Soon after, she signed a contract with James Cagneys production company, and continued to ride the wave of good fortune with significant roles in the western films Dallas (1950) with Gary Cooper, and Only the Valiant in 1951, with Gregory Peck. Robert Sterling of Topper fame pulls out some mistletoe for a kiss from his wife, Anne Jeffreys. Additionally, throughout the 1960s, she interspersed her variety show appearances with strong dramatic turns in theatrical films and on numerous episodes of series such as Route 66. During Old Hollywoods heyday from the 1930s to the late 1950s, lavish musicals, screwball comedies, and later, wartime dramas, dominated the screen. In his first film, he played the sullen Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights (1939). She also ventured into stage work but it was her film career that was her main claim to fame. The role garnered her first Best Actress Oscar. Shortly after their 1956 wedding, Marilyn Monroe and her second husband, playwright Arthur Miller, stand in the unkempt garage of their Roxbury, Connecticut, estate. That same year, she worked with Raymond Burr in Bride of the Gorilla (full movie below). Take a trip back in time with these iconic photos of Old Hollywood on the set: Jean Harlow epitomized old-school Tinseltown glamour with her cupids bow mouth, dramatic eyeliner, and platinum blonde curls. Arthur Street, actress Anne Baxter, dancer Tamara Geva, and Count Woronzov toast at the Sherry Netherland, in celebration of the Russian New Year. With her iconic looks and wispy voice, Marilyn Monroe defined the classic Hollywood actress. She also landed roles in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and Sweet Bird of Youth in the early 60s that earned her nominations for the Academy Award. Years before actress Heather Angel voiced Mary Darling in the original Peter Pan, she posed as the Easter Bunny. Ross later went on to marry Sam Elliot in 1984 and has been with him ever since. She is holding Rags, a Pembroke Welsh corgi; the dog had been a gift from her former husband Frank Sinatra. James Stewart tops our list. She appeared in such 1950s films as Some Like It Hot, The Seven Year Itch, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Dramatic ruffled curtains screen the picture window, while the chairs sport a Victorian silhouette. Her father was a transportation worker, and Susan lived a fairly comfortable life as a child, but the precocious little redhead had no idea of the life that awaited her. Starting at the young age of 14, Anouk Aimee is a French actress that made her debut in 1946 in La Maison sous la mer where she played the role of Anouk and she liked the name so much she actually kept it for the rest of her career. Because of the trauma, her mother lavished on Diana anything and everything she wanted--clothes, toys and dance lessons were the order of the day. St Petersburg is the city Christopher Hitchens called "an apparent temple of civilization: the polished window between Russia and Europe the, "I never saw Eric Ravilious depressed. Actors tagged as '1950s' by the Listal community Born on a tobacco farm, where she got her lifelong love of earthy language and going barefoot, Ava grew up in the rural South. She hit her stride in the late 50s and was one of the leading ladies through the 1960s. Some actors who are well known for both film and TV work are also included in the list of American television actresses. Known mainly for her roles on hit shows like Petticoat Junction and My Three Sons, Meredith MacRae was the perfect example of the girl next door. The year before had been a big one for the child actress, who appeared in her first major feature film Stand Up and Cheer! Although she found a break in the justice system, no breaks would be forthcoming in her career and personal life as an eating disorder and brain damage(!) Her debut film was Ridere Ridere Ridere in 1954 but it was when she linked up with Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian film director, that she became internationally known. She started her career in off-Broadway plays, signing with the studio in 1930. --The George Burns And Gracie Allen Show-- 6. set in. In the mountains above Calcutta, a little princess is born. Cary Grant left school at age 14 to join a comedy troupe in his native England. Hes on the set here with director Alfred Hitchcock on Rear Window (1954). The accessories were made with pink straw, sweet peas, and turquoise bows. Actress June Allyson smiles at the camera during a heart-themed photoshoot. Raised on a ranch in Montana and in England, he began his screen career in silent films in 1925 and eventually won Oscars for his roles in Sergeant York (1941) and High Noon (1952). The following American film actresses are listed alphabetically. His personal life was as colorful as the characters he portrayed. The one at left, formerly owned by Pittsburgh steel tycoon G. David Thompson, was described by Douglas as a seated child with a squashed-in face and two eyes on the same side of her head. They made several films together. After escaping from the clinic, and a wild string of abuse and excess, McDonald was found dead in 1965 as a result of a drunken overdose. Hes (far left) collaborating with renowned composers George and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 musical Shall We Dance. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('Unit5'); }); Ms. McDonald entered the limelight with a successful string of beauty contest wins including Miss Yonkers, Queen of Coney Island and even Miss New York in 1939 but subsequently lost at the Miss America pageant. This list features 20 of the most well-known actresses of the '50s. Born in Sweden, Greta Garbo worked in a department store as a teen to support her impoverished, fatherless family. Hes shown here alongside hunky co-star Montgomery Clift. A Place in the Sun and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof are just a few of her films from the decade. Yet, for a while in the 1930s she ranked as one of America's most popular actresses, tagged the 'Queen of Warner Brothers'. Something snaps when an actress loses her looks and her career falters. Aimee went on to star in over 70 different films over the course of her career. One of her most recent films was The Butler which was critically acclaimed in almost every category. Brigitte's mother encouraged her daughter to take up music and dance, and she proved to be very adept at it. Learn more about our, 40 Iconic Photos of Old Hollywood Stars on Set. Her parents were well-to-do, with her father a successful attorney . I'm thinking of you" - Pablo Iglesias Maurer, At the end of October 1959 in the basement of 39 Gerrard Street - an unexceptional and damp space that was once a sort of rest room for taxi drivers and an occasional tea bar - Ronnie Scott opened his first jazz club. . She won Oscars for Dangerous (1935) and Jezebel (1938). However, most people will immediately recognize her from one of her most iconic roles where she played the perfect magical nanny, otherwise known as Mary Poppins in 1964. Asian art picked up on worldwide travels is tacked to a wall of actor John Waynes living room in the San Fernando Valley. Humphrey Bogart and his third wife, actress Mayo Methot, called their 1920s Los Angeles house Sluggy Hollowthe name alluded to their famously contentious relationship. Elsewhere in the house were, Burke recalled in her memoirs, eight highly articulate canaries.. Arricca Elin SanSone has written about health and lifestyle topics for Prevention, Country Living, Woman's Day, and more. Despite being just steps from a glamorous stretch of Central Park, James Deans studio apartment on West 68th Street in New York City was decidedly collegiate. Then, her public image was further tarnished by an performance at the White House, and a guilt-by-association with a soon-to-be dethroned Richard Nixon. One of the leading sex symbols of the 1950s and 1960s, film actress Jayne Mansfield was born Vera Jayne Palmer on April 19, 1933 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, the only child of Vera J. He and his first wife, Eine Greta Kukkonen, a Finnish former makeup artist, purchased a 1930s house designed by legendary architect Cliff May, famed for his ranch-style aesthetic and sophisticated appreciation of indoor-outdoor living. She appeared in many silent films and a series of small US films before being offered a role in Destry Rides Again, a 1939 American film starring Jimmy Stewart. Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. Long before streaming was a thing, people flocked to the movies to escape reality. She appeared in several silent movies before her first talkie in 1930 and starred in many 1930s movies including Mata Hari (1930) and Grand Hotel (1932). She was 17 years old and studying at the Centro Sperimentale in Rome when she entered a beauty contest, which resulted in her getting a succession of small film roles. As AD observed, the den was a place for casual entertaining and where family evenings, kids [the Pecks had three sons], and dogs [the couple had several Alsatians] were welcome., In 1938, actress Joan Bennett commissioned architect Wallace Neff to design her 14-room house in the west Los Angeles neighborhood of Holmby Hills in her favorite French Provincial style. With so many beautiful actresses to choose from, it's up to you to decide who should be . But it was after a screen test at 20th Century Fox that landed her a seven- year movie deal. By the mid-1930s, he was a huge star due to films such as It Happened One Night (1934), which won him an Oscar for Best Actor. When the show made it to Broadway in 1920, Grant found a new home in America. With her iconic looks and wispy voice, Marilyn Monroe defined the classic Hollywood actress. Marlene Dietrich began her career as a cabaret singer in 1920s Germany. Musicals and romantic comedies were still wildly popular throughout the decade, but suspense thrillers and dark dramas were also bringing in money at the box office. Louis Armstrong gets spooked while playing "Skeleton in the Closet," a song from the 1936 movie Pennies From Heaven. But it was eventually kicked into high gear again by his role in From Here to Eternity (1953), which earned him an Oscar. She also landed numerous television roles including a recent part on the Soap Opera, The Young and the Restless. Kelsea Ballerini Wore a See-Through Plunging Gown, Lainey Wilson Rocks the Stage in a Lacy Crop Top, A.J. Designed by architect William Stephenson, the residence was a state-of-the-art creation, thanks to Reagans job as host of the television show General Electric Theater. Heres is what 25 of the most talented and lovely actresses in Hollywood history looked like both then, and now! 2023 Cond Nast. 2. By the time she was 15, Brigitte was Jean Dorothy Seberg was born in Marshalltown, Iowa, to substitute teacher Dorothy Arline (Benson) and pharmacist Edward Waldemar Seberg. His early years in Susan Hayward was born Edythe Marrener in Brooklyn, New York, on June 30, 1917. From Cary Grant to Sophia Loren to Doris Day, here are 27 swoon-worthy stars from Hollywood's golden years. Destined to be called "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World", Gina possibly had St. Brigid as part of her surname. Here, shes having her hair done between takes on the set. This drop-dead gorgeous woman really shouldnt need any sort of introduction. He won a Best Oscar for his role in Going My Way (1944), but hes often remembered most for crooning the classic holiday anthem, White Christmas and starring in the film of the same name (1954). Here, she's on set with Gary Cooper in the 1931 film I Take This Woman. Considered a classic American beauty, shes having her makeup and hair done for her 1938 film College Swing. Celebrities You Think Are The Most Humble, Behind-The-Scenes Stories About Marlon Brando In 'Apocalypse Now', Actors Who Refused To Return For Sequels - And How The Movies Handled It. She was the daughter of Gertrud (Lichtwitz), from Budapest, and Emil Kiesler, a banker from Lember (now known as Lviv). Beneath an artificial dogwood tree, Joan Crawford and her fourth and final husband, Pepsi-Cola CEO Alfred N. Steele, relax on the plastic-covered sofas of their 18-room New York City duplex penthouse in the 1950s. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. The pair would co-star in eight movies together. She also had many other roles on TV and Broadway shows. No one nails a festive photoshoot like these icons. Actor and dancer Fred Astaire started out in vaudeville and Broadway at age 5 alongside his partner and sister, Adele, who was widely believed to be the more talented sibling. She was the daughter of a furniture manufacturer, and grew up in the pictorial mountain village. Here, Mitchum (right) plays checkers with his co-star Richard Hart on the set of the 1946 film, A Woman of My Own. Her father, Eduardo Cansino Reina, was a dancer as was his father before him. Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney split a giant wishbone in the spirit of Thanksgiving. In 1935, he had a child with his Call of the Wild co-star Loretta Young; because of the strict morality clauses in their contracts and the fact that Gable was married they kept the child secret. Ms. Payton got some Hollywood buzz via the 1949 film noir Trapped, with Lloyd Bridges. Well its safe to say that she made it. She leaves behind a rather miserable life in Wisconsin and gets a bit part in A Star is Born. Weve been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. She was born Mary Jane Hayes on March 6, 1930 in Charleston, West Virginia. Her autobiography I Am Not Ashamed (1963) tells of gang bangs, knifings, arrests for public drunkenness, heroin addiction, and the murder of an FBI informant. In a book that became to be known as 'The People of the Abyss' London described the time when he lived in the Whitechapel district sleeping in workhouses, so-called doss-houses and even on the streets. 3. He spent countless hours visiting the troops during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, as well as in Lebanon and the Persian Gulf. Marilyn Monroe sure knows how to rock a holiday photoshoot. All three works were eventually sold by the Douglases to fund childrens playgrounds. ), she had her first big hit in the 1941 movie Strawberry Blonde. She subsequently performed with the Oxford Diana Dors was born Diana Mary Fluck on October 23, 1931 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. Shirley Knight started her career in the late 50s as a Television actress on the hit western on NBC, Buckskin. Along with Ronnie himself and his, "It is time for art to flow into the organisation of life." Martha Hyer Martha Hyer The Golden Age of Hollywood reverberated with glamorous women in elegant gowns (Marilyn! As one of the neat-freak actresss decorators, Carleton Varney, once observed, There was more clear plastic on that furniture than was on the meat in an A&P supermarket. William Haines, Crawfords longtime friend, who had been a leading man during the silent era, originally decorated the apartment. Known for playing everyday men with real-life problems, James Stewart appeared in some of the most popular films of all-time in his over 50-year career. Looking back at some of the leading ladies of Hollywood during the 1960's, you can immediately recognize that some, if not most, of these talented and lovely ladies are still going strong in their careers, even as we speak, playing in a variety of different roles. With her huge eyes and gravelly voice, Bette Davis was not the stereotypical Hollywood star of the Golden Age. Who was the most popular actress of the 1950s? Marlene Dietrich and Cary Grant pose in the garden of the S.S. Normandie, the French ocean liner that took them from Europe back to America just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. Free shipping for many products! She landed the role as Jessica Fletcher in 1983 and continued through 1996. Purchased in the 1950s and adjacent to the country clubs seventeenth fairway, the two-and-a-half-acre property remained a family getaway until 1995. The actor lived in the rented space, off and on, from 1953 until his death in a car crash two years later. Shes on the set here in 1932. A group of rising stars in the '20sRichard Taber, Agnes Esterhazy, Liane Haide, Grit Haid, Walter Rilla, and painter Rauschercelebrate New Year's Eve together. Here, they rehearse their lines. She made her greatest film in 1960, Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita, opposite Marcello Mastroianni as his unattainable fantasy woman. Also in the 1980s, Joey was arrested for stabbing her manager/boyfriend in the hand and was busted for cocaine possession; however, the search through her purse was found illegal, and the case dismissed. She died on August 27, 1964 in . She performed in a handful of Foster's films, but she spent . Before she became a princess, Grace Kelly was known for her beauty and talent in Hollywood. She married Clark Gable in 1939, and she was flying back from a WW II war bonds rally in the Midwest when her plane crashed. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? On top of 7 marriages, she had affairs with 2 of Elizabeth Taylors ex-husbands and even mobster Bugsy Siegel. Trained as a dancer, Rita Hayworth was one of the most beautiful women of her time. Grace Kelly shines in an emerald strapless dress and white shawl during a St. Patrick's Day photoshoot in 1954. Her earthy Linda Darnell, one of five children of a postal clerk, grew up fast. Crooner and actor Bing Crosbys adobe house in Rancho Santa Fe, California, was the centerpiece of the entertainers 65-acre horse-breeding operationconveniently located near the Del Mar racetrack. His parents divorced when he was five years old. If you enjoy what we do, please consider becoming a patron with a recurring monthly subscription of your choosing. Petite and spunky, Audrey Hepburn has remained a fashion icon years after her death in 1993.