Penny Gill

Pretty and perky Penny Gill was a chorine who laded in Hollywood, and tried her hand at a variety of things, from dancing in movies, to radio work, and ultimately vaudeville. It was in vaudeville that she met her future husband, married him, and left her movie carer behind to follow him performing around the country. Let’s learn more about her!

EARLY LIFE

Penny Gill was born Margaret Jeanette Gellatly, on February 16, 1918, in New Haven, Connecticut, of Scottish descent. The family moved to New York City in the 1920s, and ultimately settled in Brooklyn. Penny was brought up in the Sheepshead Bay section and attended P. S. 206 elementary school and James Madison High School. She started to do dance work while a schoolgirl, and after graduation did chorus work with Earl Carroll’s “Sketch Book” and “Anything Goes”, both in 1935. Her Brooklyn residence was at 365 Ocean Ave.

Since movie scout often attend Broadway shows to catch a whiff of any new talent, it was just a matter of time before somebody notices a perky, pretty girl like Penny. A scout noticed her, and whisked her off to Tinsel town in late 1935. She was signed to a contract, and her career in movies started!

CAREER

žPenny, per the IMDB, appeared in only three movies. The first movie was College Holiday,  a pleasant enough romp with an impressive cast – Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Mary Boland and Martha Raye among others. All in all, this is another one of the endless college campus movies of the early 1930s. Nothing to yell about, but not the worst either. The theme is actually pretty shocking (eugenics expriment) and this peculiarity is interesting if nothing than for seeing the Bing Crosby wannabe, Lanny Ross, who had a brief career and never managed to live up to his potential.

Penny’s second movie was Zaza, a little known George Cukor movie. While not his best by a long shot, it’s not his worst either – despite the story being a typical Camille rip off (married aristocrat loving a dance hall girl) he has very capable leads (Claudette Colbert and George Marshall) and even better supporting cast (Constance Collier, Bert Lahr, Helen Westley).

The third movie was Song of the Islands, a colorful Betty Grable musical set on a island paradise. If you like them with paper thin but cute stories, plenty of singing and dancing, and a fake exotic locale, then you have some tot he right place! Her leading man this time is the beefy Victor Mature, who was no great actor but had a certain masculine charm that was hard to resist. As always in old Hollywood. there is a roster of fabulous supporting actors – Jackie Oakie, Thomas Mitchell, Harry Barbier, Lillian Porter and so on.

A newspaper article mentions two more movies that Penny allegedly appeared in (which IMDB does not list), but since IMDB is often only partially correct, this could be very much true. The movies are Follow your heart and Champagne Waltz. Both are musical showcases for relatively obscure opera singers (at least today, they were obviously big stars back then) – Marion Talley and Gladys Swartouth, and both movies are hardly remembered today. But still, it’s always nice to watch these ladies, as very good singers, sing in movies – pure delight for the ears! The stories, as typical, are thin and non-interesting, but the supporting cast is always grand and there is a little bit of that old Hollywood magic!

Another potential movie for Penny is Waikiki wedding, a Bing Crosby/Martha Raye/Bob Burns musical. As you can see by Martha and Bob’s name up int the lights, it’s a musical comedy more than a romance, and with a pretty solid story about a PR man who’s trying to get people to go to his company’s resort on an exotic island, and hatches a scheme to make an award game and send the winner tot he island. The winner is the alluring Shirley Ross, she is not amused by the stunt, and all the fun begins! This one is a pretty solid efford and has plenty of belly laughs. And Martha and Bob are a hoot as always.

That was it from Penny!

PRIVATE LIFE

Except her work as a chorus girl in movies, Penny also worked as a radio actress – she was Jack Oakie’s dumb secretary “Miss Penny” on his radio broadcasts. Penny was also branded as a local expert for exotic dances, and got some minor publicity for this. Here is an article about her provess:

If a hula heaven is anything like Penny Gill makes it seem, this cribbler. ‘ for one, is “ready to thumb his way to the beach at Waikikl ” Miss Gill, be it known is an interpreter of dance moods specializing in Hawaiian moods. Dressed appropriately, just a mite on the scanty side in shredded cellophane, she is a revelation in sultry pulchritude. “Really, it”s quite remarkable the way boys and girls make love m Hawaii,” she confided backstage at the Towers Theatre, where her lush beauty and undulating movements. are on view this ween. ‘They show interest in one an other by dancing instead of courting. They speak in descriptive rhythmic movements of their hands and heads and bodies. wont you think that’s much more effective than dull conversation?’ “You mean the Hawaiian girls don’t have much to say. . . . They sort of let their torsoes speak for them?” “Yes. and they’re beautiful, too . . .” “Er . . ., ah . . .. you mean the movement or the girls r asked this interviewer hesitantly, in an effort to conceal a lively curiosity. “Both, she beamed. “What s the fare to … I mean how do they converse romantically without talking. After all “Well, this descriptive movement would say: You with me, let s be sweethearts,’ ” Miss Gill explained, extending her right arm and point ing her index finger in this direction, bending her left arm and indicating her heart with the other index linger, and placing her left leg beg, pardon, limb, forward. “You mean, you and me . . “Oh, I’m speaking figuratively,” Miss Gill laughed, “You said it!” murmured this blushing interviewer. And then I raise my arms over my head and form a triangle with my hands to represent a church,” the vivacious dancer went on, illustrating just what she intended to convey. “And then I sway my nips to represent the rolling surf. Like this . . .” Miss Gill swayed with smooth, rippling dexterity. The dance, it developed, is known as “Hula Heaven” and Miss Gill learned it in Honolulu while vacationing from Hollywood. She was very much impressed with its significance as who wouldn’t be and danced the little descriptive number in Waikiki Wedding, a film in which she appeared with Bing Crosby.

Penny+s career took a back seat to her love life. She met, fell and love and married her first husband, Edward Yale Stanley in about 1938. Edward was born on February 5, 1902, in Woodbine, New Jersey, to Charles Stanley and Emma Stanley, the oldest of six children (his younger siblings were William, Ollie, Ruth, Violet and Leonard). He went into vaudeville while still a very young man, and was a veteran by the time he married Penny. He passed the US several times over, and acted in literary hundreds of shows. He only made one movie, Stanley&Ginger, in 1929, and was not really interested in being a movie star.

For instance, here is an example of the stuff Eddie did:

 Eddie Stanley, an old favorite who needs no introduction to Vancouverites, and his company scored a hit with their hilarious comedy act, entitled “Fifth Column of Laughs.”

Right after they married, Eddie continued touring, and Penny could not keep both her contract and follow her husband around. She had to choose, and she chose her hubby, and her movie career was effectively over. But the fun for Penny and Eddie had just begun! As WW2 started in 1939, not long after they married, Eddie did war bond shows, to help the morale of the people, and was asked by the US government to help with the overseas efforts. Thus, Eddie toured England extensively from 1944 until 1947. Penny followed her husband and even performer with him often. They return to the US in about early 1948.

Eddie gave up live performing on the stage after the war, and switched his talents to TV and radio. For a time he had his own TV show, and then became a radio producer. After a very active life of constant touring around, he and Penny settled in Los Angeles for good. Their daughter Linda Mae Stanley was born on January 12, 1951, in Los Angeles, California. The Stanleys lived in California, with Eddie active in the showbiz world and Penny retired from movies.

Eddie Stanley died in 1972. Penny remarried twice, first to a Mr. Paul, then a Mr. Weiner, but both marriages were dissolved. She moved to Glendale at some point, and enjoyed her golden years there.

Penny Margaret Gill died on May 26, 1998, in Glendale, California.

Sunny Vickers

Beautiful New York model, Sunny Vickers was a perfect girl next door type which was so popular in Hollywood in the 1940s. Fresh faced, nice, and with a healthy dose of , alas she came to Hollywood when the demand for such types was slowly waning, and her career, despite a promising start, never belted out. She got married very quickly and left movies. Sadly, her story does not end in a happy tone. Let’s find out more about her.

EARLY LIFE

Beverly Jane Vickers was born on December 24, 1928, in Alleghey, Pennsylvania, to Edwin Vickers and Pauline Barrie. Her older sister was Barrie Claudine, born in 1927. Hr father worked as a clerk in an electric company. She was nicknamed Sunny from early childhood, due to her sunny disposition.

Her parents separated when Beverly was just a baby, and she and her sister went to live with Pauline in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Beverly grew up there and attended elementary and high school. Due to her beautiful visage, Sunny became known as a true Pittsburgh pretty, and after graduating from high school, started modeling in New York. Soon she was caught by the showbiz bug, and wanted to become an actress.

Except modeling, Sunny became a hatcheck girl at Ciro’s, a famous joint for the wealthy and famous. It seems she really wanted a career in showbiz, and being so close to the altar seemed a good idea. In 1949, Sunny moved to Miami and became a concessionaire at the Famous Door club, and later joining up with the Winnie Hoveler line in Jacksonville.

After her little Floria sojourn, she was back in New York, and this time some luck stuck. After a talent scout saw her, she was given a term contract by Columbia Pictures, and in a very unusual fashion. While Sunny previous professional acting experience, she was signed as the result of a screen test which was allegedly really grand. She studied for several weeks with drama Coach Benno Schneider before being given her first assignment, and of the went!  

CAREER

Sunny made five movies in 1951, and that was her whole movie output. Four of those were uncredited, and one was a low budget western (insert a gasp emoji here!).

Sunny’s first movie was Gasoline Alley, a light but nice comedy about two brothers that go into the restaurant business, and it follows their daily family life. Originally a comic, this seems to be one of those old Hollywood charming comedies that are rarely, if ever, made today, with a sweet juvenile cast – Scotty Beckett, Jimmy Lyndon, Susan Morrow and so on. Sunny met her future husband while making the movie, so this ended up a very important one for her life in general.

Her second movie was A Yank in Korea, where Sunny actually plays an important, although minimal screen time character. Sadly, this is a dry, uninteresting propaganda movie that shows to its dedicated viewers that the US had to send troops to Korea, to save the world from the communists! Of course, it’s terribly outdated and boring today… Everything is black and white and not thrilling in the least. Lon McAllister plays the all American boy that ends up a soldier… Sunny plays the girl that is his primary reason for enlistment (to impress her, you see). She appears only in a few brief scenes, but hey, it was something! 

Guess what? Kay then appeared in… A low budget western! Durango Kid is the main character, and the story… Who knows or who cares? Ridin’ the Outlaw Trail is the movie. Okay, I know I’m a bit severe,but as anyone knows, I don’t really like western as a genre and the low budget variety just exacerbates all the reasons I don’t like it at all… 

Never Trust a Gambler is a crime movie, a mediocre one, with nothing special to recommend it, but still well made and sturdy and worth watching is one likes the genre. Dane Clark plays a gambler on the run from the police for murder, and Cathy O’Donnell is his wife. What tick little ticker lacks in a true noir atmosphere to make it a minor classic. 

Sunny’s last movie was Saturday’s Hero, a somehow 50-style jaded view on college football. Ye, even back then it was  a racket and young men destroyed their bodies to make it in the savage sports world. When I say 50s style I mean it- while it does pack a heavy punch and doesn’t shy away from showing the dark side of sports, it’s still a 50s production, still somehow unrealistic and not wholly without a Hollywood sheen. Hard to describe but I think anyone who has watched 50s movies knows the feel. John Derek, a pretty boy who never became a top star, mostly due to his somewhat wooden acting style, plays the athlete, and Donna Reed is his wealthy paramour. However, there are treats to be found – winning turns by veteran actors Sidney Blackmer (fabulous as Derek’s ruthless benefactor), and Alexander Knox, a top notch character actor, playing a literature teacher. Watch for them, if nothing else. 

That was it from Sunny! 

PRIVATE LIFE

When Sunny came to Hollywood in 1950, Scott Brady was showing her the town, but he was busy with a lot of other dates so it didn’t grow into anything permanent. In cca September 1950, Sunny started dating Scotty Beckett, former child star who had a bit of a touch time transitioning to adult roles. Things progressed very fast, and Sunny became pregnant in early 1951. Marriage was imminent now – they wed in Phoenix, Arizona on June 27, 1951 and their son, Scotty Jr., was born Nov. 6, 1951 in Los Angeles.

Scotty was born on October 4, 1929, in Oakland, California, to Ralph Beckett and Ruth Slavan. His older brother James was born in 1919. He was a natural for performing, and was noted by a scout when he was entertaining his father and other patient in a local hospital. Sadly, his father died in 1933, and Scotty, to help the family budget, started a successful juvenile movie career. Hal Roach signed him up for his “Our Gang” series in 1934. He appeared in 15 “Our Gang” shorts, including “Hi Neighbor!”, “Mike Fright”, “The Lucky Corner”, and “Mama’s Little Pirate”. Beckett left Roach in 1935 to do features for the major studios, among them “Dante’s Inferno” (1935), “Anthony Adverse” (1936), “The Charge of the Light Brigade” (1936), “Conquest” (1937), “Marie Antoinette” (1938), “King’s Row” (1942), and “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” (1944). The pinnacle of his career was playing young Al Jolson in “The Jolson Story” (1946). Already on cusp of manhood by then, Scotty could not quite find a niche for him in Hollywood by the 1950s. He was married once before, to a tennis pro, Bevely Baker, but they divorced within a year.

Sunny gave up her career to devote to her new family. Sadly, the marriage turned sour pretty soon. Scotty was a volatile personality, prone to mis-mashes with the law. While he was young, his extensive experience with Hollywood made him jaded beyond his years, and much more jaded than Sunny. Living with him was probably very difficult, especially for a sanguine, happy-go-lucky girl like Sunny. Also, Scotty liked to pop pills and drink. Sunny picked up the trait, and began drinking to cope with the challenging home situation.

Scotty was relatively sedate for the first few years of the marriage, enjoying fatherhood, but his career continued to wane and so did his mental health. Beckett was arrested in 1954 on a bad check charge and three years’ probation imposed the same year for carrying a concealed weapon. Sunny’s alcoholism worsened, and she was treated by a string of doctors in California.

Things only went from bad to worse. Scotty was (again) arrested Feb. 11, 1957, at the U. S. -Mexico border crossing near San Diego on suspicion of possessing dangerous drugs. He told officers he was a student at the University of Southern California end had bought the stimulant pills for his wife in Mexico on a Mexican doctor’s prescription. The authorities imprisoned him and Sunny for four months without a trial. 

This totally busted their shaky marriage, and they separated and as soon as she could, Sunny filed for divorce and seeker custody of their son. The divorce drama had just started – during the proceedings, Sunny was put into a state hospital by her family, in a try to treat her alcoholism, but she left the facility by her own accord before the treatment was done. Scotty found out and tried to get custody:

Permanent custody of his 5-year-old son is demanded by Scotty Beckett, 28, former film ‘actor, in a cross- complaint for divorce which charges that his wife, sunny Vickers, 29, one-time screen actress, is now an escapee from a State hospital. Beckett asked that his wife’s rights to visit the child, Scott Jr., be limited to times when she is not under the influence of liquor. Shortly after the wife filed the original suit under her legal name of Beverly Beckett last Aug. 12 she was given temporary custody of her son and Beckett was ordered to con tribute $50 a month toward the child’s support But Beckett informed the court in the cross-suit that the boy is now with him 

What a sad story… Unfortunately, it was not over. Scotty ended up in the hospital on September 20, 19158, from an overdose of barbiturates. In 1959 he was caught drunk driving, and in 1964 he was jailed after hitting his stepdaughter on her head with a crutch. A very troubled man, he died on May 10, 1968 from an alleged barbiturate overdose, but legend has it he was beat up so bad he died from the aftereffects.

Little is known about Sunny’s life after their divorce. It seems that she married once more, to a Mr. Williams, but they were divorced in the mid 1960s. Sadly, Sun’y alcoholism continued to run rampart, and before long, it was too late for her.

Sunny Vickers, died on November 27, 1968, (just months after Scotty died) in Los Angeles. One can only imagine how difficult it was for Scotty Jr., to lose both of his parents so close in time-frame and at such young ages. I hope he recuperated and went on to have a healthy and happy life.

Marie DeForrest

Marie Deforest was a nice looking dancer who got into movies as a chorus girl, and decided to tackle the notoriously difficult task of trying to make it as a serious actress. She did not succeed, but married a legendary character actor and led a happy life. Let’s learn more about her!

EARLY LIFE

Marie Alice Davis was born on November 11, 1913, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Mr. Davis and Ethel DeForest. I could not find the name of her father, but what we do know is that he died not long after Marie was born, and remarried to Russell Clark Douglas on September 6, 1915, in Leavenworth, Kansas. Russell, a chandelier maker by trade, was married previously and had a daughter, Leona Ruth, born on April 20, 1907. Russell, Ethel and Marie lived in Kansas City.

Marie grew up and was schooled in Kansas City, and there she discovered she had a knack for the performing arts, especially dancing. In about 1925, the family moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where Marie started to dance on a professional basis. Pretty soon she moved to Los Angeles, where she worked as a chorus girl in the musical entertainment circuit. This is how she landed in Hollywood in the mid 1930s.

CAREER

Marie obviously appeared in a myriad of movies, but IMDB lists only 6, so let’s go with hem! The first was The Bride of Frankenstein, a classical sequel to a classical movie everyone knows, Frankenstein. Technically very progressive for it’s time, with incredible and very imaginative set and costume design, and a string of top notch British actors (Colin Clive, Boris Karloff, Elsa Lancaster, Valerie Hobson), this is classic Hollywood as it’s best, at least in the horror movie stakes. Literary the world of horror movies were changed forever with the Frankenstein serial. While the later movies left much to be desired, this was pure gold! I think we all know the story and the main characters, so no need to write in depth about them. Marie played a small ballerina roles, and she got to show her dancing skills.

Marie’s second movie was Love Me Forever, a sadly forgotten Grace Moore weepie about a gambler who gives everything to help the woman he loves, a budding opera songstress (played by Moore) succeed in the world of classical music. While it does sound a bit overtly dramatic, the cast has some very good actors (Leo Carillo as the lead, which is a rarity, Louis Alberni, Douglass Dumbrille, Thurston Hall and others). I have actually never seen Grace Moore in a movie and am curious to see if the had that something the camera loves or was she just another singer turned actress without the spark.

Boy, was Marie’s next movie a weird one – Lash of the Penitentes. The name says it all, it’s a semi-documentary movie about flagellants, just with a murder mystery thrown in for good measure. Yep, real footage of flagellants is displayed in the movie, and whoa Nelly, what can I say about this? Marie even plays the leading female role. Marie’s next movie was luckily more lightweight fare, Mountain Music. Leading role – Martha Raye and Bob Burns. You can probably guess where this is going. There are hillbillies, mistaken identities, G men, singing and dancing and a whole lot of misunderstandings. The story isn’t even that important when you have plenty of comedic gangs by both Martha and Bob. If these types of comedy are your cup of tee, consume by all means, if not avoid. A similarly dim-witted but endearing movie was Marie’s next, Tropic Holiday. We just have more high caliber stars (Dorothy Lamour and Ray Milland), but Martha Raye and Bob Burns are there too! As usual, the story isn’t a oiece of art (A Hollywood screenwriter looking for inspiration for his next film goes to Mexico, where he runs into a beautiful Mexican girl who sets her sights on him), but it’s okay enough for the theme at hand.

Marie’s last movie was Artists and Models Abroad, a Jack Benny comedy hitting most of the right notes – plenty of pretty girls, song and dance, and a solid cast – except Benny we have Joan Bennett, Mary Boland (she’s a hoot!), Montey Woolley, Fritz Feld, Joyce Compton and others. The story, as you can guess by now, is secondary to all the other shenanigans, but so to be on the safe side – Benny and his troupe are stranded in Paris, he meets rich heiress Joan Bennett, but thinks she ‘s broke, and all kind of funny things happen. Nice, breezy, not a shabby choice for enjoyment watching. Marie plays a member of the troupe.

That was it from Marie!

PRIVATE LIFE

 Marie’s favorite actor and co-star was Bing Crosby, whom she thought of as the “most natural” of all the actors. Marie loved to be on water, and used famous Johnson “Sea Horse” outboard motor for daily excursions. Marie’s Hollywood career was very much frustrating and slow moving, as was the career of countless starlets. The press noted:

Marie DeForrest progressed to the spot of specially dancer but it has taken her three and a half y-ears to get a real speaking part. She hasn’t any solution for bucking the talent scouts’ indifference ‘Tve been in show business and- movies a long time but 1 still don’t know what it lakes beside luck Tins is the best break I’ve bad SO far”

This is a common enough story in Tinsel town, and I respect enormously anyone who tried this. Succeed or fail, all effort is rewarded, perhaps not the way a person expects, but some other mysterious ways… And for Marie it did, in a different way than one can assume.

As for her private life – before getting married, Marie had been engaged twice. It was noted she was quite popular with the boys, and received numerous offers for dates and similar proposals. However, Marie knew very well what she wanted, and told it to the newspapers:

A girl who could have forty dates a week, if there were that many evenings in seven days, and who averages a marriage proposal every seven weeks, revealed today she’s going to stay a bachelor girl for “a long long time.” The young lady is Marie DeForest, 22, born in St. Louis, Mo., but who spent most of her Young life in Kansas City until she came here with her parents eight years ago. “When I get married I want it to be a one and only for keeps,” said Marie, one of the most sought after misses in town as a dining and dancing partner. She actually accepts no more than three dates a Week. “I want a life companion when I marry and they are difficult to find in a town where most of the people are in your own line of business,” she explained. Marie, an accomplished dancer before the camera, wouldn’t marry n actor. “Pretty soon it would not be bearable,” she added. “It would be question of always talking shop and you’d always be bored to death of fighting a battle. “Ii don’t want to even date an actor. They don’t seem natural to or course, they must have a certain amount of egotism, I guess, so that they can have faith in their own ability.” She spurned college boys, too. “They’re so young and kind of silly. I don’t like them at all”

It’s funny, but in the end, Marie Married an actor! Surprise surprise! Well, not really, this happens more often than you think! In 1941, Marie married Bernard Ofner, aka Barney Phillips, a very prosperous character actor. Here is a short bio, taken from Mayberry fandom page:

Bernard Philip Ofner was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Harry Nathan Ofner, a commercial salesman for the leather industry, and Leona Frank Ofner, a naturalized citizen of German origin, who went by the nickname Lonnie. Phillips grew up and was educated in St. Louis, then moved to Los Angeles, California after graduating from college in 1935.

Interested in acting, he was able to get a small part in an independently-produced Grade B western called Black Aces in 1937, but his show business career then languished. Phillips enlisted in the US Army in July 1941 under his real name, serving in the signal corps during World War II.

Following the war, Phillips procured small parts in several films during 1949-1952, before getting a regular role on the NBC television version of Dragnet, as Sgt. Ed Jacobs. He also voiced the recurring role of Hamilton J. Finger, a police sergeant in Frank Sinatra’s radio program, Rocky Fortune, in 1953 and 1954. Thereafter he was a prolific character actor in both films and television series throughout the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1959-1960 television season, Phillips portrayed police Lieutenant Geller in the syndicated crime drama, Johnny Midnight, starring Edmond O’Brien as a New York City actor-turned-private detective. The following season, Phillips appeared as another police lieutenant, named “Avery”, in seven episodes of the syndicated crime drama The Brothers Brannagan, starring Stephen Dunne and Mark Roberts. He also made several appearances on the original “The Twilight Zone ” (1960-1963), most notably as the three-eyed Venusian Haley the Bartender in “Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up?” (1961).

Phillips remained active in television during the 1970s.

The Ofners enjoyed a very happy marriage. They did not have any children, and lived in Los Angeles where Barney was a much sought after actor.

Barney died from dancer in 1982. Marie did not remarry, and opted to remain in California. She moved to Riverside at some point in the 1980s.

Marie Ofner died on her birthday, November 11, 1990, in Riverside, California.

Helen Deverell

Beautiful and with a fine voice, Helen Deverell achieved some fame on radio, but she wanted cinematic glory, and tried, for several times, to catch it in Tinsel town. Sadly, all her tries did not catapult her to stardom, and she retired after marrying in the late 1940s. Let’s learn more about her!

EARLY LIFE

Helen Marie Murphy was born on December 25, 1913, (she’s a Christmas baby) in Chicago, Illinois, to William James Murphy and Florence Cooper. Her father was her first married to her mother’s older sister, Margaret, who sadly died in February 1910 after giving birth to his son, William, in 1908. William and Florence had five children: Margaret (born in 1912), Helen, Gordon (born in 1915), Florence (born in 1917) and Patricia (born in 1925). William was a machinist by trade.

The family moved from place to place, living in New Yersey just before Helen’s birth, and then moving to Los Angeles in the mid 1920s. Helen grew up in Los Angeles and attended school there. Helen developed a passion for acting while she was in high school, and right after graduation started working as a radio actress. She made some excursions to New York to audition for various studios, and by 1939, she was finally signed to a movie contract!

CAREER

After appearing in some movie shorts, Helen made her movie debut in 1939 with Dancing Co-Ed, a run of the mill musical that is enlightened by two things – first, Lana Turner as a young, sweet and fresh ingenue, just beginning her career (yeah, the quality of Lana’s acting can be debated, but nobody can ever say she was boring or that the camera didn’t love her – quite the opposite, she was a natural born star with more charisma tan talent), the second, seeing two top clarinet players in the same movie – Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman! She story (about finding a replacement for a successful sister duo after one sis gets pregnant) is never important as much as the overall feel and the music, so this movie was be enjoyed from that regard.

Helen then only resurfaces in Hollywood in 194, with Pardon My Sarong, an Abbott and Costello comedy. What can I say, if you like them and their brand of funny, this is a good movie, if not, don’t watch. There are plenty of very nice looking actresses in it – Marie McDonald, Nan Wynn, Virginia Bruce, Lona Andre and so on. The comedic duo somehow end up on a luxury cruise on the tropics, hence the sarong name (and without Dorothy Lamour, the queen of sarongs).

Helen then appeared in two low budget westerns, and this is perhaps her sole claim to fame today. As you already well known, I don’t know much about such movies so I’ll just let them slide (their names are Boss of Hangtown Mesa and The Blocked Trail. Helen made one more movie then, Strictly in the Groove, a Ozzie Nelson comedy about him trying to keep his fledging band alive. As you can imagine, it’s not a deep and nuanced movie, but there are plenty of good music to hear, especially hot swing, and some of the supporting actors are comedic gold (Leon Errol, Frankilin Pangborn, Shemp Howard). Fleeting but enjoyable entertainment for sure!

Helen got married and took a hiatus from movie making, and returned to Hollywood after the war ended, in 1945. She signed up with Monogram, and appeared in one of their Charlie Chan movies, The Scarlet Clue. Chan was a legendary 1940s character, and people loved seeing him solving mysteries, but when the movie serial moved from 20th century fox to Monogram, the movies became more comedy. This one is no exception – who wants real mystery should probably seek some other movie, but there are plenty of nice funny moments, especially between Chan and his son and Chan and his chauffeur. The story is bare boned (Charlie discovers a scheme for the theft of government radar plans while investigating several murders.) but it works in the setting. Anyway, watch for the comedy!

Helen appeared in two more movies in 1946. The first, The Mysterious Mr. M , is a campy serial about an evil scientist known as “Mr. M.” uses a drug he has developed called “hypnotreme” to help steal submarine equipment. Federal agent Grant Farrell is dispatched to find the mysterious villain and stop his nefarious plans. What can I say, if people enjoy stuff like Flash Gordon, why not? Over the top, completely unrealistic, but catch this, Mr. M uses a very rudimentary form of GPS here, so the movie actually features something that will come into mainstream use about 60 years later! Revolutionary, in a small way!

Helen’s last movie was Abie’s Irish Rose, based on a Broadway play that was panned by the critics but lauded by the public and ran for 5 years straight! The reviews for this one was abysmal, so let’s assume that the critics were correct at some rate at least. The plot concerns a marriage between a clean cut Jewish boy and a pretty Irish girl. You can easily connect the dots on what happens next, the families are not impressed and mayhem is assured. Joanne Dru, who plays the pretty Irish lass, started her career here, and she managed to have a solid run in Hollywood, so as a stepping stone for her, this movie wasn’t too… Shabby. To bad it’s a piece of sentimental shuck with no depth not true emotional worth, but hey, at least legendary acting coach Michael Chekov is in it (and he made only a few movies).

That was all from Helen!

PRIVATE LIFE

Helen was primarily a very successful radio actress, and got most of her fame from the medium. Here is an excerpt about the shows that Helen did:

“Continental Caprice, depicting the charm and romance of Europe in the old days, has been lengthened to 45 minutes tonight to tell a story of Christmas Eve in Vienna. A special cast has been chosen to enact the Christmas program, – Including Carol Stone, John’ Carroll and Helen Deverell. Velascos Hungarian Orchestra and Julius Klein, master of the cymbal, furnish the music. .

Little is known of Helen’s private life, as she didn’t cause much rippled in the newspapers. In 1943, she married George Cahan, who was then serving in the US army. George Middleton Cahan was born on may 24, 1919, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Louis B. Cahan and Ida Goldman, their only child. The family lived in Harrisburg for a short ime before returning to Philly, where George grew up and attended schools. In the 1930s, Cahan was a radio announcer-producer for national networks and several large stations in the East, including Stations WCAU, Philadelphia, and WHP, Harrisburg, for the Columbia Broadcasting System, and WFIL, Philadelphia, for NBC and Mutual While with CBS, he was named their special announcer for the Governor of Pennsylvania and later made several broadcasts from the Governor’s Mansion.

He enlisted in 1941, and after several months as an enlisted man in public relations and special services work, Capt. Cahan entered cadet training and receive his pilot’s wings and commission July 3, 1942, at Columbus, Miss. He was later transferred to the Troop Carried Command and ordered to New Guinea, where he was a Group Operations officer during several campaigns. When he returned to the States in March, 1944, Capt. Cahan was assigned to public relations work. He came to Stockton Field from a similar assignment at the Sixth Ferrying Group, Long Beach.

Helen followed her husband, around, and While in Stockton, the Cahans resided at 2135 Lakeside, Stockton. However, this was a typical wartime marriage, where the people involved don’t even know each other before getting married, and sadly but predictably it failed in 1945. Cahan would marry actress Alice Talton in 1950 and die on June 12, 1991.

Helen fell out of the newspaper radar, and we know why on May 1, 1947, she married to Tomas Gurza Bracho, and effectively left behind the world of Hollywood and acting to settle in her new home country – Mexico. Sadly there was not much I could find about Helen’s second husband. He was born on September 12, 1911, in Durango, Mexico, to Alberto Gurza and Carmen Ana Bracho, the fourth of seven children. He was a diplomat, and married once before to Maria Luisa Lacy.

I could not find any information about children. The couple lived in Mexico City and seemingly enjoyed a happy marriage. Bracho died on December 9,1965, from hemorrhaging related to a renal disease. Helen continued living in Mexico after Bracho died and only sporadically returned to the US (I assume).

Helen Bracho died in May 1991 in Mexico City, Mexico.

Gwen Zetter

Most of the girls I profile on this page were in fact extras with no speaking parts. Gwen Zetter is an excellent example of how an extra lived and worked in Hollywood. She is literary the other side of the medal – what about not just the stars and the character actors, but those who were never credited and often graced a large number of movies? Let’s learn more about her! 

EARLY LIFE

Grunhild Ingrid Zettergren was born on June 22, 1910, in Wada, Sweden. I could not find any information on the identity of her parents. The family moved to Stockholm not long after her birth. Gwen grew up in Stockholm and attended school there. In the late 1920s, after finishing high school, decided to go to America and seek her fortune there. 

After Gwen landed in the US, she became fashion model first in Chicago and then in New York. It was via the modeling route that she landed in Hollywood in 1932, and her career started! 

CAREER

Gwen allegedly appeared in a large number of movies as an extra, but IMDB lists only 11 of them. With no further adue, let’s go into it! 

Gwen’s first movie on the last is She Wanted a Millionaire, which what we today consider a totally cliche story, of a pretty girl who wants a millionaire, gets one but then gets more than she bargains for when the guy ends up not quiet what she expected and murder ensures! this is worth watching for the leads – Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett, and nothing else more or less. Those two had great chemistry and really worked well together! Coming up next was Sinners in the Sun, a similar 1930s romcom, about a girl who wants a rich man and thus ends her relationship with a loving but poor man. It’s not the sory, it’s the actors once again, with Carole Lombard and 

And then the The Kid from Spain! Whoa, this movie has been mentioned here for more than 10 times, so I won’t write about ti any more. Next: The Woman Accused seems like an interesting pre-code crime drama, with Nancy Carroll playing just engaged young women who John Halliday tries to coerce into admitting her guilt over the death of her former boyfriend (Louis Calhern). And imagine who plays Nancy’s new fiancee? None other than Cary Grant! While not written well enough to be a very good film, it’s still well plotted, tight and has some interesting moments. And seeing Cary on the screen is always a plus! 

And then we have The Warrior’s Husband, and what a movie this is! A story about Theseus and the Amazons (let’s brush up on our greek mythology), but in reality a story about the complicated gender roles and perhaps a reversal of those same norms? While I would have loved to see Katherine Hepburn in the leading role (she played it in the theater), another actress I like, Elissa Landi, makes an appearance, so it’s all fine and dandy! Another delightful precode comedy was  International House, a kind of a pastiche of various zany people trying to buy a patent for a peculiar TV station (and all of this is set in China). W.C. Fields, Peggy Hopkins Joyce, Stuart Irwin (the male lead, but actually the most ), The story may be thin, but there is plenty of 1930s pizzaz, absurd skits and colorful characters that it just works! Plus it’s precode, always a plus IMHO. 

Gwen then appeared in Morning Glory, a okay movie about the lives of actresses. While it’s a minor classic today, mostly thanx to Katherine Hepburn’s Oscar win, I didn’t find it particularly exalting, but it’s a solid piece of film making and there are plenty of nice roles for ladies in it, also always a plus in my book. Gwen then appeared as a chorus girl in two 1930s musicals, Footlight Parade and Roman Scandals. We know the old blueprint – no story, plenty of scantly clad ladies, some comedy, some song and dance, interesting costumes! 

Gwens last movie was Vagabond Lady, a cute romantic comedy with Robert Young and Evelyn Venable – Evie is engaged to Bob’s older, stuffy brother, but when Bon enters the picture, things change dramatically! While no work of art, it’s a breezy, nice lil movie and quite enjoyable to watch! 

That’s it from Gwen! 

PRIVATE LIFE

Gwen was a blue-eyed blond and quite tall, five feet, eight Inches in height and weighted 123 pounds. Gwen had a particular flair for white; and kept her figure with an old-fashioned diet of milk cheese and fresh green food. 

In 1935, after being in Hollywood for several years and in the US for about six, Gwen received final papers as United States citizen. Here is a short newspaper bit about it: 

Forswearing allegiance to the King of Sweden, Miss Grunhild In grid Zettergren, known on the stage and screen as” Gwen Zetter, yesterday appeared before United States District Judge McCormick and was awarded her final papers as a citi zen of the United States. The actress was one of a class of 180 per sons seeking citizenship, a majority of them former British subjects. Miss Zetter, who resides at 1075 North St. Andrews Place, has lived here for about five years, during which she has been engaged In motion picture work. She said her parents repeatedly have urged her to return to Sweden, but that she had decided she “would rather live here than any other place in the world.” “Sweden is a grand country,” she said, “but greater opportunities exist here for people of my profession and I am delighted to become American citizen.” The actress was accompanied to court by Dorothy Compton, film actress

Gwen seemed to have a brand – the “successful” extra. If she ever got any newspaper coverage, it was because she was a working gal and Hollywood extra. If you can believe the newspapers, according to the records of Central Casting, Gwen was the top money extra In the business. She averaged about $60 a week, more than a stenographer or a saleslady. Here is a very exhaustive article about her lifestyle, and more of less the reason I decided to profile her here – this is very interesting reading! 

“I want to interview the most successful extra in Hollywood,” I told Campbell McCollough, the new chief of Central Casting. He gave me the telephone, number and address of Gwen Zetter. Having made an appointment, I visited her in her home. She is a girl of whom the motion picture industry may well be proud, and I am frank to say, after talking with her for an hour, that I am puzzled to find her an extra, while so many others, decidedly inferior to her in both beauty and intelligence, have reached stardom. I have heard thousands of extras bewail their lot. The officials of Central Casting repeatedly have told me that they are unable to supply enough work to keep their thousands of registrants in food and clothing and shelter. But from Gwen Zetter I heard the other side of the story. Her success deserves the more applause because it has been won in the face of tremendous odds — but it does not mean that the average girl can earn a living as an extra. Gwen Zetter is not an average girl. I EARN my living by working as a motion picture extra. I don’t pretend to be an “actress,” and don’t profess to have “talent.” I’m just an extra — but I’m one by choice, and I wouldn’t trade jobs with any one of the salesgirls, stenographers or secretaries whom I know. Too many tears have been shed about our lot. Too many articles have pointed out “the pitfalls that lurk in Hollywood for the extra girl.”

Too many writers have exercised their flair for melodrama by picturing us as the despised victims of mistreatment on the studio sets. Of course, with so much smoke, there must be a fire. I know that I have been unusually lucky. I know that for every extra who earns a decent living, there are many who barely exist. Our “business,” like all others, is desperately overcrowded. There are nearly ten thousand of us, all registered with Central Casting, all absolutely dependent upon our work before the cameras, and all competing for employment which would be insufficient for half of our number. Naturally, the majority must fail in the competition — and Central Casting, realizing the conditions, not only refuses to register new applicants for extra work, but is systematically trying to weed out the least suited just as fast as employment can be found for them in other fields. Yet the fact remains that the girls who are best suited for extra work — Who have the best physical assets and the best mental attitudes — all earn good “living wages.”

I have been an extra for the past three years — notoriously lean ones in Hollywood — and I have not only lived very comfortably, but I have also managed to save money. I have had a great amount of leisure between jobs and I have gone to school. I consider the three years well spent Certainly, I have gained much more than I did during the three preceding years, when I worked steadily, at good salary, as a modiste’s model. But I have been unusually lucky! Before telling of my own experiences, it is necessary to explain a few facts about “the extra game.” All who are registered with Central Casting are classified as either “atmosphere people” or “extras.” The former, who need not be entirely dependent upon studio work for a livelihood, receive a minimum wage of five dollars per day; the latter, who are defined by the Motion Picture Industry Code as “Those who by experience or ability are known to be competent to play group or individual business parts and otherwise to appear in a motion picture in other than atmospheric background or crowd work,” receive a minimum daily wage of seven dollars and fifty cents.

Extras are further classified as “ordinary extras” and “dress extras” — and there lies the margin of difference between a fair living and a bare existence, for dress extras, who must maintain at their own expense a complete wardrobe, suitable for every modern setting, receive a minimum of fifteen dollars a day. Obviously, it is good business to be a dress extra — for they not only get top pay but also receive more “calls.” Frequently they are given “lines” to speak, and, in that case, they receive twenty- five dollars or more per day. Don’t think, however, that an extra works every day. We never know today whether we will work tomorrow, or next week, or a month from today. We live from day to day. If we average one and one-half days a week we are lucky; if we average three days a week, we are almost unbelievably fortunate. Central tries to spread employment as fairly as possible — and until the total number of registered extras is greatly reduced, there isn’t enough work to go around. The few of us who receive top wages fare well, the others suffer.

Thanks to my previous work as a model and to an inborn passion for clothes, I came to Hollywood already equipped with a much better than aver- age wardrobe. And, as soon as I discovered that only the dress extras can hope to earn good livelihoods, I determined to have a complete wardrobe. I skimped and scraped, and sewed and shopped, until I knew that I could accept any call. Those were hard times, and if I hadn’t been fortunate enough to have a small amount of money, saved from my previous employment, I know I could never have survived the first few months. Since then I have averaged three days’ work a week. On rare occasions I have been selected to speak a line or two of dialogue. During the last two years my average income has been at least fifty dollars a week. WITHOUT considering the fact that I have a tremendous amount of leisure, what employment can a girl in her early twenties, without any special training or talent, find that will pay her better wages? I live by myself, in a well-furnished cottage. I drive my own inexpensive car, purchased new and paid for out of my earnings. I deny myself nothing that I want in the way of food.

Contrasting my lot with that of most working girls, I believe I have a distinct advantage. But, I repeat, I have been very lucky! During my first six months as an extra I earned considerably less than I do now and I had to be extremely economical to meet my living expenses. I had been accustomed to a weekly salary and it was terribly difficult for me to budget correctly on an uncertain, spasmodic income. Whenever I had worked for several days in succession and found myself suddenly “flush,” I was tempted to go on a spending spree, forgetting that weeks might pass before I would work again. Finally, by keeping an exact record of my earnings over a sufficient time, I struck an average and made it the basis of an iron-clad budget. Since then I have fared very well. Out of every pay check I set aside a certain percentage for rent, for wardrobe, for food, for transportation and for all of the other items on my budget. And I refuse to contract debts. I honestly believe that more girls fail in the “extra game” through poor management than ever fail because of insufficient earnings.

The cost of living is remarkably low in Los Angeles, and any girl should be able to get along here on twenty-five dollars a week. Few dress extras average less. I have heard dress extras complain that it costs them every cent they earn to maintain their wardrobes. When I first reported for extra work, I was warned that it would cost me at least $2,000 to acquire a satisfactory ward- robe. Perhaps it would have cost that much if I had bought with the same reckless extravagance which most extras display. I design my own clothes. I watch the sales and I buy material in advance of my needs in order to get it at real bargain prices. I do most of my own sewing — and, whenever I lack the time to sew, I take my material and my patterns to a very capable dressmaker whose shop is in a nearby small town and whose prices are very reasonable. The net result is that I pay twenty dollars or less for an evening gown which would cost at least four times that much if purchased ready-made in one of the fashionable shops. And I have discovered that a little ingenuity, exercised in making over old things, will show a saving of several hundred dollars each year. Twenty-five to thirty dollars a month is ample to cover all of my wardrobe needs.

MOST of the extra girls whom I know have their hair dressed before each appearance on the set. So do I — but “I dress my own” instead of submitting to the prices charged by Hollywood’s most fashionable hair- dressers. When I discovered how imperative it is for a dress extra to be perfectly coiffured, I took a course in hair-dressing. It has paid for itself a hundred times. Too many extras have “star complexes.” Instead of frankly admitting that they are extras and living accordingly, they are apologetic for their status and live far beyond their means to uphold their pretensions. They are too conscious of the caste system in Holly- wood, which places a wide gulf between the extra player and the so-called featured actor. I see no reason for being ashamed of being an extra. My work is important to the finished picture; I receive a fair wage for it and I try to do it to the best of my ability. And certainly there is no cause for shame in living within one’s means. I’d much rather be a capable extra than to step beyond my abilities and be an incapable actress. I’m like most girls; I would like to be a screen star with all the fame and money that goes with it — but there’s no use in kidding myself. I’m an extra and the best thing for me to do is to stick to my own job until I have earned something better. People continually ask me about the way extra girls are treated on the sets.

I always answer that we are given exactly the treatment which we, as individuals, invite. And I think that answer is the exact truth. Girls who show by their actions that they respect themselves are seldom treated with disrespect. In three years I have never received a single “insult.” It is no more difficult to remain moral as an extra girl than it is to remain moral in any other business. It is up to the girl, herself, to determine her way of living. Several years ago, I understand, extras often were treated with lack of consideration — especially by the smaller studios. Sometimes they were required to work under conditions which were not only disagreeable but actually dangerous to their safety. But that is all changed now. If any extra meets with unfair treatment on the set, he has recourse by filing a formal complaint with Central Casting — and Central, which is a branch of the powerful Motion Picture Producers’ Association, immediately takes action. My work is interesting. I like to study people and, on the sets, I have had a chance to meet and study some of the most interesting people in the world. I have worked with almost every star and every famous director. Probably they were unaware of my existence. but I enjoyed watching them at work. I’m like all the rest of you — a dyed-in- the-wool fan. I have played in pictures laid in China, in Paris, in London, in Rome — in short, in every locale on earth. And since Hollywood’s technicians conscientiously try to make every picture a truthful reflection of its setting, I feel that I have learned more than I could have learned from a round-the-world cruise.

My education was limited and I deeply appreciate the general infor- mation that I have received on the sets. I have learned to speak better English, for I have had the opportunity, day after day, to hear the dialogue written by famous authors. And I have made the most of the opportunity, for I am Swedish and I spoke broken English when I came to Hollywood. Another thing — and this touches my one great ambition — I have been able to study the clothes designed by some of the greatest artists in the world. Eventually I want to be a designer, a modiste, and where could I possibly receive better instruction than on the motion picture sets, studying the work of Hollywood’s Travis Bantons and Adrians? The point that I have tried to make is this: being an extra is not vastly dif- ferent from being a worker in any other business. The girls who approach extra work with the proper equipment and a businesslike attitude can make it pay them satisfactory wages. It is not necessary to be beautiful, it is not necessary to have acting ability, it is not necessary to have “personality.”

It is necessary to have common sense and clothes sense. One must know what to wear and how to wear it, and one must know how to live sanely and economically. EXTRA work is the poorest of stepping-stones to screen success, for the very qualities which make a girl suitable for stardom actually handicap her as an extra. It is not best to stand out from the crowd if you wish to work regularly as an extra. If you are too noticeable in one sequence of a picture, often you are automatically barred from work in another sequence. Certainly I would not advise the av- erage girl to work extra for a living. The very fact that Central Casting now refuses to register a new applicant, no matter how suitable he or she may be for the work, is sufficient proof that the great majority of already registered extras are unable to work often enough to earn living wages. Depression and unemployment have overcrowded our ranks. And I know that the luck which has stuck with me for three years may turn against me to morrow. Still — I wouldn’t trade jobs with any one of the girls I know.

This is an nice article, and Gwen seems like a very level headed woman, although a bit naive (yeah, it’s enough not to be difficult to make it in Hollywood – very often not! There are some systematical prejudices at work, but to be kind and friendly to everyone should be everyone’s goal.)

Gwen’s parents still lived in Sweden, and she often took summer vacation to the old continent. I wonder if the came to the US after the war started, but could not find any information.

But unlike Bess Flowers, the extra who appeared in hundreds of movies and whose career lasted for decades (and is considered a legendary figure today), by 1940 Gwen was out of Hollywood. How and why? Have no idea. Here the information becomes sketchy and little is known about what Gwen did afterwards. However, we do know that she married a Harold Rymer between 1941 and 1944. The couple lived in California and it seems they did not have any children.

Ingrid Rymer died on in Moonpark, California on January 29, 1995.

Nancy Root

Nancy Root was a pretty co-ed with some riding skills that landed in Hollywood due to her combination of looks and sass, but sadly was cast in a string of “pretty girl” uncredited roles. Sadly, it was just a few years into her career that she was embroiled in a scandal, and decided to leave Hollywood behind. She later became a successful jewelry designer. Let’s learn more about her.

EARLY LIFE

Nancy Jane Root was born on September 4, 1939, in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Herbert Root and Blanche Root. The Roots were a prestigious family, very active in the local scene, and Nancy was the grandniece of prominent republican politician and Nobel prize winner Elihu Root. Both Nancy’s parents were physicians in the Los Angeles area.

Nancy grew up in a stable and happy family in Los Angeles. Interested in performing since she was a little girl, she still claimed she was MORE interested in a Republican political career, which was expect of a Root dynasty member. But, a tingling wish to one day become a movie queen persisted, and she liked to perform and was often featured in amateur theatrics. After graduating from high school in Los Angeles, Nancy decided to enroll into University of Arizona and moved to Tucson to study there.

While in Arizona, Nancy blossomed into a stunning green-eyed redhead with 35-23-33 measurements She took her first two years of college there. An accomplished horsewoman, she did some stunt riding for movie companies working in this area. She rode so convincingly and so prettily that she was encouraged to take a screen test, and eventually was accepted into 20th Century Fox’s new talent school.

And thus her career started!

CAREER

Nancy first appeared in movies was in But Not for Me, a Clark Gable movie! What a way to go, I must say! Anyway, the movie is far from Clark’s best, but it’s a solid 60s comedy, with Clark playing a seasoned producer who wants to retire but then his pretty secretary declares his love for her, and he decided maybe he won’t retire after all? But what will his wife say? The cast is first class (Clark, Carroll Baker, Lili Palmer), and while it’s nothing groundbreaking, it’s well directed and witty at times. Her second was is a camp classic, a so bad it’s good movie, Girls Town. Girls in a catholic reform school, what more to say, with Mamie Van Doren playing the lead. Tons of scantly clad pretty girls, and it’s not even a Busby Berkeley musical? What to say!

Nancy continued appearing in quirky 60 movies, so specific to that decade and rarely made ever since. The first one was The Private Lives of Adam and Eve, another unintentionally hilarious so bad it’s good movie. the story is simple enough, n. Several travelers are en route to Reno, when thunderstorm causes them to take refuge in an abandoned church. Falling asleep, the two leads dream they are Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, but its’ just excuse to parade pretty girls around and see Mickey Rooney dressed in a snake suit. But wait until the next movie – College Confidential. What a bizarre one! In a nutshell, a professor conducts a survey about the sex life of college students. And then all bets are of! The vast is truly a weird mish-mash: Steve Allen and his wife (Jayne Meadows), Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren – both blonde and voluptuous, old school debonair Herbert Marshall, Rocky Marciano (the boxer), Conway Twitty(!), Cathy Crosby (Bing’s niece) and lots of kids of famous stars–Robert Montgomery Jr., William Wellman Jr. and Elisha Cook Jr., and even gossip columnists Sheila Graham AND Walter Winchell!

Now to some less campy movies! The Great Impostor is a Tony Curtis vehicle all the way – we see his playing a real life guy who faked being a doctor, warden, monk and teacher, and has a real talent for swindling! Tony is good in his role, and shows he was more than a pretty face with immense charisma and star power. And the supporting cast is excellent – Karl Malden, Gary Merrill, Edmond O’Brien and lovely Joan Blackman as a leading lady. It’s a okay drama made int he best old Hollywood style, so what’s not to like about it?

Nancy’s last movie was a Jerry Lewis comedy – The Ladies Man. I don’t like Lewis to much and am not interested in watching any of his movies, but it seems he is an acquired taste and that he has moments of sheer brilliance. Alas, his movies are mostly uninspired showcases for his skits, and this one if no exception. Lewis plays an unlucky in love recent college graduate who answers an advertisement for a handyman and finds it’s in a private house that has been converted to a residential hotel for women. Lots and lots and lots of pretty women! Girls like Dee Arlen, Francesca Bellini, Vicki Benet, Patricia Blair, Lillian Briggs, Hope Holiday, Gloria Jean, Sylvia Lewis, and Pat Stanley. Nancy was one of the girls naturally! The flimsy story just serves as a basic frame for Lewis’ many crazy shenenigans. To each his own! Who likes Lewis will probably love this!

That was it from Nancy!

PRIVATE LIFE

When Nancy returned to Los Angeles as an actress, she transferred her academic work to USC so she could continue it along with movie work. She became a student of psychology at USC and hopes to get her doctorate in that field.

Being from a prominent Republican family, Nancy was very active in the political arena, campaigning and attending conventions. Here is a short newspaper bit about it:

Last summer was an exciting one for Nancy, no matter how you look at it. She has long been active in Young Republican clubs –was Miss Pima County Young Republican and Miss Arizona Young Republican before becoming Miss California Young Republican. In the latter capacity, she attended the Republican National Convention. However, as a sideline, Nancy also does news reporting for the Mutual network in California, and had these chores to keep her additionally busy. She also attended the Democratic convention to report woman’s news. So the two conventions, plus a tour of the east .for “College Confidential” kept her more than a little busy.

Nancy also gave some handy advice for young girls who wanted to become actresses:

Has Nancy any advice for other young women who want to get into the movies? “Yes, indeed” she said emphatically. “Get your education first. Or at least don’t stop your academic studies. Also, have enough money that you don’t need outside jobs while you’re in the starlet stage. And don’t consider acting unless you have the consent and full support of your parents.”

Nancy was popular with the boys all around, and dated Jack Hogan, a wealthy sportsman. Then in 1962, when she was barely 23 years old, something happened that changed her life. Namely, in 1959 Nancy was involved with a mobster who took part in a murder of another mobster, Jack Whalen. They were sentenced only in 1962, and Nancy was a key witness.

The fate of Mickey Cohen and four co-defendants, on trial for the conspiracy-murder of Jack Whalen, was expected to be placed in the hands of a 10-women, one-man Los Angeles Superior Court jury today. Defense attorneys have branded the prosecutions case as “fantasy, and attacked prosecution testimony given by model Nancy Root. MISS ROOT had said she was warned by Joe DeCarlo, one of the defendants, to stay away from Rondellis Restaurant, where the shooting occurred, because there might be trouble. Atty. Harvey Byron, rep resenting DeCarlo, charged the girl sought sensationalism.

Here is a bit more about the whole sordid situation:

NANCY ANN ROOT, 24, testified that DiCarlo told her all the d”frndant:i were armed fit the time of the shooting and that DiCarlo broke a date with her that night because “there rnight be trouble.” After the shooting, she said. she picked up DiCarlo and LoCigno and DiCarlo told her he and the other defendants had met at the restaurant and everybody had a gun. She said DiCarlo told her ‘Whalen was shot by LoCigno and LoCigno s gun was hidden “where it wouldn’t be found.” He hoped they had “gotten rid of all the guns, she said. ‘ LATER IN THE DAY, Miss Root testi’ied, DiCarlo said it was “stupid of them to put the guns in the ashcan behind Rondelli’s.” Police said they found three guns there, with Leonard’s and LoCigno’s fingerprints on) two of them. Harvey Byron, representing’ DiCarlo, asked Miss Root:; “You say you have not been; acting for a year. Docs that! ( include today?” “YES, SIR. MISS Root snapped, while the prosecution objected. Superior Judge Drucker sustained the objections. Miss Root’s testimony was admitted against DiCarlo and Leonard only, for the time becouse She said it was based on’ conversations with them. – LoCigno was earlier convicted of the murder but was granted a new trial.

Nancy career effectively ended then and there, and she opted to marry and leave it all behind. Her choice of groom was Billy Ray Dyer. Dyer was possibly born on March 7, 1928, and served as a marine in Korea.

Nancy and Billy Ray had three children: William, born on March 22, 1963, Robert, born on August 10, 1964, and John, born on October 4, 1969. The family lived in California, with Nancy retired from showbiz.

At some point, Nancy divorced Dyer, moved to Arizona (where she went to college), and took up jewelry making. How come? She felt a great kinship towards the local Arizona Indians, and spent many hours exploring their rich cultural heritage. She was nicknamed The redheaded Indian, and started to design a modern version of their jewelry, and gained quite a bit of local fame because of her handy work.

Nancy also married to a Mr. Hursche, but I could not find any information about who exactly is this mystery man.

IMDB lists Nancy Root’s death date as May 14, 2020, in Topock, Arizona. As always, I hope had a good life!

Phyllis Gilman

Phyllis Gilman was a pretty lady who got married very early, had two children, then decided to become a model and actress when she was already 20+ years old. In several brief years she became a leading model and even managed to nab herself a movie contract! Sadly this didn’t last long, as other martial adventures awaited her. Let’s learn more about her!

EARLY LIFE

Phyllis Elizabeth Gilman was born on June 18, 1910, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to William Allen Gilman and Mary H. Proctor. She was their only child. Her father was a successful flour merchant and the family employed a maid.

Little is known of her childhood. Phyllis grew up in Pennsylvania, and for a time in the late 1910s lived with her great-aunt in Delaware. Later she was allegedly educated in Italy (maybe in a finishing school?). Phyllis married right out of high school (read more below) and opted to raise a family.

She landed in Hollywood pretty late, already divorced and working as a model and part time actress, when she was 27 years old. And off the went!

CAREER

More movies came her way. As the name implies, Vogues of 1938 The name alone reveals much about the movie – it’s all about the fashions, the pretty colors and beautiful girls. Story? Characters? Zero sum! While they actually have decent actors at work here (Warner Baxter, Joan Bennett), it’s a paper thin affair.

The story is as follows (Taken from IMDB): The blueblooded Van Kletterings are broke; debutante Wendy, slated to remedy this by marrying rich bore Henry Morgan, instead leaves him at the altar and goes to work as a model for high-fashion clothing designer George Curson, whom she soon falls for. But he’s happily married (at least on his side) and going into debt financing a show to please wife Mary’s desire for stardom. Vindictive Morgan, jealous of George, hopes to hasten his ruin. Can the House of Curson be saved? oh the drama!

Overall, the movie is all style, no substance. Still, we have revolutionary Technicolor, beautiful women and drool-worthy fashions, and that can be enjoyed. Phyllis of course plays one of the models.

That’s it from Phyllis!

PRIVATE LIFE

Phyllis landed in Hollywood as a packet of models for the movie Vogues of 1938, courtesy of the PR stunt of Walter Wanger, the famous producer. The other girls were: Olive Cawley, Katherine Aldridge, Norene Carr, Martha Heveran, Ruth Martin, Frances Joyce, Libby Harben and Mary Oakes. All of the girls were seasoned models and favorites among commercial photographers.

Much tales have been spun about Phyllis’ life before she landed in Hollywood, and as far as I can tell, most of it was false.

Phyllis Gilman, most in demand of the metropolitan lingerie models, is saving up to tour the Orient. Educated at Swarthmore College and abroad, she speaks several languages and is at much at home in Florence, London, Paris, Vienna as she is in New York. A devotee of air travel, she has flown all over Europe and this country. Besides modeling lovely undies, she has worn a Sultan’s ransom in jewels. And she is considered an authority on the lapidary’s art.

Well nope! Phyllis opted for the family way while she was still very young. Namely, Phyllis married John Ray Cannon Long in March 17, 1928 in Florence, Arizona. She was only 17 and barely out of high school. John was a bit older, born on September 22, 1905 in Louisville, Kentucky. She gave birth to their first daughter Lenore Anita Long on June 21, 1929, in Phoenix, Arizona, and their second daughter, Liane Lagier Long, on December 5, 1930, in Los Angeles, California.

Phyllis and John divorced by 1933 (he died in 1961), and it is then she started her career as a model and actress. I don’t have enough info to explain how and why this happened, but maybe Phyllis had to get work? I don’t know who was minding the children while she as working. So many questions, so few answers. However, this is an inspiring story about a woman who took matters into her own hands when she had to, and became the breadwinner for her daughter.

Phyllis allegedly dated her share of the stage door Johnnies, including Jerry Horwin, Hollywood bon vivant. By 1934, Phyllis became a member of the Monte Carlo Follies, The production went straight from New York to Europe and showing for the whole Summer Season. Phyllis continued being a popular chorine, and it seems that Phyllis also did some work in the London Palladium for the Lou Holtz show. That sure changed her life (more about it later).

So it is funny that, in 1937 when she finally hit Hollywood, Phyllis was called “a college girl who models lingerie and wants to tour the Orient”. Phyllis was in fact a seasoned working woman with a marriage behind her and two children. Was it that problematic to tell this out loud in Tinsel town? But still, as she was promoted like a youthful model (with other younger models) I can somehow understand why they tried to make her younger and more “carefree”.

Before she went made her only movie, Phyllis announced her engagement to Lou Holtz, Broadway stage and radio comedian, in Chicago while she was en-route to Tinsel town. Her and Holt’s romance was an international, dynamic one for sure! They Holtz said when both were making a picture in England the year before. He then wooed her in the British capital, Florida, and finally in New York.

Meanwhile in Hollywood, Phyllis received one-picture contract as Goldwyn girls, but dropped out of it become love was calling! Phyllis and Lou eloped to Agua Caliente and were married by a Mexican civil Judge. They returned to Hollywood in a few days and Holtz flew right away to Dallas. Tex., for a stage engagement. It seems that Lou had a hectic schedule and there was no time for a proper honeymoon.

Now something about Lou. He was born on April 11, 1893, in New Jersey. Here is more info from Wikipedia:

 He was discovered by vaudevillian Elsie Janis in San Francisco while still in his teens, and came to New York. He appeared in his first Broadway show in 1913, World of Pleasure. He appeared on Broadway in other shows with small parts, then became a star in George White’s Scandals of 1919. He reappeared in the Scandals in 1920 and 1921. A good friend of George Gershwin, Gershwin even wrote a musical for Holtz in 1925, Tell Me More, which was not received favorably and was short-lived on Broadway. Several years later, Holtz had a big hit on Broadway in 1931 when he hired his pianist to write a show for him. The pianist, Harold Arlen, would go on to write the music for The Wizard of Oz in 1939. Holtz produced You Said It. In the 1920s, Holtz became the highest paid entertainer on Broadway, with articles touting his salary as an unheard of $6,000 per week. Unfortunately for Holtz, all of that money was invested in the stock market. He later told friends that he came out of the 1929 crash with $500, while he had been worth more than a million dollars the year before. In the 1920s, Holtz’ career alternated between musical comedies and vaudeville shows where he was the headliner. He reached one of his career milestones in 1925 when he played the Palace Theater as the headliner. The Palace was the most prestigious theatre in the country, and Holtz broke all records there by playing for 10 weeks. In vaudeville shows and radio, Holtz’ comedy was based in telling long, character stories, usually with at least one character having a strong Jewish dialect. His most famous character, Sam Lapidus, stayed with Holtz for his entire career, including Holtz’ guest stints on the Merv Griffin Show in the 1970s. In the 1930s, while still appearing on Broadway, Holtz left New York twice for London and appeared in two hits at the London Palladium. Both shows were similar to his hit at the Palace years earlier. Also in the 1930s, Holtz became a regular on radio. He had long stints on The Rudy Vallee Show, The Paul Whiteman Show and many others. Holtz ended up with several radio shows of his own, including The Lou Holtz Laugh Club. One of the regulars on that show was Fanny Brice

Pretty soon the Holtzes were expecting a child, but since I could not find any additional information about it, we can assume that Phyllis lost of the baby. Their daughter Laurie Elizabeth was born on April 5, 1941 in Los Angeles.

Lou retired from performing by the time Laurie was born, and moved permanently to California. However, it seems that, like many men in the performing business when they retire, he was very restless and couldn’t’ stand still, always out of the house, and slowly but securely this eroded his marriage to Phyllis. After some tiffs, reconciliations and more of the same, they were divorced in 1947, exactly ten years after they married. Phyllis alleged that Holtz told her his home life was “boring.”

But guess what? Like most times in Tinsel town, seemingly mundane divorced were not really mundane and there were background processes happening. Phyllis already had a new husband in mind! She married Carl Leserman in November 1947. Here is a nice article about it:

Palm Springs was the scene of a wedding Saturday night at 11 p.m. when Mrs. Phyllis Holtz, exwife of the famous comedian, Lou Holtz, and Carl Leserman, well known film producer and vicepresident of Benedict Bogeaus Productions, were married at the home of a friend. Judge Eugene E. Therieau was summoned from his home at the late hour to perform the civil rites. FOLLOWING the marriage at which Grad Sears, president of United Artists, acted as best man, a champagne breakfast was given the newly wedded pair at The Stables with Charley Morrison acting as the host. Present at the breakfast which took place between the hours of 12 midnight and 2 a.m., were the following celebrities: ROBERT STERLING, William Cagney, Mr. and Mrs. Alex Hall, Mark Stevens, Diana Lynn, Bob Neal, Bob and Coletta Caldwell, Mr. and Mrs. Van Heflin, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Cushing, Mervyn M. Vye, Iris Bynum, Johnny Myers, Stewart Martin and Angela Green. The bride and her groom expect to honeymoon in Palm Springs for a few days before returning to Los Angeles.

There was a funny blooper during the ceremony. Two minutes after Phyllis married movie man Carl, he turned to her and said; “You know my wife, Mrs. Holtz?” Now something about Leserman. He was born on March 15, 1901, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Isaac and Elsie Leserman. He moved to California and became a producer, working in a variety of studios. After working for a time fon Benedict Bogeaus, ultimately he became Assistant General Sales Manager for Warner Brothers Pictures and General Manager for United Artists. The Lesermans lived happily in California.

Carl Leserman died on January 2, 1969. Phyllis continued living in California after his death, and did not remarry.

Phyllis Gilman Leserman died on July 21, 1996 in Riverside, California.

Edna Sedgewick

Beautiful ballet dancer that was a seasoned performer by the time she landed in Hollywood, Edna’s heart wasn’t really in the movie she made, and not surprisingly she gave up on Tinsel town to return to her firts love, the theater. Not long after she married and retired from showbiz, but later returned as a major philanthropist. Let’s learn more about her!

EARLY LIFE

Edna Marie Sedgewick was born on April 30, 1915, in Providence, Rhode Island, to Harold Sedgewick and Mary Clita Smith Sedgewick, their only child. Her father was a toolmaker for a jewelry company and had his own store in providence. The family was considered semi/aristocratic, and belonged to the upper society in Rhode Island.

Edna was a pretty and outgoing child who enjoyed ballet very much. She grew up in Providence and attended school there. Her family was heavily involved in such charites as the Maple Center, Variety Clubs, and Edna started dancing when she was four at various charity events. Pretty soon it was clear that Edna had real talent in this area, and that dancing was to be her vocation. She studied ballet and by the time she was 15 years old, she was appearing in various shows and nightclubs.

During the 1930s, Edna performed for heads of state throughout Europe and became quite popular in New York. Eventually she danced her way to Hollywood where she signed with Universal.

CAREER

Edna appeared in only a few movies. The first one was You’re a Sweetheart, an Alice Faye/George Murphy comedy/musical, with a ridiculous story about a man hired to distract a leading Broadway actress from doing a show. Yep, it’s that in a nutshell (believe it or not). Most reviewers mention that the first half, with the romantic interplay between Alice and George, is pretty funny and good, but the second half, the Broadway show mounting, is not as thrilling and descends into pure mediocrity. At least there are plenty of pretty showgirls and good music! Edna played a ballet dancer.

Edna’s second movie was Red Barry, a serial with the famous serial king Buster Crabbe in the leading role. This is a movie serial which means it’s low budget but often inventive and certainly fan favorites. Red Barry is not famous as say, Flash Gordon, but it’s still a god watch. Crabbe plays a San Francisco police detective stationed in Chinatown, who is on the trail of stolen bonds needed for Chinese War Relief. Edna has a leading female role, exiled Russian Countess Natacha. The series has a very dynamic matching of the wits between the good and the bad guys, it very tense, but becomes somehow repetitive later on. Still, it’s a minor serial classic!

Edna’s last movie was Swing, Sister, Swing, a completely forgotten showcase for Kathryn “Sugar Kane” Kane, a songstress who MGM tried to make into a second coming of Mickey Rooney. When you look at the number of these ingenues who were supposed to replace sometime, it’s almost scary! Sugar Kane had much more success on the stage, and made only 8 movies, most of them completely forgotten, including this one. Edna was preeminently featured here, and it seems that MGM had big plans for her, but sadly, it was not to be.

That was all from Edna!

PRIVATE LIFE

Edna, called Sedge by friends, always remained connected to the hometown of Providence, and when she was a Hollywood starlet, 200 of her former Providence schoolmates went to see her at the opening of Ed Wynn’s “Boys and Girls Together” where she was a feature dancer.

Despite trying for a film career, Edna was a dancer at heart and left movies for a successful career in the theater, mostly in revenues like Casa Manana Revue. She was well known, far and wide, known for her grace and beauty and her lovely dancing skills.

Edna’s love life was quite sedate. Her first famous beau was Ted Lewis’ manager, Milt Pickman. When she was dancing in the Ed Wynn show, Dick Purcell, the celluloid glamour boy, were involved briefly. he was into her that he scheduled to fly his own plane to see her perform. Sadly for Edna, Dick was still married to Ethelind Terry so nothing came out of it. Her next serious beau was an unnamed member of the Brazilian embassy. He hired a busboy at the Copacabana to read his love notes for her! 

While traveling with a group of entertainers to Galveston, Edna met businessman Sam Maceo and they were soon married in Phil Harris and Alice Faye’s home in California on December 29, 1941. Now, who is Sam Maceo? As his Wikipedia page lists:

Sam Maceo was an American business entrepreneur, power broker and racketeer in Galveston, Texas, who controlled both the government and organized crime in the city for almost 30 years. During the 1920s and 1930s, Galveston emerged as a nationally known resort city, because of the gambling, prostitution and free flowing liquor, vices that were offered at the backrooms of restaurants and nightclubs, a period known as Galveston’s Open Era. His organization, often called the Maceo Syndicate or the Maceo Organisation, was involved in illegal gambling, prostitution, numbers racket and bootlegging and he received substantial income from these activities.

Yep, very interesting! Let’s dive more deeply into it! Here is a short excerpt of a very good article in the Texas Monthly.

It has been a long time since the name Maceo reverberated across the Island. The name means little or nothing to younger Islanders or newcomers, but to anyone over the age of fifty who was born on the Island, the name evokes the timeless magic of nostalgia. For thirty years the Maceos ran Galveston—economically, politically, spiritually. Papa Rose and Big Sam were the undisputed dons of the gang, and their brothers, Vincent and Frank, along with a number of cousins and in-laws, ran various parts of the operation. Gigolo managed the Studio Lounge on the second floor of the Turf Athletic Club, and other family members managed the Balinese Room, the Western Room, the Moulin Rouge, and a variety of Maceo ventures on the Island as well as the mainland part of Galveston County, which they also controlled; motorists driving south from Houston spoke of crossing the “Maceo-Dickinson Line.”

Smiling and personable, Sam was the face of the Maceo family. As a man of considerable charm and people skills, he build ties to politicians, hoodlums, entertainers and gamblers from all around the US. Maceo himself was born on March 1, 1894, in Palermo, Sicily. He was first married to Jessica McBride in Galveston prior to 1932 and they were divorced on November 8, 1941 (so we can assume there was some overlap between Edna and Jessica). By all accounts, is seems like the Maceos was a good marriage. Sam and Edna had three children, twin sons Sam Jr., Edward, born on August 18, 1942, and a daughter, Sedgie.

Here is a bit more more about Maceo:

The Maceos weren’t just businessmen with bottom-line orientations; they were genuine citizens who took an interest in local politics—they could buy an entire slate of candidates for $25,000—and were active in civic and charitable affairs. A pew at St. Mary’s Cathedral was reserved for Sam Maceo, his wife, and children, who almost always arrived late, occasionally in the company of some show business celebrity. When the chamber of commerce or the Mardi Gras committee or any church or charity needed a favor, Sam Maceo was their man. Sam sent orphans to college, kept widows from being evicted, and once a year paid the expenses for Monsignor O’Connoll, the director of St. Mary’s, to visit his dear mother in Ireland. After an explosion killed 576 people in the port of Texas City in 1947, Big Sam arranged for a few of his Hollywood friends to come to Galveston for a fundraiser. Among those who showed up were Frank Sinatra, Jack Benny, Victor Borge, George Burns, and Gracie Allen.

Since they were not old school Texans and WASPS, the Maceos were never really accepted into Galveston society. Edna liked glamour and being noticed and this didn’t sit very well with her. Sam was diagnosed with cancer in 1950, and when he became sick, they moved to Baltimore, Maryland, so he can get treatment. Sadly, he died there on April 16, 1951. Left a young widow and not really a good fit with the people of Galveston, Edna moved to Dallas to raise her children.

While living in Dallas, three years after Sam died, in 1954, Sedge met Henry Plitt on a blind date in New Orleans (where she was involved in producing a beauty pageant). They met on Monday and were married the following Saturday on August 14, 1954. Edna’s children by Maceo were adopted by Henry. The family moved to New Orleans five years later, then to New York City. Here is more information about Plitt, taken from his obituary:

He was a member of the New York State Bar when he joined the 101st Army Airborne Division before World War II. When he was discharged in 1946, he had been awarded four Purple Hearts for his various wounds, the Silver and Bronze stars, each with a cluster, and was among an elite group of paratroopers who jumped into occupied Holland and France, the latter during the D-Day invasion.

He came home a hero in 1944. After speaking for a time at war bond and other patriotic rallies, he was returned to Europe where he helped in the liberation of several concentration camps and was involved in the pursuit and capture of Nazi war criminals. He eventually was promoted to brigadier general.

At war’s end, he became an executive of Paramount Theatres and president of ABC Films in New York in 1959 after Paramount and ABC merged.

He subsequently acquired the Paramount chain and built it into Plitt Theatres, of which he was majority owner. The chain was sold to Cineplex Odeon Corp. in 1985. The sale included Plitt’s two screens in Century City.

Plitt, a graduate of Syracuse University and St. Lawrence University School of Law, was a major benefactor for Jewish organizations, among them the Beverly Hills Maple Center, a support group for troubled families. He also served as chairman of the National Board of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces–a USO-type organization–and was president of the West Coast Friends of Bar-Ilan University in Israel, which awarded him an honorary doctorate degree in 1991.

The family moved to New Orleans. Later, they moved to New York City. Edna was very active in the charitiy arena, and even founded her own Sedge Plitt Charitable Foundation which has been active for decades now. In the 1980s, Edna and Plitt moved to Beverly Hills to enjoy their retirement.

Henry Plitt died on January 26, 1993 in Beverly Hills. Edna continued living in California (moving to San Diego) and did not remarry.

Edna Plitt died on October 25, 2002, in San Diego. California.

Georgia Lerch

Stunning chorus girl who tried Hollywood and decided it was not for her, Georgia Lerch was somehow different. She was much lauded by her contemporaries and by the papers, and it seems that even outside movies, her career was going to go upwards. However all the promising future fell away in a daze of alcohol. Let’s learn more about her!

EARLY LIFE

Georgia Lerch was born on August 14, 1906 in Fulton, New York, the second child of John D. Lerch and Eloise Brockway. Her older brother John was born in 1904, but sadly died before Georgia was born. Her father was a wholesale cigar merchant.

Georgia grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where the family moved in the 1910s. She took dancing lessons and as a child, and developed a passion for appearing on the stage. After graduating from high school, she decided to become a professional dancer, and looked for work in the theater circuit.

In 1926, Georgia scored work in one of the best places to be as a chorine – George White’s Scandals! She was a chorine from 1926 until 1932. In 1930, she went with the other chorines to appear in Whooppe as a chorus girl, and there she went!

CAREER

Georgia appeared in only one movie – Whoopee!, an Eddie Cantor vehicle considerably cut down from the original Broadway show. But what can I say, it’s a typical Cantor movie, anyone who loves Cantor and that 1920s humor style will love it. Cantor plays Henry Williams, a nervous hypochondriac who goes west looking for a cure for his myriad of ailments and get involved in trouble along the way. There are a few good supporting players (Ethel Shutta, Paul Gregory, Jack Rutherford). While not the bottom of the barrel, the movie didn’t age well at all, since, sadly, it’s a typical product of it’s time in relation to blackface and racial stereotypes. 

That was it from Georgia!

PRIVATE LIFE

Georgia was described as a witty, experienced and clever, and extreme knowledgeable about Showbiz (so much they said she know it from A to Z). Additionally, she was called a poised, calm and ladylike person, who often smiled but rarely laughed out loud. This served her well in her work, and perhaps separated her from many of her contemporaries.

No, jokes aside, it seemed that Georgia truly was a special woman. Allegedly George White preferred her to all of his pretty chorus girls, and since he had more than a hundred, that is saying something. He trusted her implicitly and often sent photographers to take her photos for publicity purposes. I don’t know is per chance his interest was more than business, but the point is, she had a special place in the show and White thought highly of her.

So how did such a woman, a successful chorus girl who enjoyed a contemporary life in New York, end up a alcoholic? One that one is a question for the ages. Nobody really known what pushed people of so deep in addition, and I can’t say for sure for Georgia, but perhaps it was the dynamic life that chorines led, that was not suited for all girls? Perhaps it was an unhappy love? Or something else? But let’s hear more about her life first and we can make some conclusions!

But first, a secret talent of Georgia’s: She was actually handy with tinkering with stuff, and in 1926 invented a powder puff that will could carry three shades at once. She knows how to apply them all. She toured around the US to promote her patent, showing women how to use it.

In the late 1920s, when she was a White showgirl, Georgia liked to live a quiet life outside the limelight, not frequenting night clubs too much. When Georgia was in Hollywood for making Whoopee, she enjoyed going to the beach (and soaking in the California sun), but pretty soon became aware of the fact that she much preferred theater to the movies. She missed mixing with other chorines before a show, and decided to return to New York as as soon as the movie wrapped.

After she returned to New York, Georgia dated Dave Marx, a young and dynamic head of a very successful toy company (along with his brother, Louis Marx), from late 1931 until 1934. Dave was a rich young man, and Dave and Georgia almost shared the same birth day – he was born on August 11, she was born in August 14. It was a tempestuous relationship, with many ups and down, but never boring! Dave was really quite generous towards Georgia, gifting her with a string of pearls for her birthday. Georgia was a home-girl before, but it seems that Marx changed that and rushed her to be more extroverted and more outgoing. Pretty soon they both enjoyed mingling with the same showbiz crew. One of their mutual friends was famous comedian Tom Patricola, who drove from Philly to Manhattan and back again for a matinee, just to spend New Year’s in the big town , with them. They also hanged out with Dave’s brother Luis and his wife, and the great Ziegfeld was another mutual friend (but sadly he died in June 1932). Dave also took Georgia often to Miami, and they were usually guests at the Miami Biltmore Hotel.

There was also some talk that Dave’s money netted Georgia the place of a featured dancer, but I can’t say nothing substantial over this (information is lost to history perhaps). She did leave George White during this time. I would like to know more about what happened behind the scenes here, but info is lacking. Maybe Dave promised her own show, and it didn’t pan out, or perhaps White didn’t liek Georgia dating Dave. Who knows.

Georgia was also lucky in the gambling stakes, she hit one of those 2-bit machines for the largest jack-pot recorded. 

After what had seemed like a sure bet at matrimony, Dave left Georgia in early 1934, after an explosion that rocked Miami. What does that mean? Anyway, they got together again by June 1934, but were out by the end of the summer. In September 1934, Georgia went on a cruise around the world with her parents, perhaps to mend her broken heart? Afterwards, with no Dave in sight and long gone from the George White scandals, Georgia decided to move to Los Angeles, and the Lerches all decided to move with her. They settled in Beverly Hills in early 1935. I wonder is this when her alcoholism blew up? Was her unhappy love life the cause, after she and Marx parted? As I noted, I have no idea, but we can assume.

There was a nasty tidbit that happened to Georgia in 1935:

Meanwhile, Georgia Lerch, 30. of 2818 Haddington Drive, was re covering from shock and exposure alter having been pinned’ beneath her automobile for more than ten hours after the vehicle plunged out of control over a cliff near the crest of Coldwater Canyon Drive. She was found by two hikers, William Harris and Jack Mohl, early yesterday, her foot pinned by pert of the car. Removed to a county fire station she was found to have received only a bruised foot from the accident but was suffering from shock and exposure. Later she was taken to her home.

While living in California, Georgia developed a love for aviation and mingled with the local airplane set. It was there that she met her future husband, Ted Brown. They were wed on April 28, 1937.

Theo T. (Ted) Brown,was born on October 13, 1906, in Missouri, and lived in Iowa before moving to California for work. He was an owner of an aeronautical school and very active in the local airplane set.

If we were hoping for a happy marriage, nein! Sadly, this happened next year:

She might have been sweet Georgia Brown when she married ” Mr. Brown but a few months later she was just Georgia Brown. Thus declared Mrs. Georgia Lerch Brown when she came to the Domestic Relations Court of Superior Judge Still to get $125 per month temporary alimony pending her suit for a divorce against Ted Brown, aeronautics school operator. The Browns’ romance culminated in marriage in Yuma, Ariz., on April 28, 1037, and ceased to exist with their separation last July 30, the wife related. Some of the complaints of Mrs. Brown were that her husband had a propensity for staying out late at nights, associating with other women, striking her and becoming intoxicated. She also declared through Attorney Milton Golden that he insisted that, she not wear her wedding ring in public because it might injure him in his business capacity.

They were on and off for most of 1938, going back and forth, and were even reconciled for a time but separated for good in 1939 and finally divorced. Brown told the court that Georgia and he went out together and she would become Intoxicated and so abusive to his acquaintances that he lost business contacts. It seems that her drinking was out of control by then.

As for Brown, he remarried to Josephine in 1941, divorced her and married Marylinda Miller in 1956. He continued living in California, where he died in May 1988.

Not the one to waste time, Georgia married her new beau, Howard Morrell Davis, on January 30, 1941. Davis was born on May 9, 1901, in Georgia. By 1920 the family had moved to Sacramento, California, where the owned a farm. George worked as a farm laborer on the family farm, and later became a bee keeper. It seems he was never married before. Interesting to know how Georgia met Howard, it doesn’t seem like they moved in same circles but as they say, love conquers all!

Sadly, their marital bliss was not to last. Georgia died from peritonitis, caused by alcoholism, on January 20, 1942. She was just 35 years old.

Her widower, Howard Davis, died in May 1985.

Vivian Keefer

A contemporary and close friend of Lucille Ball, Vivian Keefer was another good-looking chorus girl who tried to make good in Hollywood. Unfortunately, her career didn’t pan out the way she planned it, and deciding to try out other revues in life, she returned to New York. Let’s learn more about her!

EARLY LIFE

Vivian Keefer was born on June 4, 1909 in Spokane, Washington, to Louis Charles Keefer and Sophia Morinda Grace. She was the third of seven children. Her older brother Keifer was stillborn in 1907, and her sister, Mildred Grace, would die from tuberculosis at age 15 in 1922. Her other siblings were Irma, Beth and Lawrence. Her father worked as a railway motorman.

The family moved to Alameda, California when Vivian was a few years old. She grew up in Alameda, and attended Pasadena High School. Vivian developed a yen for dancing early on, and for years roller skated miles to take her dancing lessons in order to save money. She also became a ward of Aletha Gilbert., who was well known socially in the city. Her parents divorced during this time, and her dad remarried.

After graduation, Vivian enrolled into the University of Southern California. While enjoying the student life, Viv felt a strong stage yearning after years of training, and became a dancer in a picture-house presentation unit. With the unit, she toured around a bit, ending up in Oklahoma City. From there she paid her own fare to Broadway and promptly landed in the chorus of “Girl Crazy.” 

She was the only western girl to win a role in the Earl Carroll Vanities (of both 1931 and 1932) on Broadway. She also worked as a model on the side, and became quite famous for her Listerine ad. This got her the interest of Hollywood, and off she was to the West Coast!

CAREER

Vivian appeared in a string of musicals as a chorus girl, never playing a serious straightforward role.

Vivian made her debut in Roman Scandals, a movie that is a literal golden mine if you are looking for shapely Goldwyn girls. The girls aside, it’s a very funny movie, with a good cast and some great dancing numbers – exactly what a quality 1930s musical should be – definitely one of Eddie Cantor’s best work.

This was followed by a show girl role in Moulin Rouge, a charming but shallow pre-code comedy with Constance Bennett playing dual roles of a sexy nightclub singer and a prim and proper lady, with the even charming Franchot Tone playing the husband. As you can imagine when there are dual roles involved, it’s about mistaken identities and so on. Predictable, but fun non the less.

Next up, and interesting, early and sadly forgotten Spencer Tracy film, Bottoms Up. The movie has much to recommend itself, not just Tracy as a likable hero-villain, but a strong supporting cast including John Boles (although I don’t like the man, he was super wooden) and some seriously snappy dialogue. Less known was Viv’s next movie, Strictly Dynamite. While thin on the story, this comedy makes it up with the two leads, Jimmy Durante and Lupe Velez – both seasoned comedians who know their job. And an interesting duo they are too. Durante is a true relic of the vaudeville age, and that’s not that bad per se, he’s full of witty one liners and cool sayings. Too bad most directors didn’t know how to properly utilize him.

Then came a minor classic, The Gay Divorcee, a Astaire/Rogers pairing, and, not at all surprisingly, a very charming, good movie overall. As if often is in these kind of films, it’s a plot-case of mistaken identity and misunderstanding, but somehow it just works marvelously and the music and dancing are divine!

Vivian’s last movie was  Kid Millions, one of Eddie Cantor’s best movies. It’s a film about a simple Brooklyn boys who inherits a large sum of money but must go to Egypt to reclaim it. The superb supporting cast (Ann Sothern, George Murphy, Ethel Merman, Doris Davenport) make this a true delight for any musical fan!

That was all from Vivian!

PRIVATE LIFE

Vivian was shipped to Hollywood with six other New York starlets – among them the most famous one was Lucille Ball. It seems that Viv and Lucy were good friends, and that they even lived together with the other girls in an apartment to minimize the costs of living in Tinsel Town. Another starlet among those six who had at least a solid career was Barbara Pepper.

Viv gave an beauty hint to the readers which goes like this:

Although it’s only three blocks from my home to the Studio, I ride a bicycle to and from work because I like the exercise. Besides, with the bicycle on the lot, it’s easy at odd moments to pedal about —and that’s more exercise, as well as fun!

Another interesting tidbit about Viv:

 STAGE stars frequently receive letters threatening them with death unless they pay ransom, and it isn’t always a press agent stunt. Vivian Keefer, a lovely member of one of the revue ensembles, received such a letter recently, and it is pleasant to report that the day designated for her execution passed with nothing happening.

In 1934, Viv dated the colorful Mack Sennett, the guy who literary invented the slapstick comedy. So yeah, Viv literary dated a living legend! Sadly, Mack was past his prime time by the early 1930s, and not having a grand time out of it. Also, not long before the two hooked up, Mack survived a very nasty car accident that killed his friend, Charlie Mack.

Mack and Viv were together for almost a year, and the papers were constantly buzzing about possible nuptials. However, it seems that Mack, who was a lifelong bachelor, wasn’t ready to take any woman to the altar, and the broke up. Afterwards, Viv dated a string of guys: an unknown guy who wasn’t divorced yet, Dr. Irwin Epstein, a mysterious Texas oil millionaire, several actors and so on.

Viv gave up her career in 1935, but still stuck around the West coast. This happened in July 1936:

“l said we’d better not go through with this, but she Insisted.” test! fled J. F. Knemeyer, 21 years of age. yesterday when he unsuccessfully sought an annulment of his marriage in the court of Superior Judge Wood. Knemeyer, student at the University of Southern California, related that his romance with Vivian Keefer Knemeyer, 23, began last May on a local tennis court and that the two became, intoxicated! and started for Yuma to be married. The marriage took place on May 28 after she had dared him to marry her, Knemeyer said. A few hours later she told him it was only a Joke and that she did not intend to live with him. Mrs. Knemeyer corroborated his testimony, j ‘An automobile is a dangerous instrumentality,” declared Judge wood as he pointed out that any one, who could drive to Yuma with out getting a traffic ticket must have been sober enough to realize what it meant to get married.”

Viv returned to New York, did some more stage work, and then become a horse-breeder, horse owner and trainer. She commuted to Florida and learned what she could from the local conditioner of racing strips. In the meantime, her mother, by now divorced from her father, was also a very successful businesswoman. She operated a taxi business and also had a record shop. While in New York, Vivian met the man who would become her next husband – Louis Wood Jr..

Louis Wood Jr. was born on October 25, 1891, in, Memphis, Tennessee to Louis Wood and Norma Goodman. His father was a very rich man, an Alabama cotton tycoon, and Louis grew up in an affluent environment. He lived in Tennessee until he moved to New York in the 1920s and became a successful stock broker. Wood had a very intense private life before he met Vivian. He was married six times to five different women. His first wife was socialite Mary Louise Hartje, daughter of a Pennsylvania magnate, and they had a daughter, Corinne, born in 1919. Mary Louise even went to Hollywood to try to become an actress for a short time. She was known as the “richest movie extra in the world”. However, their marriage was anything but smooth sailing. They divorced for the first time in 1922, remarried in 1923 and later divorced acrimoniously in 1929.

There was much drama over the custody of their daughter, Corinne. Louis married for the third time to actress Mary Duncan on June 2, 1931. They divorced the next year, and she married the very rich polo player Laddie Sanford. In 1934 he married to Marian Wood, and they divorced in 1938 in another dramatic divorce. Wood accused his wife of sleeping with six other men, and there was much commotion in court during the proceedings. It seems that Woods sure had plenty of drama in his divorce cases!

He married once again in 1944, to Selma Freeman, but she divorced him next year in more explosive divorce cases that made the papers. Example of what was said on the stand: Selma and Louis get married in Baltimore. 18 days later, Louis gives Selma a severe tongue lashing and tosses her out of the apartment. This so unnerves her that she takes her dog and walks around the streets waiting for him to cool off. On the walk she loses a necklace and has to put up a $250 reward to get it back. But Louis refuses to pay the reward, and the necklace goes to a hock shop. What can I say, it seems that Louis had a trigger temper and was a jovial and charming man, but when sparks flew (which is bound to happen to any married couple sooner or later), he was very difficult.

While Louis’ track record wasn’t that good, but was bound to get better. How? Well, it seems that Louis had finally piped down on the drama, changed and accordingly, when he was settled, met and married the right woman. I don’t have an exact date, but it was sometime in the late 1940s.

In the mid 1950s, after his retirement, Louis and Vivian moved full time to Palm Beach, Florida, enjoying the rich local social life. Viv became very active in philanthropically minded endeavors, and was a member of the Beach Club and Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church.

Louis Wood Jr. died on February 18, 1972 in Florida. Viv continued living in Palm Beach after his death.

Vivian Keefer Wood died on August 6, 1978 in Palm Beach, Florida.