A Star By Any Other Name- the changing names of Hollywood

Bernie and Archie having the lols

Archibald Leach, Bernard Schwartz, Marion Morrison were all huge stars of the golden age of Hollywood though you probably know them better as Cary Grant, Tony Curtis and John Wayne.  The practice of changing one's name is common in Hollywood even today, for example America's sweetheart Reece Witherspoon is actually named Laura or my favourite name change is Olivia Wilde's original surname of Cockburn.

Names were changed for many reasons. It could have simply been that a given name was not very glamorous; the plain Maurice Mickelwhite become the far more flashy Micheal Caine and the boring Vera Palmer became the much sexier Jayne Mansfield. They were also often changes for equity reasons. If there was an actor already on the books with your name you might change it to avoid confusion for example Micheal Keaton's real name is in fact Micheal Douglas but that was already pretty famous. The main reason for changing one's name though seems to have been due to ethnicity. If one's name was too ethnic sounding or difficult to pronounce, it was generally changed to a more user friendly version so people like Ilyena Vasilievna Mironov became the more manageable Helen Mirren and Farrokh Bulsara became the legendary Freddie Mercury.  Here are some well know duos whose name changes probably changed their lives;

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, possibly the most famous double act of all time, may not have been so popular had they been known by their given names. Fred Austerlitz and Virginia Katerine McMath.

Another very famous double act were Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. They had huge success in films such as 'Thats my boy' and 'artists and models' but somehow I don't think Dino Crocetti and Jerome Levitch would have looked right on a marquis.

Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland grew up together as child stars in the studio system and stared in nine hit films including 'babes in arms' and 'strike up the band'.they were also lifelong friends and thought of each other as siblings. They both changed their names from the decidedly forgettable Joseph Yule Jr and Frances Gumm.

Possibly the most adorable on screen couple in history, Rock Hudson and Doris Day lit up the silver screen ,in the late fifties, with their remarkable chemistry in films like 'pillow talk' and 'lover come back'.  the utterly dishy Hudson originally had the uninteresting moniker of Roy Scherer and the eternally sweet Day's original surname was the rather more harsh Kappelhoff.

Real life couple, Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee were the ultimate ,wholesome, golden couple of the sixties. He was a singing sensation with huge hit songs like 'mack the knife' and she was the saccrin sweet star of teen hit Gidget. both were formally know by less memorable names,  Dee was born Alexandra Zuck and Darin was originally Walden Robert Cossotto, I wonder if they would have become a power couple with these names. 

It just goes to show how important a name is, these stars might still be unknown without changing their names.  These are a just a few I found interesting, there are millions more so maybe this post will be a two parter who knows :)

Forgotten Gems - Love with the Proper Stranger

I think you may have gathered by now that I love old movies, so I can often be found trawling TCM or other classic movie channels for films I may not have seen. one such find was this little known gem Love with the Proper Stranger,  an early sixties romantic drama starring the annoyingly attractive Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen.  

This film caught my interest straight away because it has many of the variables I look for in a movie, set in the sixties, filmed in black and white, featuring a controversial story line and starring two actors I hugely admire. the film is not really an abiding classic and it was not a huge success at the time but it is an interesting and enjoyable way to pass a rainy afternoon.

The film is the story of a young Italian american girl, Angie played by the gorgeous Natalie Wood who finds herself in the family way, after what we are to understand, is a one night stand with Rocky Papasano, a charismatic musician played by the devastatingly cool and beautiful McQueen.  The film begins when Angie turns up and shocks Rocky by telling him she's pregnant and needs him to find a doctor to preform an abortion.  Angie, a sales girl at Macy's, lives at home with her mother and overbearing brothers. the film, for me, is sort of a coming of age story as Angie escapes the oppression of her home life where she is treated like a child and through her experiences with Rocky becomes a woman in her own right. 

It was, and to some extent still is, a controversial subject matter. The film touches on the horrifically unsafe nature of back street abortions that took place before the practice was legalized in the US.  In the end (spoiler alert) Rocky convinces Angie not to go through with the operation because he realized the danger and how completely shady the 'doctor' was, which Angie was too desperate to see.

Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen were both extremely competent actors and play the roles of terrified young people thrown together and struggling to deal with a crisis very well.  McQueen's character is in the beginning, as all his characters were,  a cool suave ladies man but is quickly ruffled by this situation.  Wood's Angie, is believable as the troubled shop girl trying to find her own space in a changing world.

The very last scene is one of my favourite movie moments. earlier in the film Angie and Rocky listen to the title song for the film, sung by Jack Jones, that talks about hearing bells and banjos when you fall in love.  Angie is cynical about this at the time and later in the film she tells Rocky she going to settle down with a clumsy local boy Antony (played by Tom Bosley in his first screen role. He went on to play the dad in Happy Days) having turned down rocky's proposal feeling that it was only out of obligation. she says its okay if she doesn't hear the bells and banjos every time she looks at Antony. The next day as she leaves work, there's rocky holding a sign saying better wed then dead and playing the bells and banjo.  Adorable right? of course after some resistance she falls in to his arms as the credits role.  In my mind they go on to live a long happy fulfilling life together but who knows. 

You didn't hear it from me but if you look on YouTube, you may find that some clever person has posted the entire film there. give it a watch and let me how you think they end up.

Are these not two of the most gorgeous people ever?

Saturday Swoon - Omar Sharif

hello gorgeous 

So the return of the blog means the return of the occasional Saturday homage to the hotties of bygone days. looking back at previous subjects I realize that I seem to have a type, so far I've profiled tall, dark, slightly mysterious and brooding gentlemen and this post is no different.one of my biggest movie star crushes has always been the dishy Omar Sharif. Sadly Omar passed away earlier this month so i thought it was fitting to dedicate this edition of Saturday swoon to the memory of his exotic good looks and enigmatic charms.

Born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1932, he gained a degree in mathematics and physics before pursuing an acting career. he was also fluent in no less then six languages.  He began acting in his native Egypt in the mid fifties and broke into Hollywood with his role as sheriff Ali in Lawrence of Arabia.

He is, most likely, best known for playing the title role in the epic, Russian set, drama, Dr Zhivago. If you haven't seen this film, clear an afternoon and get a box of tissues and do yourself a favor. It is spectacular  and Sharif is perfect as the doctor with a poetic soul struggling with the horrors of war and being in love with the wrong woman.  Sharif was often cast as 'the foreigner,'  his dark looks and inscrutable accent meant he could very easily pass for Russian doctor or even European playboy.

He will, for me, always be Nicky Arnstien.  the role he played in one of my all time favourite films, Funny Girl.  He lit up the screen opposite the incomparable Barbra Streisand as a sort of prince charming character, based on the real life vaudeville comedienne Fanny Bryce, Sharif plays the handsome and glamorous professional gambler who sweeps naive uncultured fanny off her feet with his ruffled shirts and smooth talking before her success on the stage and his failures in business cause the marriage to go, well,  tits up really.  that is an extremely brief synopsis of a long, rich and layered story which again I urge you to watch if you haven't already.

with Julie andrews in the tamarind seed

Let's face it, my main reason for this profile is that Omar Sharif is flipping gorgeous. Maybe not in a conventional sense, he wasn't a matinee idol but his eyes, and smile are just so seductive. He had all the qualities of a fairy tale prince. He was sophisticated, intelligent, elegant and dashing, in fact William Wyler the director of Funny Girl, chastised him for trying to change his accent for the film. They wanted his own accent because they felt it was what prince charming should sound like.  Sharif led a long and interesting life and had an illustrious and celebrated career.  I'll always think of him fondly, and  Man, could he wear a ruffled shirt