Bogie & Bacall - Together Again

September 16, 1924 - August 12, 2014

Today we mourn the loss of an icon. Lauren Bacall is gone at age 89. 

Lauren was first cast opposite her future husband, Humphrey Bogart, in Howard Hawks' To Have and Have Not in 1944. She continued working every decade thereafter and left her mark in Hollywood as a legend. You can't be a fan of Old Hollywood and not love Lauren Bacall. 

"She's a real Joe. You'll fall in love with her like everybody else."

-Humphrey Bogart

Bogie and Bacall with son Stephen 

"I am not a has-been. I am a will be."

"I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that."

"Was he tough? In a word, no. Bogey was truly a gentle soul."

With daughter Leslie, named after actor Leslie Howard

"I am still working, I've never stopped and, while my health holds out, I won't stop."

Rest in peace, dear Betty. I hope Bogie was there to welcome you with open arms.

Until next time,

The Lingerie of the 1950s

I have a slight infatuation with 1950s lingerie advertisements. Most of them have images drawn as opposed to photographs, for one, looking a lot like those vintage pinups I love so much (more on pinups later!). Advertisers were so eager to sell the product, too! One catch-phrase after another, the beautiful mixture of fonts, all the adjectives - oh my! 

Take a look at this catalog page. Now, this specific bra was scientifically designed. That means they're serious business. Oh, the lives these scientists must've changed! A style to flatter every bust size. Try it for 10 days, and if you don't like it, send it back! No big deal. Though you won't have to send it back because the scientists did their job right the first time!

This Life by Formfit bra will give you that perfect "sweetheart" figure. Having the perfect hourglass figure a la Marilyn Monroe was very important in the 1950s. Being curvy was beautiful!

 This page from a Sears catalog boasts their "Heavenly Bodies" collection. How celestial!! All sorts of corsets and girdles to give you the perfect shape.

Now this next advertisement is perfect for you thrifty ladies looking for a deal! SIX pairs of briefs alone is enough to sell me on their product, but they're throwing in that 45! Elvis, Eddie Fisher, Perry Como -  who would you choose? I'm an Elvis girl myself. Who doesn't go looking for a RCA record when they're underwear shopping?! Brilliant!

The Hickory PermaLift bra adverts are among my favorite ads of any kind. Their tagline, for starters, is a double entendre, which I LOVE. "The lift that never lets you down!" Beautifully said. Secretly processed cushioned inserts - that's the ticket for that perfect lift!

Cone bras. I know we've all seen those old movies and television shows where the woman had the pointed breasts. Sweater girls were all the rage in the 50s. Women who, like Lana Turner, had the silhouetted bosom in her favorite soft sweater attained her look with these ringlet bras like Lovable made. Circle after circle sewn to uphold the cone shape forever, or so they say in their ad! 

Do you have a problem with your bra fitting you evenly on both sides? Never fear, for ExquisiteForm has designed the bra for you! The Bra-O-Matic adjusts each cup to fit your individual shape! That's right, just a "quick click" and your bra's lift will be just right for you!!

Of course we can't leave the fellas out! Jockey underwear will make your guy feel like a million in these super attractive styles! Just take it from the guy with his shirt tucked into his Jockeys. 

Do you have a favorite lingerie advert from this era? Please share! 

Until next time,

Thank you, Lucy

Dearest Lucy, 

Thank you for your crazy antics as Lucy Ricardo that bring so much laughter to my life. Thank you for your strong will which kept you going when times were tough, when the world was seemingly against you. Thank you for your hot and cold relationship with Desi. Even when it was "cold" you still loved each other like no one has ever loved before. Thank you for your sweet relationship with Lucie and Desi Jr. Thank you for always keeping that fiery spirit even as you aged. Thank you for always keeping up with your henna rinses, for that was the Lucy we adored. Thank you for Stone Pillow, no explanation needed. Thank you for introducing me to Carole Lombard, for I adore her in many of the ways I adore you. Thank you for spending your summers in Del Mar. I envision you there each time I go. Thank you for writing down your life story. It is a pleasure (and a sorrow at times) reading about your childhood and the early years in your career. 

A home movie still, 1940s

Glamorous Lucille, 1930s

Studying a script, 1960s

Trying to make Desi Jr smile after his baptism, 1950s

 Lucy, thank you for being my happy place. Thank you for being brave. Thank you for being you.

Happy Birthday, Darling.

Love,

Remembering Marilyn

"When I think of the future, I think, I'm thirty-six years old.

I'm just getting started...But as long as one is alive, one

can be vital. But you don't give up until you stop breathing."

I've been a big fan of Marilyn Monroe since I was in high school and wrote a research paper on her. At the time, I knew little about her, but by the time I finished my paper, I was enamored. The first Marilyn movie I saw was Some Like It Hot and to this day, it remains one of my favorite Old Hollywood movies. My other Marilyn favorites are The Seven Year Itch where she plays The Girl, the upstairs neighbor who Tom Ewell's character falls for while his wife and son are away for the summer, How To Marry A Millionaire, a comedy based around three women (Marilyn, Lauren Bacall, and Betty Grable) trying to land rich husbands, Niagara, a drama about jealous lovers, and Don't Bother To Knock, the first film where I believe Marilyn really got to showcase her acting abilities, playing a deranged babysitter trying to seduce a man.

The Seven Year Itch with Tom Ewell (1955)

As Sugar Cane Kowalcyzk in Some Like It Hot (1959)

The damsel in distress in Niagara (1953)

The ditzy but lovable blonde in How To Marry A

Millionaire (1953)

Alongside Richard Widmark in Don't Bother To Knock (1952) 

I love to watch old movies, of course, but I enjoy learning about the actors even more. I love a good autobiography or biography written by someone who knew the star well. Marilyn lived such a sad life, full of tragedies and downfalls, though she was also blessed in many ways. She carried the sadness with her all her life. 

I think Marilyn is terribly misunderstood by the general public. Behind the glamour and beauty was a real woman, down to earth, extremely kind and nurturing, someone who just wanted to be loved. Marilyn was intelligent and well-read with an affinity for literature. However, she was plagued by her inability to become a mother and by the lack of love in her personal life, and unfortunately, her grief far outweighed all the positives in her life in her eyes. 

"When I was a little girl I would pretend I was Alice in Wonderland

looking into a mirror, wondering what I would see. Was that really me? 

Who was that staring back at me? Could it be someone pretending to be me? 

I would dance around, make faces, just to see if that little

girl in the mirror would do the same."

"You know, children when they become adults are still at heart children.

Sometimes I watch adult men. They act like little boys who have never

grown up. I suppose it depends on the mood you are in. Our emotions play 

an important part in our lives. We cannot hide from them. My mother,

bless her, used to say, "Norma Jeane, make the most of it,

because that's all you've got."

I wish you peace, Norma Jeane. You are a truly beautiful soul.

June 1, 1926 - August 4, 1962

Until next time,

...away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me.

It's been 45 years since Judy Garland passed away. Instead of focusing on her tragic end, I want to celebrate the joy she brought to Old Hollywood and to millions of people throughout the decades. 

Judy was born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She was the youngest of three girls, and her family nicknamed her "Baby". The three Gumm sisters started performing song and dance routines as young girls in their Episcopal Church and in their father's movie theater. In 1926, the Gumm family moved to California, where it didn't take long for the girls to get started in motion pictures. In 1934, the sisters changed their name to Garland, and they appeared together until 1935 when oldest sister Mary Jane was married.

Mary Jane, Dorothy Virginia, and Frances Ethel, 

1920s

The Gumm Sisters

Judy eventually signed a contract at age 13 with Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Judy would soon garner attention by singing her rendition of You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It) to Clark Gable at his birthday party. It would lead to a part in Broadway Melody of 1938 where she would sing the same song to a photo of Gable. 

Judy, age 13. Judy always felt out of place & not as beautiful

as the girls she went to school with at MGM, including Ava Gardner, Elizabeth

Taylor, and Lana Turner. 

Judy c. 1935 

Judy would soon start her series of musicals with fellow MGM star and lifelong friend, Mickey Rooney, in 1937, starting with Love Finds Andy Hardy. The pair would go on to appear in 13 films together. However popular the Andy Hardy series was, Judy's life would change when she was cast as the lead character, Dorothy, in 1939's The Wizard of Oz. It's one of the all time greats, a film every child has seen. I was born and raised in Kansas, just like Dorothy, so The Wizard of Oz means a great deal to me. 

Mickey and Judy in Love Finds Andy Hardy.

"I'm not a witch at all! I'm Dorothy Gale, from Kansas."

The 1940s were a plethora of musicals for Judy Garland. Standing under 5 feet tall, the little girl with the big voice delighted audiences in musical films such as For Me and My Gal (with Gene Kelly), Babes on Broadway (with Rooney), Meet Me In St Louis, and Easter Parade (with Fred Astaire), among many others. 

"I was born at the age of twelve on the MGM lot."

-Judy Garland

Judy was so gorgeous in the 1940s.

"I made all these great musicals with Judy Garland. It was all

about me going into a barn and saying, 'Let's put

on a show.' That's what me and Judy did."

-Mickey Rooney

Gene Kelly and Judy in For Me and My Gal, 1942

Presenting Lily Mars, 1943

  

Publicity still as Esther Smith in Meet Me In St. Louis, 1944

With Meet Me In St. Louis co-star Tom Drake

Judy and friend Frank Sinatra. Frank would be Judy's 

daughter Lorna Luft's godfather.

With Easter Parade (1948) co-star, Fred Astaire

Judy met her first husband, Vincente Minnelli, on the set of her 1944 picture Meet Me In St. Louis. Vincente was the director, and they began a romantic relationship during filming. The couple married on June 15, 1945. Their only daughter, Liza, was born in March 1946. The pair divorced in 1951.

Vincente and Judy married in her mother's backyard.

Judy and baby Liza.

“It was no great tragedy being Judy Garland's daughter.

 I had tremendously interesting childhood 

years -- except they had little to do with being a child.”

-Liza Minnelli

Judy and Vincente divorced in 1951. Soon after, Judy employed Sid Luft as her manager, and would soon begin a relationship. They were married in 1952. Sid and Judy had two children together, Lorna and Joey. They divorced in 1963 after a seemingly rocky relationship. Judy would marry three more times in her life.

"When we got married in the early '50s, Judy was still very beautiful. 

She was only 5-foot tall -- just a shrimp of a girl, really -- but she 

had a very sensuous body, and up close, her skin was 

like porcelain, pure white. I was crazy about her. 

She had incredibly kissable lips."

-Sid Luft

Judy and Sid with Liza, Joey, and Lorna, 1960s

Unfortunately, Judy succumbed to pill addiction while living in London in 1969. She died in the early morning hours of June 22. It is said that there was a tornado around the same time she died near Salina, Kansas (which is right near my hometown) late at night on June 21. Maybe it's true, maybe it isn't, but I like to believe it is. Judy was a tornado of a woman, in a good way, and her presence and voice are missed terribly.