Those obscure objects of desire. Prudence Sutton was one of many nice looking small town girls that crashed Hollywood hoping for at least a glimpse of fame.
Unlike man others, she was noticed and given a starring role in a not inconsiderable feature. When the movie failed, she lasted for a few more years in Tinsel Town with no great success, and in the end traded it all for a stable family life. Let’s learn more about her. Those obscure objects of desire. Mary Jo Mathews did not go down the usual starlet route.
A fine Southern miss, she was a college graduate who first seeked her fame in the theater, and only by chance ended up in Hollywood. Sadly, Hollywood, did not work out for her, but she married a successful agent and led a happy family life. Let’s learn more about her! Mary Josephine Mathews was born on April 11, 1909, in Mannington, West Virginia, to Harry J. and Blanche Mathews. Her older brother, Marshall, was born in 1904. After graduating from Mannington high school, Mary enrolled into the West Virginia university at Morgantown. Next year, she was chosen by the students as “Miss’ “West Virginia University, and not long after, was named by Governor Conley as West Virginia’s representative at the annual rhododendron festival at Asheville, and later attended the Shenandoah Apple Blossom festival in Winchester in the spring of 1929 as “Queen Shenandoah VI” . Mary than appeared in tow movies that are well known and regarded today. Ces objets obscurs du désir. Kay Harding was a pretty small town girl who dreamed big, went to California to attain fame and fortune, worked as a truck driver (interesting no?)
, and even managed some minor success in Hollywood before giving it all up for marriage. Let’s hear more about her. Those obscure objects of desire. Mildred Rehn was a cute chorus girl who danced in Busby Berkeley musicals before getting married, taking a hiatus, then trying, briefly, for a second career some ten years later.
She fared only a bit better, did some writing and ultimately retired form the screen. Mildred Anna Elsie Rehn was born on July 24, 1913, in Vancouver, Canada to Mr,. and Mrs. Rehn, nee Auerbach, both Austrian immigrants. Little is known about her childhood, except that she immigrated to Washington with her parents in the 1920s. Ultimately the family settled in Michigan, where Mildred attended school. Those obscure objects of desireCinema. Totty Ames is a incredible, inspiring woman.
She lasted more than 20 years as a model, acted sporadically and without much success, but her claim to fame was the choice to become a songstress when she was in her 60s, and succeeding brilliantly! She reinvented herself several times, and always marched on. Let’s learn more about Totty! Winifred Estelle Totty was born on November 3, 1922, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Flavel Arthur Totty and Annie Belle Carothers, both native Oklahomans. Her father was a fireman, her mother worked as an elevator operator. Cinema - Those... - Laurie Shevlin. Those obscure objects of desire. Nora Gale – a chorus girl who crashed Tinsel town with scant experience but luckily got a contract, danced in various movies, never made it to a credited role, returned to the stage and in the end, married and left showbiz.
Heard this story before? Cinema - Those... - Jean Ames - Those obscure objects of. Cinema - Those... - Diane Cassidy. Cinema - Those... - Geraldine Farnum - Those obscure objects of desire. Daughter of a silent film pioneer and a movie extra, Geraldine Farnum was predestined to become an actress herself.
Sadly, except being a dancer in a long string of movies, she never came remotely close to being a true thespian before retiring to raise a family. Let’s learn more about her! Geraldine Ann Smith Farnum was born on November 13, 1924, in Los Angeles, California, to Franklyn (Smith) Farnum and Edith Walker. She was their only child. Geraldine’s dad Franklyn was a colorful character. Geraldine’s mom was a movie extra who married her dad in 1921. After graduating from Fairfax High School, she had been signed to an acting contract by Warner Bros studio, and thus started her career. Geraldine’s career can be roughly divided into two parts: from 1944 until 1947, and from 1950 until 1952. Cinema - Those... - Lucille Barkley. Those obscure objects of desire. Cinema - Those... Mozelle Britton.
Cinema - Those... : Gloria Youngblood. Cinema - Those... : Myrla Bratton. Girls that came to Hollywood in the 1930s could be neatly boxed into a few categories (trained actresses, chorus girls, models, debutantes and so on…).
Myrla came from the “beautiful but not trained” background. Most of these girls never amount to much in terms of a career and sadly this goes for Myrla too. But, here is the catch – instead of marrying and settling into sweet domesticity, she decided to stick out on her own as a theater actress. After her acting days were over, she worked as a secretary. Kudos to Myrla and all the women that did more than well for themselves! Those... : Wanda Barbour. Cinema - Those... : Jayne Regan. Cinema - Those... : Jayne Shadduck.
Jayne Shadduck truly is an inspiring woman.
Okay, maybe her Hollywood career is as thin as air and she never really tried to be a serious, accomplished actress, but she managed to more than make up for this slight by being a pioneer aviatrix and successful businesswoman (and this long after leaving Tinsel town behind). Let’s learn more about her! Jayne Dunham Francis Shadduck was born on July 1, 1915, in Walla, Walla, Washington, to Joe F. Shadduck and Francis Shadduck. She was their only child. By 1930, the family had moved to Portland, Oregon, where Jayne attended high school.
She was one of the few girls who signed a contract with RKO. Cinema - Those... : Marla Shelton. Cinema - Those... : Marcella Martin. Those... : Mimi Berry. Those... : Theo Coffman. Cinema - Those... : Anita Thompson. Cinema - Those... : Carmen Clifford. Carmen Clifford was a trained pianist and dancer of some reputee when she entered the Hollywood arena in 1942 – but for unknown reasons, she never made it past the uncredited roster.
Cinema - Those... : Rosalee Calvert. Rosalee Calvert was a perfect California mannequin int he 1950s and 1960s, tall, lean and aristocratic looking – like man yo fher peers, she tried for a movie career. She was more successful than most, but still not enough to fully devote herself to acting. She remained a high sought after model for decades and seemed to have lived a happy life in California. Let’s learn more about her! Rosalie Coughenour was born in December 13, 1926 in Dearborn, Michigan, to Lowell and Rosa Coughenor. She was the youngest of three children – her older siblings were William, born in 1921, and Mary, born in 1925.
I could not find any information on Rosalee’s education, nor her childhood – what I know is that she was modeling by mid 1940s, and by 1948 she was featured as a new, promising model in the papers. Rosalee started her career in Little Women, the all time favorite classic, a decent adaptation of the beloved Louisa May Alcott novel. That’s it from Rosalee! Richard Gully was one of those names. Cinema - Those... : Joan Thorsen. A very beautiful woman and a successful photo model before she came to Hollywood, Joan Thorsen was given a solid contract not on account to her thespian skills, but rather her looks. Like any other girl in the long line of models turn actresses, she did some minor work and left the industry. let’s learn more about her! Joan Marie Hoff was born in 1918 in Auburn, Indiana, to John Hoff and Lottie Wolford. She was their second daughter – her older sister, Mary J., was born in 1911. Her father owned an auto repair shop.
Cinema - Those... : Valmere Barman. Valmere Barman was a California beach blonde who came to Hollywood because she was a looker. Her career, predictably, failed, but her later life was very interesting and to some degree cosmopolitan – she lived in the far east and was a very active woman! Let’s learn more about her! Valmere Barman was born on December 14, 1922, in Los Angeles, California to Wademar Jacob Barman and Edith Gay Barman. Her older sister, Edith N., was born on May 5, 1918. Her father was a refrigerator engineer. Valmere’s childhood was pretty uneventful – she grew up in Los Angeles and developed an interest in the performing arts from her teen years.
I could not find which college Valmere attended, but she was seen by a talent scout who bought her to the attention to Paramount studios – they signed her in 1942 and there she went! Valmere started her career in the low-budget Gene Autry western, Call of the Canyon.Who boy, can’t thing to anything more to say about these movies. Cinema - Those...Myrla Bratton. Cinema - Those... - Margo Woode. Margo Woode is great proof that it’s sometimes better not to take Hollywood too seriously, and try to bend its rules to suit your needs rather than the other way around – after some minor success, Margo left Tinsel town, devoted herself to family and other pursuits but still returned to movies when she had a chance.
Let’s learn more about her! Margo Ketchum was born on April 11, 1922, in Phoenix, Arizona, to Raymond Ketchum and Alma Odell Bumph. Her older brother Raymond Sr. was born on October 6, 1920 and died four days later. Her father worked as an embalmer and undertaker. Newspapers later claimed that Margo was of royal Indian descent , the great-granddaughter of a full-blooded Cherokee princess. Margo grew up like any normal, happy child in Phoenix and attended North Phoenix High School. Then, suddenly, Margo made a string of three movies that woodlice remain her only claim to fame in any shape or form. Somewhere in the Night remains Margo’s masterpiece. Cinema - Those... - Amelita Ward. Amelita Ward is a vintage classic.
A girl too beautiful for her own good, possessing a healthy dose of silliness and probably no small ego, she crashed Hollywood as a unique combination of good looks and a mean Texan accent. For a time it seemed that a bright future was in front of the lady. Cinema - Those... - Tanis Chandler. Unlike many starlets, Tanis Chandler came from an upper class background, and when she decided to crack Hollywood, she hired a good enough publicist to do a major publicity stunt – namely, try to sell herself as a man! In time or actor-shortage (due to the war), this otherwise pathetic stunt worked, and Tanis found herself playing leading roles in B movies. Cinema - Those... - Eleanor Prentiss. Eleanor Prentiss is one of those actresses who came to Hollywood owning to her looks, with absolutely no acting experience, and then fell in love not with the glitz and glamour of Tinsel town, but with the gentle art of acting itself. Eleanor thus became an serious theater actress and went into self imposed movie exile, without achieving any Hollywood success and frankly not even caring about it.
Cinema - Those... - Adele Lacy. Cinema - Those... - Nadine Dore. Nadine Dore had a pretty standard career path – beautiful girl who aspired to become an actress, stared dancing young, worked as a chorus girl, and got to Hollywood via the pageant route. Cinema - Those obscure objects of desire - Accueil. Cinema - Those obscure objects of desire - Liens triés. Cinema - Those... - Gloria Faythe. Gloria Faythe was a dancer who became a chorus girl who tried ot become an actress but failed. Cinema - Those... : Bonita Barker. Bonita Barker was firmly cast in a Hollywood stereotype – a pretty girl from a good family who wanted to dance since she was a toddler, and slowly her “talents” morph into a wish to become a movie star. Heard that story before? Oh yes, and most of them ended dismally – with the girls in question out of Hollywood before they did anything of worth. Cinema - Those... : Marjorie Zier. Marjorie Zier’s life can truly be a cautionary tale for other women – she drank too much and married too many times to wrong men.
However, painting her as a mere weak female is a gross oversimplification. Like most things in life, her story is told in shades of gray with no clear resolution. Cinema - Those... : Rowena Cook. Rowena Cook’s career might be considered lackluster by most standards, but she proved to be amazingly resilient performer in the long run. Rowena came to Hollywood via a contest, which is not good-by itself. Let’s be real, most of the people who come to Hollywood by winning a contest (be it a beauty contest or anything similar) stay in the bottom levels of the pecking order, and Rowena was no exception – but unlike the majority of those people, she really wanted to act, not to become rich and famous.
When such a person, with such aspirations, doesn’t hit fame in Hollywood, he find other outlets for his passion – and Rowena sure did! Let’s learn more about her! Cinema - Those... : Adele Longmire. Cinema - Those... : Marjorie Deanne. Beautiful Marjorie Deanne was a beauty contest winner that came to Hollywood, hoping for a big break. Like with the majority of girls who took down that route, her break never came. Cinema - Those... : Lois Chartrand. Cinema - Those... : Rosemary Colligan.