—Natalie Wood, posing on her 1956 Ford Thunderbird
The beak was filled with flowers and spices.
Coffee in Kalandia, West Bank, 1967
Amore in Periferia, 1952
Kissing with Facemasks, Milan, March 8, 2020
Mississauga, ON, May 2019
—Linda Darnell
Tea, 1872
oil on wood
Dimensions: 26 x 18 7/8 in. (66 x 47.9 cm)
Purim, Mea She’arim, Jerusalem, 1978
—Paul Newman
Sophia Loren, 1955 on location for The Miller’s Beautiful Wife.
Smog in London, 1953
We used to see Natalie and RJ’s boat, “Splendor” at the Isthmus all the time. They had a mooring just east of the channel to the gas dock. I assume this is where they were that Thanksgiving weekend she drowned. Lots of conspiracy theories but getting drunk on the water is not a good idea. I did it a couple of times in the years I spent over there and was lucky. She wasn’t.
I was at Corsair Cove, just West of the Isthmus, one time and had too much to drink. I decided to paddle a sabot back to the boat and go to sleep. My son, who was about 5 at the time, decided he wanted to go with me. We paddled out to the boat and got aboard. When I realized in the morning what I had done, I decided to never drink too much again on the water. Yesterday was his 51st birthday.
Does being very drunk severely impede swimming ability? I guess it would.
The owl door – should have on the floor mat “Who’s There”
I think that ’68-68 Charger was one of the best looking cars Chrysler made – it was the bad guy’s car in the famous Bullet chase scene.
Wise words from both Natalie and Paul.
Knott’s Berry Farm – So Cal in the 20s was something. I told my father once he really grew up in an idyllic time in LA, Still remember your Hollywoodland sign from the 20s with the little road.
Interesting picture Rick – and wonderful colors – at first I thought that blue was a tape but it looks further back
I have a plague doctor mask I bought in Venice years ago. The beak was certainly filled, as you wrote , with flower petals and spices to hide the smells of death.
Linda Darnell and her husband lived across the road from me in the 1950s in Redondo Beach. It was The Esplanade and her house was the last one on the ocean side of the street. My roommate used to run across the street every morning and swim in the ocean which was right there. She was another example of the stage mother pathology.
I love the owl door.
Until now I didn’t know the history of that mask. Horrible times, and I wonder how many doctors got the plague tending to dying patients.
One of the reasons we know it was bubonic plague is that those caring for victims did NOT get the plague. The rat fleas caused it but the victims, except for a few pneumonic cases, were not contagious. There are cases in California every year but a severe outbreak in Los Angeles in 1924, did killed 30 people, many doctors and nurses at LA County.
In that cases, it was pneumonic.
Another interesting and thought-provoking post (as usual), Robert.
– Natalie Wood sitting on a T-bird in front of the (Art Deco-ish) Griffith Observatory. It just screams “Hollywood” to me.
– As an owl lover, the door is pretty cute.
– I never knew that about Knott’s Berry Farm.
– I like the Linda Darnell quote, but what a horrible way to die and at only 41. I didn’t know a lot of her works, but I remember her from Zorro, Clementine, and Blackbeard.
– The ’69 Charger is classic Mopar. As a child of the muscle car era, I think the ’67 – ’72 time span had arguably the greatest lineup of cars in history.
– Paul Newman always seemed grounded in reality. And he was quite the hunk. My mother had a definite crush on him.
– Sophie Loren… classic Italian sensuality (and I think Dad had a crush on her).
– The Rolex is a beautiful Art Deco design (and out of my budget, I’m sure).
– The Puppet Theater photo is fascinating. Contrast the reactions of the 2 kids in the front-center in dark clothing (screaming, uncontrollable excitement) versus the 2 girls in the lower right in light clothing (shock, awe, disbelief). Perhaps the best reactions are the girl in glasses at far right and the boy (?) at far left covering his ears. Obviously, something loud was happening, but I would love to see a split screen of what they were watching.
As I said, another thought-provoking post, Robert. Well done. Have a safe, healthy, and happy Shabbat!
Linda Darnell’s comment is one of the few movie star quotes that seemed to come from the heart and gut.