Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992) - The woman with the sensual voice

Fast Facts

Birth name: Marie Magdalene Dietrich von Losch
Nickname: Lili Marlene
Birth date, place: 27 December 1901, Berlin-Schöneberg, Germany
Death date, place: 6 May 1992, Paris, France
Height: 5'6"
Spouse: Rudolf Sieber (1924-1976)
Child: Maria Riva
Instrument she played: violin

Did you know?

Her many lovers included: James Stewart, Erich Maria Remarque, Jean Gabin, Yul Brynner, John Wayne, George Bernard Shaw, John F. Kennedy

FILMOGRAPHY:

So sind die Maenner (1922), dir: Georg Jacoby
Man by the Roadside/Der Mensch am Wege (1923), dir: William Dieterle
The Leap Into Life/Der Sprung ins Leben (1923), dir: Johannes Guter
Tragedy of Love/Tragoedie der Liebe (1923), dir: Joe May
The Imaginary Baron/Der Juxbaron (1926), dir: Willi Wolff
Heads Up, Charly!/Kopf hoch, Charly! (1926), dir: Willi Wolff
Manon Lescaut (1926), dir: Arthur Robison
Cafe Electric/Cafe Elektrik aka When a Woman Loses Her Way/Wenn ein Weib den Weg verliert (1927), dir: Gustav Ucicky
A Modern Dubarry/Eine Dubarry von heute (1927), dir: Alexander Korda
His Greatest Bluff/Sein groesster Bluff (1927), dir: Henrik Galeen, Harry Piel
Princess Olala/Prinzessin Olala (1928), dir: Robert Land
The Woman One Longs For/Die Frau, nach der man sich sehnt (1929), dir: Curtis Bernhardt
Dangers of the Engagement Period/Gefahren der Brautzeit (1929), dir: Fred Sauer
I Kiss Your Hand, Madame/Ich kuesse Ihre Hand, Madame (1929), dir: Robert Land
The Ship of Lost Men/Das Schiff der verlorenen Menschen (1929), dir: Maurice Tourneur
The Blue Angel/Der Blaue Engel (1930), dir: Josef von Sternberg
Morocco (1930), dir: Josef von Sternberg
Dishonored (1931), dir: Josef von Sternberg
Blonde Venus (1932), dir: Josef von Sternberg
Shanghai Express (1932), dir: Josef von Sternberg
Song of Songs (1933), dir: Rouben Mamoulian
The Scarlet Empress (1934), dir: Josef von Sternberg
The Devil Is a Woman (1935), dir: Josef von Sternberg
Desire (1936), dir: Frank Borzage
The Garden of Allah (1936), dir: Richard Boleslawksi
I loved a soldier (1936), dir: Henry Hathaway
Angel (1937), dir: Ernst Lubitsch
Knight Without Armour (1937), dir: Jacques Feyder
Destry Rides Again (1939), dir: George Marshall
Seven Sinners (1940), dir: Tay Garnett
The Flame of New Orleans (1941), dir: Rene Clair
The Lady Is Willing (1942), dir: Mitchell Leisen
Manpower (1942), dir: Raoul Walsh
Pittsburgh (1942), dir: Lewis Seiler
The Spoilers (1942), dir: Ray Enright
Kismet (1944) aka Oriental Dream, dir: William Dieterle
Martin Roumagnac (1946), dir: Georges Lacombe
Golden Earrings (1947), dir: Mitchell Leisen
A Foreign Affair (1948), dir: Billy Wilder
Stage Fright (1950), dir: Alfred Hitchcock
No Highway in the Sky (1951), dir: Henry Koster
Rancho Notorious (1952), dir: Fritz Lang
Around the World in 80 Days (1956), dir: Michael Anderson
The Monte Carlo Story (1957), dir: Samuel A. Taylor
Witness for the Prosecution (1957), dir: Billy Wilder
Touch of Evil (1958), dir: Orson Welles
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), dir: Stanley Kramer
Just a Gigolo (1979), dir: David Hemmings


QUOTES:

Darling, the legs aren`t so beautiful, I just know what to do with them.
I never enjoyed working in a film.
I am not a myth.
I never ever took my career seriously.

There is a lack of dignity to film stardom. 
I`m not an actress -- I`m a personality.

Jeanne Crain (1925-2003) - The lovely heroine of Pinky and State fair

Fast Facts:

Birth name: Jeanne Elizabeth Crain

Nick name: Hollywood's number one party girl

Birth date, place: 25 May 1925, Barstow, California, USA

Death date, place: 14 December 2003, Santa Barbara, California, USA

Height: 5'4"

Religion: Roman Catholic

Spouse: Paul Brinkman (stage name: Brooks) (1945-2003)

Children: Paul F. Brinkman Jr., Michael, Timothy, Jeanine, Lisabette, Maria, Christopher

Did you know:

Won the Miss Camera Girl of 1942 title in Long Beach, Florida and given a contract by Fox Studios.

FILMOGRAPHY:

Home in Indiana 1944, dir: Henry Hathaway

In the meantime, darling 1944, dir: Otto Preminger

Winged victory 1944, dir: George Cukor

State fair 1945, dir: Walter Lang

Leave her to heaven 1945, John M. Stahl

Centennial summer 1946, dir: Otto Preminger

Margie 1946, dir: Henry King

You were meant for me 1948, dir: Lloyd Bacon

Apartment for Peggy 1948, dir: George Seaton

A letter to three wives 1949, dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

The fan 1949, dir: Otto Preminger

Pinky 1949, dir: Elia Kazan

Cheaper by the dozen 1950, dir: Walter Lang

Take care of my little girl 1951, dir: Jean Negulesco

People will talk 1951, dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

The model and the marriage broker 1951, dir: George Cukor

Belles on their toes 1952, dir: Henry Levin

O. Henry's Full house 1952, dir: Henry Hathaway, Howard Hawks, Henry King, Henry Koster, Jean Negulesco

Dangerous crossing 1953, dir: Joseph M. Newman

Vicki 1953, dir: Harry Horner

City of bad men 1953, dir: Harmon Jones

Duel in the jungle 1954, dir: George Marshall

Man without a star 1955, dir: King Vidor

Gentlemen marry brunettes 1955, dir: Richard Sale

The second greatest sex 1955, dir: George Marshall

The fastest gun alive 1956, dir: Russell Rouse

The tattered dress 1957, dir: Jack Arnold

The joker is wild 1957, dir: Charles Vidor

Meet me in St. Louis 1959, dir: George Schaefer - TV movie

Guns of the Timberland 1960, dir: Robert D. Webb

Twenty plus two 1961, dir: Joseph M. Newman

Nefertiti, regina del Nilo (Nefertiti, queen of the Nile) 1961, dir: Fernando Cerchio

Madison Avenue 1962, dir: H. Bruce Humberstone

Ponzio Pilato (Pontius Pilate) 1962, dir: Gian Paolo Callegari, Irving Rapper

Col ferro e col fuoco (Daggers of blood) 1963, dir: Fernando Cerchio

Hot rods to hell 1967, dir: John Brahm

The night God screamed 1971, dir: Lee Madden

Skyjacked 1972, dir: John Guillermin

QUOTES:

I loved being at the studio [20th Century-Fox]. After all, I started at 15, and I grew up there. But there comes a time when an actress stays too long in the same place. People get used to having you around, and they can't think of you in a different light.

Jean Simmons (1929-2010) - A British beauty in many Hollywood movies

Fast Facts:

Birth name: Jean Merilyn Simmons

Birth date, place: 31 January 1929, Crouch Hill, London, England, UK

Death date, place: 22 January 2010, Santa Monica, Californa, USA

Height: 5'6"

Marriages: Stewart Granger (1950-1960), Richard Brooks (1960-1977)

Children: Kate Brooks, Tracy Granger

Awards: Emmy Award - outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or a special for The thorn birds; Golden Globe Award - best musical or comedy actress for Guys and dolls; Volpi Cup (Venice Film Festival) - best actress for Hamlet

FILMOGRAPHY:

Give us the moon 1944, dir: Val Guest

Mr. Emmanuel 1944, dir: Harold French

Kiss the bride goodbye 1945, dir: Paul L. Stein

Meet Sexton Blake 1945, dir: John Harlow

The way to the stars 1945, dir: Anthony Asquith

Caesar and Cleopatra 1945, dir: Gabriel Pascal

Great expectations 1946, dir: David Lean

Hungry Hill 1947, dir: Brian Desmond Hurst

Black narcissus 1947, dir: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Uncle Silas 1947, dir: Charles Frank

The woman in the hall 1947, dir: Jack Lee

Hamlet 1948, dir: Laurence Olivier

The blue lagoon 1949, dir: Frank Launder

Adam and Evelyne 1949, dir: Harold French

So long at the fair 1950, dir: Antony Darnborough, Terence Fisher

Trio 1950, dir: Ken Annakin, Harold French

Cage of gold 1950, dir: Basil Dearden

The clouded yellow 1950, dir: Ralph Thomas

Angel face 1952, dir: Otto Preminger

Androcles and the lion 1952, dir: Chester Erskine

Young Bess 1953, dir: George Sidney

Affair with a stranger 1953, dir: Roy Rowland

The robe 1953, dir: Henry Koster

The actress 1953, dir: George Cukor

She couldn't say no 1954, dir: Lloyd Bacon

The Egyptian 1954, dir: Michael Curtiz

A bullet is waiting 1954, dir: John Farrow

Desiree 1954, dir: Henry Koster

Footsteps in the fog 1955, dir: Arthur Lubin

Guys and dolls 1955, dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Hilda Crane 1956, dir: Philip Dunne

This could be the night 1957, dir: Robert Wise

Until they sail 1957, dir: Robert Wise

The big country 1958, dir: William Wyler

Home before dark 1958, dir: Mervyn LeRoy

This Earth is mine 1959, dir: Henry King

Elmer Gantry 1960, dir: Richard Brooks

Spartacus 1960, dir: Stanley Kubrick

The grass is greener 1960, dir: Stanley Donen

All the way home 1963, dir: Alex Segal

Life at the top 1964, dir: Ted Kotcheff

Mister Buddwing 1966, dir: Delbert Mann

Soldier in love 1967, dir: George Schaefer - TV movie

Divorce American style 1967, dir: Bud Yorkin

Rough night in Jericho 1967, dir: Arnold Laven

Heidi 1968, dir: Delbert Mann - TV movie

The happy ending 1969, dir: Richard Brooks

Say hello to yesterday 1971, dir: Alvin Rakoff

The Easter promise 1975, dir: Paul Bogart - TV movie

Mr. Sycamore 1975, dir: Pancho Kohner

The Dain curse 1978, dir: E. W. Swackhamer - TV mini series

Beggarman, thief 1979, dir: Lawrence Doheny - TV movie

Dominique 1980, dir: Michael Anderson

Golden Gate 1981, dir: Paul Wendkos

Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the dolls 1981, dir: Walter Grauman - TV movie

A small killing 1981, dir: Steven Hilliard Stern - TV movie

The thorn birds 1983, dir: Daryl Duke - TV mini series

Midas Valley 1985, dir: Gus Trikonis - TV movie

North and South 1985, dir: Richard T. Heffron - TV mini series

North and South book II. 1986, dir: Kevin Connor - TV mini series

December flower 1987, dir: Stephen Frears - TV movie

Perry Mason - The case of the lost love 1987, dir: Ron Satlof - TV movie

Inherit the wind 1988, dir: David Greene - TV movie

Yellow pages 1988, dir: James Kenelm Clarke

A friendship in Vienna 1988, dir: Arthur Allan Seidelman - TV movie

The dawning 1988, dir: Robert Knights

Laker girls 1990, dir: Bruce Seth Green - TV movie

People like us 1990, dir: William Hale - TV movie

Great expectations 1989 - TV mini series

They do it with mirrors 1991, dir: Norman Stone - TV movie

One more mountain 1994, dir: Dick Lowry - TV movie

How to make an American quilt 1995, dir: Jocelyn Moorehouse

Daisies in December 1995, dir: Mark Haber - TV movie

Her own rules 1998, dir: Bobby Roth - TV movie

Winter solstice 2003, dir: Martyn Friend - TV movie

Shadows in the sun 2009, dir: David Rocksavage

QUOTES:

Every actress has to face the facts there are younger, more beautiful girls right behind you. Once you've gone beyond the vanity of the business, you'll take on the tough roles.

My career has had a lot of ups and downs, but basically it has been wonderful.

Gene Tierney (1920-1991) - Best remembered in Laura and Leave her to heaven

FAST FACTS

Birth name: Gene Eliza Tierney
Occupation: Actress
Birth date: Nov. 19, 1920
Birth place: Brooklyn, New York
Death date: Nov. 6, 1991
Death place: Houston, Texas
Burial location: Glenwood Cemetery, Houston

Height: 5 feet 7 inches
Weight: 117 lbs.
Hair color: Reddish-brown
Eye color: Green
Spouse: Oleg Cassini (1941-1952) William Howard Lee (1960-1981)
Children: Antoinette Daria and Christina
Favorite film: "Leave Her to Heaven"
Autobiography: "Self Portrait" (1979)

Did you know?

• Tierney said "Leave Her to Heaven" was "the best role I ever had and my favorite film."
• Tierney is probably best remembered for the classic mystery in which she is supposedly killed, "Laura." She was on the set six days a week before the sun came up. She stayed until 8 or 9 p.m. each night. She made 28 costume changes and almost every close-up was preceded by an hour to two of testing the lights on Tierney's face while she was forced to sit there.
• Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 6125 Hollywood Boulevard.
• She spoke fluent French.

FILMOGRAPHY:

The return of Frank James 1940, dir: Fritz Lang

Hudson's bay 1941, dir: Irving Pichel

Tobacco road 1941, dir: John Ford

Belle Starr 1941, dir: Irving Cummings

Sundown 1941, dir: Henry Hathaway

The Shanghai gesture 1941, dir: Josef von Sternberg

Son of fury: The story of Benjamin Blake 1942, dir: John Cromwell

Rings on her fingers 1942, dir: Rouben Mamoulian

Thunder birds 1942, dir: William A. Wellman

China girl 1942, dir: Henry Hathaway

Heaven can wait 1943, dir: Ernst Lubitsch

Laura 1944, dir: Otto Preminger

A bell for Adano 1945, dir: Henry King

Leave her to heaven 1945, dir: John M. Stahl

Dragonwyck 1946, dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

The razor's edge 1946, dir: Edmund Goulding

The ghost and Mrs. Muir 1947, dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

The iron curtain 1948, dir: William A. Wellman

That wonderful urge 1948, dir: Robert B. Sinclair

Whirlpool 1949, dir: Otto Preminger

Night and the city 1950, dir: Jules Dassin

Where the sidewalk ends 1950, dir: Otto Preminger

Close to my heart 1951, dir: William Keighley

The mating season 1951, dir: Mitchell Leisen

On the riviera 1951, dir: Walter Lang

The secret of Convict Lake 1951, dir: Michael Gordon

Way of a Gaucho 1952, dir: Jacques Tourneur

Plymouth adventure 1952, Clarence Brown

Never let me go 1953, dir: Delmer Daves

Personal affair 1953, dir: Anthony Pelissier

The Egyptian 1954, dir: Michael Curtiz

Black widow 1954, dir: Nunnally Johnson

The left hand of God 1955, dir: Edward Dmytryk

Advise and consent 1962, dir: Otto Preminger

Toys in the attic 1963, dir: George Roy Hill

The pleasure seakers 1964, dir: Jean Negulesco

Daughter of the mind 1969, dir: Walter Grauman - TV movie

Scruples 1980, dir: Robert Day - TV mini series

QUOTES:

"Everyone should see Hollywood once, I think, through the eyes of a teenage girl who has just passed a screen test."

"Where there is hope, there is no despair."

"Wealth, beauty, and fame are transient. When those are gone, little is left except the need to be useful."


"Some women feel the best cure for a broken heart is a new beau."


"Life is a little like a message in a bottle, to be carried by the winds and the tides."

Ava Gardner (1922-1990) - One of the most beautiful women of her day

Fast Facts:


Name: Ava Lavinia Gardner
Nickname: Angel (given by Frank Sinatra); "Daughter" (given by Ernest Hemingway); "Snowdrop" (given by co-star Dirk Bogarde)
Occupation: Actress
Famous Tagline: The Most Beautiful Animal in the World (tagline from The Barefoot Contessa in 1954)
Date, place of Birth: December 24, 1922 in the community of Grabtown, NC, 7 miles east of Smithfield, NC
Date, place of Death: January 25, 1990 in London, England
Burial location: Sunset Memorial Park, Smithfield, NC
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 120 lbs
Hair color: Auburn
Eye color: Green
Nationality: American
Religion: Baptist
Marriages: Mickey Rooney (1942-1943), Arti Shaw (1945-1946), Frank Sinatra (1951-1957)
Favorites: Clark Gable and Gregory Peck as favorite actors, Coconut Cake and Fried Chicken for favorite Foods, and Flamenco dancing as favorite hobby

FILMOGRAPHY:

1943: Ghosts on the Loose, dir: William Beaudine

1944: Maisie Goes to Reno, dir: Harry Beaumont

1944: Three Men in White, dir: Willis Goldbeck

1945: She Went to the Races, dir: Willis Goldbeck

1946: Whistle Stop, dir: Leonide Moguy

1946: The Killers, dir: Robert Siodmak

1947: Singapore, dir: John Brahm

1947: The Hucksters, dir: Jack Conway

1948: One Touch of Venus, dir: William A. Seiter

1949: The Bribe, dir: Robert Z. Leonard

1949: The Great Sinner, dir: Robert Siodmak

1949: East Side West Side, dir: Mervyn LeRoy

1951: Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, dir: Albert Lewin

1951: My Forbidden Past, dir: Robert Stevenson

1951: Show Boat, dir: George Sidney

1952: Lone Star, dir: Vincent Sherman

1952: The Snows of Kilimanjaro, dir: Henry King

1953: Knights of the Round Table, dir: Richard Thorpe

1953: Ride, Vaquero, dir: John Farrow

1953: Mogambo, dir: John Ford

1954: The Barefoot Contessa, dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

1956: Bhowani Junction, dir: George Cukor

1957: Little Hut, dir: Mark Robson

1957: The Sun Also Rises, dir: Henry King

1959: The Naked Maja, dir: Henry Koster

1959: On the Beach, dir: Stanley Kramer

1960: The Angel Wore Red, dir: Nunnally Johnson

1963: 55 Days at Peking, dir: Nicholas Ray

1964: Seven Days in May, dir. John Frankenheimer

1964: Night of the Iguana, dir: John Huston

1966: The Bible, dir: John Huston

1968: Mayerling, dir: Terence Young

1970: The ballad of Tam Lin, dir: Roddy McDowell

1972: The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, dir: John Huston

1974: Earthquake, dir: Mark Robson

1975: Permission to Kill, dir: Cyril Frankel

1976: The Blue Bird, dir: George Cukor

1976: The Cassandra Crossing, dir: George P. Cosmatos

1977: The Sentinel, dir: Michael Winner

1979: City on Fire, dir: Alvin Rakoff

1980: The Kidnapping of the President, dir: George Mendeluk

1981: Priest of Love, dir: Christopher Miles

1982: Regina Roma, dir: Jean-Yves Prate

QUOTES:

I have only one rule in acting: trust the director and give him heart and soul.

If I had my life to live over again, I'd live it the same way. Maybe a few changes here or there, but nothing special. The truth is, honey, I've enjoyed my life. I've had a hell of a good time.

Because I was promoted as a sort of a siren and played all those sexy broads, people made the mistake of thinking I was like that off the screen. They couldn't have been more wrong.

Although no one believes me, I came to Hollywood…a country girl with a country girl`s simple, ordinary values.

I think the main reason my marriages failed is that I always loved too well but never wisely.

On one level, all I wanted to be was an actress, and I often felt that if only I could act, everything about my life and career would have been different. But I was never an actress – none of us kids at Metro were. We were just good to look at.

What I`d really like to say about stardom is that it gave me everything I never wanted.

Hedy Lamarr (1913-2000) - Leading lady of the silver screen, inventor

Fast Facts

Birth name: Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler
Name change: Hedy Lamarr
Nickname: "The Most Beautiful Woman in Films"
Birth date: November 9, 1914
Birth place: Vienna, Austria
Death date: January 19, 2000
Death place: In her home in Orlando, Florida
Burial location: Ashes were buried in Vienna, Austria
Height: 5'7"
Weight: around 118 lbs
Hair color: Dark brown
Eye color: Green
Occupation: Actress, inventor
Nationality: Austrian
Married: Fritz Mandl (m.1933 – d.1937), Gene Markey (m.1939 – d.1940), John Loder (m.1943 – d.1947), Teddy Stauffer (m.1951 – d.1952), W. Howard Lee (m.1953 – d.1960), Lewis J. Boies (m.1963 – d.1965)
Children: James (adopted with John Loder), Anthony and Denise (biological parent, with John Loder)

FILMOGRAPHY:

• Das Geld liegt auf der Straße (Money on the Street, 1930) dir: Georg Jacoby
• Die Frau von Lindenau (The Woman of Lindenau, 1931) dir: Georg Jacoby
• Die Abenteuer des Herrn O. F. (The Adventures of Mr. O. F., 1931) dir: Alexis Granowsky
• Man braucht kein Geld (We Need No Money, 1932) dir: Carl Boese
• Ekstase / Symphonie der Liebe (Ecstasy, 1933) dir: Gustav Machaty
• Algiers (1938) dir: John Cromwell
• Lady of the Tropics (1939) dir: Jack Conway
• I Take This Woman (1940) dir: Josef von Sterberg, W. S. Van Dyke
• Boom Town (1940) dir: Jack Conway
• Comrade X (1940) dir: King Vidor
• Come Live With Me (1941) dir: Clarence Brown
• Ziegfeld Girl (1941) dir: Robert Z. Leonard, Busby Berkeley
• H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941) dir: King Vidor
• Tortilla Flat (1942) dir: Victor Fleming
• Crossroads (1942) dir: Jack Conway
• White Cargo (1942) dir: Richard Thorpe
• The Heavenly Body (1944) dir: Alexander Hall
• The Conspirators (1944) dir: Jean Negulesco
• Experiment Perilous (1944) dir: Jacques Tourneur
• Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945) dir: Richard Thorpe
• The Strange Woman (1946) dir: Edgar G. Ulmer
• Dishonored Lady (1947) dir: Robert Stevenson
• Let's Live a Little (1948) dir: Richard Wallace
• Samson and Delilah (1949) dir: Cecil B. DeMille
• A Lady Without Passport (1950) dir: Joseph H. Lewis
• Copper Canyon (1950) dir: John Farrow
• My Favorite Spy (1951) dir: Norman Z. McLeod
• The Eternal Female (1954) (unfinished) dir: Edgar G. Ulmer, Marc Allegret
• The Story of Mankind (1957) dir: Irwin Allen
• The Female Animal (1958) dir: Harry Keller

QUOTES:

It's easy to look glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid.

Hope & curiosity about the future seemed better than guarantees. The unknown was always so attractive to me...and still is.

My mother always called me an ugly weed, so I never was aware of anything until I was older. Plain girls should have someone telling them they are beautiful. Sometimes this works miracles.

It is easier for women to succeed in business, the arts, and politics in America than in Europe.

The ladder of success in Hollywood is usually a press agent, actor, director, producer, leading man; and you are a star if you sleep with each of them in that order. Crude, but true.