Died Today

Died Today (July 8th): June Allyson (1917–2006)

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juneallysonJune Allyson (1917–2006)

Born: October 7, 1917 in The Bronx, New York, USA

Died: July 8, 2006 (age 88) in Ojai, California, USA

Married to: David Ashrow (30 October 1976 – 8 July 2006) (her death)
Alfred Glenn Maxwell (1 April 1966 – 17 March 1970) (divorced)
Alfred Glenn Maxwell (13 October 1963 – 20 April 1965) (divorced)
Dick Powell (19 August 1945 – 2 January 1963) (his death) (2 children)

From 1963 to 1975, she had a long term, ill-fated romance with writer/director Dirk Wayne Summers, often announcing to the press that the couple would be married soon. She and Summers were the lead item in Walter Winchell’s then influential column more than a few times. They often traveled together through Europe. Although Summers apparently loved her and their life together, he refused her many proposals of marriage, much to her chagrin. Members of the nascent jet-set, they were frequently seen in Cap d’Antibes, Madrid, Rome and London, where they called Hugh M. Hefner’s borrowed Mayfair penthouse home.

Executive Suite
1954
dir. Robert Wise
Starring
William Holden
Barbara Stanwyck
Allyson
MOVIE POSTERTHE STRATTON STORY
1949
dir. Sam Wood
Stars:
James Stewart
June Allyson

 

Died Today (July 8th): Dick Sargent (1930–1994)

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dicksargent.jpgDick Sargent (1930–1994)

Born: April 19, 1930 in Carmel, California, USA

Died: July 8, 1994 (age 64) in Los Angeles, California, USA

QUOTES:

[About his difficult relationship he had with his father] I wanted him to love me, and I’m quite sure that he didn’t.

[Of Connie Francis] We looked passionately at each other, but that was the only time I ever saw her.

If X or Y is gay, and you say so and they’re in the closet, then that can…it can possibly hurt them. That sort of reticence I understand, as an actor, or an ex-actor. But if the personality is deceased, and some co-star will still not say, then you can chalk that down to homophobia.

[When he finally came out of the closet] It was such a relief. I lived in fear of being found out. Now it’s given me a whole new mission in life.
[on Agnes Moorehead] She was very set in her ways and I had to really make her my friend. About the third or fourth show I was in she said to people in front of me, “They should never meddle with success.” Meaning Dick York should never have been replaced, which I thought was a very cruel and unthinking thing to say in front of me. But that was her. She came to rehearsals with a Bible in one hand and her script in the other. She was certainly the most professional woman in the world…and she was so good. Thank God we became friends eventually.

Died Today (July 8th): Ernest Borgnine (1917–2012)

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ernestborgnine.jpgErnest Borgnine (1917–2012)

Born: January 24, 1917 in Hamden, Connecticut, USA

Died: July 8, 2012 (age 95) in Los Angeles, California, USA

Oscar Winning for Best Actor (MARTY)

Married to: Tova Borgnine (24 February 1973 – 8 July 2012) (his death)
Donna Granucci (30 June 1965 – 1 January 1972) (divorced) (2 children)
Ethel Merman (27 June 1964 – 18 November 1964) (divorced)
Katy Jurado (31 December 1959 – 3 June 1963) (divorced)
Rhoda Kemins (2 September 1949 – 29 August 1958) (divorced) (1 child)

From Here to Eternity
1953
dir. Fred Zinnemann
Cast
Burt Lancaster
Montgomery Clift		 REDRED
dir. Robert Schwentke
Stars:
Bruce Willis
Helen Mirren
An Affair to RememberMarty
1955
dir. by Delbert Mann
Ernest Borgnine
Betsy Blair		 movie posterTHE WILD BUNCH
1969
dir. Sam Peckinpah
Starring:
William Holden
Ernest Borgnine
The Poseidon Adventure
1972
dir. Ronald Neame
Starring
Hackman
Ernest Borgnine		 posterBAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK
1955
dir. John Sturges
Starring:
Spencer Tracy
Robert Ryan
All Quiet on the Western FrontAll Quiet on the Western Front
1979
dir. by Delbert Mann
starring
Richard Thomas
Ernest Borgnine		 MOVIE POSTERBASEKETBALL
1998
dir. David Zucker
Stars:
Trey Parker
Matt Stone

 

Died Today (July 8th): Vivien Leigh

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vivienleighHappy Birthday actor Vivien Leigh (1913–1967)

Born: November 5, 1913 in Darjeeling, West Bengal, British India [now India]

Died: July 8, 1967 (age 53) in Belgravia, London, England, UK

Married to: Laurence Olivier (31 August 1940 – 6 January 1961) (divorced)
Herbert Leigh Holman (20 December 1932 – 19 February 1940) (divorced) (1 child)

Two time Oscar winner for Best Actress (Streetcar Named Desire, Gone with the Wind)

Pictured on one of four 25¢ US commemorative postage stamps issued March 23, 1990 honoring classic films released in 1939. The stamp features Clark Gable and Leigh as Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind (1939). The other films honored were Beau Geste (1939), Stagecoach (1939) and The Wizard of Oz (1939).

GONE WITH THE WIND POSTERGone with the Wind
1939
dir. Victor Fleming
starring
Leigh
Clark Gable
WATERLOO BRIDGEWaterloo Bridge
1940
dir. Mervyn LeRoy
Starring
Leigh
Robert Taylor
A Streetcar Named DesireA Streetcar Named Desire
1954
dir. Elia Kazan
starring
Marlon Brando
Leigh
SEE TOP 100 VIVIEN LEIGH PHOTOS
Academy Award
and Charles Laughton
and Clark Gable
and Daughter
and Elizabeth Taylor
and Hattie McDaniel
and Jack Merivale
and Joan Crawford
and Karl Malden
and Laurence Olivier
and Lee Marvin
and Marilyn Monroe
and Olivia de Havilland
and Peter Finch
and Suzanne
and Warren Beatty
Armenian
Art
as a Child
as Anna Karenina
as Blanche Dubois
as Cleopatra
as Emma Lady Hamilton
as Hester Collyer
as Madeleine Goddard
as Mary Treadwell
as Myra
as Scarlet O’Hara
Autograph
Beach
Beauty
Blonde
Breasts
Cats
Cleavage
Close Up
Clothes
Color
Costume
Crazy
Curly Hair
Doll
Dress
Eyebrows
Eyes
Face
Fashion
Gorgeous
Gown
Green Eyes
Hands
Hat

 

Died Today (July 7th): Veronica Lake

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veronicalake.jpgVeronica Lake (I) (1922–1973)

Born: November 14, 1922 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Died: July 7, 1973 (age 50) in Burlington, Vermont, USA

Married to: Robert Carleton-Munro (29 May 1972 – 7 July 1973) (her death)
Joseph Allen McCarthy (28 August 1955 – 1959) (divorced)
André De Toth (13 December 1944 – 2 June 1952) (divorced) (2 children)
John S. Detlie (25 September 1940 – 2 December 1943) (divorced) (2 children)

QUOTES:

You could put all the talent I had into your left eye and still not suffer from impaired vision.

I will have one of the cleanest obits of any actress. I never did cheesecake like Ann Sheridan or Betty Grable. I just used my hair.

I wasn’t a sex symbol, I was a sex zombie.

[1970, reflecting on her career] I’ve reached a point in my life where it’s the little things that matter. I’m no longer interested in doing what’s expected of me. I was always a rebel and probably could have got much farther had I changed my attitude. But when you think about it, I got pretty far without changing attitudes. I’m happier with that.

Hollywood gives a young girl the aura of one giant, self-contained orgy farm, its inhabitants dedicated to crawling into every pair of pants they can find.
[on Alan Ladd] Alan Ladd was a marvelous person in his simplicity. In so many ways we were kindred spirits. We both were professionally conceived through Hollywood’s search for box office and the types to insure the box office. And we were both little people. Alan wasn’t as short as most people believe. It was true that in certain films Alan would climb a small platform or the girl worked in a slit trench. We had no such problems together.

[on Paulette Goddard] It was her honesty I liked.

[on Marlon Brando] Our romance was short but sweet. He was on the dawn of a brilliant film career, and I was in the twilight of one. Of course, my career could never compare with his.

Died Today (July 6th): Louis Armstrong (I) (1901–1971)

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louisarmstrongLouis Armstrong (I) (1901–1971)

Born: August 4, 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Died: July 6, 1971 (age 69) in New York City, New York, USA

Married to:
Lucille Wilson (12 October 1942 – 6 July 1971) (his death)
Alpha Smith (11 October 1938 – 1942) (divorced)
Lil Armstrong (4 February 1924 – 1938) (divorced)
Daisy Parker (19 March 1918 – 18 December 1923) (divorced)

QUOTES:

I never tried to prove nothing, just wanted to give a good show. My life has always been my music, it’s always come first, but the music ain’t worth nothing if you can’t lay it on the public. The main thing is to live for that audience, ’cause what you’re there for is to please the people.

All music is folk music. I ain’t never heard no horse sing a song.

What is jazz? Man, if you have to ask you’ll never know.

There’s some folks, that, if they don’t know, you can’t tell ’em.

If it wasn’t for jazz, there wouldn’t be no rock and roll.

[on being asked about his #1 song “Hello Dolly”] It sure feels good to be up there with [The Beatles].

A lotta cats copy the Mona Lisa, but people still line up to see the original.

Died Today (July 6th): Roy Rogers (1911–1998)

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royrogersRoy Rogers (1911–1998)

Born: November 5, 1911 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Died: July 6, 1998 (age 86) in Apple Valley, California, USA

Married to:
Dale Evans (31 December 1947 – 6 July 1998) (his death)
Grace Arline Wilkins (11 June 1936 – 3 November 1946) (her death) (3 children)
Lucile Ascolese (8 May 1933 – 8 June 1936) (divorced)

In his autobiography, “Happy Trails: The Story of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans,” the former Leonard Slye stated that his stage name of Roy Rogers was given to him by executives at Republic Pictures when he became their new singing cowboy to replace Gene Autry. The Rogers came from Will Rogers, the beloved western comic and storyteller who had recently died in a plane crash in Alaska and Roy was made the first name because it is the French word for “king,” as in “Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys.” Roy said he had no input at all in the renaming decision.

Died Today (July 5th): Actor Carole Landis (1919–1948)

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carolelandis.jpgHappy Birthday actor Carole Landis (1919–1948)

Born: January 1, 1919 in Fairchild, Wisconsin, USA

Died: July 5, 1948 (age 29) in Pacific Palisades, California, USA

Her final two films, Brass Monkey (1948) and Noose (1948) were released in 1948. On July 5, 1948, Carole committed suicide by taking an overdose of Seconal in her Brentwood Heights, California, home. She was only 29 and had made 49 pictures, most of which were, unfortunately, forgettable. If Hollywood moguls had given Carole a chance, she could have been one of the brightest stars in its history.

IT HAPPENED IN FLATBUSH
1942
dir. Ray McCarey
Stars:
Lloyd Nolan
Carole Landis

 

Died Today (July 5th): Director Leo McCarey

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leomccareyBorn: October 3, 1896 in Los Angeles, California, USA

Died: July 5, 1969 (age 72) in Santa Monica, California, USA

Leo McCarey: Born in Los Angeles in 1896, McCarey began his career as an assistant director and helming shorts. At this time, he was responsible for the first on-screen pairing of Laurel and Hardy.

Excelling in the comedy genre, he worked with stars from the Marx Brothers to W.C. Fields; Leo later focused on more socially-conscious material.

Nominated for eight Oscars, he won three – two for 1945’s Going My Way (Directing and Writing), and Best Director for 1938’s The Awful Truth. Leo McCarey died in 1969.

An Affair to Remember
1957
dir. McCarey
starring
Grant
Deborah Kerr		 Duck SoupDuck Soup
1933
dir. McCarey
starring
The Marx Bros
The Awful TruthThe Awful Truth
1937
dir. McCarey
starring
Irene Dunne
Grant

 

Died Today (July 3rd): Andy Griffith (1926–2012)

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andygriffith.jpgDied Today: Andy Griffith (1926–2012)

Born: June 1, 1926 in Mount Airy, North Carolina, USA

Died: July 3, 2012 (age 86) in Manteo, North Carolina, USA

Married to: Cindi Knight (2 April 1983 – 3 July 2012) (his death)
Solica Casuto (11 June 1975 – 1981) (divorced)
Barbara Griffith (26 August 1949 – 16 October 1972) (divorced) (2 children)

QUOTES:

[on his off-camera relationship with Frances Bavier, who played Aunt Bee] There was just something about me she did not like.
[How he valued Don Knotts as an actor/best friend]: I loved Don. There was no one like him.
[For making Chapel Hill, which is where he went to college, proud of him]: I am proud of my connections to Carolina and pleased to know that some results from a lifetime of work on television, film, stage and recordings will have a permanent home in Chapel Hill.
I was baptized alongside my mother when I was 8 years old. Since then, I have tried to walk a Christian life, … And now that I’m getting older, I realized that I’m walking even closer with my God.
I still play that guitar. It’s a Martin D-18 with a clear pick guard. I’ve played that guitar on and off my TV shows for nearly 50 years.
[When he used a televangelist as his model]: I did an impression of Oral Roberts, and near the end, I took Elia Kazan’s head in my hands, and I healed him, I walked out of that restaurant with the part.