Farley Granger (July 1, 1925 – March 27, 2011)

85 year old actor Farley Granger has passed away. Probably most known for his role in the Hitchcock thriller Strangers on a Train (1951), Granger's career spanned many years across film, television, and he even Broadway. One interesting tidbit I just learned was that Granger had been given a role in the Academy Award winning film The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) playing a character with cerebral palsy, but then the powers that be decided that a wounded war veteran would be a better fit for the movie, so they cast real life vet Harold Russell instead.

Granger has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to television, at 1551 Vine Street.

June Lang, what a dish!

So I recently came across a few photos of June Lang and WOW what a beauty! I think the only movie of note that she did that I actually saw was Wee Willie Winkie (1937), but that was due to it being a Shirley Temple flick. I didn't actually know much about this stunning actress, so after doing a bit of reading on her I found out some interesting factoids.

Apparently she isn't THAT well known as it's possible an ill-fated marriage caused her to lose film work and possibly even be the reason she was let go from her studio contract. In 1940 she married a known mobster named Johnny Roselli. Roselli had a long list of frowned upon behavior, such as extortion, racketeering, and even murder. While they were only married for three years, apparently that was long enough for her reputation to be tarnished to the point that her studio dropped her and she struggled finding work from that point on.  Why do we ladies always go for the bad boys? ;)

In any case, I can't help but wonder if she could have grown past the B roles she was typically given and had a remarkable career had reputation not been such a make or break you thing back in the day. Here are some photos of her, such a beautiful lady...

Elizabeth Taylor passes away at 79

Elizabeth Taylor

27 February 1932 – 23 March 2011

A wonderful gallery of previously unpublished photos of her can be viewed at http://www.life.com/gallery/52391/elizabeth-taylor-unpublished-pics#index/0

Favorite Claudette Colbert Pic Ever!

I just came across this awesome photo of my favorite actress Claudette Colbert, from the movie His Lady (1931).  I love how in this photo she's expressing timidity but yet at the same time lots of sex appeal. The good/bad girl if you will, one after my own heart, which considering the storyline of His Lady makes perfect sense. Thanks to the Valentino Vamp over at Tumblr for this find.

Mildred Pierce Remake

Ahhh so I see there is a remake in the works of the 1945 classic Mildred Pierce, starring Joan Crawford. This time around it will take the form of a mini-series starring the ever AWESOME Kate Winslet. Guy Pierce is also starring and I must say everything I've ever seen him do has really impressed me, not to mention YUM!

The mini-series is set to air on HBO March 27th.

Don't eat, smoke instead!

I came across this old Lucky Strike advertisement from 1930 and thought the text was hiLARious!

"Avoid That Future Shadow by refraining from over-indulgence, if you would maintain the modern figure of fashion.We do not represent that smoking Lucky Strike cigarettes will bring modern figures or cause the reduction of flesh. We do declare that when tempted to do yourself too well, if you will "reach for a Lucky" instead, you will thus avoid over-indulgence in things that cause excess weight and, by avoiding over-indulgence, maintain a modern graceful form."

So basically, instead of eating smoke some cigarettes! (Kate Moss anyone?)

I always wonder that since back in the day people didn't know that smoking could cause major health issues, that some of the things that we are currently eating, drinking, pill popping, injecting (BOTOX?!) could also one day be put in the same category as cigarettes. I tend to be wary of anything that comes out that hasn't been used for too long, and I know I for one won't be doing any Botox injections any time soon!

The Road to Hollywood - Check for YOUR city!

Have you all heard about TCM's Road to Hollywood? Twitter was all a-buzz yesterday as they were giving away some meet and greet passes to yesterday's stop - Cleveland. They are traveling around to a handful of U.S. cities and showing classic film screenings, and it says that they will be presented by hosts Robert Osborne or Ben Mankiewicz. I checked the schedule and lo and behold they will have one (relatively) near me in Los Angeles!

Check to see if they are coming to YOUR neck of the woods: http://www.tcm.com/2011/roadtohollywood/index.html

xoxo!

Phew! Angela Lansbury did NOT pass away.

Trending on Twitter today: Angela Lansbury. Of course I immediately thought the worst as did apparently many other people!

She had just taken part in the Society of London Theaters' (SOLT) 2011 Olivier awards, held at the Theater Royal Drury Lane, which is why I'm guessing her name popped up on Twitter... which then took a life of it's own as people started wondering if she had died!

I now have this urge to pop in Bedknobs and Broomsticks :).