"A charming woman is a busy woman."-Loretta Young

Before I really get started on this post, I'd just like to say a HUGE thank you from Think Classic for your support and views as readers during our A Very Vintage Christmas campaign.It was another very successful holiday season, and we already can't wait for next year!

However, now it's time to get back to business. The new year has come and a new month has started, which means that there is a new Star of the Month for Turner Classic Movies!

STAR OF THE MONTH

Loretta Young

Born January 6, 1913

Died August 12, 2000

Michaela Gretchen Young was born in 1913 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Even after her family relocated to Los Angeles when she was three, she was brought up in a religious background. She officially began to act along with her two sisters (Polly Ann and Sally Blane) the next year, at the age of four, and she would remain active in her career for the rest of her life. Her very first moving picture was the silent film The Primrose Ring (1917).  It was not long after when she was given a contract by John McCormick, who investigated the young girl at his wife Colleen Moore's urging. She had roles in 6 more films, including The Sheik (1921), and she was billed Gretchen Young for all of them. It was not until the year 1928 that she was given the name Loretta by Colleen Moore, who later revealed that she came up with the name because it was the name she had given to her favorite, most beautiful doll at one time.

Loretta continued to act throughout the late twenties and early thirties, but she would often be given roles that flew under the radar and which were not credited. It was not until her film Three Girls Lost (1931) was released that she gained some good notoriety and began to build a firm and stable career. She starred in films of many different genres including the drama Life Begins (1932), the romance Second Honeymoon (1937), the mystery A Night to Remember (1942), and the holiday favorite The Bishop's Wife (1947). She also had prominent roles in such pictures as The Hatchet Man (1932) and She Had to Say Yes (1932), which were films released before the Production Code took effect. Because of this they contained many things that were banned from the big screen beginning two years later in 1934--things such as drug use, depiction of violence/murder, and sexual content.  While she was quite successful in all genres, Young excelled in comedies such as I Like Your Nerve (1931), Ladies in Love (1936), Bedtime Story (1941), Mother Is a Freshman (1949), and many others.

Since she had been acting since the age of three and had already built quite a career for herself, Young retired from film in 1953. She then opened the door to the realm of television. She hosted her own show, The Loretta Young Show beginning in 1953. It lasted for 9 years and, at the time, was the longest running prime-time network television show hosted by a woman.

Young had a troublesome personal life, which she went to great lengths to keep private, although her attempts sometimes failed. She was first married by elopement at the age of 17, though the marriage only lasted for one year after which time it was annulled. In 1935, Young was working on the film adaptation of The Call of the Wild when she met fellow actor Clark Gable. The two had an affair, which they tried to keep secret due to moral standards that were set for workers in the film industry at the time. Things got very tricky when Young discovered she was pregnant. If the details of her pregnancy were uncovered it could have destroyed both her and Gable's careers. Young tried to be discreet, claiming a lasting illness she had contracted as a child, disappearing for several months to travel Europe. Her daughter Judy was born in secret and then placed in an orphanage for a very short period of time until Young's mother picked her up and brought her home. From that time Young publicly claimed that she had adopted Judy, and she raised her with her second husband Peter Lewis, whom she married in 1940. Unfortunately, as Judy grew older, many hereditary features from her father became more prominent--especially her "Gable ears." Young had her daughters ears pinned back via cosmetic surgery when her daughter was 7 years old, but rumors continued to fly. Young vehemently stuck to her story of adoption until her own daughter asked her about it when she was an adult, and then she finally admitted the truth. In her later years, Young devoted her time to charity work with lifelong friends and fellow actresses, Irene Dunne, Rosalind Russell, and Jane Wyman.

Loretta Young starred in over 100 films over the course of her career. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1947, and was nominated for another in 1949; she also was awarded 3 Emmy Awards for The Loretta Young Show, and was awarded a Golden Globe in 1986. She died of ovarian cancer in 2000 at the age of 87.

"Giving credit where credit is due is a very rewarding habit to form. Its rewards are inestimable."

-Loretta Young

"Nearly everyone I met, worked with, or read about was my teacher, one way or another."

-Loretta Young

"I'm grateful to God for His bountiful gifts..He gave me courage and faith in myself."

-Loretta Young

As January's Star of the Month, you can watch some of Loretta Young's movies every Wednesday night this month, beginning at 8pm ET on Turner Classic Movies.

For this month's schedule, click on the link:

TCM January Schedule

"Catastroph!"

A Very Vintage Christmas post #8

Today is December 23, so there are two days until Christmas!

We have a classic Christmas film for you today, but it also happens to be in conjunction with TCM's Star of the Month for December, so here she is:

STAR OF THE MONTH

Barbara Stanwyck

Born July 16, 1907

Died January 20, 1990

Barbara Stanwyck was in fact born as one Ruby Catherine Stevens in Brooklyn, New York in 1907. She had a difficult upbringing and developed a tough skin because of it. She was the youngest of five children who were orphaned from a young age. Her mother was killed in a streetcar accident when she was 4 years of age, and soon after that her father left for a job on the Panama canal dig and he was never seen or heard from again. Ruby was left in the care of one of her sisters who was only 5 years older than herself. She stayed with her older sister, Mildred, until the latter decided to pursue a career in show business. From that point on Ruby and one of her brothers were placed in innumerable foster homes. During summer vacations, Ruby was reunited with her sister and would travel and tour with her, memorizing routines and developing a passion for performance. Mildred tried to discourage her from getting involved in the business, but Ruby desperately wanted to be on stage--to be noticed. She never attended high school, and when she was still just 15 in 1923, she landed herself a job at a night club in Times Square. She was only there for a short time until she auditioned and won a part as a Ziegfeld girl for two seasons.

Ruby worked the circuit as a chorus girl for the next 3 years until she met director Willard Mack in 1926. At the time, Mack was attempting to cast the roles for his play The Noose, and Ruby was referred to him by a friend and mutual acquaintance. She was given the part, but the play was not successful until it was rewritten with adjustments to her character. After the tweaks were made, it became an amazing success on Broadway. It was during this time that Ruby Stevens officially became Barbara Stanwyck. The name of her character was Barbara, and the last name was taken from another actress. And thus, a star was born.

In 1927, the new Barbara Stanwyck was cast in a leading role in the hit show Burlesque. She quickly began taking up small parts in silent films later that same year. It was also during this time that she met her future husband, Frank Fay, while working on the stage. They were married in 1928. The two were married less than 10 years, and reportedly fell apart due to career differences. Fay was also an actor, but he could not successfully switch from silents to talkies, whereas Stanwyck's career skyrocketed shortly after talkies rolled into production. Fay also had alcoholic tendencies and was abusive to his wife in public.

From her first talking picture in 1929, The Locked Door, Stanwyck just kept going and building momentum as she went. She quickly was cast in memorable pictures such as Ladies of Leisure (1930), Stella Dallas (1937), The Lady Eve (1941), and Sorry, Wrong Number (1948). She was also considered for the part of Scarlett O'Hara in the film adaptation of the classic novel, Gone With The Wind.

Stanwyck went on to marry fellow actor Robert Taylor in 1939. She was very hesitant to get involved with anyone else after her previous disastrous relationship, but Taylor was persistent. She claimed that he was the love of her life, and they were happy for a while, but he began to stray and the couple fell apart after a while. They agreed that it was best to divorce, and they officially did so in 1951. Stanwyck stayed active after her divorce, but her personal life took a toll on her career and she slowly began to decline in the film industry. After 1957, she began to dabble in the television industry, and had some minor success.

Barbara Stanwyck was looked upon as the friendly face of Hollywood. She was known for showing warmth and kindness to all of the crew and backstage workers on her films, and she was a great favorite with all of her costars. During her time in the film industry she starred in over 80 motion pictures, and won an Academy Award in 1981. She died of heart complications at the age of 82 in 1990. There was no funeral according to her wishes.

"I'm a tough, old broad from Brooklyn. I intend to go on acting until I'm ninety and they won't need to paste my face with makeup."

-Barbara Stanwyck

"'Career' is too pompous a word. It was a job and I have always felt privileged to be paid for doing what I love doing."

-Barbara Stanwyck

And now, for our Movie of the Month pick starring Barbara Stanwyck, which is also the main part of our post for A Very Vintage Christmas today:

Christmas in Connecticut

1945

Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Reginald Gardiner, S.Z. Sakall, and Sydney Greenstreet

During World War II, a smart, young, single woman by the name of Elizabeth Lane (Stanwyck) has a job as a writer for a successful housekeeping magazine. To all of America, Elizabeth Lane is a loving wife, nurturing mother, and sensational cook who lives on a country farm in Connecticut. Only three of her closest friends know that she is in fact a single woman who cannot cook to save her life and lives in a small apartment in the city. Certainly her boss, Alexander Yardley (Greenstreet) has no idea--he's an old stickler for the truth and is in favor of anything that will boost circulation. There doesn't seem to be any reason to inform Mr. Yardley about Elizabeth's real home life...that is, until Mr. Yardley receives a letter from a nurse who is engaged to a sailor and she wants him to be able to go and spend Christmas in a good, happy, comfy, traditional home. Mr. Yardley thinks it will make for an excellent story--Elizabeth Lane, America's model housewife, taking in a naval hero for the holidays.

Elizabeth finds out about what Mr. Yardley is planning and she is devastated, knowing that she must tell Mr. Yardley the truth and lose her job. Whenever she goes to meet with him, she can't work up the courage to tell him that she is not a housewife from Connecticut. Then, she is even more dispirited than before when her friend John Sloan (Gardiner), who has always been determined to marry Elizabeth even though she's not interested, pays her a visit. John is an architect and he mentions in passing that he has a house in Connecticut, which sparks an idea in Elizabeth's head. In order to keep her job, Elizabeth says that she will marry John; that way the two of them can go to his country house in Connecticut and receive the sailor there and pretend that she is the housewife she claims to be in her magazine articles. John thinks her whole predicament is rather ridiculous, but he goes along with it because it means Elizabeth is finally accepting his proposal.

So, shortly before Christmas, John travels to his country farm in Connecticut with Elizabeth, who insists on bringing her "uncle" Felix (Sakall) who is a professional chef and who has been giving her recipe ideas for the magazine articles for years. Everything is ready; they even have a baby to complete the picture because the housekeeper watches a baby whose mother works at a munitions factory during the day. The only problem is that Elizabeth has qualms about marrying John since she knows she doesn't really love him. They are supposed to get married as soon as they arrive at the farm by a justice of the peace but Elizabeth manages to put it off. John gets upset and insists on knowing what they're supposed to do, but she manages to placate him by saying that they will just pretend they are married but she will sleep in the guest room at night. Things only get more complicated when the sailor arrives two hours early and Elizabeth very quickly falls head of heels in love with him. Then things get even more crowded when Mr. Yardley himself also joins them for Christmas.

Everything turns into a big, jumbled mess as Elizabeth tries to keep up her act so she doesn't get fired, but she can't help showing her attraction to the sailor, Jefferson Jones (Morgan). Uncle Felix helps her keep her secrets for a while but eventually Mr. Yardley starts to catch on, but he only picks up on some of the details--he thinks that Elizabeth and John really are married but that she is having an affair with Jefferson. Everything gets more confusing and tense until the truth finally comes out. Elizabeth quits her job and is heartbroken because she never realized Jefferson was engaged until his fiance turned up at the farm. But new truths are being unveiled all over the place and Jefferson discovers his fiance came to break the news that she is now married to somebody else.

Everything seems melancholy and chaotic until Uncle Felix steps in. He gets Elizabeth her job back with a pay raise, and he fills in all the gaps for Jefferson so that he knows Elizabeth is in love with him. They then reconcile and proclaim their love for each other, and everyone has a very merry Christmas in Connecticut, after all.

Christmas in Connecticut is a great family Christmas movie. It is a true comedy of circumstance and is full of humor, and a little romance too, of course.

It is one of my favorite Christmas movies and I even own a copy of it myself.

Alright, so tomorrow is Monday so we will be doing a post then for Christmas Eve.

I can't believe Christmas is so close at hand! We here at Think Classic truly do wish you all a wonderful, happy, blessed Christmas. Be safe this holiday season, and in light of recent tragedies that have befallen those across the country and most especially in the Northeast: as you reach out to those around you whom you love this Christmas, remember those who have now lost their loved ones. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Have A Very Vintage Christmas!

"Write anything you want about me.Make something up.Hell,I don't care."

STAR OF THE MONTH

Spencer Tracy

Born April 5, 1900

Died June 10, 1967

At the beginning of the 20th century, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was born to Irish Catholic parents Caroline and John Tracy. He was the youngest of two children, having an older brother named Carroll. Tracy did not have a difficult upbringing, yet he was typically written off as a "problem child" throughout most of his youth. He was hyper, inattentive, disrespectful, and made poor grades in school. While he was still in elementary school, Tracy's parents made the decision to hand him over to church authorities, in the hopes that they could help modify his behavior. During this time he had some slight attitude changes, but did not really turn his life around until he was in high school. As a teenager, Tracy attended a Jesuit academy and he credits the school in helping him grow up and become more respectable.

It was also during high school that Tracy's passion for acting and theater was ignited. He was friends with fellow future actor Pat O'Brien, and the two of them would spend much of their time attending and analyzing plays and acting for friends. Yet, even after his attitude adjustments, Tracy was never one for academics, so he enlisted in the Navy as soon as he turned 18. He was discharged after a year, and did not know what to do with himself. His father, John Tracy, desperately wanted one of his sons to go to college, so after much pleading, Spencer went back to school to achieve his undergrad diploma. He then was accepted at Ripon College, where he majored in medicine.

Tracy fit in well at Ripon, and he soon made many friends. He quickly affiliated himself with the drama team and began acting, even forming an informal troupe with his friends, calling themselves "The Campus Players." In 1921, the college debate team went on tour, taking Tracy to New York. While there, he decided to take his chances and auditioned for a place at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. The school officials were impressed with Tracy and offered him a scholarship, which he accepted, and he began taking classes at AADA in the spring of 1922. As soon as he graduated from the Academy, Tracy took up work with a small acting company, but he was not satisfied with his small roles, so he soon left and joined with another. Tracy moved from company to company, and even took two gigs on Broadway for the next three years, but nothing was successful. It was a low period for young Tracy, who not only had to take care of himself but also felt a new obligation to take care of his new family, having been married in 1923. He later said, "There were times when my pants were so thin, I could sit on a dime and know if it was heads or tails." Finally, in 1926, Tracy took a part in the Broadway play Yellow. He decided that if he couldn't make a go of it and launch his career this time around, then he would quit acting for good and take a regular desk job. Yet it became clear on opening night that Yellow was a success, and that the young Tracy had extraordinary talent. The play's producer, George M. Cohan specifically wrote his next play with a part for Tracy, and then another after that. The next play, however, never made it to the stage, and Tracy once again considered quitting the business. Eventually, Tracy was approached and offered the part of a desperate madman being sent to death row in The Last Mile. He warily accepted, and on opening night in January of 1930, Tracy was called forward for 14 curtain calls for his outstanding performance.

With the invention of "talkies" in the 1930s, new actors and actresses that could handle speaking parts were in demand. Scouts for Hollywood studios were sent out to recruit and bring promising talents in for screen tests, and one of those scouts found Tracy. After being discovered, Tracy was offered a contract with Fox and made his film debut alongside Humphrey Bogart in Up the River (1930). Tracy stayed with Fox for the next 5 years, and then he moved to MGM. Some of Tracy's most well recognized work was produced with MGM over the next twenty years that he was with them. It was also while working at MGM in the 1940s that he met actress Katharine Hepburn. Tracy was still married to his wife at the time, but the two were amicably separated and had no intention of divorce because of their Catholic and Episcopalian backgrounds.He was also no longer living with his wife and two children, after he discovered that his son was deaf and he felt guilty and blamed his son's loss of hearing on his past deeds. So it was that, strange as the circumstances were, Hepburn and Tracy embarked on a partnership to go down in history. Their relationship was even used by the studio to produce box office hits, and the two are still today primarily known as much for their partnership on the screen as off. They starred in 9 films together. The two were completely devoted to each other and remained together for the remaining 26 years of Tracy's life.

Tracy was a true star and a great asset to Hollywood throughout his career. During the 45 years of Tracy's career, he starred in over 85 productions, and won two Academy Awards for his performances in Captains Courageous (1937) and Boys Town (1938). Spencer Tracy died after collapsing due to a major heart attack in 1967. Hepburn was with him at the time, and she later recalled that afterwards, "He looked so happy to be done with living, which for all his accomplishments had been a frightful burden for him."

MOVIE OF THE MONTH

Father of the Bride

1950

Starring Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, and Elizabeth Taylor

Stanley Banks (Tracy) is a completely ordinary man. He is a successful lawyer, he lives in a comfortable home, has a beautiful wife, Ellie (Bennett), and a lovely daughter, Kay (Taylor). The only problem with his comfortable, ordinary life is that it is about to turn upside down because his daughter (who, surely, is much too young) has decided that it is essential to her happiness to get married.

Not only is Stanley against the idea of his little girl getting married at all, but he begins to question the entire thing as he realizes that his once reassuring dreams of a quiet, cheap ceremony are out the window and gone forever. Problem after problem arises, and Stanley keeps his cold feet planted in his stubborn shoes until he realizes that by causing so much trouble, and by being so unwilling to contribute to his daughter's big day, he is jeopardizing her happiness. So, despite the fact that it hurts him and his wallet in ways he'd rather not think about, he decides to clean up his act and make Kay's wedding a day she will never forget. And even though it cost him a fortune, trashed his home, and he had to give away his little girl, he decides that it was worth it after all.

Father of the Bride was a huge comedic hit at the box office when it was released in 1950. Tracy was applauded for his portrayal of Stanley Banks, and audiences everywhere fell in love with Elizabeth Taylor all over again, as this was considered one of her first "adult" or mature roles. The film was so successful that the studio brought all the actors together for a sequel the next year, entitled Father's Little Dividend. The film was remade in 1991 starring Steve Martin as Banks, and many of the details were kept the same.

"This mug of mine is as plain as a barn door. Why should people pay thirty-five cents to look at it?"

"Come to work on time, know your lines, and don't bump into the furniture."

"I'm disappointed in acting as a craft. I want everything to go back to Orson Welles and fake noses and changing your voice. It becomes so much about personality."

"I am not a has-been. I am a will-be."

STAR OF THE MONTH

Lauren Bacall

Born September 16, 1924

Betty Joan Perske was born to Jewish immigrants, Natalie Weinstein-Bacal and William Perske, in the Bronx, New York, 1924.  When she was only 5 years old, her parents divorced and she never kept in contact with her father.  She did, however, have a very close relationship with her mother throughout her life.  It was after her parents' divorce that her mother, Natalie, changed her last name to the Romanian form of her maiden name, Bacall, which Betty would later also adopt as her surname.

As a teenager, Betty Perske, now going by Betty Bacall, enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.  In order to pay for school, Bacall worked as a theater usher.  Later on, she began to test the waters in the world of modeling, and it was due to these jobs that she got her big break.  In 1943, the wife of film director Howard Hawks saw Bacall on the front of Harper's Bazaar Magazine.  She approached her husband about this new, attractive, striking face and convinced him to contact her and invite her to do a screen test for the upcoming film To Have and Have Not (1944).  Hawks not only had Bacall audition for the film, but was so impressed with her that he moved her out to Hollywood, signed her to a seven year contract, and began paying her $100 a week.  Essentially, Hawks took on the role of manager for the new, young actress.  His wife, Nancy Hawks, helped train her in other ways, making sure she was always dressed in the latest fashions, and teaching her other little graces and types of etiquette.  It was during this time of transition that Bacall (now officially renamed Lauren by Hawks) developed two of her biggest career trademarks.  She was formally trained to speak in a slower, deeper, more masculine tone of voice, which she later on became known for.  She also developed her trademark known as The Look, where she would angle her face downwards and look up at the camera through her lashes.  Believe it or not, The Look was developed out of nerves, but it worked.

It was also during the filming of To Have and Have Not that Bacall met Humphrey Bogart for the first time.  Though he was 25 years her senior, the two fell head-over-heels in love and began an affair.  It was a well-publicized relationship, with the public affectionately referring to the couple as "Bogie and Bacall."  They married in 1945, when Bacall was 20 and Bogart was 45, and they remained married until 1957, when Bogart died after battling esophageal cancer--a hard loss for Bacall, who later said,

"A man's illness is his private territiory and, no matter how much he loves you and how close you are, you stay an outsider.  You are healthy."

Bacall worked on several more films in the latter half of the 1940s, including Confidential Agent (1945), The Big Sleep (1946), and Dark Passage (1947).  Her trademarks helped her create an on-screen persona that made her stand out in the film noir genre.  But Bacall also played notable parts in other genres as well, such as the comedy How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), and the 1950 film Young Man with a Horn, which is considered to be one of the first big-budget jazz films.

Bacall has had a brilliant and full career, starring in over 60 productions, including television appearances, Broadway, documentaries, etc.  She has been nominated for numerous Golden Globe, BAFTA, and SAG awards over the years, and was chosen to receive an honorary Academy Award for her achievements in film in 2009.  She is still active at 87 years old.

MOVIE OF THE MONTH

Designing Woman

1957

Starring Lauren Bacall, Gregory Peck, and Dolores Gray

A sports journalist by the name of Mike Hagen (Peck) goes on vacation and meets elite fashion designer Marilla Brown (Bacall).  Despite having almost nothing in common other than being living, breathing human beings, the two decide to get married before anyone (including themselves) really knows what's going on.  Reality starts to hit when the newlywed couple returns to New York and tries to mesh their separate lives together--Marilla being dunked into a world of sports-crazed men, and Mike being looped into a life that revolves around clothes and the elite, dramatic, high-fashion social circle of his new wife.  Their differences are further underlined after it is decided that Mike will move into Marilla's East Side apartment.  Marilla goes to her husband's old bachelor pad and discovers not just that he has a poor sense of style, but also a picture of actress Lori Shannon (Gray)--Mike's ex-flame.  She tells herself that it surely means nothing, and tries to disregard it yet, as time goes on, she feels like Mike is keeping a secret, and she begins to fear the worst.

Mike certainly is keeping a sercret--but it's not at all what his wife thinks!  He has recently run into a bit of trouble by exposing boxing promotor Martin J. Daylor as a crook and a fraud.  Mike is informed by his co-worker that Daylor has been snooping around, leaving messages, and making threats on Mike's life.  But Mike doesn't wish to alarm or scare off his new wife, who is not accustomed to his lifestyle, so he decides that it is knowledge that Marilla does not need to be burdened with.  Things get sticky as time goes on--Marilla just gets more suspicious that Mike is having an affair with Lori Shannon, which is only made worse when Mike has to go into hiding, pretending to be travelling with a sports team, yet none of the stories he tells his wife over the phone seem to match up.

Things just continue to slide downhill until everyone--Mike, Marilla, their friends, Daylor and his cronies--end up in a back alley and fight it out.  But all ends well when Mike is forced to defend Marilla and the two of them realize that, even with all their differences and misunderstandings, they got married for a pretty good reason--because they love each other.

This comedy of circumstances was directed by Vincente Minelli, and the film did incredibly well at the time of its release.  Bacall and Peck had excellent on-screen chemistry, and it was one of those rare movies for Bacall that brought out her witty side and hilighted her comedic talents.

You can catch Designing Woman starring Lauren Bacall on Turner Classic Movies on Wednesday, September 19, at 3:45 am ET.



"I used to tremble from nerves so badly that the only way I could hold my head steady was to lower my chin, practically to my chest, and look up at Bogie."

"You can't start worrying aout what's going to happen.  You get spastic enough worrying about what's happening now."

"I think your whole life shows in your face, and you should be proud of that."

"The only way to enjoy anything in life is to earn it first."

In honor of Turner Classic Movies' Summer Under the Stars,

Think Classic now presents...

Ginger Rogers

Born July 16, 1911

Died April 25, 1995

Virginia Katherine McMath was born in July of 1911 to William and Lela McMath. Her parents had a troubled marriage, and when Virginia was very young they separated. They had a custody battle over her, until her mother Lela won all rights. Their divorce was then finalized, and Virginia relocated to Kansas City, MO with her mother, in order to move in with her grandparents. Virginia spent much of her time with her grandparents during her formative years, and was extremely fond of them throughout the rest of her life, even purchasing a home for her grandfather in California later on, so that they could be close to each other while she was working. It was undoubtedly while living with her grandparents that Virginia underwent the first phase of her name-change. She had a younger cousin who had trouble pronouncing her name and ended up calling her "Ginga." In 1920, Ginger's mother, Lela remarried and relocated the little family to Texas. Ginger took on her stepfather's last name of Rogers, even though he never actually adopted her--thus her official stage name of Ginger Rogers was developed.

It was also in her early formative years that Ginger was exposed to acting. Her mother had a love and appreciation for it, and even worked as a Hollywood script writer for a time. Her mother's close contact and interactions with the world of theater inspired Ginger when she was in high school.

While living in Fort Worth, Texas, Lela Rogers became a theater critic, and her daughter Ginger would often spend many evenings hanging around backstage at the theater. Eventually she developed friendships with some of the actors and they noticed her talent, so she began participating in smaller song and dance numbers in front of the audience. A lucky thing, too, because that was one of the first steps to launching her career.

Sometime around 1926-7, a travelling vaudeville act was rolling through Fort Worth and needed a temporary stand-in for one of their performances. Ginger was recommended for the job, and they were so impressed with her dedication and talent that it ended up opening quite a few doors for her. After winning a Charleston Dance contest, she went on a musical-dance tour for six months. Rogers was quickly becoming a bright new light on the stage.

Her mother acted almost as a manager, and accompanied Ginger on her tours. Eventually the tour landed them in New York City, where they decided to take their chances and stay. For a while, Rogers worked some smaller jobs for radio programs and broadcasts. In 1929, she made a huge career move when she auditioned and got the part for a Broadway musical called Top Speed. Producers were sitting up straight and taking notice. The musical had barely been open on Broadway for a couple of weeks when she was offered a leading role in another, entitled Girl Crazy. She accepted, and it was while working on Girl Crazy that she first met Fred Astaire, who had been hired to choreograph the dancers. The chemistry was instantaneous.

Rogers was only 19 when she starred in Girl Crazy, yet she instantly caught the eye of Hollywood's Paramount Pictures, who didn't hesitate to offer her a seven year contract.

Rogers didn't stay with Paramount for the full seven years. She made five motion pictures with them and then managed to get out of her contract early. She officially moved to Hollywood, after which she made three films with Pathe Exchange, and floated from Warner Brothers, Monogram, and Fox, all before the year of 1932. Eventually she began working with RKO Radio Pictures. It was working for RKO in 1933 that she crossed paths with Fred Astaire once more, making their first movie together, Flying Down to Rio.

Rogers and Astaire's first picture together was so successful that they made nine more while at RKO. Audiences fell in love with them, no matter what roles they were playing--fell in love with their elegant, intriciate dance numbers and their sometimes crazy, original songs. Throughout their partnership, which was one to go down in cinematic history, they filmed 33 major song and dance numbers together. But by 1940, RKO was facing financial troubles, and with those troubles came the realization that Rogers and Astaire could not go on together forever. They attempted to make a couple more pictures together for the studio, which weren't even half as successful as their earlier films. This just underlined the shared opinions of all involved that it was time to say goodbye.

But Rogers' career was far from over. She began to make solo appearances and prove her worth to Hollywood studios and producers, showing that she could be just as successful in multiple genres--she could hold her own. She displayed her comedic talents in blockbuster hits such as Tom,Dick,and Harry (1941), Bachelor Mother (1939), and The Major and the Minor (1942). She also proved how adept she was in more dramatic and demanding films, such as Primrose Path (1940), Stage Door (1937), Roxie Hart (1942), and her very famous role in Kitty Foyle (1940), for which she won an Academy Award.

Rogers was enormously successful in the realm of Hollywood's elite. She was lifelong friends with famous names of the day such as Lucille Ball and Bette Davis. She also had well publicized marriages to noteable names such as Jack Pepper, Lew Ayres, Jacques Bergerac, and William Marshall. She was honored with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in 1992. Throughout her brilliant career she starred in 73 motion pictures.

Rogers remained active and made public appearances until she began developing health problems which confined her to a wheelchair a few years before her death. Ginger Rogers passed away at the age of 83 due to heart attack.

Summer Under the Stars Movie Pick

Bachelor Mother

1939

Starring Ginger Rogers, David Niven, and Charles Coburn

A single woman by the name of Polly Parrish (Rogers) is living in NYC and working for a large department store. She was only hired to help out with the pre-season Christmas rush, and as Christmas approaches she is informed that they will be letting her go as soon as the holidays are over. Polly is outside on a break when she sees a woman leaving her baby on the steps of an orphanage across the way. This is none of Polly's business and she undoubtedly would have thought nothing of it, accept that after the mother leaves, she notices that the baby is about to roll off the steps and into the street. Feeling she can't let that happen no matter how dispirited she is towards her fellow man, she runs to pick up the baby. Just as she does so, the orphanage door is opened and the woman in charge assumes that Polly is the baby's mother. Try as she might, Polly just can't convince the woman that she is not the mother of this child. As she is arguing with the woman who runs the orphanage, the wealthy, playboy son of the department store owner, David Merlin (Niven) is passing by. He observes the trouble and tries to help. Polly insists that she couldn't keep this baby even if she was it's mother because she is soon to be out of a job and wouldn't be able to support it.

David feels badly for the supposedly delusional single mother. After learning that Polly works for his father's department store, he goes directly to his father, J.B. Merlin (Coburn) and arranges that he let the lady keep her job. Before Polly knows what's even happening she is told she may keep her job, gets a pay raise, and is sent home with her son. Her landlady is also sympathetic and agrees to provide childcare while Polly goes to work each day. Nobody will believe that she is not the biological mother of the child, so she finally just gives up and takes care of the baby, knowing that without her, he would just be stuck in an orphanage.

David checks in quite regularly to see how Polly and the baby are getting along, and to make sure that they have everything they need. The two become friends, and after a while, David develops feelings for Polly and her infant son. Feeling that his father would be furious about the match, however, he tries to keep their relationship private. On New Years Eve, David finds himself dateless for a grand party he is supposed to go to, so he asks Polly to go along, dressing her up in the finest clothes money can buy. They are spotted in public, along with the baby, and the news quickly travells to his father, who automatically assumes that David is the child's father, and refuses to hear anything to the contrary. What comes as quite a shock to everyone is that old Mr. Merlin is not angry at all, in fact, he's delighted that his son has finally chosen a beautiful girl, is going to settle down, and has given him a grandson. Finding himself in a similar situation as Polly was earlier on, David realizes that there is no reasoning with his father.He already loves both Polly and the child, so he goes along with it, saying he is the child's father. David and Polly get married and raise the baby, who they name John, together.

Bachelor Mother is a wonderful gem from Rogers' long list of achievements. I picked it partly because it's just enjoyable from beginning to end, but also because it is not one of her musicals. I love musicals, and I think Rogers was supreme in them, yet they also tend to overshadow much of the more serious and conventional roles she played. Bachelor Mother is a comedy, which gives the viewer a closeup of her clever, quick-witted side, yet it also deals with a some heavy (and at the time, somewhat taboo) topics--single mothers, abandonment, etc.

"The most important thing in anyone's life is to be giving something. The quality I can give is fun, joy, and happiness. This is my gift."

-Ginger Rogers