Hollywood salutes

the crowned heads of Europe …

….those who inherited their crown…those who took the throne by force….and those who lost their heads in the endeavor!

Born: July 1 st, 1899 in Scarborough , Yorkshire , England Died: December 15 th, 1962 in Hollywood , California at age 63
Cause of death: cancer of the gall bladder.
Real name: Charles Laughton
Marriages: One to actress Elsa Lanchester that lasted 33 years until his death.

Remarks: It’s been said that Hollywood has been much more respectful of the sins of British royalty than those of their French counterparts but, since this film was made in England , it retains its British irreverence. This is possibly Laughton’s finest performance and one that won him an Oscar. His wife Elsa Lanchester played Anne of Cleves in the film, the wife that escaped Henry’s guillotine. Laughton also played Henry VIII in “Young Bess” (1953) with Jean Simmons in the title role. Two other compelling roles: Captain Bligh in “Mutiny on the Bounty” in 1935 and Sir Wilfrid Robarts in “Witness for the Prosecution” (1957).

Born: April 5 th, 1908 in Lowell, Massachusetts
Died: October 6 th, 1989 in Neuilly , France at age 81.
Cause of death: metastasized breast cancer
Real name: Ruth Elizabeth Davis
Marriages: Four, three ending in divorce. Her second husband Arthur Farnsworth died leaving her a widow. A daughter was born to her third marriage to William Grant Sherry and two children were adopted during her fourth to Gary Merrill.

Remarks: This film was originally titled
“ Elizabeth the Queen” but Jack Warner deferred to actor Errol Flynn who insisted the title be changed so that his character Essex had equal billing. The bitterness between the stars never abated. Flynn felt Bette was accorded better scenes and camera angles and she never got over getting Errol instead of Olivier. Sixteen years later Bette reprised the role of Elizabeth I again in “The Virgin Queen”(1955) where she spent her time with Richard Todd as Sir Walter Raleigh.

(More on Bette Davis in Issue #17)

Born: May 26 th 1908 in Semley, Wilshire , England
Died: June 3 rd, 1992 in Wargrave, Berkshire , England at age 84
Cause of death: stroke
Real name: Robert Adolph Wilton Morley
Marriages: One to Joan Buckmaster (1940-1992) until his death. They had 3 children.

Remarks: Robert Morley was a seasoned veteran of royal roles. After his film debut in “Marie Antoinette”, Morley went on to play England ’s George III ( “Beau Mrummel” 1954), France ’s Louis XI (“Quentin Durward” 1955) and even the Emperor of China (“Genghis Khan” 1965) as well as a large assortment of dukes, lords and earls. He had been educated in European schools by parents who wanted him to go into the diplomatic service but acting claimed him instead. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made his stage debut in London 9 years before playing the lead in “Oscar Wilde” on Broadway. Morley’s mother-in-law was actress Gladys Cooper.

Born: August 10 th, 1902 in Montreal , Canada
Died: June 12 th, 1983 at Woodland Hills, Los Angeles , California … age 80
Cause of death: pneumonia
Real name: Edith Norma Shearer
Marriages: Two. The first to Irving Thalberg lasted 9 years until his death in 1936. They had 2 children. The second to Martin Arrouge lasted 41 years until her death. No children.

Remarks: Norma was 36 years old when she made this film and a widow for two years. She planned to retire but MGM had other ideas. She made 6 more films before leaving the screen. This film was the most elaborate production to date at MGM with a ballroom larger than the real one at Versailles and costumes designed by Adrian for over 1200 extras. But, alas, all of it was done in black and white. Shearer gave a fine performance as the Austrian princess who lost her head to the French revolution.

Born: April 16 th, 1921 in Swiss Cottage, London , England
Died: March 28 th, 2004 in Genolier, Vaud , Switzerland at age 82
Cause of death: heart failure
Real name: Peter Alexander von Ustinov Marriages: Three, two ending in divorce. His second to actress Suzanne Cloutier lasted 17 years and produced 3 children. His third lasted 32 years until his death.

Remarks: Sir Peter (he was knighted in 1990) was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this role and also received a Golden Globe. Many consider it his best performance even though later he took home the gold idol for “Spartacus” (1960) and “Topkapi” (1964). Ustinov, the son of a British spy and a Russian artist, spoke 7 languages fluently. In the 1960s he became a Swiss citizen to avoid British taxes. From 1969 until he died, Peter served as UNICEF Goodwill ambassador and made it his prime concern.

Born: September 18 th, 1905 in Stockholm, Sweden
Died: April 15 th, 1990 in New York City, New York at age 84
Cause of death: pneumonia
Real name: Greta Lovisa Gustafsson
Marriages: None

Remarks: This was the first film ever created specifically for Garbo. It was another sumptuous MGM spectacle with fact and fiction interwoven into a very moving story and produced some of the most moving scenes Garbo would ever play. It was also John Gilbert’s last big role as he and Greta were reunited on screen after 5 years at her request. But it was Greta’s picture all the way and the finale was considered to be one of the best in the history of both cinema and cinematography.

Born: May 22 nd, 1907 in Dorking, Sussex, England
Died: July 11 th, 1989 in West Sussex, England at age 82.
Cause of death: complications from a muscle disorder
Real name: Laurence Kerr Olivier
Marriages: Three, all to actresses. The first to Jill Esmond lasted 12 years before ending in divorce. They had 1 son. The second to Vivien Leigh lasted 20 years and they divorced in 1960. The third to Joan Plowright ended after 28 years with his death. They had 3 children.

Remarks: Olivier also produced and directed this film(his first attempt at directing) and it won him a special Academy Award. He only directed himself in two other films (“Richard III” in 1958 and “The Prince and the Showgirl” 1957) but neither topped the critical success of his first. Olivier was considered to be one of the finest Shakespearean actors of his time but decried all the pomp and circumstance of his celebrity. Even after he was knighted in 1970 and became Sir Laurence, he insisted on being called “Larry”.

Born: December 27 th, 1901 in Berlin-Schomberg, Germany
Died: May 6 th, 1992 in Paris, France at age 90
Cause of death: kidney failure
Real name: Maria Magdalena Dietrich von Losch
Marriages: One to Rudolph Sieber that lasted 52 years until his death. They had one daughter, Maria.

Remarks: Dietrich plays the role of the Austrian princess in the Russian court in the years before her ascent to the throne. It was next to the last film Marlene would do with her mentor, Josef Von Sternberg. But the film compared unfavorably with the critically acclaimed “Catherine the Great” made earlier that year in Britain starring Elisabeth Bergner. Richard Watts of The Herald-Tribune called it “a particularly, cruel satire….That love scene in the haystack supplies the wildest farce of the season”.

(Find out more about Marlene Dietrich in
Issue # 7 )

Born: August 25 th, 1909 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England
Died: June 10 th, 1971 in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England at age 61
Cause of death: emphysema
Real name: Eric Alexander Rennie
Marriages: Two, both ending in divorce. His second marriage to actress Maggie McGrath produced on son, David.

Remarks: Michael’s role as the French general focuses more on his relationship with Desiree Clary (Jean Simmons) and his military exploits than his eventual ascent to the throne of Sweden. The film was based on the captivating and true story written by Annemarie Selinko about the French seamstress, once engaged to Napoleon (Marlon Brando), who marries Bernadotte and eventually becomes Queen Desideria of Sweden. Bernadotte, adopted by the childless and aging Charles XIII, became Charles XIV founder of the current Swedish royal dynasty. Few could have played the role as flawlessly as Rennie.

Born: February 19 th, 1911 in India \
Died: November 23 rd, 1979 in Malibu, California at age 68
Cause of death: massive stroke
Real name: Estelle Merle O’Brien Thompson
Marriages: Four, three ending in divorce. Her first to director/producer Alexander Korda lasted 6 years, her second to cinematographer Lucien Ballard lasted 4 years and her third to Bruno Pagliai lasted 14 years. They adopted 2 children. The fourth to Robert Wolder lasted until her death.

Remarks: Merle got noticed in her first “royal” role as Anne Boleyn in “The Private Life of Henry VIII” (1933) and lost her pretty head. In 1937 Her career almost ended in a London auto crash four years later but thankfully she was left with only slight facial scars. A special camera, the “Obie” was designed for her by cinematographer Lucien Ballard (who she later married ) to reduce the slight imperfections. When given the role of Josephine, she was still popular and radiantly beautiful even though she had only made one other picture in 6 years.

Born: August 2 nd, 1932 in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland
Real name: Peter Seamus O’Toole
Marriages: One to Sian Phillips that lasted 20 years before ending in divorce. They have 2 daughters. O’Toole also has a son, Lorcan from his relationship with model Karen Brown.

Remarks: Peter was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his role as Henry II in this film and again for the same role in “A Lion in Winter” (1968) but, alas, no statuette in either case. The son of a racetrack bookie, Peter made his acting debut at the Bristol Old Vic in 1955 but stunned the world with his superb performance as “Lawrence of Arabia” in 1962. He was nominated the first time by the Academy for this role but no Oscar. However, Peter’s biggest challenge was off the screen when he won a battle against stomach cancer. He is currently working on 3 films.

Born: May 12 th, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut
Died: June 29 th, 2003 in Old Saybrook, Connecticut at age 96
Cause of death: natural causes
Real name: Katharine Houghton Hepburn
Marriages: One to Ludlow Ogden Smith that lasted 14 years before ending in divorce. But she had a longtime relationship with Spencer Tracy that lasted over 25 years until his death in 1967.

Remarks: Katharine first played a queen in “Mary of Scotland” but, like Mary, the film “lost its head” at the box office. Hepburn won her first Oscar for “Morning Glory” in 1933 and went on to win 12 nominations and 4 Oscars including this one. Once considered to be box office poison, she headed for Broadway where she played the lead in Philip Barry’s “The Philadelphia Story” and returned to Hollywood with the movie rights. The picture broke box office records and Kate was on top again.