In a Lonely Place

Cyd Charisse

March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008

☆ American actress and dancer renowned for her elegance, athleticism, and extraordinary grace in some of Hollywood's greatest movie musicals.

Her talent and striking presence eventually attracted the attention of Hollywood studios, and she rose to prominence in the 1950s as one of the leading stars of movie musicals produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She became famous for her dance partnerships with legendary performers such as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire.

Among her most celebrated films were Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Brigadoon (1954), and Silk Stockings (1957). In The Band Wagon, her dance sequences with Fred Astaire became some of the most iconic moments in musical film history, while her work with Gene Kelly showcased both her athleticism and dramatic flair.

Although Charisse was also a capable actress, it was her dancing that made her a legend. Her long legs, fluid movements, and expressive performances became hallmarks of her screen presence. She helped elevate dance sequences into artistic highlights that remain celebrated by film historians and audiences alike.

Her contributions to entertainment were recognized with numerous honors, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Carlyle Blackwell

January 20, 1884 – June 17, 1955

☆ American silent film actor, director and producer.

He made his film debut in the 1910 Vitagraph Studios production of Uncle Tom's Cabin directed by J. Stuart Blackton. Between then and 1930, when talkies ended his acting career, he appeared in more than 180 films. For his contributions to the film industry, Blackwell has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6340 Hollywood Boulevard.

📽 1937: Way Out West stars Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Sharon Lynn, Rosina Lawrence and James Finlayson.

• Laurel and Hardy embark on a quest to locate Mary Roberts (Lawrence), the rightful heir to a substantial inheritance, including a gold mine deed, following news of her father's demise. Discovering Mary amidst the West's cabaret milieu, they encounter formidable obstacles in the form of her legal guardians, indifferent to her well-being and intent on usurping her wealth.

Stan Laurel ~ born June 16, 1890 in Ulverston, Lancashire, England

📽 1950: House by the River American psychological crime drama directed starring Louis Hayward, Lee Bowman and Jane Wyatt.

• A rich Victorian-era novelist Stephen Byrne (Hayward) who lives and works by a river, accidentally kills his attractive maid after she resists his drunken advances. Stephen coaxes his crippled brother John (Bowman) to help him dispose of the body. They stuff the body in a boat and dump it into the river. Days later, the sack and body float to the surface and pass Stephen's house. He desperately tries to retrieve it in the water, but fails. The police recover the bundle and, because John's initials have been stenciled on the sack, it is all traceable to him.

Spencer Tracy

April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967

☆ American actor that was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor, from nine nominations.

During his career, he appeared in 75 films and developed a reputation among his peers as one of the screen's greatest actors.

In 1942, he appeared with Katharine Hepburn in Woman of the Year, beginning a professional and personal partnership that led to nine films over 25 years. In 1955, Tracy won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film Bad Day at Black Rock.

Evelyn Brent

October 20, 1895 – June 4, 1975

☆ American film and stage actress launched her career as the "Queen of the Underworld." She was a prominent actress of the silent film era, starting her career in the mid-1910s and becoming a major star known as an exotic vamp in silent movies before successfully transitioning to early talkies in the late 1920s and 1930s, solidifying her legacy as a star in both periods. 

Josephine Baker ~born June 3, 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri

🎞 Josephine became a star of the theater in 1920s Paris. A symbol of the Jazz age, she first danced in Paris in 1925 before becoming a sensation the next year when she performed her now famous "Danse Sauvage" at the Folies Bergère cabaret hall wearing just a skirt of bananas.

Alice Calhoun 

November 21, 1900 – June 3, 1966

☆American silent film actress made her film debut in an uncredited role in 1918 and went on to appear in another forty-seven films between then and 1929. As a star with Vitagraph in New York City, she moved with the company when it relocated to Hollywood.

Marilyn Monroe ~born June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California

🎖 1914: Leslie Howard enlisted in the British Army in WWI 1914 and was a subaltern in the Northamptonshire Yeomanry, but was released due to shell shock.

During World War II, he worked on anti-Nazi propaganda films and documentaries, such as Pimpernel Smith (1940) and 49th Parallel (1941).

He was killed during World War II on June 1, 1943, when his civilian plane was shot down by German Luftwaffe fighters. Howard was a public opposition to Nazism and high-profile propaganda work made him a target of Joseph Goebbels, leading to theories that he was personally targeted for assassination. The Nazis also believed Prime Minister Winston Churchill may have been on the flight.

Mary Pickford

April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979

☆ Canadian American film actress and producer. A pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood career spanning five decades, Pickford was one of the most popular actresses of the silent film era.

Beginning her film career in 1909, Pickford became Hollywood's first millionaire by 1916, and, at the height of her career, had complete creative control of her films and was one of the most recognizable women in the world. Due to her popularity, unprecedented international fame, and success as an actress and businesswoman, she was known as the "Queen of the Movies".