Tag: celebs

On This Day In Hedda Hopper History…

February 13, 1957, Hedda Hopper reveals (among other things) that a smiling Marilyn Monroe gave a “No comment” response to direct question about she and hubby Arthur Miller expecting a baby — and this gem:

The Ronnie Reagans will move into their electronic house over the week-end. They took lessons on how to run their electric control board which has almost as many gadgets as there are in a Constellation.

As amused as I am, I will not Google Reagan. Those of you with no Valentine’s Day plans, you now have something to do.

hopper reagans february 13 1957

FDR, What A Knitter

Long before Rosey Grier, FDR was sporting the needlecraft. Of course, FDR thought he was a cheeky little monkey, mocking men knitting. Or maybe he thought it was ironic. That FDR, what a hipster.

fdr-and-eleanor-in-hyde-park

Image via The National Archives:

Newly married Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt ham it up for the camera—he knits while she drinks from his cocktail glass. Hyde Park, New York, 1906. ARC Identifier 197222.

See also.

Dames & Dogs #78

anna and duffy competing for treat

From the National Archives:

Although Fala might be the most famous of the Roosevelts’ dogs, this is a different Scottish terrier from decades before Fala joined the family. This photograph was taken in 1907. The dog, Duffy, is competing with Anna Roosevelt for a treat from the hand of FDR (who is standing over them, not yet stricken by polio).

Happy Holidays At L.A. Hostels

Four of the headliners as promoted in This Week in Los Angeles, December 25, 1959 to January 1, 1960 issue. Included are Arvon Dale at the Bowl, Big-Time Bill Pannell at the Hollywood-Roosevelt Cinegrill, Ken Murray with Marie Wilson at the Cocoanut Grove, and Frank Remley aka the Man With Geetar at the Zebra Room of the Sheraton-West.

vintage la hostels

“Don’t Act Like You’re Not Impressed”

While some are tired of the push for Anchorman 2, some of us are only too delighted to spot Will Ferrell’s Ron Burgundy “everywhere”. Tomorrow’s premier is still too long to wait, so I’ve gone looking for Ron and Anchorman goodies. You’ve probably heard of the Ron Burgundy underwear from Jockey (also available at Amazon), the scotch (not just any scotch, the Great Odin’s Raven Special Reserve), and Ben & Jerry’s Ron Burgundy’s Scotchy Scotch Scotch ice cream too; but here are some of my favorites.

The Ron Burgundy Wallet and Mustache Set is prefect for those of who love money and mustaches. (Who does that leave out? No one.)

Don't Act Like You're Not Impressed

This 13 inch talking doll action figure of Ron Burgundy says 10 phrases from the first Anchorman, The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

ron burgundy talking doll

Then there’s the Battle Ready Ron Burgundy doll action figure — don’t worry, additional Anchorman “Battle Ready” action figures, including Brick, Brian, and Champ are due from Beeline Creative in the coming months.

anchorman battle ready action figures from beeline

Unfortunately, no on seems to have made any Veronica Corningstone merch. That’s a damn shame. Some merch guys & toy makers must have gone on vacation with Tits McGee. I have at least a dozen ideas; so ping me.

“We Mustache You A Question”

And by “we” I mean Kitschy Kitschy Coo and the Smithsonian — and the Smithsonian really wants to know, “Who has your favorite historic facial hair?”

While there are tons of old photographs to choose from (including at the Smithsonian’s Pinterest Board), I’m going to vote for Dwight Blocker Bowers. Not for his own mustache (I’m not even sure he has one!) but because he’s a curator in the Division of Culture and the Arts and, as such, is in charge of these fake mustaches.

moustache collection

These beauties were once worn by actor James Whitmore in his titular role in Bully: An Adventure with Teddy Roosevelt (the one-man stage drama by playwright Jerome Alden).

I won’t point any fingers, but someone we know (*cough* hubby) collects old wigs; I find the old facial-hair wigs much more interesting.

1977 James Whitmore as Roosevelt

Photo of James Whitmore as Roosevelt in Bully via argenta-images06.

Happiness Is Flying High & Not Jiggling

That’s Marge Redmond, the actress who played Sister Jacqueline in The Flying Nun, sporting a very kitschy robe while sitting at the makeup mirror. This photo was part of an article in Inside Movie Magazine, November 1968.

Marge Redmond Sister Jacqueline Flying Nun

Once upon a time, Redmond was flying high as the wife of Jack Weston; but they would divorce and Redmond would not remarry. (At least she has not yet.) The divorce must have come some time after this 1981 article about Redmond and Weston. In that People article, Redmond & Weston (which sounds like some old vaudeville act) discuss how much they disliked living in L.A. Redmond said, “All they were making were Westerns and gangster shows and the women were all 16 or 60. I’m glad I got out when the jiggle started. TV is for those girls with the big boobs.” Kind of funny Redmond would knock “jiggles” when she was at that time playing Sarah Tucker, the pudding in a cloud lady, for Cool Whip.

Disney: It’s A Living, Gretel

Going through stacks of records, I redisc-overed this gem from 1964: Walt Disney Presents The Story of Hansel and Gretel, with music from the opera by Humperdinck.

vintage disney hansel gretel lp

At first I thought it was this Engelbert Humperdinck, but it turns out it was by this one; thanks NPR. As disappointing as that was, there was another delightful discovery…

Along with Laura Olsher (narrator), Michael Donahue (Hansel) and Martha Wentwoth (Witch), the voice of Gretel was Ann Jilliann!

story of hansel and gretel disney record

That’s a variant spelling of Ann Jillian — the extra “n” was also how she was billed for her portrayal of Little Bo Peep in Disney’s Babes In Toyland. Ann, of course, is to be adored for many things — among them It’s A Living.

The 16 year-old me adored that show; the adult me wants to watch it again. I can’t be the only one… Why isn’t that show available on DVD or Netflix or something?

Its_A_Living