THE BOX OFFICE STARS: 1940

I wanted to start a new feature where I spotlight and remember the top ten box office champs of each year. It was great to see some of my favorite stars on here.

For this edition we are spotlighting 1940. The box office champ for that year was none other than Mickey Rooney...

BIGGEST STARS OF 1940

1. MICKEY ROONEY

2. SPENCER TRACY

3. CLARK GABLE

4. GENE AUTRY

5. TYRONE POWER

6. JAMES CAGNEY

7. BING CROSBY

8. WALLACE BEERY

9. BETTE DAVIS

10. JUDY GARLAND

                     

                                                       

CELEBRITY ADS: GINGER ROGERS

Here is the always beautiful and glamourous Ginger Rogers in an 1942 advertisement for make-up. It's a great ad, and it also publicized her new movie with Cary Grant called Once Upon A Honeymoon...

RIP: TERRY JONES

Monty Python star Terry Jones has died at the age of 77, his agent has said.

The Welsh comic actor, writer and director died on Monday after having lived with dementia since 2016.

A statement from his family said: "We are deeply saddened to have to announce the passing of beloved husband and father, Terry Jones."

Fellow Python Sir Michael Palin described Jones as "one of the funniest writer-performers of his generation".

He died with his wife Anna Soderstrom by his side after "a long, extremely brave but always good humoured battle with a rare form of dementia, FTD."

Palin said: "Terry was one of my closest, most valued friends. He was kind, generous, supportive and passionate about living life to the full.

"He was far more than one of the funniest writer-performers of his generation, he was the complete Renaissance comedian - writer, director, presenter, historian, brilliant children's author, and the warmest, most wonderful company you could wish to have."


Jones appeared in the TV series Monty Python's Flying Circus and films as a range of characters including "Two Sheds" Jackson, Cardinal Biggles of the Spanish Inquisition and Mr Creosote.

He directed the comedy collective's movie The Holy Grail in 1975 with fellow Python Terry Gilliam, as well as The Meaning Of Life in 1983.

The family thanked Jones' "wonderful medical professionals and carers for making the past few years not only bearable but often joyful".

They said: "We hope that this disease will one day be eradicated entirely. We ask that our privacy be respected at this sensitive time and give thanks that we lived in the presence of an extraordinarily talented, playful and happy man living a truly authentic life, in his words 'Lovingly frosted with glucose.'"

MISSED OBITS: NICO CHARISSE

I am sad to report that Nico Charisse, the last surviving child of dancer Cyd Charisse died this past October. I regret that I did not learn about this sooner. Nico had a tough life in later years, and may he rest in peace.

Here is his obituary:
Nico Finklea Charisse, 77, of Los Angeles, California, passed away on Monday October 28, 2019, in Lakewood, California. He was born to Nico and Cyd Charisse on May 7, 1942 in Los Angeles, California. Nico was a veteran of the Army and served as Second Lieutenant at Camp San Luis Obispo. During his time there he fell in love with the San Luis Obispo area and later moved his family from Beverly Hills to Atascadero, California.

After the military, Nico received his Juris Doctor degree and practiced law until the early 2000s.

Nico spent his retirement living along the beautiful Kern River, a place where he had enjoyed fishing and camping throughout his life. Nico is survived by his children, daughter Gabrielle (Tom) McDougall of Long Beach, California. Son, Nico L. Charisse of Paso Robles, California. His grandchildren; Hailey, Nick, Ethan, Taylor, Ella, and Jackson and a brother, Marc Charisse of Spring Grove, Pennsylvania.

Nico is preceded in death by wife Sheilah Snodgrass Charisse, brother Tony Martin Jr., step-father Tony Martin Sr., and his parents. A graveside service will be held at Glen Haven Memorial Park in Sylmar, California on Saturday, November 9, 2019 at noon...

Here is an article I wrote on Nico Charisse Jr back in January of 2015...

Nico Charisse Jr: A Hollywood Offspring Story

BORN ON THIS DAY: JOAN CARROLL

Today marks what would have been the birthday of actress Joan Carroll. Joan Carroll was one of the smart child actresses that retired before she had "outgrew" her time in Hollywood. Carroll was born Joan Marie Felt to Wright and Freida Felt on January 18, 1931. Her father was a government electrical engineer, and her mother was a club and stage pianist. Carroll took dramatic lessons when she was very young and was performing locally by age 4. Her family moved to California in 1936, where she received a bit part in The First Baby (1936).

Between 1937 and 1940 she appeared in supporting roles in several movies. Her big break came the 1940 film, Primrose Path, as Ginger Rogers's younger sister, for which she won a Critics Award. The same year she became the first child star to be summoned from Hollywood in order to appear in the leading role in a Broadway musical, Panama Hattie, which ran from October 30, 1940 to January 3, 1942.

Carroll became RKO Radio Pictures' resident juvenile personality in both "A" and "B" pictures. RKO starred Carroll in the leading role with Ruth Warrick in two zany comedy vehicles, Obliging Young Lady (1941) and Petticoat Larceny (1943). She continued to work in films as an adolescent, but less frequently. Two of her best-remembered pictures came from this period: Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) as Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien's sister, and The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), in which she played a troubled teenager alongside Bing Crosby's Father O'Malley character.

After The Bells of St. Mary's in 1945, Carroll retired. She married in 1951 to James Joseph Krack; the couple had four children. She and her brother donated a historic family lamp to the Nevada State Museum on July 7, 2011.The lamp was originally given to her father, Wright Felt, who was the Public Works Administrator for Nevada at the time the Hoover Dam was built. The lamp was created out of materials used in the construction of the 155-mile, $900,000 power line to the Hoover Dam, and was presented to him by the Lincoln County Power District No. 1 on September 25, 1937, for his assistance with the project.

Carroll died on November 16, 2016 near her home in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, aged 85. She was survived by her husband, their four children and extended family...

A TRIBUTE TO CAROL CHANNING - ONE YEAR LATER

It has been one year since we lost Broadway superstar Carol Channing (1921-2019). She is gone but she never will be forgotten...

THE LAST DAYS OF CHARLES BOYER

It seems like that suicide is on the rise in this country. The stress of everyday life is hard for some people. There seems to be so much pain that people have to deal with. Some people can not deal with it. Suicide affects all social classes, and Hollywood is not immune to the epidemic of Hollywood. There are countless stories of Hollywood stories, but an especially sad story is that of Charles Boyer.

Charles Boyer was a French actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American films during the 1930s. His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised, in romantic dramas such as The Garden of Allah (1936), Algiers (1938), and Love Affair (1939), as well as the mystery-thriller Gaslight (1944). He received four Academy Award nominations for Best Actor.

In the seventies, Boyer went for a health check-up and suggested his wife (Pat Boyer) did the same. Pat was diagnosed with inoperable colon and liver cancer and was given a year to live. Boyer kept this from her and the coupled moved to Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Arizona, for what she believed was his health. Boyer read constantly to his wife as she became sicker. He refused to have nurses take care of his wife. Charles took care of her exclusively.  On August 24, 1978, at 3am, she died aged 67 of the disease, as Boyer hold her hand. Boyer was grief-stricken and two days later he took an overdose of Seconal. He died in hospital in Phoenix. He was buried next to his wife and next to their son. His son son believing himself a loser, had committed suicide, in 1965 with a 38 calibre revolver. He was only 22 years old.

Charles Boyer did not leave a suicide note, but he was despondent on losing his beloved love after 44 years of marriage. His wife Pat had been his devote wife during his Hollywood triumphs and some of the tragedy that seemed to follow them both. For Boyer, the suicide ended his suffering and pain. He made his last movie appearances in 1974, but I hope fans remember him for his roles, and not the way he died. His suicide did not define who he was. It was a way to end it on his own terms. The end of Charles Boyer was both sad and brave. It was romantic as well, like so many of his roles, because he had to be back with his wife once again...