CCfan, I suggest that you attempt to see Joan Bennett in the noir classics "Woman in the Window" and "Scarlet Street" both directed by Fritz Lang. Miss Bennett was proud of her work in those films.
Tallulahfan, there is no doubt that Bennett did her best in each of the roles that she was cast. By the way, she has 4 daughters.
In The Spotlight Redux
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charliechaplinfan
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
In the Spotlight: EUGENE PALLETTE
The great, rotund, frog-voiced character actor Eugene Pallette was born to theatrical parents, on July 8, 1889 in Winfield, Kansas.
Having previously trouped as a child and worked as a streetcar conductor and a jockey, in 1910 Pallette became a touring stock company performer again, entering films as an extra and working his way to lead roles in one and two-reel adventure films and westerns in less than a month.
His film debut was in a 1910 short subject. In 1913 he made at least fifteen films -- the earliest of which appears to have been "The Tattooed Arm".
Pallette took a break during World War I to serve in the military. When he came back to films around 1920, he was too fat for leading roles at this time, a far cry from his slim, athletic figure. His portly build would gain him fame later in his career.
After gaining a substantial amount of weight, Pallette's status as a recognizable character actor rose. In 1927, Pallette signed as a regular for Hal Roach Studios, and was a reliable comic foil in several early Laurel and Hardy films before the advent of talkies. In later years, Pallette's weight may have topped out at 300 pounds.
Best remembered for his distinctive voice which was often described as "froggy", made him one of Hollywood's most sought-after character actors in the 1930s and 1940s.
Pallette with William Powell (center) in a Philo Vance feature (early 1930s)
In his best films Pallette made his fatness seem like a sign of moderation and common sense. As Friar Tuck in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938) or Fray Felipe in "The Mark of Zorro" (1940), he shows that a fat priest is no heartless zealot but understands the sins of the flesh.
Pallette as Friar Tuck in "The Advenrures of Robin Hood"
Playing a tubby millionaire like the beer baron in "The Lady Eve" or Alexander Bullock in "My Man Godfrey" (1936), Pallette uses his girth to create a common touch.
Pallette as Alexander Bullock
A discombobulated Eugene Pallette, the morning after.
Pallette with Robert Donat in "The Ghost Goes West" (1935)
Pallette, looking for a wig-wam? Ugh!
His over 200 films also include, "Border Town", "The Ghost Goes West", "The Golden Arrow", "Topper", "One Hundred Men and a Girl", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", "Young Tom Edison", "The Bride Came C.O.D.", "The Male Animal", "The Big Street", "Heaven Can Wait", "Pin Up Girl", among many others.
Pallette with Barbara Stanwyck in "The Lady Eve"
Some other films in which Eugene Pallette co-starred, (above).
Pallette with Louis Calhern, Spring Byington & Marjorie Main in "Heaven Can Wait"
Pallette with Jeanne Crain (in bed) & Mary Nash in "In the Meantime, Darling" (1944). This film would be Pallette's downfall due to a very unpleasant incident (see profile below).
Pallette in "The Castaway" aka "The Cheaters" (1945)
After World War II his ultra-right-wing political views fuelled his 'bomb' paranoia and he bought a property in Oregon which he turned into a well-stocked compound in case the Russians attacked. Many of his old Hollywood friends, including Clark Gable, visited him there (some came to hunt and fish) but the property was later sold.
In 1944 Pallette played Jeanne Crain's wealthy father in "In the Meantime, Darling", and during the filming a startling and ugly incident took place. According to director Otto Preminger, a scene took place in the kitchen where Pallette and black actor Clarence Muse were to have a conversation. Muse was seated at the table and Preminger directed Pallette to make his entrance and then sit down beside Muse. "You're out of your mind" said Pallette. "I won't sit next to a n-----"! Preminger went to producer Darryl F. Zanuck and had him fired. Although most of his scenes had been shot, he was written out of what was left. Word spead around Hollywood that the actor was an obnoxious racist, and he was quickly blacklisted by the major studios.
Images of Eugene Pallette (note the dapper actor in the lower left corner).
In increasingly ill health by his late fifties, Pallette made fewer and fewer movies, and for lesser studios. His final film, "Suspense", was released in 1946.
His second marriage lasted 22 years until his death from cancer at age 65 in 1954. He is buried in an unmarked grave next to his parents at Green Lawn Cemetery, Kansas.
The inimitable character actor has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The great, rotund, frog-voiced character actor Eugene Pallette was born to theatrical parents, on July 8, 1889 in Winfield, Kansas.
Having previously trouped as a child and worked as a streetcar conductor and a jockey, in 1910 Pallette became a touring stock company performer again, entering films as an extra and working his way to lead roles in one and two-reel adventure films and westerns in less than a month.
His film debut was in a 1910 short subject. In 1913 he made at least fifteen films -- the earliest of which appears to have been "The Tattooed Arm".
Pallette took a break during World War I to serve in the military. When he came back to films around 1920, he was too fat for leading roles at this time, a far cry from his slim, athletic figure. His portly build would gain him fame later in his career.
After gaining a substantial amount of weight, Pallette's status as a recognizable character actor rose. In 1927, Pallette signed as a regular for Hal Roach Studios, and was a reliable comic foil in several early Laurel and Hardy films before the advent of talkies. In later years, Pallette's weight may have topped out at 300 pounds.
Best remembered for his distinctive voice which was often described as "froggy", made him one of Hollywood's most sought-after character actors in the 1930s and 1940s.
Pallette with William Powell (center) in a Philo Vance feature (early 1930s)
In his best films Pallette made his fatness seem like a sign of moderation and common sense. As Friar Tuck in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938) or Fray Felipe in "The Mark of Zorro" (1940), he shows that a fat priest is no heartless zealot but understands the sins of the flesh.
Pallette as Friar Tuck in "The Advenrures of Robin Hood"
Playing a tubby millionaire like the beer baron in "The Lady Eve" or Alexander Bullock in "My Man Godfrey" (1936), Pallette uses his girth to create a common touch.
Pallette as Alexander Bullock
A discombobulated Eugene Pallette, the morning after.
Pallette with Robert Donat in "The Ghost Goes West" (1935)
Pallette, looking for a wig-wam? Ugh!
His over 200 films also include, "Border Town", "The Ghost Goes West", "The Golden Arrow", "Topper", "One Hundred Men and a Girl", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", "Young Tom Edison", "The Bride Came C.O.D.", "The Male Animal", "The Big Street", "Heaven Can Wait", "Pin Up Girl", among many others.
Pallette with Barbara Stanwyck in "The Lady Eve"
Some other films in which Eugene Pallette co-starred, (above).
Pallette with Louis Calhern, Spring Byington & Marjorie Main in "Heaven Can Wait"
Pallette with Jeanne Crain (in bed) & Mary Nash in "In the Meantime, Darling" (1944). This film would be Pallette's downfall due to a very unpleasant incident (see profile below).
Pallette in "The Castaway" aka "The Cheaters" (1945)
After World War II his ultra-right-wing political views fuelled his 'bomb' paranoia and he bought a property in Oregon which he turned into a well-stocked compound in case the Russians attacked. Many of his old Hollywood friends, including Clark Gable, visited him there (some came to hunt and fish) but the property was later sold.
In 1944 Pallette played Jeanne Crain's wealthy father in "In the Meantime, Darling", and during the filming a startling and ugly incident took place. According to director Otto Preminger, a scene took place in the kitchen where Pallette and black actor Clarence Muse were to have a conversation. Muse was seated at the table and Preminger directed Pallette to make his entrance and then sit down beside Muse. "You're out of your mind" said Pallette. "I won't sit next to a n-----"! Preminger went to producer Darryl F. Zanuck and had him fired. Although most of his scenes had been shot, he was written out of what was left. Word spead around Hollywood that the actor was an obnoxious racist, and he was quickly blacklisted by the major studios.
Images of Eugene Pallette (note the dapper actor in the lower left corner).
In increasingly ill health by his late fifties, Pallette made fewer and fewer movies, and for lesser studios. His final film, "Suspense", was released in 1946.
His second marriage lasted 22 years until his death from cancer at age 65 in 1954. He is buried in an unmarked grave next to his parents at Green Lawn Cemetery, Kansas.
The inimitable character actor has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In the Spotlight: BETTY GARRETT
The sunny singer, dancer and comic actress, belonged to the golden era of the movie musical. She was born Betty Garrett on May 23, 1919, in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Betty Garrett trained at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse and, undecided between drama and dance, tried both, acting with Orson Welles' famed Mercury Theatre and performing with Martha Graham's dance company.
For Garrett, musical comedy seemed a happy compromise. When she was performing with the American Youth Theatre, Mike Todd saw her and signed her to understudy Ethel Merman in "Something For The Boys".
Other Broadway shows followed including "Jackpot", "Laffing Room Only", and "Call Me Mister", where her rendition of "South America, Take It Away" won her the Donaldson Award, the forerunner of the Tony Award.
She married actor Larry Parks in 1944, star of "The Jolson Story" (1946) and "Jolson Sings Again" (1949).
Garrett with husband Larry Parks
Garrett moved to California where she made her film debut as Shoo Shoo Grady in the Margaret O'Brien film "Big City", and co-starred in the popular MGM musicals "On the Town", "Take Me Out To The Ball Game", "Words and Music", "Neptune's Daughter", and "My Sister Eileen".
Garrett with George Murphy in her film debut "Big City" (1948)
Garrett as Shoo Shoo Grady in "Big City"
[Garrett with Mickey Rooney (above) and (below) with Cyd Charisse, Perry Como, Betty Garrett, & Rooney
Garrett knitting on the set of "Words and Music" with actor Tom Drake
Garrett (right) , Keenan Wynn & Esther Williams in "Neptune's Daughter"
Garrett with John Barrymore Jr. in "Shadow on the Window" (1957)
In 1951 she was at the top of her game when the Communist scare in the 1950s brought her career to a screeching, ugly halt.
Larry Parks became one of the blacklisted "Hollywood 19" to be brought before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Although Garrett was never accused, her Hollywood career suffered because of her husband's predicament. She found out to her happy surprise that the blacklist did not extend to Las Vegas or New York City.
A cd album with numerous movie musical songs by Miss Garrett.
On the road with Betty and Larry (1952) during the blacklisting.
Garrett and Parks formed a musical team and toured nightclubs and theatres in the United States and England. Part of the reasons the couple started acting in England was because of her husband being black listed, which also affected her career, making it hard for them to work in the states.
Garrett & late husband Larry Parks, an ideal couple to the end
Sadly, in 1975 after 30 years of marriage, Larry Parks died of a heart attack at age 60.
Betty carried on, and today, she is probably best known for a pair of roles in two prominent 1970s sitcoms, "All in the Family" playing Archie Bunker's socially liberal next-door neighbor, Irene Lorenzo (for which she won an Emmy Award) and on "Laverne and Shirley" as Edna Babish, landlady of the ditzy duo.
She also was nominated for an Emmy Award for a guest stint on "Becker".
When not appearing in musicals or films and stage, she has played non-musical roles, starring in plays such as "A Girl Could Get Lucky", "Miss Reardon Drinks A Little", and "Plaza Suite".
The versatile and still lovely Betty Garrett
Miss Garrett has never remarried, and at age 88 and the mother of two sons, composer Garrett Parks and actor Andrew Parks, she remains as active as ever.
The diversified performer got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003.
Receiving her star on the walk of fame with Beau & Jeff Bridges & Rod McKuen at her side.
Quoted: Garrett admitted to having a major crush on her co-star Jack Lemmon in the musical comedy "My Sister Eileen" in 1955. But she insisted that nothing happened as they were both "very solidly married at that time".
The sunny singer, dancer and comic actress, belonged to the golden era of the movie musical. She was born Betty Garrett on May 23, 1919, in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Betty Garrett trained at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse and, undecided between drama and dance, tried both, acting with Orson Welles' famed Mercury Theatre and performing with Martha Graham's dance company.
For Garrett, musical comedy seemed a happy compromise. When she was performing with the American Youth Theatre, Mike Todd saw her and signed her to understudy Ethel Merman in "Something For The Boys".
Other Broadway shows followed including "Jackpot", "Laffing Room Only", and "Call Me Mister", where her rendition of "South America, Take It Away" won her the Donaldson Award, the forerunner of the Tony Award.
She married actor Larry Parks in 1944, star of "The Jolson Story" (1946) and "Jolson Sings Again" (1949).
Garrett with husband Larry Parks
Garrett moved to California where she made her film debut as Shoo Shoo Grady in the Margaret O'Brien film "Big City", and co-starred in the popular MGM musicals "On the Town", "Take Me Out To The Ball Game", "Words and Music", "Neptune's Daughter", and "My Sister Eileen".
Garrett with George Murphy in her film debut "Big City" (1948)
Garrett as Shoo Shoo Grady in "Big City"
[Garrett with Mickey Rooney (above) and (below) with Cyd Charisse, Perry Como, Betty Garrett, & Rooney
Garrett knitting on the set of "Words and Music" with actor Tom Drake
Garrett (right) , Keenan Wynn & Esther Williams in "Neptune's Daughter"
Garrett with John Barrymore Jr. in "Shadow on the Window" (1957)
In 1951 she was at the top of her game when the Communist scare in the 1950s brought her career to a screeching, ugly halt.
Larry Parks became one of the blacklisted "Hollywood 19" to be brought before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Although Garrett was never accused, her Hollywood career suffered because of her husband's predicament. She found out to her happy surprise that the blacklist did not extend to Las Vegas or New York City.
A cd album with numerous movie musical songs by Miss Garrett.
On the road with Betty and Larry (1952) during the blacklisting.
Garrett and Parks formed a musical team and toured nightclubs and theatres in the United States and England. Part of the reasons the couple started acting in England was because of her husband being black listed, which also affected her career, making it hard for them to work in the states.
Garrett & late husband Larry Parks, an ideal couple to the end
Sadly, in 1975 after 30 years of marriage, Larry Parks died of a heart attack at age 60.
Betty carried on, and today, she is probably best known for a pair of roles in two prominent 1970s sitcoms, "All in the Family" playing Archie Bunker's socially liberal next-door neighbor, Irene Lorenzo (for which she won an Emmy Award) and on "Laverne and Shirley" as Edna Babish, landlady of the ditzy duo.
She also was nominated for an Emmy Award for a guest stint on "Becker".
When not appearing in musicals or films and stage, she has played non-musical roles, starring in plays such as "A Girl Could Get Lucky", "Miss Reardon Drinks A Little", and "Plaza Suite".
The versatile and still lovely Betty Garrett
Miss Garrett has never remarried, and at age 88 and the mother of two sons, composer Garrett Parks and actor Andrew Parks, she remains as active as ever.
The diversified performer got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003.
Receiving her star on the walk of fame with Beau & Jeff Bridges & Rod McKuen at her side.
Quoted: Garrett admitted to having a major crush on her co-star Jack Lemmon in the musical comedy "My Sister Eileen" in 1955. But she insisted that nothing happened as they were both "very solidly married at that time".
Joseph Goodheart
Additional info regarding Betty Garrett:
Both she and Larry Parks were Godparents to actor Jeff Bridges.
In 2007 she was in the movie "Trail of the Screaming Forehead" with her son Andrew Parks, about a small town infestation of crawling alien foreheads. YIKES!
Betty also ventured into directing with Arthur Miller's "The Price" at Theatre West. Her effort gained critical acclaim.
She wrote her autobiography "Betty Garrett and Other Songs : A Life on Stage and Screen" which got good reviews, and is still available.
Both she and Larry Parks were Godparents to actor Jeff Bridges.
In 2007 she was in the movie "Trail of the Screaming Forehead" with her son Andrew Parks, about a small town infestation of crawling alien foreheads. YIKES!
Betty also ventured into directing with Arthur Miller's "The Price" at Theatre West. Her effort gained critical acclaim.
She wrote her autobiography "Betty Garrett and Other Songs : A Life on Stage and Screen" which got good reviews, and is still available.
Joseph Goodheart
In the Spotlight: CLIFTON WEBB
The distinguished , pompous actor was born Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck in a rural part of Marion County, Indiana on November 19, 1889.
His parents were Jacob Grant Hollenbeck, the son of a grocer and Maybelle A. Parmelee, the daughter of a railroad conductor.
In 1892, Webb's formidable mother, Maybelle, moved to New York with her beloved "little Webb", as she called him for the remainder of her life. She dismissed questions about her husband Jacob, a ticket clerk who, by saying, "We never speak of him. He didn't care for the theater."
Privately tutored, Webb started taking dance and acting lessons at the age of five. He made his stage debut at seven in the impressive setting of Carnegie Hall by performing with the New York Children's Theater.
This success was followed by a vaudeville tour and succeeded by leading roles as "Oliver Twist" and Tom Sawyer in "Huckleberry Finn".
A dapper Clifton Webb, Broadway stage actor and dancer
By the age of nineteen, Webb had become a professional ballroom dancer and, taking the stage name "Clifton Webb", sang and danced in about two dozen operettas before debuting on Broadway.
The 1920s saw Clifton Webb in no less than eight Broadway shows, numerous other stage appearances, including vaudeville, and a handful of silent films.
It was Clifton Webb who first introduced Irving Berlin's classic song
"Easter Parade" on the Broadway stage
In 1925, Webb appeared on stage in a dance act with vaudeville star and silent film actress Mary Hay. Later that year, when she and her husband, actor Richard Barthelmess, decided to produce and star in their own film vehicle "New Toys", they chose Webb to be second lead. The movie proved to be financially successful, but 19 more years would pass before Webb appeared in another feature film.
Webb's mainstay was the Broadway theatre. Between 1913 and 1947, the tall and slender performer who sang in a clear, gentle tenor, appeared in 23 Broadway shows.
Most of Webb's Broadway shows were musicals, but he also starred in Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest", and his longtime friend Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit" and "Present Laughter", in parts that Coward wrote with Webb in mind.
After "New Toys" and another 1925 silent "The Heart of a Siren", he was classified as a character actor and stereotyped as a fussy, effete snob.
Webb was in his mid-fifties when actor/director Otto Preminger chose him over the objections of 20th Century Fox chief Darryl F. Zanuck to play the classy, but evil, radio columnist Waldo Lydecker, who is obsessed with Gene Tierney's character in the 1944 film noir "Laura".
His performance was showered with acclaim and made him an unlikely movie star.
Dana Andrews, Vincent Price, Gene Tierney, & Webb in "Laura" (1944)
Mark Stevens & Clifton Webb in film-noir "The Dark Corner" (1946)
Despite Zanuck's original objection, Webb was immediately signed to a long-term contract with Fox. Two years later he was reunited with Tierney in another highly praised role as the elitist Elliott Templeton in "The Razor's Edge". He received Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for both films.
Gene Tierney, Tyrone Power, Herbert Marshall, Webb, Anne Baxter & Lucile Watson in "The Razor's Edge". Webb won a Golden Globe Award as Elliott Templeton
Webb received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1949 for "Sitting Pretty", the first in a three-film series of comedic "Mr. Belvedere" features with Webb portraying the snide and omniscient central character.
Webb as Mr. Belvedere with Raymond C. Hair Jr. in "Sitting Pretty" (1948).Webb received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for this role.
In 1950's film "Cheaper by the Dozen", Webb and Myrna Loy played Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, real-life efficiency experts of the 1910s and 1920s, and the parents of 12 children. The film's success led to a sequel, "Belles on Their Toes", without Webb.
Webb's other movie roles include "The Dark Corner", "For Heaven's Sake", "Elopement", "Dreamboat", "Stars and Stripes Forever" a biography of bandmaster John Philip Sousa.
In 1953 he had his most dramatic role as the doomed husband of unfaithful Barbara Stanwyck in "Titanic", followed by "Mister Scoutmaster", "Three Coins in the Fountain", "Woman's World", "The Man Who Never Was", "Boy on a Dolphin", second-billed to Alan Ladd, with third-billed Sophia Loren, "The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker", and "Holiday for Lovers".
With Jane Wyman in "Holiday for Lovers"
Webb's elegant taste kept him on Hollywood's best-dressed lists for decades. Even though he exhibited comically foppish mannerisms in portraying Mr. Belvedere and other movie characters, his scrupulous private life kept him free of scandal.
Bogart on Webb's lap next to Laurence Olivier at one of Webb's shindigs
Webb was a friend and Broadway co-star of lesbian singer Libby Holman. Webb and his mother used to take frequent vacations with Holman, and they would remain friends until the mid-1940s.
In fact, the character of Lynn Belvedere is said to have been very close to his real life—he had an almost Oedipal-like extreme devotion to his mother Maybelle, who was his companion and who lived with him until her death at age 91. Although he was gay, he might be better defined as asexual, given that the object of his love and tenderness was his mother.
The couple were inseparable, and often held gatherings at their home, often attended by the top stars of Hollywood.
After Maybelle's death Webb's mourning for his mother continued for a year with no signs of letting up and in a fit of comic exasperation Noel Coward is said to have finally told Webb, "It must be difficult to be orphaned at 70, Clifton."
But the twilight had arrived for Webb's life and career. Inconsolable in his grief, he completed a final role as an initially sarcastic, but ultimately self-sacrificing Catholic priest in Leo McCarey's "Satan Never Sleeps".
Webb spent the remaining five years of his life as an ill recluse at his home in Beverly Hills, California, succumbing to a heart attack on October 13, 1966 at the age of 76. He is interred at the Abbey of the Psalms in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Clifton Webb has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard.
The part that got away: Ayn Rand wanted him to play suave villain Ellsworth Toohey in the 1949 adaptation of "The Fountainhead" and indeed it would have been superb casting (and might have significantly improved a flawed film), but studio chiefs vetoed this idea.
The distinguished , pompous actor was born Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck in a rural part of Marion County, Indiana on November 19, 1889.
His parents were Jacob Grant Hollenbeck, the son of a grocer and Maybelle A. Parmelee, the daughter of a railroad conductor.
In 1892, Webb's formidable mother, Maybelle, moved to New York with her beloved "little Webb", as she called him for the remainder of her life. She dismissed questions about her husband Jacob, a ticket clerk who, by saying, "We never speak of him. He didn't care for the theater."
Privately tutored, Webb started taking dance and acting lessons at the age of five. He made his stage debut at seven in the impressive setting of Carnegie Hall by performing with the New York Children's Theater.
This success was followed by a vaudeville tour and succeeded by leading roles as "Oliver Twist" and Tom Sawyer in "Huckleberry Finn".
A dapper Clifton Webb, Broadway stage actor and dancer
By the age of nineteen, Webb had become a professional ballroom dancer and, taking the stage name "Clifton Webb", sang and danced in about two dozen operettas before debuting on Broadway.
The 1920s saw Clifton Webb in no less than eight Broadway shows, numerous other stage appearances, including vaudeville, and a handful of silent films.
It was Clifton Webb who first introduced Irving Berlin's classic song
"Easter Parade" on the Broadway stage
In 1925, Webb appeared on stage in a dance act with vaudeville star and silent film actress Mary Hay. Later that year, when she and her husband, actor Richard Barthelmess, decided to produce and star in their own film vehicle "New Toys", they chose Webb to be second lead. The movie proved to be financially successful, but 19 more years would pass before Webb appeared in another feature film.
Webb's mainstay was the Broadway theatre. Between 1913 and 1947, the tall and slender performer who sang in a clear, gentle tenor, appeared in 23 Broadway shows.
Most of Webb's Broadway shows were musicals, but he also starred in Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest", and his longtime friend Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit" and "Present Laughter", in parts that Coward wrote with Webb in mind.
After "New Toys" and another 1925 silent "The Heart of a Siren", he was classified as a character actor and stereotyped as a fussy, effete snob.
Webb was in his mid-fifties when actor/director Otto Preminger chose him over the objections of 20th Century Fox chief Darryl F. Zanuck to play the classy, but evil, radio columnist Waldo Lydecker, who is obsessed with Gene Tierney's character in the 1944 film noir "Laura".
His performance was showered with acclaim and made him an unlikely movie star.
Dana Andrews, Vincent Price, Gene Tierney, & Webb in "Laura" (1944)
Mark Stevens & Clifton Webb in film-noir "The Dark Corner" (1946)
Despite Zanuck's original objection, Webb was immediately signed to a long-term contract with Fox. Two years later he was reunited with Tierney in another highly praised role as the elitist Elliott Templeton in "The Razor's Edge". He received Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for both films.
Gene Tierney, Tyrone Power, Herbert Marshall, Webb, Anne Baxter & Lucile Watson in "The Razor's Edge". Webb won a Golden Globe Award as Elliott Templeton
Webb received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1949 for "Sitting Pretty", the first in a three-film series of comedic "Mr. Belvedere" features with Webb portraying the snide and omniscient central character.
Webb as Mr. Belvedere with Raymond C. Hair Jr. in "Sitting Pretty" (1948).Webb received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for this role.
In 1950's film "Cheaper by the Dozen", Webb and Myrna Loy played Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, real-life efficiency experts of the 1910s and 1920s, and the parents of 12 children. The film's success led to a sequel, "Belles on Their Toes", without Webb.
Webb's other movie roles include "The Dark Corner", "For Heaven's Sake", "Elopement", "Dreamboat", "Stars and Stripes Forever" a biography of bandmaster John Philip Sousa.
In 1953 he had his most dramatic role as the doomed husband of unfaithful Barbara Stanwyck in "Titanic", followed by "Mister Scoutmaster", "Three Coins in the Fountain", "Woman's World", "The Man Who Never Was", "Boy on a Dolphin", second-billed to Alan Ladd, with third-billed Sophia Loren, "The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker", and "Holiday for Lovers".
With Jane Wyman in "Holiday for Lovers"
Webb's elegant taste kept him on Hollywood's best-dressed lists for decades. Even though he exhibited comically foppish mannerisms in portraying Mr. Belvedere and other movie characters, his scrupulous private life kept him free of scandal.
Bogart on Webb's lap next to Laurence Olivier at one of Webb's shindigs
Webb was a friend and Broadway co-star of lesbian singer Libby Holman. Webb and his mother used to take frequent vacations with Holman, and they would remain friends until the mid-1940s.
In fact, the character of Lynn Belvedere is said to have been very close to his real life—he had an almost Oedipal-like extreme devotion to his mother Maybelle, who was his companion and who lived with him until her death at age 91. Although he was gay, he might be better defined as asexual, given that the object of his love and tenderness was his mother.
The couple were inseparable, and often held gatherings at their home, often attended by the top stars of Hollywood.
After Maybelle's death Webb's mourning for his mother continued for a year with no signs of letting up and in a fit of comic exasperation Noel Coward is said to have finally told Webb, "It must be difficult to be orphaned at 70, Clifton."
But the twilight had arrived for Webb's life and career. Inconsolable in his grief, he completed a final role as an initially sarcastic, but ultimately self-sacrificing Catholic priest in Leo McCarey's "Satan Never Sleeps".
Webb spent the remaining five years of his life as an ill recluse at his home in Beverly Hills, California, succumbing to a heart attack on October 13, 1966 at the age of 76. He is interred at the Abbey of the Psalms in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Clifton Webb has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard.
The part that got away: Ayn Rand wanted him to play suave villain Ellsworth Toohey in the 1949 adaptation of "The Fountainhead" and indeed it would have been superb casting (and might have significantly improved a flawed film), but studio chiefs vetoed this idea.
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charliechaplinfan
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moira finnie
- Administrator
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Hi Joe,
I'm delighted to see the imperious Mr. Clifton Webb featured here, but I have a few questions:
Could you or anyone else tell me if any of Clifton Webb's pre-Laura films still exist? Has anyone ever seen any of them?
The only ones with comments on IMDb indicating that they still exist seems to be The Still Alarm with the great Fred Allen as Webb's partner in comedy and Polly With a Past. Boy I'd love to see these. Here's a list of his early films from IMDb:
The Still Alarm (1930)
The Heart of a Siren (1925) .... Maxim
... aka The Heart of a Temptress
New Toys (1925) .... Tom Lawrence
Let Not Man Put Asunder (1924) (uncredited) .... Major Bertie
Polly with a Past (1920) (uncredited) .... Harry Richardson
What was Webb's relationship with Libby Holman? Lover? Friend? Mentor? Drinking Buddy? Father Confessor?
Thanks!
I'm delighted to see the imperious Mr. Clifton Webb featured here, but I have a few questions:
Could you or anyone else tell me if any of Clifton Webb's pre-Laura films still exist? Has anyone ever seen any of them?
The only ones with comments on IMDb indicating that they still exist seems to be The Still Alarm with the great Fred Allen as Webb's partner in comedy and Polly With a Past. Boy I'd love to see these. Here's a list of his early films from IMDb:
The Still Alarm (1930)
The Heart of a Siren (1925) .... Maxim
... aka The Heart of a Temptress
New Toys (1925) .... Tom Lawrence
Let Not Man Put Asunder (1924) (uncredited) .... Major Bertie
Polly with a Past (1920) (uncredited) .... Harry Richardson
What was Webb's relationship with Libby Holman? Lover? Friend? Mentor? Drinking Buddy? Father Confessor?
Thanks!
CCfan, of all the research I did on Clifton Webb, there was no mention that Valentino replaced him on the dance circuit, although it could be a fact.
Moira, unfortunately I'm not certain if any of Clifton Webb's silent films sill exist, although I have a feeling that a few are out there...somewhere.
I myself would like to see "The Heart of a Siren", and "New Toys".
I would imagine that "The Still Alarm" from 1930 is available.
Moira, unfortunately I'm not certain if any of Clifton Webb's silent films sill exist, although I have a feeling that a few are out there...somewhere.
I myself would like to see "The Heart of a Siren", and "New Toys".
I would imagine that "The Still Alarm" from 1930 is available.
Joseph Goodheart
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charliechaplinfan
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CCfan, thanks for confirming that Valentino replaced Webb on the dance circuit. That is certainly a switch.
And Moira, I doubt of libby Holman and Webb were lovers. I would imagine just good friends and drinking buddies, including mother Maybelle, of course. This trio must have been a hoot.
And Moira, I doubt of libby Holman and Webb were lovers. I would imagine just good friends and drinking buddies, including mother Maybelle, of course. This trio must have been a hoot.
Joseph Goodheart
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moira finnie
- Administrator
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- Joined: April 9th, 2007, 6:34 pm
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Hey Mongo,
Thanks for the update about Libby Holman & Webb (and of course, the ubiquitous Mrs. Webb). Bet they had some late nights and painful mornings in one another's company.
I share your wish that Webb could've lent his hauteur to Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. He might have brought the movie a needed jolt of humor to put all the heavy breathing in some perspective! Yes, I know that many, many people revere this movie. I just wish I could claim to be one of them.
Btw, I enjoy the fact that you've included one of the most striking examples of beautiful graphic design in that simple, evocative poster for The Man Who Never Was as well as one of the most godawful "all-over-the-map" posters I've ever seen for Boy on a Dolphin. Who told the guy who painted Ladd & Loren taking a romantic dip in the water that he knew anything about anatomy?
*lol*...thanks for the chortle I had over that one...
The above comment is not intended as a criticism of you, Mongo--merely an observation. I appreciate seeing both examples of graphic advertising.
Thanks for the update about Libby Holman & Webb (and of course, the ubiquitous Mrs. Webb). Bet they had some late nights and painful mornings in one another's company.
I share your wish that Webb could've lent his hauteur to Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. He might have brought the movie a needed jolt of humor to put all the heavy breathing in some perspective! Yes, I know that many, many people revere this movie. I just wish I could claim to be one of them.
Btw, I enjoy the fact that you've included one of the most striking examples of beautiful graphic design in that simple, evocative poster for The Man Who Never Was as well as one of the most godawful "all-over-the-map" posters I've ever seen for Boy on a Dolphin. Who told the guy who painted Ladd & Loren taking a romantic dip in the water that he knew anything about anatomy?
*lol*...thanks for the chortle I had over that one...The above comment is not intended as a criticism of you, Mongo--merely an observation. I appreciate seeing both examples of graphic advertising.
Thank you for your input, Moira, which is always interesting.
No doubt that Webb would have improved an otherwise dull movie had he played Ellsworth Toohey in "The Fountainhead".
And yes, the movie poster examples are to extremes with "Boy on a Dolphin" much too busy, and "The Man Who Never Was" plain and simple.
Alas neither film was a hit at the boxoffice.
No doubt that Webb would have improved an otherwise dull movie had he played Ellsworth Toohey in "The Fountainhead".
And yes, the movie poster examples are to extremes with "Boy on a Dolphin" much too busy, and "The Man Who Never Was" plain and simple.
Alas neither film was a hit at the boxoffice.
Joseph Goodheart
In the Spotlight: PEGGIE CASTLE
The tall, sultry, green-eyed blonde was born Peggy Thomas Blair on December 22, 1927 in Appalachia, Virginia.
Her father was director of industrial relations for a large corporation, and Peggy attended a private school in Pittsburgh.
After a series of moves, her father became studio manager of the Goldwyn Studios and the family settled in Hollywood.
Peggy attended Hollywood High School, and lying about her age gets modeling assignments, and is an usherette at the Hollywood Bowl.
After 2 years of college she works on a radio soap opera.
Castle was discovered by a talent scout while eating in a restaurant in Beverly Hills. She is signed up with Universal International studio and is cast in bit parts. Loaned out to another studio she plays Bette Davis' daughter in "Payment on Demand", and is on her way specializing in playing the "other woman" in B-movies and tagged 'the poor man's Claire Trevor'.
Peggie Castle publicity shot
In her films, she was usually somebody's "woman" rather than a girlfriend and her career was confined to colorful co-features including, "The Prince Who was a Thief", "The Golden Horde", "Harem Girl", "Invasion USA", "The Yellow Tomahawk", "Target Zero", "The Oklahoma Woman", "The Counterfeit Plan", "Beginning of the End", "Back from the Dead", etc.
Peggie with Gerald Mohr in "Invasion USA" (1952)
Two good film noir's from 1953
Castle taking charge in "Jesse James' Women" (1954)
Castle with Anthony Quinn in "The Long Wait" (1954)
Castle with Randolph Scott in "Tall Man Riding"
Rory Calhoun, Peter Graves, & Castle in "The Yellow Tomahawk"
A sudsy Peggie in "The White Orchid" (1954)
Some films of merit are "Bright Victory", "I, the Jury", "The White Orchid", "99 River Street", "Miracle in the Rain", and "Seven Hills of Rome" with Mario Lanza.
With Richard Conte in a 1955 film.
Richard Denning & Peggie Castle as "The Oklahoma Woman" (1956)
Peggie with a cheating-on-his-wife Fred Clark in "Miracle in the Rain" (1956)
With Zachary Scott in 1957.
Peggie with Peter Graves in "Beginning of the End" (1957)
Peggie in her final movie "Seven Hills of Rome" with Mario Lanza (right)
Castle then moved to television, and in 1956, starred in the pilot for a TV spy series called "Assignment: Mexico". The series, if it had been accepted by CBS, would have been shot on location and in color, but the network did not exercise its option.
She had better luck where she played the major character Lily Merrill, the owner of the Birdcage Saloon in the television western series "Lawman" from 1959 to 1962. Not a singer, she found herself singing in every third episode of the series.
She dated Audie Murphy and was married twice by the age of 24, and with her third husband director William McGarry produced a daughter Erin born in 1963.
She would marry once more in 1970, and widowed within two years.
She left show business in 1962, and later developed an alcohol problem (spent time at Camarillo Sate Hospital). Sadly, never quite content with life, she subsequently became an alcoholic. She died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1973 at only 45 years of age.After her death at age 45, Peggie was cremated and her ashes were scattered.
Peggie Castle reportedly uttered one of the more infamous one-liners in Hollywood history when working on the set of a B-Western which had a terrible script, director, and working conditions. "Who do I have to sleep with to get out of this picture?" was Peggie's purported cry.
The beauty has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The tall, sultry, green-eyed blonde was born Peggy Thomas Blair on December 22, 1927 in Appalachia, Virginia.
Her father was director of industrial relations for a large corporation, and Peggy attended a private school in Pittsburgh.
After a series of moves, her father became studio manager of the Goldwyn Studios and the family settled in Hollywood.
Peggy attended Hollywood High School, and lying about her age gets modeling assignments, and is an usherette at the Hollywood Bowl.
After 2 years of college she works on a radio soap opera.
Castle was discovered by a talent scout while eating in a restaurant in Beverly Hills. She is signed up with Universal International studio and is cast in bit parts. Loaned out to another studio she plays Bette Davis' daughter in "Payment on Demand", and is on her way specializing in playing the "other woman" in B-movies and tagged 'the poor man's Claire Trevor'.
Peggie Castle publicity shot
In her films, she was usually somebody's "woman" rather than a girlfriend and her career was confined to colorful co-features including, "The Prince Who was a Thief", "The Golden Horde", "Harem Girl", "Invasion USA", "The Yellow Tomahawk", "Target Zero", "The Oklahoma Woman", "The Counterfeit Plan", "Beginning of the End", "Back from the Dead", etc.
Peggie with Gerald Mohr in "Invasion USA" (1952)
Two good film noir's from 1953
Castle taking charge in "Jesse James' Women" (1954)
Castle with Anthony Quinn in "The Long Wait" (1954)
Castle with Randolph Scott in "Tall Man Riding"
Rory Calhoun, Peter Graves, & Castle in "The Yellow Tomahawk"
A sudsy Peggie in "The White Orchid" (1954)
Some films of merit are "Bright Victory", "I, the Jury", "The White Orchid", "99 River Street", "Miracle in the Rain", and "Seven Hills of Rome" with Mario Lanza.
With Richard Conte in a 1955 film.
Richard Denning & Peggie Castle as "The Oklahoma Woman" (1956)
Peggie with a cheating-on-his-wife Fred Clark in "Miracle in the Rain" (1956)
With Zachary Scott in 1957.
Peggie with Peter Graves in "Beginning of the End" (1957)
Peggie in her final movie "Seven Hills of Rome" with Mario Lanza (right)
Castle then moved to television, and in 1956, starred in the pilot for a TV spy series called "Assignment: Mexico". The series, if it had been accepted by CBS, would have been shot on location and in color, but the network did not exercise its option.
She had better luck where she played the major character Lily Merrill, the owner of the Birdcage Saloon in the television western series "Lawman" from 1959 to 1962. Not a singer, she found herself singing in every third episode of the series.
She dated Audie Murphy and was married twice by the age of 24, and with her third husband director William McGarry produced a daughter Erin born in 1963.
She would marry once more in 1970, and widowed within two years.
She left show business in 1962, and later developed an alcohol problem (spent time at Camarillo Sate Hospital). Sadly, never quite content with life, she subsequently became an alcoholic. She died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1973 at only 45 years of age.After her death at age 45, Peggie was cremated and her ashes were scattered.
Peggie Castle reportedly uttered one of the more infamous one-liners in Hollywood history when working on the set of a B-Western which had a terrible script, director, and working conditions. "Who do I have to sleep with to get out of this picture?" was Peggie's purported cry.
The beauty has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Joseph Goodheart
In the Spotlight: FRANKIE DARRO
The little tough guy was born Frank Johnson on
December 22, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois.
His parents were The Flying Johnsons, a flying circus act and it was a profession that his father attempted to train him in since Frankie apparently could stand on his head and hands soon after he could walk. This child of veteran circus performers was a natural but Frank's fear of heights became a problem.
In 1922, while the circus was in California, his parents separated. Their circus act ended with their marriage. One unconfirmed story indicates that his mother may have been having an affair with the third party of the aerialist act. It’s also very possible that Frankie’s father was very bitter about this development, and may have refused her any access to the boy from then on.
The growing film industry, however, found a use for a small child who could do his own stunts and, renamed Frankie Darro, he appeared in his first film at the age of six.
Frankie Darro, Silent Screen Star (above examples)
Frankie’s natural talent and charming screen presence made him a staple in silent films throughout the 20's. The list of silent films he appeared in includes no less than 70 titles. Sadly, most of Frankie’s silent film appearances have been lost.
One notable performance which fortunately was not lost is Frankie’s very brief but adorable appearance in "Flesh and the Devil" (1926), co-starring John Gilbert and Greta Garbo (see below).
He was very prolific actor as an adolescent. His convincing delivery of dialogue and his obvious comfort before the cameras kept him steadily employed. 1931 was the year in which Frankie started working in serials and carved a niche in this genre. By this time Frankie was starting to display some of the characteristics which would become familiar in many of his movies, of which one was his ability to cry, sometimes even going from being happy to being sad in a moment. Another was his wink.
Darro, a tough guy into the 1930s and '40s of film.
Darro in the serial "The Wolf Dog" with Rin Tin Tin Jr. (1933)
Darro with Marie Dressler in "Tugboat Annie" (1933)
At 14 years old, although the characters he played on screen were more like 10 or 11 (Frankie always looked young for his age and his short stature added to this). Regarding teenage girls Frankie wasn’t repressed, and suffice it to say Frankie was not the innocent little boy he usually portrayed on screen.
In the 1930's it was not uncommon for movie stars to make vaudeville tours to promote themselves and their films. Frankie became engaged to a young lady by the name of Virginia Gumm while touring with vaudeville in the late days of the Depression, but the engagement didn’t last. Virginia was the sister of the future Judy Garland.
His most important role of the 1930s was the lead in "Wild Boys of the Road", director William Wellman's indictment of aimless teens vagabonding across America during the Depression. Other features included, "Public Enemy", "The Sin of Madelon Claudet", "The Mad Genius", "Three on a Match", "Tugboat Annie" with Marie Dressler, "No Greater Glory", "Little Men", "Three Kids and a Queen" with May Robson, "Black Gold", "Saratoga", etc.
Burke (center) in his most popular film "Wild Boys of the Road"
Dorothy Coonan, Darro, & Edwin Phillips in "Wild Boys of the Road" (1933)
Darro with Colbert & Gable on the set of "It Happened One Night"
Darro, May Robson & Charlotte Henry in "Three Kids and a Queen" (1935)
Darro (left) in "Boys' Reformatory" (1939)
Darro's wiry, athletic frame and at 5'1 often typecast him as jockeys. He plays crooked riders in "Charlie Chan at the Race Track" and "A Day at the Races". He once said that he should have been paid by the mile.
In 1938 Darro joined Monogram Pictures to star in a series of action melodramas. Darro's flair for comedy gradually increased the laugh content in these films, and by 1940 African-American comic actor Mantan Moreland was hired to play his sidekick. The Frankie Darro series was so successful that Monogram used it as a haven for performers whose own series had been discontinued: Jackie Moran, Marcia Mae Jones, and Keye Luke joined Darro and Moreland in 1940, and Gale Storm would be added in 1941. He also voiced the role of Lampwick who turned into a donkey on Pleasure Island in Disney's "Pinocchio".
Darro signed up and served in the Navy during World War II. He went through boot training and Hospital Corps School at San Diego Naval Training Station. While overseas Frankie spent most of his time in Surgery and acquired a first-hand knowledge of the need for blood plasma and whole blood.
Upon his return, Monogram welcomed him back and cast the perennially youthful Darro in its "Teen Agers" campus comedies. When that series lapsed, the studio gave Darro featured roles in its popular Bowery Boys comedies.
Leo Gorcey, Mary Gordon & Darro in "Angel's Alley" (1948)
In the 1950s he appeared in "Riding High", "A Life of Her Own", "Across the Wide Missouri", "Westward the Women" as the short groom-to-be, "Pat and Mike", "Operation Petticoat" and hid inside "Robby the Robot" for the science-fiction film "Forbidden Planet".
Darro on the set of "Operation Petticoat" (1959)
Darro (lying down) with Cary Grant in "Operation Petticoat"
Darro was an accomplished athlete and performed stunts for other actors. He appeared dressed as an old lady on the Red Skelton TV show several times, among other episodes of TV series.
The Red Skelton Show with Darro as the 'Little Old Lady"
As film roles became fewer for Darro, he opened his own tavern called "Try Later" after the reply he was given most often when he was asking Central Casting for work with ex-Hollywood agent Lee Carroll on Santa Monica Boulevard. This proved unwise, as Darro became a victim of alcoholism, bringing his long screen career to a close.
In 1939, Frankie was married to actress Aloha Wray and divorced some time before 1943.
Darro with first wife Aloha Wray (1939)
Frankie's second marriage was to Betty Marie Morrow on March 16, 1943. Their daughter, Darlene Ada Darro, was born on January 25, 1946. Frankie and Betty were originally going to call her Daphne. The marriage would only last five years, ending in a bitter divorce.
Darro with wife Betty & daughter Darlene
Daddy Darro and daughter Darlene
In 1951 he married Dorathy Carroll, a union that would endure for 25 years.
On Christmas Day in 1976, while visiting his stepdaughter Christy's home with Dorathy in Huntington Beach, California, Frankie Darro died suddenly of a heart attack in the driveway. He was 59 years old.
Frankie Darro 1917 - 1976
In close to 200 films little tough guy Frankie Darro certainly found his place in motion pictures.
The little tough guy was born Frank Johnson on
December 22, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois.
His parents were The Flying Johnsons, a flying circus act and it was a profession that his father attempted to train him in since Frankie apparently could stand on his head and hands soon after he could walk. This child of veteran circus performers was a natural but Frank's fear of heights became a problem.
In 1922, while the circus was in California, his parents separated. Their circus act ended with their marriage. One unconfirmed story indicates that his mother may have been having an affair with the third party of the aerialist act. It’s also very possible that Frankie’s father was very bitter about this development, and may have refused her any access to the boy from then on.
The growing film industry, however, found a use for a small child who could do his own stunts and, renamed Frankie Darro, he appeared in his first film at the age of six.
Frankie Darro, Silent Screen Star (above examples)
Frankie’s natural talent and charming screen presence made him a staple in silent films throughout the 20's. The list of silent films he appeared in includes no less than 70 titles. Sadly, most of Frankie’s silent film appearances have been lost.
One notable performance which fortunately was not lost is Frankie’s very brief but adorable appearance in "Flesh and the Devil" (1926), co-starring John Gilbert and Greta Garbo (see below).
He was very prolific actor as an adolescent. His convincing delivery of dialogue and his obvious comfort before the cameras kept him steadily employed. 1931 was the year in which Frankie started working in serials and carved a niche in this genre. By this time Frankie was starting to display some of the characteristics which would become familiar in many of his movies, of which one was his ability to cry, sometimes even going from being happy to being sad in a moment. Another was his wink.
Darro, a tough guy into the 1930s and '40s of film.
Darro in the serial "The Wolf Dog" with Rin Tin Tin Jr. (1933)
Darro with Marie Dressler in "Tugboat Annie" (1933)
At 14 years old, although the characters he played on screen were more like 10 or 11 (Frankie always looked young for his age and his short stature added to this). Regarding teenage girls Frankie wasn’t repressed, and suffice it to say Frankie was not the innocent little boy he usually portrayed on screen.
In the 1930's it was not uncommon for movie stars to make vaudeville tours to promote themselves and their films. Frankie became engaged to a young lady by the name of Virginia Gumm while touring with vaudeville in the late days of the Depression, but the engagement didn’t last. Virginia was the sister of the future Judy Garland.
His most important role of the 1930s was the lead in "Wild Boys of the Road", director William Wellman's indictment of aimless teens vagabonding across America during the Depression. Other features included, "Public Enemy", "The Sin of Madelon Claudet", "The Mad Genius", "Three on a Match", "Tugboat Annie" with Marie Dressler, "No Greater Glory", "Little Men", "Three Kids and a Queen" with May Robson, "Black Gold", "Saratoga", etc.
Burke (center) in his most popular film "Wild Boys of the Road"
Dorothy Coonan, Darro, & Edwin Phillips in "Wild Boys of the Road" (1933)
Darro with Colbert & Gable on the set of "It Happened One Night"
Darro, May Robson & Charlotte Henry in "Three Kids and a Queen" (1935)
Darro (left) in "Boys' Reformatory" (1939)
Darro's wiry, athletic frame and at 5'1 often typecast him as jockeys. He plays crooked riders in "Charlie Chan at the Race Track" and "A Day at the Races". He once said that he should have been paid by the mile.
In 1938 Darro joined Monogram Pictures to star in a series of action melodramas. Darro's flair for comedy gradually increased the laugh content in these films, and by 1940 African-American comic actor Mantan Moreland was hired to play his sidekick. The Frankie Darro series was so successful that Monogram used it as a haven for performers whose own series had been discontinued: Jackie Moran, Marcia Mae Jones, and Keye Luke joined Darro and Moreland in 1940, and Gale Storm would be added in 1941. He also voiced the role of Lampwick who turned into a donkey on Pleasure Island in Disney's "Pinocchio".
Darro signed up and served in the Navy during World War II. He went through boot training and Hospital Corps School at San Diego Naval Training Station. While overseas Frankie spent most of his time in Surgery and acquired a first-hand knowledge of the need for blood plasma and whole blood.
Upon his return, Monogram welcomed him back and cast the perennially youthful Darro in its "Teen Agers" campus comedies. When that series lapsed, the studio gave Darro featured roles in its popular Bowery Boys comedies.
Leo Gorcey, Mary Gordon & Darro in "Angel's Alley" (1948)
In the 1950s he appeared in "Riding High", "A Life of Her Own", "Across the Wide Missouri", "Westward the Women" as the short groom-to-be, "Pat and Mike", "Operation Petticoat" and hid inside "Robby the Robot" for the science-fiction film "Forbidden Planet".
Darro on the set of "Operation Petticoat" (1959)
Darro (lying down) with Cary Grant in "Operation Petticoat"
Darro was an accomplished athlete and performed stunts for other actors. He appeared dressed as an old lady on the Red Skelton TV show several times, among other episodes of TV series.
The Red Skelton Show with Darro as the 'Little Old Lady"
As film roles became fewer for Darro, he opened his own tavern called "Try Later" after the reply he was given most often when he was asking Central Casting for work with ex-Hollywood agent Lee Carroll on Santa Monica Boulevard. This proved unwise, as Darro became a victim of alcoholism, bringing his long screen career to a close.
In 1939, Frankie was married to actress Aloha Wray and divorced some time before 1943.
Darro with first wife Aloha Wray (1939)
Frankie's second marriage was to Betty Marie Morrow on March 16, 1943. Their daughter, Darlene Ada Darro, was born on January 25, 1946. Frankie and Betty were originally going to call her Daphne. The marriage would only last five years, ending in a bitter divorce.
Darro with wife Betty & daughter Darlene
Daddy Darro and daughter Darlene
In 1951 he married Dorathy Carroll, a union that would endure for 25 years.
On Christmas Day in 1976, while visiting his stepdaughter Christy's home with Dorathy in Huntington Beach, California, Frankie Darro died suddenly of a heart attack in the driveway. He was 59 years old.
Frankie Darro 1917 - 1976
In close to 200 films little tough guy Frankie Darro certainly found his place in motion pictures.