Sandra Dee

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

January 1, 2021 by Robert J. Avrech 11 Comments

“Me, I’m good at nothing but walking on the set with a pretty dress.”
—Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Zuck; 1942 – 2005)

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

October 4, 2017 by Robert J. Avrech 6 Comments

“Last night I was awake all night again. Sometimes I wonder what the nighttime is for. It almost doesn’t exist for me—it all seems like one long, long horrible day.”
—Marilyn Monroe, Letter to her psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, 1961

No, you have not fallen into a time warp. It is Wednesday. So: why Friday Photos today? The celebration of Succos starts tonight and continues into Shabbat. And because Orthodox Jews (that’s us) do not use electronics during these holidays you get Friday Photos early. We hope you enjoy this edition.

Friday Photos: Welcome to the New La-La Land

May 22, 2015 by Robert J. Avrech 9 Comments

“Paul Newman, Jim [Garner], and Steve and I went to the races at Riverside. On our way home, the men became annoyed because I had insisted on stopping at the next service station rest room. They had hoped to beat the traffic home. When they did stop I discovered to my dismay that there was a long line of women ahead of me. Unable to stand the delay any longer, I came up with a brilliant idea. I said to the girls standing there, ‘Hey, do you know there’s a car full of movie stars around the bend?’ 'Who?’ they cried in unison, 'Why, there’s Steve McQueen, there’s Paul Newman, and there’s James Garner!’ The girls looked at each other and ran like crazy, leaving me in sole possession of the facilities. I never did tell the fellas how a swarm of females suddenly discovered them!” -Neile Adams (Mrs. Steve McQueen) — “Paul Newman, Jim [Garner], and Steve and I went to the races at Riverside. On our way home, the men became annoyed because I had insisted on stopping at the next service station rest room. They had hoped to beat the traffic home. When they did stop I discovered to my dismay that there was a long line of women ahead of me. Unable to stand the delay any longer, I came up with a brilliant idea. I said to the girls standing there, ‘Hey, do you know there’s a car full of movie stars around the bend?’
‘Who?’ they cried in unison, ‘Why, there’s Steve McQueen, there’s Paul Newman, and there’s James Garner!’ The girls looked at each other and ran like crazy, leaving me in sole possession of the facilities. I never did tell the fellas how a swarm of females suddenly discovered them!”
-Neile Adams (Mrs. Steve McQueen)

Hollywood was once the dream capital of the world. Movies peddled glamour and fantasy. This was La-La Land where outrageous plots and larger than life characters allowed audiences to construct alternate realities — entertainment.

But La-La Land has relocated.

On Wednesday, President Obama delivered the commencement address at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. The mission of the Coast Guard is to protect America’s coasts. But according to this Commander-in-Chief the real threat to America comes not from enemies attacking the homeland, but from so-called global freezing/global warming/climate change — whatever they’re calling the weather this week.

Friday Footwear: The Best of Times, The ObamaCare of Times

November 15, 2013 by Robert J. Avrech 11 Comments

Silent star Julanne Johnston, 1924, wearing very odd shoes. Not a clue. — Silent star Julanne Johnston (1900 – 1988) in 1924, wearing very odd shoes that don’t seem to go with her princess outfit. Julanne’s most famous role was opposite Douglas Fairbanks Sr., in *The Thief of Baghdad*, 1924. This seems to be a production shot from that film. Julanne was also aboard William Randolph Hearst’s yacht, The Oneida, in 1924, when producer Thomas Ince died of a heart attack. Julanne retired in 1930, and lived a quiet life with her family.

Hollywood’s greatest era, the 1930’s, gave birth to two luminous and entertaining genres: the screwball comedy, and the lush musical.

It is no coincidence that these escapist movies, filled with glamorous women swimming in fur and jewels, and painfully handsome men in perfectly tailored tuxedos, were produced during the depths of the Depression.

You might think that audiences would resent these carefree swells whose only worry was the next martini, and the eternal love triangle. But for several years, audiences escaped their daily woes, and lived through the fantasies of the silver screen.

Today, America is not in a depression. But Americans are depressed. Across the aisle, Americans recognize that this country is in trouble. ObamaCare is an unmitigated disaster. Millions are suffering. And millions more will be forced to suffer by this horrendous collectivization being forced on the American people.

Fashion reacts to uncertainty and disaster as did Hollywood in the 1930’s: with great dollops of extravagance, and wit. Seraphic Secret sees a trend in ladies footwear, with designers reaching beyond the anxious here and now, and offering customers a taste of fashion transcendence.