Fascinating facts, rumours and scandals that you might not have known about your favourite Hollywood stars from the 1920s to the 1970s
I remember rushing home from school as a child and watching re-runs of Bewitched on the TV. I absolutely adored it, along with I Dream of Jeannie. Here are some facts about Bewitched that you might not know: We’ve all tried to twitch our noses like Samantha, right? The trick to doing it was that(…)
This week we heard the sad news that Lauren Bacall died aged 89. Famous for her husky voice and relationship with Humphrey Bogart (both on and off-screen) she was one of the most iconic screen presences of the 40s and 50s. Above: Armed Forces Radio Services broadcaster Jack Brown interviews Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall(…)
Amelia Earhart was a pioneering aviatrix who was the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic. She mysteriously disappeared in her plane whilst attempting to circumnavigate the globe in 1937, the wreckage of which has never been found. Here are 10 surprising facts you may not know about Amelia Earhart: She was nicknamed “Lady(…)
Chaplin, along with his mother and siblings, were sent to the dreaded Victorian workhouse when he was aged just 7. After the breakdown of his parents marriage, his mother struggled to keep the family from destitution but without any help from his father she was unable to keep them out of the workhouse. Parents were(…)
Swedish-born Greta was christened Greta Lovisa Gustafsson. Garbo’s first job was as a soap-lather girl in a barbershop. She also worked as an errand girl in a department store, in the millinery department selling hats and as a model before her acting career took off. After being spotted by MGM she moved to America where(…)
The first movie I watched starring Ann Miller was On The Town, and I was totally wowed by her dancing. Her legs were the longest on screen (or at least they seemed to me to be) and her tap speed was truly astonishing! Here are some facts you might not know about the lovely Ann(…)
Judy Garland is one of those movie stars that everyone is aware of, even if it’s just becaue they watch The Wizard of Oz every Christmas (surely everyone has seen that movie, haven’t they?). Everyone remembers the happy, talented girl on screen, but not so many are aware of the tragedy of her life which was filled(…)
Taylor was married 8 times. Her shortest marriage was with her first husband Conrad Nicky Hilton which lasted just 9 months, and her longest marriage was with Richard Burton which lasted 10 years (plus an extra year when they re-married in 1975). Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton starred together in 11 movies.
Whether you know of Jane Fonda as a movie star, fitness guru or political activist, she’s certainly made her mark over the years. Here are some facts you might not know about her… Her real name is Lady Jayne Seymour Fonda. I have no idea whether the ‘Lady’ means she was titled, or whether it(…)
Carole Lombard was one of the most popular comedy film actresses of the 1930s and tragically died because of a decision made with the toss of a coin. How many of these facts did you know about her? She was the highest-paid star in Hollywood in the late 1930s, earning around US$500,000 per year which(…)
Gardner was born the youngest of 7 siblings in a farming community in North Carolina She was scouted for a Hollywood screen test aged 18 after her brother-in-law put a photo portrait he took of her in his shop window. Despite her almost incomprehensible Southern accent (incomprehensible to the studio execs anyway!) MGM loved her(…)
Katharine Hepburn received four Academy Awards for Best Actress – I think this is a record but I couldn’t verify it, does anyone know? She had 26-year affair with her costar Spencer Tracy which was hidden from the public. The young Hepburn was a tomboy who liked to call herself Jimmy, and cut her hair(…)
Did you know that Audrey Hepburn wasn’t Capote’s first choice to play Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s? Hope you like these unusual facts about Hepburn. They are 10 things I didn’t know about Audrey Hepburn anyway! If you’re the world’s biggest Audrey Hepburn superfan you may already know some of these – let me(…)
Best known for her performance in Gilda, Rita Hayworth was one of the 1940s most famous (and one of my all time favourite) movie stars. I certainly didn’t know all of these facts, so I’d love to know how many are new to you too! Rita Hayworth was born Margarita Carmen Cansino in Brooklyn, New(…)
Louise Brooks with her sharply bobbed hair is one of the most iconic figures of 1920s cinema, but I realised I didn’t know much about this enigmatic figure. This is what I discovered… Louise Brooks started off as a chorus girl and dancer in 1922, and by 1925 was a dancer for Ziegfeld’s Follies. It(…)
Clara Bow was the quintessential ‘it’ girl and a flapper icon. She was one of the few silent movie stars who made it successfully into ‘talkies’ with her thick Brooklyn accent in tact. Bow was notorious for her loose living and scandalous lifestyle, so you’ve probably heard the rumours and gossip but here are 10 facts(…)
I say ‘10 things you didn’t know about Marilyn Monroe‘ but obviously I have no idea how much of a Marilyn expert you are, so I guess these are really 10 things I didn’t know about Marilyn Monroe! Let me know if they’re all news to you too – I was amazed by some of(…)