Janet Gaynor

Growing Up in Hollywood: A Way of Life, Like Any Other

February 26, 2015 by Robert J. Avrech 8 Comments

A James Joyce scholar, a best-selling author of true-crime tales, Darcy O'Brien was also a Hollywood prince whose autobiographical novel “A Way of Life, Like Any Other” is superb. — A James Joyce scholar, a best-selling author of true-crime tales, Darcy O’Brien was also a Hollywood prince whose autobiographical novel “A Way of Life, Like Any Other” is superb.

Darcy O’Brien (1939 – 1998) was a scholar of Irish literature, and also the author of several best-selling works in the true-crime genre. “Two of a Kind: The Hillside Strangler” (1985) was adapted into the television film, “The Case of the Hillside Stranglers” starring Richard Crenna.

“Murder in Little Egypt,” (1989) is about a small-town Illinois doctor whose bizarre often violent behavior was overlooked by his neighbors for years, until the doctor was unmasked as a ghastly abuser and murderer of his own children.

Just before he tragically passed away from a heart attack at the age of 59, O’Brien completed work on “The Hidden Pope,” a book about the little-known friendship between Pope John Paul II and a Jewish schoolmate in Poland that helped bring about Vatican recognition of Israel in 1994.

O’Brien was also a Hollywood prince, son of silent star George O’Brien, who appeared in several John Ford films. His mother was Marguerite Churchill, a beautiful and talented actress who, along with other numerous credits, was also a Ford player.

Take #1: The Meaning of Leaning in Hollywood

October 2, 2014 by Robert J. Avrech 10 Comments

Jean Harlow relaxes on the set of Dinner at Eight. 1933 Costumes by Adrian, b. Adrian Adolph Greenburg. — Jean Harlow relaxes on the set of Dinner at Eight (1933). Costumes by Adrian, b. Adrian Adolph Greenburg.

Leaning boards ( also called Slant boards) were invented for Hollywood players to relax between takes. Frequently, the costumes were cut on the bias, and tailored so snugly that the actor could not sit down without bursting a ladder of seams. In fact, most of the time, there were no zippers or buttons on the costumes. Actors were sewn into their garments.

So, when you see Jean Harlow in Dinner at Eight, and marvel at the impeccable fit of the famous white silk gown, be aware that Harlow’s mobility was severely limited. In fact, just breathing was something of a chore.

These days, leaning boards are still in use, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

Hollywood Stars and Cars: I Drive Therefore I Am

May 9, 2013 by Robert J. Avrech 21 Comments

America has long had a love affair with the automobile. Cars are the ultimate expression of form, function, fashion — and speed.

But most of all the car represents freedom.

Try and remember when you were a teenager yearning for your driver’s license so you could hop into daddy’s car and go, go, go. It didn’t matter where, you just wanted to burn rubber and escape into the far horizon.

The exhilarating and touching American Graffiti (’73) is the ultimate expression of American car culture. Every scene takes place in a car, or beside a car.

Los Angeles was the first America city built to accommodate the automobile. And the movie stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, most born dirt-poor, expressed delight in their sudden prosperity and fame by purchasing and posing with their dream machines.