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Arabella Speaks out…..

Your Help….

Is urgently needed…..

This space was originally reserved for an article on Hollywood’s disaster movies over the years. But a disaster far more catastrophic occurred on December 26 in South Asia so we are postponing our story until a later date.

Instead we are asking you to open your hearts to the thousands of survivors left hungry and homeless in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that struck with such devastating force in that part of the world.

Donations can be made to your favorite participating charity or if you choose, contact www.usafreedomcorps.gov

And don’t forget to watch for our story on yesterday’s disaster movies in an upcoming issue.

A little mouse told me...

. Peggy Wood, the actress who played the role of Mother Superior “ The Sound of Music”, was once suspected of being a spy! Irving Thalberg, the boy executive at MGM, had all her outgoing mail opened because he feared that she was leaking studio information to the newly formed Screen Actors Guild.

Peggy Wood

. A bluish-white lilac with hints of pink was officially unveiled at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on April 28 th, 1990. On the name tag: “Syringa x hyacinthiflora ‘Blanche Sweet’”.Almost 5 months later and 4 years after her death, the ashes of silent star Blanche Sweet were scattered under the flowering shrub.

Blanche Sweet

and her Lilacs

. There was a rumor in Hollywood circles back in 1956 that Charlton Heston had won the role of Moses in Cecil B. De Mille’s “The Ten Commandments” because he had the broken nose for it. Apparently De Mille checked out Michelangelo’s statue of Moses and found the sculpture had the nose broken in the very same spot.

Charleston Heston

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Ask Arabella...

From Doyle Wegrzynek in Youngstown, Ohio….

“I am doing a class paper on 20 th century fields of entertainment and I chose Burlesque and Vaudeville. I need to know if fan dancer Sally Rand ever performed with a circus? How many movies did she make? ”

That should be an interesting paper, Doyle. Can I see it when you are finished?

Yes, Sally did a full season with Ringling Bros. Circus. As teenager Helen Gould Beck, she was performing acrobatic dancing at carnivals when they offered her the part. It was her ability to do rough and tumble stunts that propelled her into slapstick comedy shorts. Sally made over 26 films but when sound came along, her slight lisp ended her career. She is most remembered for her role as Mary Magdalene’s handmaiden in De Mille’s “King of Kings” (1927). It was De Mille who gave her the name of Sally Rand.

Sally made headlines in 1932 when she rode a white horse through the streets of Chicago as Lady Godiva to land a job at the Chicago World’s Fair. Her costume was always the same…two very large, very pink ostrich plume fans artfully placed to cover the very basic Sally. She kept dancing until just one year before she died…in 1979 at the age of 75.

Arabella

From Imelda Guzman in Espanola, New Mexico….

“ There is a short funny Latin actor that I have seen lots of times, mostly in Westerns, but I never catch his name. I watch movies mostly on tv and the credits go by too fast or aren’t even on at all. I just saw him again in “Support Your Local Gunfighter” and he has been on some John Wayne movies, too. Can you tell him who he is and if he is still around?”

That could only be Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez. Yes, that is his real last name (his first name is Ramiro) and he is still with us as far as I know. His latest film role was Uncle Jorge in “Ruby Cairo” (1993). Pedro made at least 8 movies with John Wayne including “The High and the Mighty”(1954), “Rio Bravo” (1959) and “McLintock” (1963) but his debut film was “Wings of the Hawk” in 1953 with Van Heflin.

Born in Texas to a poor family, G-G began his career early at age 9 as a dancer with his two sisters.. He received little schooling as a youngster and his early career was spent as a comedian in small Spanish-speaking theaters and clubs along the border. His big break came in 1952 as a guest on “you Bet Your Life” with Groucho Marx. The sponsor, Chrysler-Plymouth, was so pleased with the audience reaction he got that they wrote a letter to Pedro offering him a choice of their cars as a gift. G-G thought it was an advertisement and threw it away.

Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez has made 34 pictures to date. He is 78.

Arabella