On screen, they are larger than life.
Hollywood stars seduce us with their glamor. They become the vehicles of our dreams and desires. We rarely imagine them as ordinary people. And so, when we see a Hollywood star posing with family members—mortals like you and me—it comes as something of a shock.
But after a short pause, we realign our thoughts and experience a new tenderness towards the shadow on the screen. We delight in learning that those in whom we have invested so much of ourselves have ordinary mothers, just like us. Which makes identification with beloved Hollywood stars even more meaningful. It’s a delicious paradox: They are just like us — but not really. Thus, perhaps we can be just like them.
Karen and I wish all our friends and relatives a lovely and meaningful Shabbat.
The Linda Darnell and Tyrone Power photos are striking. Power obviously got those eyebrows from his mother. While I’d read that Darnell was pushed in to modelling and acting to capitalize on her beauty at an unbelievably youthful age, her looks are nothing like her mother’s. But, her mother might have been a character actress. (Marjorie Main’s next door neighbor?) It’s astounding to realize that Darnell had been only 16 in her first movie and was only 17 when she made the great “Mark of Zorro” with Power.
The thought occurred to me that you are writing about the upside of relationships some stars had with their mothers. I’m sure some had a very dark side. There’s a fine line between supportive and so dominating your child’s life as to totally live one’s desires through the child, be it Little League or the MGM lot.
Still, on the positive side, I’ll bet these mothers gave some stability and sanity to these stars.
In the Ava Gardner book I think her sister and mother gave her some balance. I wonder how many young men and women got off that train in Los Angeles with a new contract (at $50/week) and, with no stabilizing influence, disappeared into the vortex.
That being said I’ll bet in the larger scheme some mothers are responsible, in a positive way, for their child’s attaining stardom.
God, fate and the cosmos — but not mothers.
I particularly love the photos of Bette Davis with her mother and Claudette Colbert and her mother. Their mothers look so grand and regal. These women look like they know who they are and are proud rather than unashamed of their age. I wish older women would dress and comport themselves like women of previous ages, rather than be absorbed with looking ‘young’. As someone said, there is more to life than looking liked a tired teenager.
Well said, Elizabeth. There is nothing more pathetic than a man or women trying to look 40-50 years younger than they are.
Heh. guess my “negative” is from a man or woman trying to look 50 years younger.
Hilarious.
I say the mother’s look like they are playing assigned parts. That of dowagers. Overweight, but only somewhat. Dumpy and almost had to believe they could be related to anyone attractive. Strictly a dated casting call.
Correction: “hard” to believe
I can’t help looking at the Joan Blondell photo and thinking that her mother and sister don’t want to be in the picture…
I also note that Gloria and Katheryn have the same eyes, but they look very different than Joan’s eyes.
Interesting point, but check out the bottom pic @ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~blondell/JoanBlondell/ showing sister Gloria with Errol Flynn. Gloria’s smile and eyes are reminiscent of Joan.
About their mother, thinking there might be more resemblance to her father, I found a picture of him at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=30099436 but it’s hard to be sure from that poster.
Larry:
Great link and photo. Thanks so much.