Cliff Aliperti's Blog: Immortal Ephemera, page 5

Nelson Eddy

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Nelson Eddy (1901-1967)

Providence, RI born baritone from a musical family who nonetheless had to drop out of high school and make his living outside of show business while singing on the side. He was a telephone operator, newspaper reporter, sold ads and wrote ad copy, but his passion was to sing. He began performing regularly in 1922, appearing in opera, concerts, and on the radio, not to be discovered by Hollywood until...

Charles Laughton

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Charles Laughton (1899-1962)

All-time great character actor who specialized for a time in costume and historical dramas, Laughton was born in Scarborough, England. Entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1925, and made his professional stage debut soon after in April 1926. Laughton was on the London stage a month after that, and made his Broadway debut in 1931. In between he met, worked with, and married Elsa Lanchest...

Eleanor Parker

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Note: I'm running behind on a few things—including email replies to you guys!—so there will be no "Classic Movie Daily" tomorrow (June 27). I will post a link to something from the site archives over my Facebook page on Thursday, so feel free to take a look over there. Thanks so much for the great response to these ... I'll be back with another Friday morning, but first—

Eleanor Parker (1922-2013)

Cedarville, OH born actre...

Betty Furness

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Betty Furness (1916-1994)

Best remembered for her post-movie career pitching Westinghouse appliances on TV in the 1950s ("You can be sure ... if it’s Westinghouse") before later becoming a consumer advocate and finally a television news personality. Born in Manhattan, Furness did some modelling before she was signed by RKO in 1932. She appeared in over 35 features during the 1930s, some of her more prominent appearances in...

ZaSu Pitts

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

ZaSu Pitts (1894-1963)

Born Eliza Susan Pitts in Parsons, KS, she's said to have taken the name ZaSu from the last two letters of her Aunt Eliza's name, and the first two of her Aunt Susan—though you can cobble the same from ZaSu's own given name, also honoring her aunts. Her family moved to California and Pitts attended Santa Cruz High School, where she first took an interest in the stage. She appeared in a number of one-...

Gail Patrick

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Gail Patrick (1911-1980)

Born Margaret LaVelle Fitzpatrick in Birmingham, AL, she had two years of law school and dreams of a political future when she entered Paramount's "Panther Woman" contest on a whim. Kathleen Burke won the contest, but Patrick made the final four and was offered a contract by Paramount that she renegotiated to her favor. The studio put her through training, changed her name, and even wiped away her...

Jane Russell

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Jane Russell (1921-2011)

World War II pinup queen launched by Howard Hughes and latter-day spokeswoman for Playtex Cross Your Heart bras, Jane Russell was born in Bemidji, MN, though her family relocated to Southern California before she was a year old. Russell took to the stage in high school and studied drama at Max Reinhardt's Theatrical Workshop and then under Maria Ouspenskaya. She did some modeling, but had taken a r...

Errol Flynn

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Errol Flynn (1909-1959)

Swashbuckling screen legend born in Tasmania, educated in London before returning to Australia and taking on a series of odd jobs and adventures between there and Papua New Guinea, culminating in his being cast in the Australian-made film In the Wake of the Bounty (1933). From there it was back to England, where he practiced his new craft with the Northampton Repertory Company for several months bef...

Charles Coburn

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Charles Coburn (1877-1961)

Popular character actor didn't become a full-time movie actor until age sixty, yet still managed to appear in seventy films. Born in Macon, GA, Coburn grew up in Savannah, and took to the local stage in the 1890s. He left for New York at age nineteen and debuted on Broadway in 1901. He founded the Coburn Players in 1905, and married co-star Ivah Wills in 1906. Their partnership was shared on the...

Jeanette MacDonald

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Jeanette MacDonald (1903-1965)

Beloved screen soprano born in Philadelphia, PA, saw her older sister perform in New York and soon followed, landing her own chorus job there in 1919. MacDonald's rise took a few years, ascending from the chorus to second leads, and finally Broadway leads by 1927. She was courted for screen work and ultimately cast by director Ernst Lubitsch in Paramount's The Love Parade (1929), her debut fi...