"No Politics Zone"

From Roman Holiday in 1953: A touching scene at approx. 1:33:23 into the film; near the end of the movie.

Happy Birthday to Margaretha Zelle, aka Mata Hari; born August 7, 1876 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands.

Her exotic dancing performances brought her fame and publicity beginning in the very early 20th century Paris. She formed relationships with influential and powerful men - which was ultimately her undoing.

In July, 2017 the French charged her with being a spy for Germany. Their evidence is said to be circumstantial, and even fabricated by the French prosecutor. At the time she was charged, the French government was reeling from the "Great Mutinies" in their army, and defeats on the battlefield. Some believe strongly that instead of a German spy, Mata Hari served only as a scapegoat for an incompetent and corrupt French Government. She was executed by a French firing squad on 15 Oct. 1917.

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Happy Birthday to Myrna Loy, born Myrna Adele Williams on August 2, 1905 in Helena, MT. According to film credits listed in her Wikipedia article, she appeared in 128 films during her 50+ year career. A major turning point in her career was being chosen to play opposite William Powell in "The Thin Man" - a series of 6 movies filmed between 1934 and 1947. "The Thin Man" enabled her to break out of the "exotic", low budget movies in which she portrayed mostly foreign, and often evil, female characters.

The top photo struck me as a well colorized photo done by Jonas Nordin from a 1929 B&W publicity photo for the movie "The Desert Song" .

the next two illustrate the change in her pre- and post-ThinMan roles. The picture on the right was taken by Ruth Harriet Louise to promote the 1935 movie "Whipsaw" in which Ms. Loy co-starred with Spencer Tracy.

the last two pictures further illustrate the differences between the roles she played prior to 1934 vs after. First is a photo with Asta (aka "Skippy) from the 1944 film "The Thin Man Goes Home". Next, in the role of the mixed-race murderess Ursula Georgi (one of my favorites) in the 1932 movie "13 Women" with Irene Dunne.

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NOTE: Apologies for the delayed posting. It seems that tumblr's "scheduling queue" is very UN-reliable.

Amelia Earhart was born today (July 24) in 1897 in Atchinson, KS. No one knows the date she died. On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the globe.

On July 22, 1934 the FBI gunned down their "Most Wanted" criminal, John Dillinger, as he was leaving the Biograph Theater in Chicago. The FBI also shot and wounded two innocent bystanders during the melee! What movie did he see just before he was killed? "Manhattan Melodrama" which featured Myrna Loy, William Powell and Clark Gable.

It's Barbara Stanwyck's birthday today! - she was born July 16, 1907 in New York City as Ruby Catherine Stevens. She was orphaned at the age of four, raised in foster homes, and made her debut on stage in the chorus as a Ziegfeld girl in 1923 at age 16. She was 31 years old when this lovely photo was taken by Ernest Bachrach for RKO Pictures in 1938.

Happy birthday to Aline MacMahon, born May 3, 1899. A talented and attractive actress with a career of over 50 years including stage & screen. She received an Oscar nomination for her role in Dragon Seed in 1944.

From top to bottom & left to right, the photos are:

a publicity portrait for "Once in a Lifetime" from 1932

with Walter Huston in "Dragon Seed", 1944

with Joan Blondell and Ruby Keeler in "Gold Diggers of 1933"

in the bathtub! - from "Gold Diggers of 1933"

an animation from "Heat Lightning" in 1934

April 25, 1917: On this day, Ella Fitzgerald, the "Queen of Jazz" was born in Newport News, VA. Her singing career began at age 17 on November 21, 1934, in an early "Amateur Night" at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. She is said to have given 2,457 concerts/performances over a career of nearly 60 years.

The top photo shows Ella performing at The Downbeat Club in NYC in 1947 while Dizzy Gillespie looks on; the lower photos show Ella with Louie Armstrong in the studio, and Marilyn Monroe in Los Angeles.

Gilda Radner (as Emily Latella) and Raquel Welch (the guest host) in Season 1, Episode 18 of Saturday Night Live.

Happy birthday to Bettie Page, and J. Robert Oppenheimer - each of them famous in their own unique way!

Happy Birthday to the amazing Italian actress Silvana Mangano; b: April 21, 1930; d: December 16, 1989. Top photo is from 1956, and taken by Eve Arnold for an exhibit at MoMA. The bottom photo was shot in 1946 by Elio Luxardo; this was the same year she entered, and won the Miss Rome beauty contest.

Also: Silvana is the grandmother of Giada De Laurentiis.

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Happy birthday to Barbara Hale (April 18, 1922 – January 26, 2017).