Happy Valentine's Day | 6 Favorite Couples

Happy Valentine's Day, readers!

Since February 14th is officially the sappiest day of the year, I thought I'd talk about my six favorite Classic Hollywood couples! {Legit couples, not the ones that only exist in my head... like the Pidgeons... and the
Powells... and Errolivia... and Ingrid and Cary...}

Well, yeah, here we go. Hope this'll get you all in a sappy mood! :D Oh, and guess what, this is actually for once in order, though I wouldn't put too much weight into the order of these couples, until you get to my number one. I'm going to completely dumbfound you all when you see who I've chosen for that spot. COMPLETELY, guys. ;)

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  6.                                               

Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner | November 1951 - July 1957


I knew their relationship was tumultuous, and then I read Lee Server's biography about Ava and I learned so much more about these two! Frava definitely did have a stormy relationship. The book I read went into detail about some of their fights, when plates went flying and it didn't matter who was around. But they also loved each other a lot, and this combination makes me think of Lucy and Desi, who admittedly would "love and fight furiously." Any any couple that reminds me of Desilu, well, I'm bound to like. :)

Albeit the fact they couldn't say together, and there were all those terrible fights, I think Frank and Ava in general would make a good pair. I think of Ava as the barefooted free spirit ought of a poor town in North Carolina, who liked to party and dance and have a good time. Frank's liveliness is a good match, I think.

 D I D  Y O U  K N O W? {My Favorite Facts}

• Frank gave Ava her first Corgi, which she named Rags. This hooked Ava on a sort of a Corgi obsession, she would keep Corgis until she died. After Rags, she had Cara, and after that, Morgan, who was with her when she died and was then taken in (along with her housekeeper) by good friend Gregory Peck.
• The statue of her from The Barefoot Contessa (1954) was gifted to Frank, who kept it in his backyard garden long after the divorce. Finally, upon marrying Barbara Marx, she forced him to get rid of it.
• Frank's nickname for Ava was "Angel."

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 5.    

                                                                                                      Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall | May 1945 - his death

I didn't really know much about Bogie and Bacall until I read Lauren's fantastic autobiography, By Myself and Then Some, last fall. I don't really know all the nitty gritty details about their relationship, and I've heard rumors that things got bad for them towards the end, but I don't know if it's true or not. All I know is the picture Lauren painted in her book, and that picture of this couple was sweet and wonderful to read about, and that's the way I'd like to think of them. :) If you'll remember, in my review of her book, I said that upon reading about Bogie's death I just burst into tears. It really got to me, and I could feel Lauren's suffering at the time. Also, in her book, she described several occasions where Bogie would call her in the middle of the night and tell her to please come, because he genuinely needed her, and that's just asdfghjkl. 

I really find these two adorable and am endeared by the fact that, despite their great age difference, they truly were a couple that could stick. After all, they never divorced - it was Bogie's death that broke them apart.

D I D  Y O U  K N O W? {My Favorite Facts}

• Bogie and Bacall were married on May 21st, 1945 at the farm home of a Pulitzer Prize winning author in Ohio.
• Lauren placed a small, gold whistle in his coffin, a symbol of the famous line she tells him in To Have and Have Not (1944) - the movie that on the set of they fell in love - "You know how to whistle, don't you? Just put your lips together and blow."
• Bogie's nickname for Lauren was "Baby."

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4. 

                                                                                                      Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier | August 1940 - January 1961

Viv and Larry, these two! I learned a lot about them by watching this documentary, The Oliviers in Love. These two is just another couple that you could really tell truly loved each other, and you can feel that love when you watch them together on screen or, better yet, see personal photos, telegrams, etc. You all probably knew it anyway, but the premiere website for these two is vivandlarry.com. It has a lot of wonderful photos and etc.

Viv and Larry are really just a perfect pair, though! Besides them both being British and beautiful, they're just lovely together. Too bad they couldn't last, Vivien's struggles with her bipolar disorder really put strains on their marriage.

D I D  Y O U  K N O W? {My Favorite Facts}

• Viv and Larry were married at a ranch in Santa Barbara, with Katharine Hepburn as her maid of honor. They later honeymooned on Ronald Colman's yacht.
• Vivien had an affair with Peter Finch and was ready to leave Larry for the other actor. Just as Vivien was about to board the plane with her lover, Larry wooed her into staying back. This was the basis for the 1963 film The V.I.Ps, with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
• Viv called Larry "Baba", and he always referred to her as "Pussycat."

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3. 

     Clark Gable and Carole Lombard | March 1939 - her death

Clark and Carole are just plain amazingness. I don't know how could you not love the two of them together because they are just perfection. I mean, they used to go duck hunting early in the morning in red thermal underwear. They were just best friends and they did all these things together. Lucy and Desi were good friends with these two, and Lucy in her autobiography recounted how she kept hoping her marriage with Desi could be like Clark and Carole's. Because they were just that awesome. 

And then, the tragedy that was Carole's death in that awful plane crash. Lucy also wrote that after Carole's death, Clark used to tear around the San Fernando Valley on his motorcycle and she was convinced he was trying to kill himself. So she'd invite Clark over to the Desilu Ranch and they'd talk about Carole and watch her films. Such a tragic ending to a couple that was just so perfect together.

D I D  Y O U  K N O W? {My Favorite Facts}

• Carole had a little dachshund named Commissioner who would completely ignore Clark during their marriage. After her death, the dog never left Clark's side.
• After Carole read Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, Carole sent Clark a copy of the book with a note saying, "Let's do it!" Clark took this as a sexual advance and called up Carole. When he learned she wanted to play Scarlett to his Rhett in a movie version, he scoffed and said he'd never do such a mushy movie. When he actually did do the film in 1939, he only agreed to it on account of the salary, so he could divorce his current wife and marry Carole.
• Carole called Clark "Pa" and he called her "Ma".

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2. 

     Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy | 1942 - his death

This is the only couple on this list that was never really married. But it doesn't matter, because in my head, you know, they're married anyway. :) They made some of the most amazing movies together, these two. My favorites would probably have to be Woman of the Year (1942) and Adam's Rib (1949). I just love seeing these two on screen, because they have perfect chemistry. It's sad that they couldn't get married in real life, but I guess Kate wasn't really one to be gung ho over marriage anyway. What's important is how well they suited each other. 

I'll wrap this up by saying that they are just you know, excellent. They are Kate and Spence. I mean, really, what more can I say?? If you've ever seen a movie with the two of them you'll just know all the feelings that I'm referring to. <3

D I D  Y O U  K N O W? {My Favorite Facts}

• The night Spence died, he got up to get a drink of milk. Kate followed him, but before she got there she heard a thud and the sound of glass shattering. She found Spence lying dead on the floor, having been a victim of a heart attack. The year was 1967 - Kate would die thirty six years later.
• Kate never watched Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), their last film together, because the memories were too painful. Nor did she attend Spence's funeral, out of respect for his family. She did, however, call his wife, offering her condolences and wanting to patch up any hard feelings between them. To this, Louise Tracy replied, "I thought you were a rumor."
• They were first introduced by Joseph Mankiewicz on the set of Woman of the Year (1942), to which Kate sized Spence up and said, "I'm afraid I may be too tall for you, Mr. Tracy." To this, Joe replied, "Don't worry - he'll cut you down to size."

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1. 

     Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz | November 1940 - May 1960 

Ohhh, guys, excuse me, I must get my Kleenax out. I must. :) Okay, I've got my box. Okay, I can go on now. I swear, these two always tear me up. Their story is just amazing, and I have yet to see one like it. ♥ I could really go on for hours, but don't worry, I won't. 
I love how when

Lucy first saw Desi, it really was a love at sight (though she would 
claim it took a "full five minutes"!). As everybody knows, their marriage was far

from perfect, and I'm not saying it was. But then, what marriage is perfect 
(save the Minivers)? Of course, the

problems in their marriage were tough and it's what ultimately let to the divorce of course. But the 

fact is they

always loved and cared for each other, even after the divorce. There are so many things to prove that. 

I just love so many things about these two.

This is my official favorite couple, and I just love reading all the sweet amazing things. Their story really 

was amazing. Marcella Rabwin, one of their close friends, once said, "Their relationship was so deep in

 it scared me." As well as, "They loved each other more than any other famous lovers in history."

I guess so.

D I D  Y O U  K N O W? {My Favorite Facts}

• Lucy and Desi’s original wedding band was a cheap ring from Woolworth’s. They eloped in Greenwich, Connecticut, on a Saturday, and all the jewelry stores in town were closed. So this was their only option. Lucy loved it, and always kept it, no matter how green and skinny it got, and even when Desi replaced it with a bejeweled ring.
• Desi died from lung cancer on December 2^nd, 1986. Two days before, Lucy called Desi up. Lucie was nursing Desi and she heard her parents conversation, for she had to hold the phone to her father’s ear – he was too weak to hold it himself. What Lucy told Desi was, “I love you, I love you Desi, I love you.” To this replied, “I love you too, honey.” Lucy was one of the last people to speak to Desi, for he died forty eight hours later. This conversation had taken place on November 30^th, which would have been their forty-sixth wedding anniversary.
• Lucy made an attempt to divorce Desi in 1944. The day before she was schedule to appear in court, Desi called her up and asked her what he was doing that evening. She said, “You know I’m divorcing you tomorrow,” to which he replied, “Yes, I know, but I’d like to take you out to dinner.” She gave in and he did. They spent the night together. The next morning Desi woke up to Lucy getting herself dolled up for court. “You’re not going to go through with it now, are you?” he asked her. She said, “I’ve got to, the press is expecting me.” She went, got the divorce, satisfied the press, and returned home and instantly annulled the divorce. The law in California at the time was it took a year for a divorce to become final, and if the parties had an affair in that time, it was annulled. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

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Well, that's it for this Valentine's Day. I love Old Hollywood couples. Celebrity marriages don't have a

habit of sticking, but at least back then it was geninue love and not, you know, lust - and marriages lasted

more than two minutes.

Hope you have a swell Valentine's Day, or, if February 14th isn't really your thing, that you had a good
day anyway :)

xoxo 

Happy Birthday, Vivien! [5 Things I Love]

Since my birthday posts tend to be a little aimless and rambling, I thought I would try what I used on Carole Lombard's birthday: listing my five favorite things about the person whose birthday is in question! This is going to be with a little less detail than Carole's post, because I made Vivien a video, too.

WARNING: Rianna somehow turns into a crazy cat lady (DESPITE THE FACT SHE HAS NEVER OWNED A CAT) in this post and brings up cats indubitably. Excessively. I mean it. So if you have a problem with cats, it's probably better to turn away...

Happy birthday, Vivien!

#5: Her cat smile.

I've mentioned this several times before ;-) but it's true that she does have a cat smile, doesn't she?? I'm currently reading her biography, and at one point someone recalls an incident in which Vivien was sitting and "smiling like a Cheshire Cat". :D I don't think she would mind her smile being called that, either - she once said, "I'm mad about cats!"

#4: Her eyes.

I don't want to be too repetitive and call her eyes "cat eyes", but they kind of are. I mention this because in my art class we're doing in a project to draw a single eye, and we can make it as abstract or as real as we want, etc., and I'm using Vivien's blue-green eye (complete with her famously arched eyebrow) as my model. 

#3: Her love of cats.

Okay, okay, I promise this will be my last mention of cats in this post!!! (No, I'm not even a crazy cat lady or anything - I don't even own a cat, really!). I'm making her seem.... very... catty, which she was, but not in the proper sense of the word. Anyhow. ;) She really did love cats, you know. I believe she had several Siamese ones, and she and Larry once took a stray tabby cat off the street to take care of it. In her biography, I read that when she was about six or seven her parents sent her away from her home (India) to England to study at the Sacred Heart Convent. Vivien brought with her a little, tiny kitten and even though pets weren't allowed they just had to make allowances for Vivien.

Isn't she adorable with that cat???

#2: Her marriage to Larry Olivier.

Well, yes! They were married 1940-1960, just like Lucy and Desi. And though, of course, the latter couple will always been my favorite Classic Hollywood couple, "Viv and Larry" are up there as well. I learned a lot more about them after watching "Larry and Vivien: The Oliviers in Love". Certainly gossipy but worth a watch. It's on Youtube, and you can click the picture below to go to the video page.

YES, I had to use the photo of them with a cat....

#1: Scarlett O'Hara.

Well, this in it itself is pretty obvious, isn't it??? "Gone With the Wind" being one of my favorite movies and Scarlett O'Hara one of my favorite characters - and for goodness sake, this blog is called Frankly, My Dear! Anyway, I think Vivien's performance as Scarlett is exceptional, and not only does she bring justice to the Margaret Mitchell character she makes is come alive on screen. She really seems to fit the bill, if you read the actual book and Margaret Mitchell's descriptions. This is stereotypical to say, but this must be one of my favorite performances ever. And I also love the fact that when she turned down the role of Isabelle in "Wuthering Heights" (she wanted the lead, of course), the producers went something along the lines of, "Now, you're real stupid - you won't get a better role than this for your American debut!" And she went and got Scarlett O'Hara, of course.

And here is my tribute video for the lovely lady. I was planning to use "Tara's Theme", but the more I looked at the clips of Vivien I had, the more I realized that the excitement of that theme was in a sharp contrast to the more somber clips of hers. So I went with the theme from "Now, Voyager" - I adore that theme, it's got to be one of my favorite movie themes, and it seemed to fit her.

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That's it for today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, VIVIEN, and have a happy Saturday, readers! I'll leave you with a photo of Greer and Vivien, as we all know I'm currently in Greer Garson obsessive mode. Oh, and Leslie Howard, too, but I'm not exactly a huge Leslie fan...

PS: Sorry I turned in a crazy cat lady, really! I guess it's catching, maybe from all the reading I've been doing about Vivien!
PSS: Also, birthday wishes to Roy Rogers and Joel McCrea! 

Happy Birthday, Claudette Colbert

I'm telling you, I was quite thrilled when I found out this morning that it was Claudette's birthday! Claudette is another one of my favorites. Well, okay, to be fair there really isn't an Old Hollywood actor I don't like. Anyway, I love Claudette and she has made some of my favorite movies. Like, "It Happened One Night" and "Midnight."

Claudette had such a striking face, did she not? Perhaps she wasn't gorgeous - though she was pretty - but her face really strikes you!  "We had faces then," as Norma Desmond put it.

When I was reading "Desilu", I learned of a little meeting between Claudette, Lucy, and Greer Garson. (I find the fact that the three of them were hanging out together is just pretty awesome). It was when Lucy was just divorced from Desi and Claduette was doing "Marriage Go-Round" on Broadway; Greer was doing "Auntie Mame." Lucy went to see the show and went backstage to chat with Claudette; Claudette asked, "What are you doing after the show -- right now?" Lucy replied, "I've got no plans," and just at that moment Greer knocked at the door. Lucy and the other redhead greeted each other and Claudette suggested they go up to her apartment and cook scrambled eggs or something. So they did, three of the biggest stars. Lucy said of it later, "So here we were - Claudette Colbert, Greer Garson, Lucille Ball -  three old broads making scrambled eggs at two o'clock in the morning and bored to tears with each other!"

And, even though it isn't Wednesday,  here's a little "WML?" for you, starring Claudette:

Before I leave, I read in TIME magazine a few days ago that a movie called "My Week with Marilyn" is coming out this November. I think it has to do with some people spending a week with Marilyn Monroe while she was filming "The Prince and the Showgirl" with Laurence Olivier; there's even going to be a little Vivien Leigh in it (YES!! I'm cat smiling. Like her. Of course), played by a British actress named Julia Ormond. She looks sort of like Vivien but let's be fair; no one can really do Viv justice!

As for Marilyn, the actress Michelle Williams will be playing her. Here's a picture of her as Marilyn -- I think she kind of looks like a blond, less prettier version of Ava Gardner:

I don't know... it may bomb, but I do plan to see it.

Anyway, that's all for today. Happy birthday, Claudette!

PS: Viv and Larry

I was done blogging for today --

Or so I thought. It's Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier's would-be 71st wedding anniversary. The Oliviers (like Lucy and Desi) were married from 1940 to 1960.

Here's to Viv and Larry!