's Ma) in The Egg and I (1947), a role he reprised for seven more "Ma and Pa Kettle" movies, the last of which, and the last of his career, was in 1955.
Percy Kilbride and actor, Ralf Belmont, were walking through Percy's neighborhood at night, when they were struck by a car. Ralf Belmont died instantly while Percy died later from head injuries.

No birthday tributes from TCM today (boo-hoo)