Want to learn the history of " The Little Tascals"? Join me December 3rd for a special one day class through OLLI at Cal-State Long Beach. 9:00-12:00

Timeline Photos

Happy birthday to actress Lupita Tovar star of the Spanish language "Dracula", who turns 106 today

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10104312206460541&substory_index=7&id=6013422

https://video-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t42.1790-2/13628890_830128380458140_638149063_n.mp4?efg=eyJybHIiOjQwNiwicmxhIjo1MTIsInZlbmNvZGVfdGFnIjoic3ZlX3NkIn0%3D&oh=e93529abef3692bea6e1f2ca81de4795&oe=577E8D08

The Towns That Never Were

http://www.purpleclover.com/entertainment/5560-towns-never-were/

Photos from Hollywood Classics By Hathcock's post

Today is the birthday of the great Sir Laurence Olivier. My first exposure to him was when I was 5 years old and AMC showed "Wuthering Heights". It was instant love at first sight. His portrayal of the love lorn Heathcliff, so desperately trying to win Catherine Earnshaw back from Edgar Linton, is one of the greatest performances ever put on film. I have never been more moved than when he, as an old man, calls out to Catherine's ghost begging her to "come back once more! Oh my heart's darling! Cathy! My own!" Your heart breaks. You want someone to love you as much as he loves her. I have seen him in many other performances, but his Heathcliff remains my absolute favorite. So here's to you Sir Laurence! Happy birthday!!!!

Fun fact: Before each take, Jean Harlow would put ice on her nipples so that she appeared "perky" onscreen at all times

Timeline Photos

The fabulous Eric Blore!

Fun Fact: When Eric Blore's death was incorrectly reported in the New Yorker, Blore's lawyer demanded a retraction. On the day the retraction was printed, Eric Blore actually died- his death was reported in the daily papers, while the New Yorker apologized to Mr. Blore for its error.

Fun fact: In 1933, Noel Coward's scandalous comedy, "Design For Living", which tells the tale of a threesome between two men and a woman, was adapted for the screen, a the censors had a field day with the script. Upon viewing the completed film, Noel Coward famously said, "I'm told that there are three of my original lines left in the film – such original ones as 'Pass the mustard'."

Timeline Photos

LESLIE HOWARD: MORE THAN A HANDSOME FACE To most people, Leslie Howard represents the stoic, handsome English gentleman who would rather spend his time reading in his library or dancing to waltzes at a ball. For many, the only role they have ever seen him in is that of Ashley Wilkes in “Gone With the Wind”, the role he didn’t want to do but was forced to as part of a deal with David O’Selznick to make Howard’s pet project, “Intermezzo”. It is a sad fate that has befallen this misrepresented man who was neither weak nor foppish in real life, but whom the public will forever see that way. Leslie Howard was born in England in 1893 and began his career as a bank teller. When World War 1 broke out, he enlisted as a subaltern, or lieutenant, in the infantry. He was involved in such fierce battles, that he soon suffered shell shock and resigned his commission. After having survived the war, the life of a sedate bank clerk no longer held any appeal to him. He needed something exciting, something new, something different. Acting held that challenge. He found work in the West End theaters, then soon crossed the ocean to find his greatest theatrical success in a succession of Broadway hits beginning with “Aren’t We All” and continuing with “Outward Bound”, “The Green Hat”, “Her Cardboard Lover” and the haunting “Berkeley Square”. When the play was adapted for film, he launched his Hollywood career recreating his famous role. Throughout his tenure in Hollywood, he played roles ranging from time travelers to professors to Romeo to the Scarlet Pimpernell. It is this role, his favorite, that seems to bare the closest resemblance to the real Leslie Howard. In public, he was the dandy actor; in actuality he was a concerned Englishman who began putting together propaganda projects for the Mother Land and who may have also been a spy! Rumors still abound as to what happened June 1, 1943 when his plane was shot down. Did the Germans shoot it down because the death of Leslie Howard would demoralize Britain? Or was the plane shot down because he was a spy? Or was it shot down by accident because they thought Winston Churchill was on that plane? We will never know. The only thing we will know for certain is that Leslie Howard was more than a handsome face. He was a truly fascinating man who loved his country and who died fighting for it. Hopefully, someday, the public will see him for what he was: a real man.

Fun fact: In 1923, Harry Chandler, an investor, and the then owner of 'The Los Angeles Times', built the famous Hollywood Sign to advertise the area 'Hollywoodland'. The total expense for this advertisement was $21,000. Initially, it was built to last only for eighteen months.