Good Bye Elizabeth Taylor!!!! RIP

Although the only movies I have seen of her's were made YEARS ago, she will be missed.  Her movies and legend will live on and it is not like I really knew her....but her passing has really made me quiet sad.   We celebrated her life last night by watching Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (reviewed here...).  Since I just did a post for her birthday a few weeks ago, I will just honor her with a few photos and prayer that she rests in peace.

Tiffany

Gentlemen Prefere Blondes....but I enjoyed the brunette . RIP Jane Russell

The beautiful and talented Jane Russell passed away on Monday at age 89.  She was sexy, smart, and wildly entertaining.  In Gentlemen Prefer Blonds, she played opposite Marilyn Monroe, my all time favorite lady of the 1950s, but I enjoyed Jane in the film much more that the Blonde Bombshell.

Ms. Russell shot to fame as the sexy star of Howard Hughes' 1941 Western, The Outlaw. "Hughes, the eccentric billionaire, put her onto the path to stardom when he cast her in "The Outlaw," a film he fought with censors for nearly a decade to get into wide release. With her sultry look and glowing sexuality, Russell became a star before she was ever seen by a wide movie audience. The Hughes publicity mill ground out photos of the beauty in low-cut costumes and swim suits, and she became famous, especially as a pinup for World War II GIs" from ABC News

She was in a number of movies during her acting career.  The two I like best are Macao (1952) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953).  I am not going to do a movie review on either this morning, we will save that for a Saturday Matinee Review.  What I would rather do is remember Jane Russell in photos.  She was a great example of not just a 1950s beauty, but a timeless beauty.

Sexy.

What vintage loving woman would not enjoy this dress?

Ms. Russell said "I'm going to die in the saddle, I'm not going to sit at home and become an old woman" Associated Press

I especially like this photo.  She looks so natural, unmade-up.  Beautiful.

Jane Russell was also known as an advocate for children.  "During the 1950's, actress Jane Russell began a mission which has resulted in the adoptive placement of nearly 38,000 children through her organization, WAIF.

Working on behalf of the 300,000 American children living in foster care and institutions, WAIF operates national advocacy, public and professional education programs. Locally, WAIF sponsors adoption recruitment events for children who are older, handicapped or of a minority race.

Jane Russell knows that every child, every waif, has the right to a permanent and loving family. For over 30 years, Miss Russell has turned the extraordinary publicity of her acting career to focus on the plight of homeless children. She devotes her heart and soul to see to the placement of children in a loving home.

Miss Russell championed the passage of the Federal Orphan Adoption Amendment of 1953, which allowed, for the first time, children of American servicemen born overseas to be placed for adoption in the United States The ensuing years have allowed single parents to adopt, for children to be moved across state lines for adoptive placement, and most recently, the implementation of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act which mandates the reform of the adoption and foster care system in all 50 states.

Since 1981, Jane Russell has testified before the US. Congress and met with over 150 Senators and Representatives, as well as with President George Bush. In addition, her appeals have appeared in thousands of newspapers and magazines, and she has appeared on all TV network news programs and scores of television interview shows. ALL FOR THE CHILDREN WHO NEED A CHAMPION.

Jane Russell is truly leaving, for thousands, her successful living legacy" from The Women's International Center.

Saturday Matinee in honor of Elizabeth Taylor: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

photo from IMDb

In honor of Ms. Taylor AND Tennesee Williams because I LOVE LOVE LOVE him, too....oh and Paul Newman isn't so bad, either. "Brick, an alcoholic ex-football player, drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife, Maggie. His reunion with his father, Big Daddy, who is dying of cancer, jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son." From IMDb

This is another of my favorites.  I know I say that alot but I do love this era of films, costumes, etc.  Cat on a Hot Tin Roof does not disappoint in either.  I am also a HUGE fan of Tennessee Williams.  His work was almost an obsession of mine during college when I studied Theatre.  I was in A Streetcar Named Desire
, more on that when I do a review. I designed costumes for A Streetcar Named Desire
, as well.  I did many scene studies of his work and set design of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
.

Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman do an amazing portrayal of Maggie and Brick.  Burl Ives plays Big Daddy wonderfully while Judith Anderson plays Big Momma in an extremely annoying way, but I think that is the character, not the actress.  "Although the film did not win any Academy Awards, it received several nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor (Newman), Best Actress (Taylor), and Best Director (Brooks). The film also received nominations for Best Cinematography, Color (William Daniels), and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium" from Wikipedia.  This makes me wonder WHAT won that year....so of course I looked it up on Wikipedia.  Well "Gigi" won best picture and a host of other awards, breaking "Gone With the Wind's" record, but only for one year because a year late Ben Hur winds even more.  Best Actress that year went to Susan Hayward in "I Want to Live", which is a movie I LOVE and have since I was a little girl (why my mom let me watch it at a young age, I do not know...). Anyway....it did not WIN any awards but that does not mean it is not a good movie....

Paul Newman is a hottie....

 There is usually a scene where the female lead wears a slip in Williams plays and Elizabeth Taylor does it very well...

Burl Ives as Big Daddy Pollitt

Even in Black and White here eyes are mesmerising

 If you are a fan of Taylor, Newman, Ives, or Tennessee William's plays....or maybe you just like good mid century movies with stylish costumes...this is a must see movie.

Tiffany

Photos from Yahoo! images.  Video clip from Youtube.

Butterfield 8

One of my most favorite Elizabeth Taylor movies in Butterfield 8.  She plays a disturbed woman who is employed as a model so the costumes are amazing.  Lots of pretty dresses she must wear around town to be photographed in.  Even her "down time" outfits are amazing....and of course she appears in that gorgeous slip and mink coat.  I enjoy the story very much, too, but I do not know what makes me watch this more, the costumes or the story....or Elizabeth Taylor.  Laurence Harvey stars in Butterfield 8, as well, and even though he is very handsome and I enjoy looking at him, his caracter really gets on my ever last nerve.

BUtterfield 8 was named for a list of old Manhattan telephone prefixes that was used to place calls in NYC up until the 1960’s.  Gloria Wonderous, Taylor's character, gave Mr. Ligget a gift of a lighter with BU 8 in-graved into the side so he would always have her number. Gloria would call in to get her messages.  It seems to be like an answering service, as well.  Since I was not alive during the time such prefixes were used, I have no experience with them except for hearing them in movies and older television programs.

The film was based on a 1935 novel, BUtterfield 8 , written by John O’Hara, however there was,  little resemblance of the book in the film.  I read the book after I saw the movie, years later, in fact, and can honestly say that there was not much similarity, although I enjoyed both.

"Gloria Wandrous (Elizabeth Taylor) wakes up in wealthy executive Weston Liggett's (Laurence Harvey) apartment and finds Liggett has left her $250. Insulted, Gloria, whose dress is torn, takes Liggett's wife Emily's mink coat to cover herself and scrawls "No Sale" in lipstick on the mirror. But she orders her telephone exchange, BUtterfield 8, to put Liggett through if he should call.
Gloria visits a childhood friend, pianist Steve Carpenter (Eddie Fisher), in his Greenwich Village apartment. He chastises Gloria for wasting her life on one-night stands, but agrees to ask his girlfriend Norma (Susan Oliver) to lend her a dress. Gloria leaves, whereupon Norma jealously gives Steve an ultimatum: He must choose between her and Gloria.
Liggett takes a train to the countryside where his wife Emily (Dina Merrill) is caring for her mother. A friend, Bingham Smith (Jeffrey Lynn), advises him to end his adulterous relationships and return to Bing's law firm instead of working for the chemical business of Emily's father.
Gloria lies to her doting mother Annie (Mildred Dunnock), claiming to have spent the night at Norma's. A neighbor, Fanny Thurber (Betty Field), insinuates that Gloria spends many nights in less than virtuous circumstances.
Liggett returns home. Finding the lipstick and money, he phones Gloria to explain the money was meant for her dress, which he had torn." from Wikipedia.  This explanation softens Ms. Wonderous, a bit, and she says she MIGHT be in the area where Ligget will be later that night. As usual, I will not spoil the movie and let you watch to see what happens....trust me in saying this is not a movie to be missed if you enjoy mid century fashions or seeing Elizabeth Taylor in prime form.

She throws this beautiful coat back in the closet and takes the mink instead.

from IMDb

One thing the movie sorta, kinda glosses over is the fact that Gloria was part call girl.  "John O'Hara's 1935 novel BUtterfield 8 was based on the life and death of a real-life call girl named Starr Faithfull." From Turner Classic Movies .  Sure, Ligget leaves her money and Gloria is offended, he later offers her an apartment and allowances to live to be his mistress, she stabs his foot with her stiletto....but in the movie she is just a slut, nympho, and alcoholic.  This was much more proper for the Production Code of 1959 /1960.  The same thing was done with Breakfast at Tiffany's.  Holly Golightly was a high priced (for the time) call girl in the book while in the movie she was a model who met up with men in night clubs.  The men gave her money for the powder room, usually 50 dollars (!!!!), I assume to tip the matron (?) and she pocketed the change.  Maybe I have a weird opinion of this subject but I do not see why being a nympho, slut, loose woman, and alcoholic is so much better than earning a living with what these ladies where going to do anyway?  I could write and write on this subject (and have in other venues) but this blog is not the place for my soap box on this subject.

She brushes her teeth with the scotch in her glass.

 Reminds me of the Kesha song, Tik Tok

Butterfield 8 is highly recommended by me and I will watch it again and again.  To tie this into the Oscars here are the awards it won and was nominated for...
"It won the Academy Award for Best Actress (Elizabeth Taylor) and was nominated for Best Cinematography, Color for 1960. It was also nominated for the Best Actress - Drama Golden Globe Award for the same year's releases." from Wikipedia

from Apartment Therapy (huh? odd where one might find photos)

 Tiffany

Happy Birthday Dear Elizabeth....And Get Well Soon!!!!

photo from ET Online

Elizabeth Taylor, as I am sure you know, has been hospitalised "for treatment of congestive heart failure, a condition she disclosed she had back in November 2004...She was admitted to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center more than a week ago and will remain in the hospital under observation "for the time being," declared Taylor's publicist, Jamie Cadwell, this past Friday, Feb. 18, 2011.
According to her spokeswoman, Sally Morrison, Taylor, "has continued to show great improvement, and her family and friends are very pleased with her progress" from CBS News.  I wish her a speedy recovery and would like to honor her upcoming birthday (February 27th) with a blog post dedicated to her as part of my celebration of the Oscars.

photo from Yahoo! Images

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born in Hampstead, a wealthy district of North West London, on February 27, 1932.  Shortly before WWII, her family decided to move to California to avoid war hostilities in Europe.  The Taylors were shortly introduced to " Andrea Berens, a wealthy English socialite and also fiancée of Cheever Cowden, chairman and major stockholder of Universal Pictures in Hollywood. Berens insisted that Sara bring Elizabeth to see Cowden who, she was adamant, would be dazzled by Elizabeth's breathtaking dark beauty; she was born with a mutation that caused double rows of eyelashes, which enhanced her appearance on camera. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer soon took interest in the British youngster as well but she failed to secure a contract with them after an informal audition with producer John Considine had shown that she couldn't sing. However, on 18 September 1941, Universal Pictures signed Elizabeth to a six-month renewable contract at $100 a week" from Wikepedia.

Her first motion picture, at the age of nine, was There's One Born Every Minute. And although she was released from her contract with Universal because some thought "She can't sing, she can't dance, she can't perform. What's more, her mother has to be one of the most unbearable women it has been my displeasure to meet" Liz:An Intimate Biography of Elizabeth Taylor, by C. David Heymann. This did not slow her career down as her agent,  Myron Selznick (brother of David), quickly secured a contract for her at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for a three month contract to appear as "Priscilla" in the film Lassie Come Home. Elizabeth  was in many films durring her childhood but it was her film National Velvet that launched Taylor to stardom at the tender age of 12.

After the success of National Velvet and a few more films Elizabeth was able to demand a contract earning her $750 per week, her mother $250, as well as a $1,500 bonus.  Through the years, her salary and contract grew with her film success and she went on to star in many many box office hits.  So many in fact that if I highlighted every one of them....this blog would only be about Elizabeth Taylor and could become a FULL TIME hobby.  She also married a few men during her career.  Both of these, I will leave you to explore on your own with a quick Google or Yahoo! search.  Instead I am going to do a few blog posts in the next few days about MY favorite Elizabeth Taylor movies.  I hope you stay tuned and help honor her Birthday with me by reading about these films and hopefully I can inspire you to watch or re-watch a few. 

So in honor of the great Dame Elizabeth Taylor ( DBE ) and to wish her a speedy recovery, very happy birthday and to just show everyone how beautiful and wonderful she is...I leave you with a few of my favorite Liz images...

Still beautiful in her golden years.

Tiffany

Friday Night Funnies: Burns and Allen

Back when I was a child we got cable TV,  about the same time MTV started up.   I enjoyed the videos (yes, young children of today, MTV USED to have music videos), esp Duran Duran and the rest of the groups with too much make-up and big hair.....but what I REALLY enjoyed was the old sitcoms some of the channels aired late at night.  This was before Nick at Night, I think....  Anyway, David brought me surprise tonight, a DVD full of old sitcoms.  I would love to share these with my readers in a something I will call "Friday Night Funnies".

Tonight I am watching The Burns and Allen Show.

I think Gracie Allen is hilarious.  She might play dumb, I say "play" because I think she is a genius at it.


In tonight's episode a police officer followed Gracie home.  He told her she was getting a ticket for going thru a 20 MPH zone at 30 MPH.  She replied that it was ok because yesterday she drove thru at 10 MPH so it owed her....

In another episode Gracie is following a recipe for Frankfurters.  The directions say not to cook the frankfuter too long, so Gracie cuts them up into pieces....

Later an accountant stops by and tells Gracie "I am here to take care of your taxes this year"....Gracie replies, "oh GOOD!!!  We are tired of paying them ourselves".....

There are exchanges like this through out the series and they come fast and quiet often, one right after the other.

Here is a bit of back ground about the show...

"The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, which premiered on 12 October 1950, was one of the first comedy series to make the successful transition from radio to television. Similar to the format of the radio program in which George Burns and Gracie Allen played themselves, the CBS domestic comedy was set in their home, the first television series to depict the home life of a working show business couple.

The half-hour series was broadcast live for the first two seasons. The first six episodes were broadcast from New York, but the show soon moved to Hollywood, making it only the third CBS series to emanate from the West Coast (after The Ed Wynn Show and The Alan Young Show). On Burns' insistence, the show was broadcast on alternate weeks in order to provide sufficient time for rehearsals and alleviate some of the pressures of live broadcasts. During its bi-weekly period, the series alternated with the anthology series Starlight Theater and, later, with Star of the Family. After two seasons of live performances, the series switched to a weekly filmed broadcast. Although not filmed before a studio audience, the final filmed product was previewed to an audience and their reactions recorded. At a time when many series relied on mechanically reproduced ("canned") laughter, Burns claimed that his series only "'sweetened' the laughter when a joke went flat and there was no way of eliminating it from the film. Even then we never added more than a gentle chuckle."

Like other television pioneers such as Desi Arnaz and Jack Webb, George Burns must also be credited for his contributions behind the scenes. Burns and Allen incorporated a number of television "firsts," although Burns noted that "television was so new that if an actor burped, everyone agreed it was an innovative concept and nothing like it had ever been done on television before." Still, he was the first television performer to use the theatrical convention of "breaking the fourth wall" between the audience and the performer. He frequently stepped out of a scene and out of character to address the audience, then rejoined the story. This convention was later imitated by others, but not used effectively until It's Garry Shandling's Show in the 1980s." from http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/G/htmlG/georgeburns/gerogeburns.htm

Episodes ended with a Burns and Allen dialog reminiscent of their vaudeville routines. At the conclusion, of every episode Burns would turn to Allen and close, "Say goodnight, Gracie," to which Allen would obligingly turn to their audience and fondly bid them "goodnight."

Tiffany