Even if you’re not a silent movie buff you’ve probably heard of ‘America’s Sweetheart‘ Mary Pickford. Here are some interesting facts you might not have known about the famous Blondilocks: She co-founded the movie studio United Artists with Charlie Chaplin, husband Douglas Fairbanks Sr and D.W. Griffith in response to the restrictive and controlling ‘Star(…)
I have just read the most fabulous book! Silent Murders is a stylish murder mystery set in 1920s Hollywood. Not only is it an un-put-downable (that’s totally a word) story, but it’s set against a fascinating backdrop of real life film stars. The main character, Jessie, an ex-Vaudville actress with a rather shady past, lands(…)
Some time ago the AFI (that’s the American Film Institute) released a list of the top 50 greatest screen legends from the Classic Hollywood era: 25 male and 25 female stars. I’m not sure exactly what their criteria were for reaching the top spot, but they classified a screen legend as an actor or actress:(…)
Mary Pickford wearing THE most amazing gloves in a publicity photo from the 1931 movie Kiki. I fell in love with gloves like these when I saw a lady wearing them (number 18) at Goodwood Revival last year and never thought I’d see another pair! Aren’t they amazing? If anyone knows where I can get(…)
Quite a lot if we believe the Hollywood Studios of the 30s and 40s! There were only a handful of Classic Hollywood stars who kept their own names, including Jane Russell, Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn and Grace Kelly. The majority of actors and actresses had their identities completely re-written. How many of these 20(…)
Photo of Mary Pickford kneeling in front of a full length mirror. Photo by Alfred Cheney Johnston.