Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh met in the mid-1930s when they first appeared on stage together. They quickly started a love affair and began appearing in movies together, such as Fire Over England, 21 Days Together, and That Hamilton Woman.
1939 was a big year for both. Vivien appeared as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind (which won her her first Oscar), and Laurence appeared as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. In 1940 after both their divorces were final, Olivier and Leigh married.
Over the next several years, they appeared in movies separately. In the mid 1940s, a pregnant Vivien was filming Caesar and Cleopatra. Sadly, she suffered a miscarriage on the set.
Laurence won an Oscar in 1948 for his performance in Hamlet. It was around that time when Vivien was suffering from tuberculosis and mental illness. However, she went on to win a second Oscar as Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire. Unfortuately, the marriage started to deteriorate with each having their own affairs. In 1960, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh divorced, and Laurence Olivier married Joan Plowright.
Vivien Leigh died in 1967, and Laurence Olivier passed away in 1989.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Shirley Temple
One of the most famous child stars in film history: Shirley Temple. She brought together movie audiences in films such as Baby Take a Bow, Bright Eyes, Curly Top, Dimples, Heidi, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and The Little Princess. She sang in most of her movies as well as tap-danced alongside such co-stars as Buddy Ebsen, Arthur Treacher, and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. When she was seven years old, she won a Juvenile Academy Award for recognition in her films for 1934.
During her teens, she starred in more movies such as I'll Be Seeing You and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer. Her last film was A Kiss for Corliss (1949) when she was 21 years old.
As the years went on, she became a wife and mother as well as the U.S. Ambassadors to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. She also had a television series titled Shirley Temple Theatre, which ran from 1958-1961. In 2006, she was awarded the Screen Actors Guld Lifetime Achievement Award. Her films will continue to be watched and adored for generations to come!
During her teens, she starred in more movies such as I'll Be Seeing You and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer. Her last film was A Kiss for Corliss (1949) when she was 21 years old.
As the years went on, she became a wife and mother as well as the U.S. Ambassadors to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. She also had a television series titled Shirley Temple Theatre, which ran from 1958-1961. In 2006, she was awarded the Screen Actors Guld Lifetime Achievement Award. Her films will continue to be watched and adored for generations to come!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The Golden Girls
One of my favorite shows of all time: The Golden Girls. The show premiered in 1985. It starred Bea Arthur (Maude) as Dorothy Zbornak, a substitute teacher who had a funny, sarcastic take of the times, Betty White (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mama's Family) as Rose Nylund, a naive widow with her funny home stories from St. Olaf, Minnesota, Rue McClanahan (Maude, Mama's Family) as Blanche Devereaux, a widow who loved men and sex, and Estelle Getty (Mask) as Sophia Petrillo, Dorothy's mother who had a stroke and always spoke her mind after the fact. The show had the four ladies living together after losing their husbands and adjusting to life in their 50's (Estelle Getty's character was in her 80's). The show was an instant hit. It was created by Susan Harris, who suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She later wrote an episode on the topic, with Dorothy having the disease.
The show ran for seven successful seasons, with all four actresses winning Emmys for their performances! Here are some facts from the series:
-Betty White was the oldest of the four actresses. As of today, she is the only one alive.
-Harold Gould played two characters on the show. He played Rose's boyfriend, Arnie Peterson, during the first season for one episode. He later played Rose's boyfriend again, but as Miles Webber; that character was recurring for several seasons.
-Estelle Getty played Bea Arthur's mother on the show. In real life, Bea was older than Estelle.
-After The Golden Girls ended, Betty, Rue, and Estelle went on to star in a spin-off titled The Golden Palace. The show lasted only one season.
-The show had many famous guest stars including Dick Van Dyke and Leslie Nielsen, whose character would marry Bea Arthur's character, Dorothy, at the end of the series.
-In the mid '90's, Betty, Rue, and Estelle guest-starred on The John Larroquette Show as themselves trying to start a Golden Girls musical.
The show ran for seven successful seasons, with all four actresses winning Emmys for their performances! Here are some facts from the series:
-Betty White was the oldest of the four actresses. As of today, she is the only one alive.
-Harold Gould played two characters on the show. He played Rose's boyfriend, Arnie Peterson, during the first season for one episode. He later played Rose's boyfriend again, but as Miles Webber; that character was recurring for several seasons.
-Estelle Getty played Bea Arthur's mother on the show. In real life, Bea was older than Estelle.
-After The Golden Girls ended, Betty, Rue, and Estelle went on to star in a spin-off titled The Golden Palace. The show lasted only one season.
-The show had many famous guest stars including Dick Van Dyke and Leslie Nielsen, whose character would marry Bea Arthur's character, Dorothy, at the end of the series.
-In the mid '90's, Betty, Rue, and Estelle guest-starred on The John Larroquette Show as themselves trying to start a Golden Girls musical.
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