Starlet Showcase

11/14/09

G-Man Girls

I just finished reading Puppetmaster: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover (2004) by Richard Hack. I hadn't known that Hoover had dated Lela Rogers, Ginger's mother. I hadn't known that he and Dorothy Lamour had an affair, which she didn't deny. I knew, of course, that Hoover and his COINTELPRO organization had spread false rumors that Jean Seberg was pregnant with the baby of a Black Panther Party member. I hadn't realized how much Franklin Roosevelt utilized Hoover's domestic surveillance. I hadn't realized that Harry Truman distrusted Hoover and compared his methods to Gestapo tactics. So I learned a few things. Which is one of the reasons that reading good for you.

More Towel Racks

Towel Racks 1
Keywords: ace hardware, bath towels, bathroom fixtures,
bed bath and beyond, hardware, home depot, home improvement,
menards, terrycloth, towels, zippo lighter

11/13/09

Hollywood's Dark Past

I recently watched two documentaries about the bad old days of Hollywood. The first is Girl 27 (2007), the story of a young woman raped at a 1937 MGM salesmen convention, the cover-up, and the "casting couch" ethos of "Golden Age" Hollywood. The second is Trumbo (2007), the story of blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, told through interviews and letters. I realize these are two years old, but you can watch them now on your computer, if you have Netflix and a fast connection.

Enjoy. Learn. Remember.

11/12/09

Mrs. Batman and the Parkers

Jean Parker (no relation) ran a Palm Springs airport in the 1940s and married Batman. Before playing Batman or marrying Jean, actor Robert Lowery appeared in a Jimmy Cagney movie called Great Guy (1936) as a character named "Mr. Parker," who is no relation to Jean Parker or C. Parker. None of us are related to jazz man Charlie Parker, who played alto saxophone and was not a gunslinger. Gregory Peck played a gunslinger in The Gunfighter (1950), and Jean Parker was in that movie, too. Which is really neither here nor there.