Tuesday 16 September 2008

Susan Hayward

The youngest of three children, Edythe Marrenner was born in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. Her father and mother, who were of Irish and Swedish descent respectively, endowed her with the milky complexion and ruby mane that would become her trademark. She grew up in poverty in the shadow of her older sister Florence who was her mother's favorite. Edythe would nurse a life-long grudge over what she perceived as her mother's neglect.
As a teenager Edythe was brought to Hollywood as one of the hundreds of girls who had won a chance to screen test for the part of Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). The test was abysmal. It would take several years of studio subsidized acting and voice lessons before her talent would emerge and she would be renamed Susan Hayward. Susan's personality is usually described as cold, icy, and aloof. She did not like socializing with crowds. She disliked homosexuals and effeminate men. Her taste in love ran strictly to the masculine, and both of her husbands were rugged Southerners. She loved sport fishing, and owned three ocean going boats for that purpose. Movie directors enjoyed Susan's professionalism and her high standards. She was considered easy to work with, but she was not chummy after the cameras stopped. Her greatest roles were in I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955) and I Want to Live! (1958). The latter won her an Academy Award for best actress. A two-pack a day smoker with a taste for drink, Susan was diagnosed with brain cancer in March of 1972. On 14 March 1975 after a three year struggle against the disease, Susan died at her Hollywood home. Susan Hayward was laid to rest in a grave adjacent that of her husband Eaton Chalkley in the peace of Carrollton, Georgia where they had spent several happy years together in life.

Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire (1899-1987), American dancer and actor, known for his graceful, sophisticated dance style and for his musical comedy films. Born Fred Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska, Astaire appeared in vaudeville at the age of seven with his sister Adele. From 1917 to 1932 they were a noted Broadway dancing team, appearing in such musicals as Over the Top (1917), Lady Be Good (1925), and Funny Face (1927). After Adele Astaire retired from the stage, Fred Astaire began a career in films. His first film was Dancing Lady (1933). His films with the dancer Ginger Rogers, beginning with Flying Down to Rio (1933), include Roberta (1935), Top Hat (1935), Shall We Dance? (1937), and The Barkleys of Broadway (1949). Astaire and Rogers developed an elegant dance style, noted for its technical excellence and intimacy. Astaire's other films include Easter Parade (1948), with Judy Garland; Daddy Long Legs (1955), with Leslie Caron; Funny Face (1957), with Audrey Hepburn; and Silk Stockings (1957), with Cyd Charisse.
Perhaps the greatest popular dancer of his time, Astaire combined a technical mastery with a sense of ease and good humor. In 1949 his film work was recognized with a special Academy Award. The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences recognized Astaire with a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989. His autobiography is titled Steps in Time (1959).