LIGHT AND SHADOW

Photo by: Karl Van Straaten c1965

Jane Greer

Photo by: Melvin Sokolsky for Harpers Bazaar, April 1964

Photo by: Andre De Dienes

Vikki Dougan

Figment of Your Imagination

"Rare View" by Heinrich Heidersberger, 1948

"Nude" by Andre De Dienes, 1951

SHADY

 On the set: Ed Wood: Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Sarah Jessica Parker

 Screen Shot: North by Northwest: Mr. Grant, the one and only (with Eva Marie Saint)

 Enzo Ferrari

 Jack Nicholson, obviously

 Marilyn.

 Screen Shot: Pretty in Pink, Molly Ringwald

Indoors, Mr. Ali

Brigitte, quintessentially 70s

Shirley Temple, never too young.

Summer's here are it's hot, so don't let your sun-glasses wear you. (photos via: HC, the impossible cool)

IT'S ALL IN THE EYES

Catherine

Humphrey

Vivien

Ingrid

Joan

Kim

Katherine

Gina
Images via: hc, forgotten hollywood

CORRESPONDENCE

The following is a letter to Grace Kelly from Greta Garbo:

It reads:

Dear Little Princess,


You will never know how deeply touched I was to receive your letter. Your offer to me is unbelievably kind and sweet. 


I have not been around much with human beings lately and I have been rather nervous about making plans, but recently I did accept an invitation to stay a while with a family I know in Paris, who helped me very much last year, hoping they would understand my being "upside-downy."


I do hope to come to Monte Carlo sometime this summer but do not know when, so I should not like to tie you down to anything. When I, Lord willing, may be there, and if you still are at the Palace, I hope that I will be able to see your lovely person again. 


All my thanks to you and the Prince for having thought of me in this wonderful way.


My warmest thoughts and gratitude,
Greta Garbo


S.A.S. Princess Grace of Monaco
The Palace

HOT MAMA!

In honor of Mother's Day (one day late), here are some Hollywood moms:

Janet Leigh with daughter Jamie Lee Curtis

Debbie Reynolds with daughter Carrie Fisher

Elizabeth Taylor with son Michael Wilding

Mamie Van Doren with son Perry Anthony

Sophia Loren and son

via: filmnoirphotos

GET PERSONAL: ALI MACGRAW

Ali MacGraw was the darling of the 1970s who won the world over, not for her skills as an actress, but for her piercing beauty. She was born on April fools day, 1939 in Weschester County, New York. Her mother and father were both artists.

After graduating from Wellesley College in 1960, MacGraw took a job assisting photographer Diana Vreeland at Harpers Bazaar. She remained a photographic assistant for six years, working for Bazaar and Vogue. During this time, MacGraw also had the opportunity to be the subject of the photos, eventually transitioning to print-ads and television commercials.

Having modeled for some time, MacGraw took the plunge into the world of acting. She was first recognized for her role in Goodbye Columbus, written by Philip Roth, but it wasn’t until her breakout role in Love Story that she became a movie star in her own right. It was for her performance in Love Story that she earned both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.

Ali MacGraw was linked to a string of men and was married three times over the course of two decades. In her early twenties, before her marriages, she had an illegal abortion and developed (what she later considered to be) male dependency issues. Although she had a son with film producer, Robert Evans, she is most famously linked to the late, great Steve McQueen, who she met on the set of The Getaway in 1972. They were married a year later and divorced five years after that.

In her autobiography Moving Pictures, she bravely confronts her suffering with alcoholism and its treatment. After a lengthy career, MacGraw moved to New Mexico where she continues to be an animal rights activist and yoga fanatic. 

GET PERSONAL: PRINCESS GRACE

There has never been a person more aptly named than Grace Kelly. Her ethereal, timeless beauty is entirely unparalleled in elegance or style. Not only was she graced (pun intended) with beauty, but she became one of the most beloved movie stars of all-time and – on top of everything else – a princess. 

Grace Patricia Kelly was born November 12, 1929 in Philadelphia. Her mother was the first woman in history to head the Department of Physical Education at the University of Pennsylvania, and her father was a three time Olympic-gold-medal-winning sculler (rowing). While at Ravenhill Academy (a prestigious Catholic girls school) Grace began modeling with her sisters and mother. In addition to her academic curriculum, she began taking dance lessons in addition to acting classes. 

Due to low mathematics scores, Kelly was not accepted to Bennington College and so she decided to audition for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Her father was hugely disappointed by this decision; making the biting statement that acting was “a slim cut above streetwalker.” But Kelly held her ground and used her uncle, George Kelly’s, connections to help her get in to the acting school. Kelly graduated from drama school at the age of 19, starting her career in film one year later. It wasn’t until 1953, in the film Mogambo, that Grace became recognized as a full-fledged movie star. In the few years that followed, Grace appeared as a leading lady in five films, receiving one Golden Globe nomination and one Academy Award nomination (which she won for her role in The Country Girl). 

In 1956 Kelly was asked to participate in a photoshoot at the Palace of Monaco while she made appearances at the Cannes Film Festival. She was to be photographed with the sovereign of the principality, Prince Rainier III. Not long after their brief meeting, Prince Rainier began making trips to the United States. He proposed to Kelly, who accepted, offering a $2,000,000 dowry.

The marriage offered Grace the title of ‘princess’ and she retired from acting (too young at 26) to attend to her duties as a royal of Monaco. She and Prince Rainier had three children together; Caroline, Albert, and Stephanie. Grace Kelly died two months before her 53^rd birthday after suffering a stroke while driving and crashing the car. Her daughter Stephanie survived the accident. 

DON'T SMOKE IN BED

Jane Greer: Promotional Photo for Out of the Past (1947)

Marisa Mell w/ Jean Marais in Train D'enfer (1965)

Audrey Hepburn w/ George Peppard in Breakfast at Tiffanys (1961)

Nancy Kelly in Parachute Battalion

Mamie Van Doren in Girls Town (1959)

Marlene Dietrich in The Room Upstairs (1946)

Romy Schneider in Max et les Ferrailleurs (1971)

photos via filmnoirphotos