Nova Pilbeam?

Over at Esther's "B" left me a little comment about someone in a photo with Esther. "B" thought the unknown woman might have been Nova Pilbeam. NOVA PILBEAM! Forgive me, I thought it was a joke, but no, there is a Nova Pilbeam. (I can't stop saying this name!) Did you know there was a Nova Pilbeam? I always get a kick out of kooky names like this and wonder just what went through her parent's minds when their little bundle of joy arrived. I mean, with a last name like Pilbeam, what name would a new parent gravitate towards. "Why yes darling, let's call her Nova!"

Truth be told, I love the name and am thrilled to be able to add this minutiae to the "P" in the Rolodex in my brain.

Seems Nova was a successful british child actress, busy in the 30s, but by 1949, she had retired, never having made a film in Hollywood. More's the pity.

Joan's excellent sense of humor.

Ann Sothern and Gale Sondergaard

And thank you TJB@SSUWAT ....look at my BIG PICTURES!



Of course I don't know for sure, but I'm gonna guess that Ann's snapshot is either from Nancy Goes To Rio or Shadow on the Wall. Both were released in 1950. As for Gale, her photo must've been taken for East Side, West Side whose tagline was, "I was married to a man other women pursued!"

All I have to say is, who isn't? Gale's billing was directly below that of one Nancy Davis. The real stars of the film were Barbara Stanwyck, James Mason, Van Heflin, Ava Gardner and Cyd Charisse. Heck of a cast. Sadly, I've got none of them in wardrobe test shots. Shucks.

Paul Monette

October 16, 1945- February 10, 1995

I need to read Becoming A Man again. It was magnificent.

Four Fabulous Broads, Born 2/8

When Lana got old, she looked like E.T. When young, whoa.




Dame Edith in "The Chalk Garden". I was a very young kid when I saw this movie on TV. I wanted to be not Deborah Kerr, not Hayley Mills, but Edith.




from David Patrick Columbia at New York Social Diary:

Years ago the late Audrey Meadows told me she was walking down Madison Avenue one weekday mid-afternoon in early Spring with a friend.

They were strolling along, enjoying the beautiful day. She was in from Beverly Hills where she lived and was exhilarated being in New York. She was wearing a large pear-shaped diamond on a gold string necklace. Suddenly, out of nowhere, on the corner of 63rd and Madison, a tall man, well-dressed man in hat and coat, shoved her up against the wall, held her at what felt like gunpoint in her stomach, looked her right in the eye, (terrifying her momentarily) and with the other hand ripped the necklace from her neck, and was gone. It happened so quickly that even passers-by failed to notice until he was fled into the crowded street. She never got it back and he was never apprehended.





Betty Field in anything.

Kind Lady (1951)

This is Maurice Evans, probably known to most as Samantha's father on, "Bewitched", as well as Dr. Zaius in, "Planet of the Apes". He was also Rosemary's best bud in, "Rosemary's Baby". This AM, TCM was running, "Kind Lady" and I noticed Maurice in it and noticed that he was in this outfit (yes, small things thrill me). The photo was snapped November 30, 1950 which makes sense with the film being listed as 1951. Interestingly, it shows here that Maurice had last worked in "Scrooge" (1935) billed as "Poor Man". I wondered what he might have been doing between '35 & '51 and sauntered over here and found out exactly what he did those 16 years. Veddy busy on Broadway, Maurice was a go-to-guy when it came to Shakespeare, among other things. His last listed treading of the boards was in 1962.

In case you were wondering...

...Jean Hagen and Frankie Fontaine.

Cash or Charge-A-Plate?

February 6

1756 Aaron Burr.................................1931 Mamie Van Doren
1895 Babe Ruth..................................1932 Francois Truffaut
1899 Ramon Novarro..........................1939 Mike Farrell
1901 Ben Lyon....................................1940 Tom Brokaw
1911 Little Ronnie Reagan...................1941 Gigi Perreau
1912 Eva Braun...................................1943 Fabian Forte
1913 John Lund..................................1943 Gayle Hunnicutt
1917 Zsa Zsa Gabor.............................1945 Bob Marley
1922 Haskell Wexler...........................1950 Natalie Cole
1922 Patrick MacNee..........................1957 Kathy Najimy
1931 Rip Torn.....................................1966 Rick Astley







The Blizzard of '78

I was lucky. I was home that February 6th and we never lost power. Like everyone else, I was trapped. We were housebound for one week. We watched Governor Dukakis on TV (in his comfortable sweater) reassure us that all would be fine. We'd shot some 8MM film, but sadly, knew nothing of white balances, so the footage is just BRIGHT with almost zero detail. The cars that were parked in the driveway were buried, you couldn't see the top of mother's Lincoln. I recall family member's taking a handled griddle outside and using it to "shovel", raising their arm above their head to move some snow. The snow was as high as we were tall. I took one look at all that white crap, figured why bothah, they'll come and plow and went back to whatever I was doing, happy that I'd bought a carton of Benson & Hedges Menthols. Below is a bumper sticker that I found at Copley Flair shortly after the disaster. It probably seems amazing to you that I never chose to adhere it to my car's bumper.

Check please!

Yes, I stole this from the trash 10,000 years ago. Amazing it's still legible. My Adam Arkin smudged.

Sorry....

I just came across this photo of Brandy (not completely sure who she is) and saw only one thing. Divine's make-up artist is still managing to get work.

Is the wardrobe mistress around?

Though I'm not absolutely positive, I believe Sunday's mystery dame is Florence Bates. As for the fellow, his name is Lanny Ross, who has a star at 6777 Hollywood Blvd. for radio. Lancelot had a short film career in the 30s.


I hope these new photos are easier.

Happy Birthday February 3

Horace Greeley 1811
Joey Bishop 1918
Shelly Berman 1926
Blythe Danner 1943
Dennis Edwards 1943
Nathan Lane 1956
Linda Eder 1961










but the birthday girl today is Peggy Ann Garner (b.1932) who starred in a favorite of mine, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn".



I'll be honest and say why I've always loved this movie. The first time I watched it, many years ago (Lincoln was President) was with my mother. Mum didn't have it easy as a child, there was little to no money, like the Nolans. At age ten, there was also no father. She was the youngest and became very close with her father, especially after his legs were amputated in an attempt to lengthen his life (it didn't work). I guess you could say, they cut him down to her size. Sprinkle into this the bedtime story we were told as kids...."The Little Match Girl". You know, the poor, freezing homeless girl that sells matches & runs out...and ends up in the warm and loving arms of the rich folks? Yes, it's syrupy & sappy. Well, that too was my mother, to me at least. Though she didn't ram it down my throat, that she grew up in the depression was never forgotten.

So now you know why I tear up with every little look Peggy gives, why I cringe when Dorothy McGuire's so rotten to her (yet secretly understand why she does what she does) or why I die when Johnny dies. When Johnny takes Francie through the beautiful neighborhood and she picks out her house? Pretty god damned poor little match girl to me! And when Lloyd Nolan comes and saves the day? I'm surprised they didn't portray him on horseback, white...of course.

Peggy was quite a trooper. After Hollywood said bye-bye [they weren't interested in a grown Peggy] she worked hard, mostly in television, grabbing roles here & there. She died very young at 52, pancreatic cancer. (And YES, she IS dead!) Her personal life didn't go much better. Three marriages, all ended in divorce and her only daughter (with the actor Albert Salmi) died when she was 38.

and also on 2/3...1959, The Day the Music Died.....

as well as
Lana Clarkson 2003
Woodrow Wilson 1924
Nancy Kulp 1991
John Cassavettes 1989
Belle Starr 1889

87 Today.