Seraphic Secret

Robert J. Avrech: Emmy Award winning screenwriter. Movie fanatic. Helplessly and hopelessly in love with my wife since age nine.

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

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“To my surprise, I discovered that I could act, and I liked it even better than boxing.”
—John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle, 1913 – 1952)

Fritz von Uhde
“By the Window”
1890-91
oil on canvas 80.5 cm X 65.5 cm
Städel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany

 

Rick McGinnis experiments with Hurrell style Hollywood lighting for this portrait of his beautiful wife, Kathleen, 1999.

 

Several years ago, American watch industry veteran Barry Cohen—he ran Luminox for a while—founded a new watch brand called Szanto. His idea was simple: offer watch lovers classic designs with robust mechanical movements at an affordable price. The latest offering from Szanto is the Automatic Officer Classic Round 6304 watch, an Art Deco inspired wrist watch that sells for $375.00 Check out their clever website.

 

Edward Weston
Pepper #30, 1930

 

Here’s the Kuntshofpassage of Dresden, Germany. When the rain falls, this colorful drain and gutter system turns into a whimsical musical instrument.

 

“I got started dancing because I knew it was one way to meet girls.”
—Gene Kelly (born Eugene Curran Kelly, 1912 – 1996)

 

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
La Toilette (Celle qui se peigne)
1891
oil on board: H 58 x W 46 cm. Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

 

Esther Bubley
Children at Play, New York City,1948

 

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Le Mans

 

“We’re all forgotten sooner or later. But not films. That’s all the memorial we should need or hope for.”
—Burt Lancaster (born Burton Stephen Lancaster, 1913 – 1994)

 

Mary Cassatt
“On a Balcony”
1878-1879
oil on canvas, 89.9 x 65.2 cm
Art Institute of Chicago

 

Kathie: “I don’t want to die.“
Jeff: “Neither do I, baby, but if I have to, I’m going to die last.”
Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer in Out of the Past (1947).
Screenplay by Daniel Mainwaring
Based on the novel “Build My Gallows High” by Daniel Mainwaring

 

Esther Bubley
Man on a Train Platform New York City, 1951

 

Gene Kelly, Burt Lancaster, and John Garfield at a charity softball game, 1948

 

Rothchild Pentateuch
1296
Made in France or Germany, Ink, gold, and tempera colors on parchment, 10 13/16 X 8 1/4 in. The J. Paul Getty Museum

 

Lielle, Maayan, and Livia wish all our friends and relatives the best Shabbat ever.

 

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Comments

  2. Great pictures as usual, Robert. Love the train stop and Rick – you captured that 30s=40s look! Burt Lancaster’s comment reminds me of James Stewart’s comment that movies are “slices of time”.

  4. The watch is interesting. My 40 year old Rolex needs work but I might look for a new watch. I also thought the “train platform” was a Hopper. The photo of Kelly, Lancaster and Garfield suggests that, like so many actors, Garfield was tiny.

    I have seen fountains that also play a musical tune.

    Have a peaceful weekend.

    • IMDB says Kelly was 5’8″, Lancaster was 6’2″, and Garfield was 5’7″, so although Garfield was the shortest of the three, he wasn’t particularly tiny. The photo’s effect was probably more a perspective thing.

      BTW, another powerhouse, Edward G Robinson was also short (5’7″), but Alan Ladd was even shorter (5’6.25″). Yet, Ladd towered over Veronica Lake (4’11”), but now think of her walking next to Joel McCrea (6’2.5″) in Sullivan’s Travels. Yes, McCrea was taller than Lancaster — not counting Lancaster’s hair — and taller than Randolph Scott (also 6’2″) in Ride the High Country, but each only by a 1/2″.

  5. I really like Rick’s portrait of Kathleen. It really looks like it should be from the 40’s. Well done. I think you should do a new one as well. Recreating an old photo is really in vogue now. Although as a husband, I imagine my wife would be against that idea — 21 years older. . .

    The watch and the Szanto brand is pretty cool. Since I began reading your blog, I’ve become a bit of a horologist. Ironically, over the past 7 years I have worked in a manufacturing environment and, as a result of safety protocols, I’ve quit wearing a wristwatch.

    Regarding the “whimsical musical” downspouts, I suspect there is a reason why that concept hasn’t been repeated extensively. It may be a “Hey, that’s a cool idea!” vs. “OMG, can you stop that infernal racket!” scenario once it rains for a few days.

    The Alfa Romeo is awesome.

    I don’t know why, but the Esther Bubley photo of the Train Platform reminds me of a Hopper painting. I initially thought it was.

    The Rothchild Pentateuch is beautifully illustrated. I am always amazed when something so beautiful is preserved for 700 years, especially given the Nazis’ penchant for destroying anything remotely Jewish in nature.

    Your granddaughters are beautiful and growing up quickly. Have a wonderful weekend, Robert.

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