#john kobal

“Dietrich was the human face of Garbo, making trousers fashionable, mystery accessible, grandmothers glamorous and time stand still.” [From the book Hollywood Colour Portraits by John Kobal (1981)]

“She has sex, but no particular gender. She has the bearing of a man; the characters she plays love power and wear trousers. Her masculinity appeals to women and her sexuality to men.” - Kenneth Tynan

“If we had to invent someone to be the ideal woman … we would have to invent Marlene Dietrich.” -Billy Wilder

Died on this day 32 years ago in Paris: inimitably sultry, throaty-voiced German actress, chanteuse, international glamourpuss and the personification of decadent world-weary languid sensuality – Miss Marlene Dietrich (27 December 1901 – 6 May 1992)! Pictured: portrait of the diva by Milton H Greene, 1952.

[Follies of God]

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“… but what caught my attention and slightly disappointed me about her was not the colour of her foundation-smooth, pale pink complexion that seemed to take its tone from a sea of freckles (I hadn’t expected those), but the wild colour of her hair. I had thought it would be black or brown or some solid dark hue, and instead it was a kind of champagne pink, the colour one sees on a lot of California matrons in supermarkets.” 

Tonight's libation is an Improved Coburn Cocktail named for 1930's and 1940's actor Charles Coburn. Winner of a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award in 1943.

1 oz Balfour London Dry Gin

1 oz Pineapple juice

1 oz lemon juice

1 oz honey syrup

 American actor Humphrey Bogart (1899 – 1957) sitting on a sofa with a pet dog, surrounded by sporting equipment and trophies, with a photograph of himself on the table next to him, circa 1945.