Yestergaze

Vivian Vance was born on July 26, 1909, and is remembered as Lucille Ball’s longtime comedic foil from 1951 until her death in 1979 at the age of 70. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1954 and was nominated three times afterwards for her role as Ethel Mertz in the popular TV series, I Love Lucy (!951-1957). She would appear with Lucille Ball in The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957-1960) and the later Lucille Ball shows, The Lucy Show (1962-1968) and Here's Lucy (1968-1972). She proved to be just as funny as Lucille Ball in her own unique way. In 1991, she was posthumously honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Clara Bow at age 16 with her Brooklyn boyfriend, Artie Jacobson in 1921. They often spent time together at Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, NY during the summer months that year. When Bow signed a contract with Preferred Pictures in 1923, she moved to Los Angeles. Jacobson followed her out to the West Coast and the couple shared a small bungalow with Clara’s father, Robert Bow. The relationship eventually ended as Bow's career took off. Jacobson remained in Hollywood and became a respected director.

Montgomery Clift, one of the greatest acting talents in film during the 1940s and 1950s, died on July 23rd, 1966, at the age of 45. Due to a 1956 car crash that ruined his striking good looks, he spent the rest of his years in chronic pain and lived with a substance addiction as a result. He will always be remembered for the fine films he made such as Red River (1948), A Place in the Sun (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953) and The Misfits (1961).

Natalie Wood was born on July 20, 1938, and became one of the most beloved of Hollywood movie stars. Her career began at age four and at age eight, she stole the nation's heart in the Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street (1946). As an adult, she was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood along with Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn, starring in such films as Splendor in the Grass (1961), West Side Story (1961), Gypsy (1962), Love with the Proper Stranger (1963) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969). She never won an Academy Award, but she was nominated three times for Rebel Without a Cause (1956), Splendor in the Grass and Love with the Proper Stranger. On November 29, 1981, she died under mysterious circumstances at the age of 43. At the time, she was on Thanksgiving break from filming the movie Brainstorm (1983). The circumstances of her drowning in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Santa Catalina Island remains a mystery today. 

Brenda Fricker was born on February 17, 1945, and had a career on the stage and in films for six decades. She was the first Irish actress to win an Academy Award. She won the Best Supporting Actress Award for her performance in My Left Foot (1989). She is remembered by many for her role in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). Other film appearances include Angels in the Outfield (1994), A Time to Kill (1996), Veronica Guerin (2003), Inside I'm Dancing (2004), Albert Nobbs (2011) and the charming, but little-known Cloudburst (2011) in which she costarred with Olympia Dukakis. Fricker died in Dublin on July 16, 2026, at age 81.

Dinah Shore performing for the servicemen visiting the Hollywood Canteen in 1942. Her career began on radio in the 1930s and she went on to becoming the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s, establishing herself as one of the defining voices of the Big Band era with 80 charted hits and a recording contract with RCA Victor. She transitioned to television during the '50s and became a household name hosting top-rated TV variety programs, most notably The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956-1963) which made her famous for singing "See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet". Her career continued with 1970s talk shows, Dinah's Place (1970–1974), Dinah! (1974–1980) and a cable television talk show, A Conversation with Dinah, which ran from 1989 to 1992. She died in 1994 at the age of 77.

Sophia Loren and her second born son, Eduardo Ponti, photographed by Yousuf Karsh in 1981. Today, Eduardo is a film director and producer. His very first movie, Between Strangers (2002) featured his mother in a cast that included Mira Sorvino, Pete Postlethwaite and Malcolm McDowell. He would direct his mother again in The Life Ahead (2020), a film that won Loren, then age 85, several best actress honors, including the David di Donatello.  She was also nominated at the Satellite Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role.