Worth 1,000 Words: Downtown Vegas with The Rat Pack
By Steve CrumThree Rat Packers (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford) stroll anything but incognito through downtown Las Vegas during the premiere of Ocean’s 11 in 1960.
Worth 1,000 Words: The Revenge of Karloff and Company
By Steve CrumUniversal makeup artist supreme Jack Pierce gets humorously attacked on the set of Son of Frankenstein (1939) by Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and director Rowland V. Lee.
Worth 1,000 Words: The Ricardos and The Mertzes in Cuba
By Steve CrumThat’s Ann Sothern, Rudy Vallee and Cesar Romero guesting on “Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana,” a 1957 episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. Since the plot involves a flashback sequence of how Lucy and Ethel met Ricky and Fred, Mr. Mertz (William Frawley), appears in a toupee.
Worth 2,000 Words: From Al Jolson to Ricardo Montalban
By Steve CrumHere’s a very cool pic of the Studio Theatre, aka the CBS Radio Playhouse, at 1615 Vine Street in Hollywood, between 1936-39. That is when Al Jolson headlined his Lifebuoy Show on radio. Imagine attending a broadcast–wow!
In 1953, the building was renamed the Huntington Hartford Theatre and then, in 1964, the James A. Doolittle Theatre. That was when UCLA acquired the property. Finally, The Ricardo Montalban Foundation bought the building in 1999 and renamed it–guess what–the Ricardo Montalban (see photo). It features a resident troupe presenting plays for younger people, as well as various film festivals.
Worth 1,000 Words: Stan & Ollie pose in Minnesota
By Steve CrumHere is a very rarely seen photo of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy obviously having fun while posing at the University of Minnesota Theatre set for Peer Gynt in October, 1940. The Boys were playing the Orpheum in Minneapolis at the time. Said Hardy to reporters: “Your Minnesota weather–brr!–as far as I’m concerned. It was minus 30 degrees this morning.”