#Lawrence J. Quirk

[giraffe44]

August 5th Is Robert Taylor's Birthday

August 5th would have been Robert Taylor’s 112th birthday. Robert Taylor’s career spanned four decades.  Mr. Taylor belonged to the greatest generation, loved his country and his family.  Robert Taylor was an extremely talented and versatile actor and a good  man, husband and father.  We could use more like him today. Martha Crawford Cantarini, stunt woman. “He was one of the legendary faces in…

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#Ava Gardner #birthday #Deborah Kerr #Edwin Knopf #George Cukor #Joe Pasternak #Lawrence J. Quirk #Martha Crawford Cantarini #Richard Thorpe #Robert Loggia #Robert Taylor #Robert Young #Ronald Regan #Tay Garnett #William Wellman

[veryslowreader]

The Films of Joan Crawford by Lawrence J. Quirk 

The Boys in the Band

#the films of joan crawford #lawrence j. quirk #the boys in the band #leonard frey

[alvadee]

Victor Buono about his first time meeting Bette Davis: “I must admit that I was very impressed, in fact, I was awe-struck. What amazed me was she really looked like Bette Davis. It occurred to me during this audition that I should turn to the producer and say ‘Okay, Bob, she’ll do fine.’ I didn’t quite have the nerve to do it, but I’m sure Miss Davis would have accepted it in the spirit intended.”

“According to director Robert Aldrich, Bette hadn’t liked his choice of Victor Buono, whom he had seen in an episode of the popular television series “The Untouchables”. ‘Bette came to me and said that Mr. Buono was too big and fat and too revolting to appeal even to her Jane character. I held my ground, and she accepted my decision. She was always polite to Buono, but not warm, and though I think he sensed the way she felt, he never said anything about it to me. He was very young, and this represented a big career opportunity for him, so any displeasure on her part would have had to make him even more nervous.

But with a candor that was refreshing, Buono admitted: “Bette was a real bitch to work with. One time we were doing a little rehearsing before a scene, and I wanted to show her the courtesy of leading off, and she turned and prodded me and said, ‘You’re being paid to act and react, you fat slob, so react! Don’t stand there like a damned idiot!’ When Bob Aldrich, who was guiding us, attempted to make Bette understand that I was only deferring to her courteously, she just grumbled, and continuing to stand her ground, didn’t even offer a grunt of apology.”

‘Bette was a real lady and not only a professional, but a very honorable person, a square-shooter. After her first scene or two with him, when we stopped shooting, she strode towards him in that way she had, and she said, in my presence, looking up at him, ‘I confess that before we began, I did not care for Bob’s choice of you, and I tried to persuade him not to use you. He was right, and I was wrong. I hope you will accept my apology, because you are absolutely marvelous.’”

Sources: The Evening Tribune 1962, “The girl who walked home alone” by Charlotte Chandler, “Fasten your seat belts: The passionate life of Bette Davis” by Lawrence J Quirk

#bette davis #victor buono #what ever happened to baby jane #like bette's fans always try to act like she was so nice to him and most books do too #but luckily not all #and as font as vic was of her later he didn't sugarcoat how she acted sometimes #vb #alvadee's shit

[ostensiblynone]

Although [Mike] Connolly attended gay parties as a recreational pursuit, most gay men considered him a business contact rather than friend.

"Mike knew everybody, but I don't think anyone who knew him well liked him," [Lawrence J.] Quirk recalled. "He was a piece on the Hollywood chessboard, and you had to deal with him. He was always pawing everybody; he was curiosity-obsessed. The smart boys would give in to him and then all concerned got over it. I was always hearing guys at parties joking about their Mike Connolly experiences." … But there was an unspoken belief in Connolly's words and actions that a committed relationship should both assume and forgive extracurricular flings. "Mike was compulsively promiscuous; he wanted to know what every man had in his pants," said Larry Quirk. "He worshipped masculinity and went after the ones whose sexuality you weren't sure of. Uniforms were a turn-on to him." According to Quirk, Connolly would put the make on the most prominent young actors, including Robert Francis, Guy Madison, Anthony Perkins, Nick Adams, and James Dean. Quirk said there was rampant gossip at gay parties regarding not only Connolly's escapades with these actors but also a noteworthy pornography collection he would display to those he favored. Two men on the gay party circuit who knew Connolly well were Jerry Asher, a fan magazine writer and former MGM publicist, and the director Edmund Goulding. "Jerry and Eddie were the centers of their own gay circles," said Quirk. "Their circles were less uppity than George Cukor's. Mike was often at their parties. Jerry had the biggest mouth in town; he gossiped like crazy. Eddie was quite the gossip himself. Most of my gossip on Mike came from those two. Mike and Jerry socialized, but warily. There was tension between them; Jerry said Mike was a hypocrite who sacrificed everything to please the Establishment while sneaking around on the side. Once Mike wanted to get rid of a young hanger-on, so he tied a pink ribbon around the kid and sent him over to Jerry's, whose birthday party was in progress. Jerry pushed the young guy away from his door, saying, 'I don't need your type around here.' Then Jerry phoned Mike and said, 'I don't need your condescension!' Mike replied, 'You're hardly God's gift to men, Jerry; you're going to have to pay for it!'"

—Mike Connolly and the manly art of Hollywood gossip by Val Holley, published 2003

#mike connolly #1950s

[oh-sewing-circle]

"If one were to try to place Joan Crawford on Kinsey's Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale (where 0 is exclusively heterosexual and 6 is exclusively homosexual), she would probably rate about a 2 ("predominantely heterosexual, but more than incidentally homosexual"). At this time, lesbian experimentation was sometimes seen as just a way of expressing freedom and lack of inhibition. 'At least you can't get pregnant,' Joan joked many years later, when the subject of lesbianism somehow came up at a luncheon."

-Excerpt from Joan Crawford The Essential Biography By Lawrence J. Quirk and William Schoell

#Joan Crawford #queer history #bisexual #bisexuality #classic hollywood #old hollywood #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbt+ #actress #Kinsey Scale #Alfred Kinsey #lesbian experimentation #Barbara Stanwyck #Lawrence J. Quirk #William Schoell

[cinematic-literature]

The Boys in the Band (1970) by William Friedkin

Book title: The Films of Joan Crawford (1968) by Lawrence J. Quirk

#leonard frey #the boys in the band #william friedkin #the films of joan crawford #books in movies #lawrence j. quirk

[nerdygaymormon]

Why did you say that President Lincoln and President Madison were queer? I don't remember learning that about them

I forgot to mention two other queer people who are on US currency, for a total of 4 (or 5 when Sally Ride finally makes it). 

It was illegal to be gay, so each had to keep any gay relationship hidden, however there’s much to suggest these men were more than friends. Here's a short synopsis on each of them.

————————————————————

Alexander Hamilton - $10 Bill

Alexander Hamilton and John Laurens of South Carolina both served under George Washington during the American Revolution. They remained friends in the years that followed, sharing letters filled with love and passion. There's even suggestions in letters by Hamilton that implies his marriage to Elizabeth Schuyler was for practical reasons and didn't replace Laurens.

It’s even possible that Hamilton and Laurens could have had a sexual relationship with a third man, the 19-year-old Marquis de Lafayette. Hamilton & Laurens were still in a relationship when Hamilton invited Lafayette over. Hamilton’s grandson actually referred to them as “the gay trio.”

—————————

James Buchanan - Dollar coin (from 2007 to 2011, Presidential dollar coins were minted for circulation, including James Buchanan in 2010)

James Buchanan, our 15th president, for 10 years shared a home in Washington, D.C. with William Rufus King, the Alabama senator. Neither of them ever married. They regularly attended social functions together and people noticed. They were called things such as "Mr. Buchanan and his Wife," and the "Siamese twins." Andrew Jackson, the 7th president, referred to them as "Miss Nancy" and "Miss Fancy."

—————————

Abraham Lincoln - penny and $5 dollar bill

After Buchanan left office, Abraham Lincoln became our 16th president. It's thought that Lincoln had 2 gay lovers.

Joshua Fry Speed slept in the same bed with Lincoln for four years. The 1926 biography of Lincoln by Carl Sandburg alludes to their friendship as having "a streak of lavender, and spots soft as May violets". "Lavender" was often was code for homosexuality.

Lincoln's handsome bodyguard Captain David Derickson shared the bed with Lincoln whenever Mary Todd was out of town between September 1862 and April 1863. This raised eyebrows and was the subject of gossip.

—————————

John F. Kennedy - half-dollar coin

16-year-old Lem Billings, a third-year student, and 15-year-old second-year student John F. Kennedy met at an elite preparatory school and became close friends. Their friendship lasted up to the death of Kennedy. Many have confirmed that Billings was gay.

Lawrence J. Quirk authored the book 'The Kennedys in Hollywood.' Quirk says that Billings confided that his relationship with Kennedy "included oral sex, with Jack always on the receiving end." Billings asserted that Kennedy would say that receiving oral sex from another man is not gay, it's the giving of oral sex that would be gay. Kennedy made it clear he is not gay, and thus only received.

[jerrylevitch]

“The biggest question of all: Why on earth did Gloria DeHaven bother to sleep with Jerry Lewis when she was married to handsome hunk John Payne at the time?” Probably Lewis was a better lover than his clueless onscreen persona would suggest."

- Lawrence J Quirk, review of Dean & Me

#lol ok John Payne comes off kinda dull in his movies tbh but don't know about his real life personality #John Payne is like boy next door cute handsome #Jerry oozes sex appeal and has the funny going for him which always wins #Idc how good looking you are if you don't have a good sense of humor then how am I supposed to connect with this person? #Jerry Lewis #John Payne #quote

[tcm]

The Forgotten Screen Team: Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert By Jessica Pickens

Fred MacMurray attributed his film success to Claudette Colbert. Before MacMurray became a beloved father figure in 1960s Disney films or on TV’s My Three Sons, he was a romantic leading man from the 1930s and ‘50s. Seven of those films co-starred Colbert from 1935 to 1949. The screen team was born when MacMurray was cast in his first major film, THE GILDED LILY (’35). It was only MacMurray’s second credited film role, and he landed the role for an unusual skill: his ability to naturally talk while simultaneously eating popcorn. 

Actor Charlie Ruggles tipped off his brother, director Wesley Ruggles, to a handsome new actor that he should consider for his new film, THE GILDED LILY. Wesley screened MacMurray’s first credited role in GRAND OLD GIRL (‘35) and spotted him eating popcorn casually at a football game. It was important for the male lead of THE GILDED LILY to be able to eat popcorn with casual skill due to a scene where the two leads sit on a park bench as pals and discuss mundane topics like peanuts vs. popcorn. As they talk, MacMurray tosses kernels into his mouth. Since Colbert had approval of her leading men, she agreed with casting MacMurray and went to bat for him against the Paramount studio heads, as noted by MacMurray’s biographer Charles Tranberg. 

The film follows two friends, a reporter, Peter (MacMurray), and a stenographer, Marilyn (Colbert). They meet on a New York City park bench and discuss life and then go their separate ways. On the subway, Marilyn meets and falls in love with wealthy Lord Granton (Ray Milland), but she is jilted when he sails home to England to marry. Peter writes an article about the romance and creates a media heyday. He calls Marilyn the “No Girl” saying she turned down Lord Granton’s marriage proposal. Marilyn becomes internationally famous and cashes in on the fame by becoming a nightclub performer. Landing the acting job was the easiest part of THE GILDED LILY for MacMurray. Shocked to be selected since he felt that he was a nobody, MacMurray was green and a nervous wreck. Later he called himself “a basket case,” and upon arriving for his first day on set, MacMurray said he “felt all empty and hollow inside and weak in the knees. I felt drained. My mouth was dry and I was hyperventilating. I practically collapsed.” But Claudette Colbert immediately helped to put her new co-star at ease, thus starting their partnership. “When Claudette saw me standing there petrified, she put her hand on my arm and with a grin on her face quietly said, ‘Now what are you so frightened about?’” MacMurray later said. The love scenes in particular brought on anxiety as MacMurray tried to kiss Colbert in front of a large crew. “Claudette rumpled my hair and kidded me, and finally I made it,” he later said. 

THE GILDED LILY made MacMurray a star and birthed a screen team. Because of the success of the film, Colbert and MacMurray were cast in another picture together in 1935, and several others over the next 14 years, including: THE BRIDE COMES HOME (’35), MAID OF SALEM (’37), NO TIME FOR LOVE (’43), PRACTICALLY YOURS (’44), THE EGG AND I (’47) and FAMILY HONEYMOON (’48). As his career progressed, MacMurray gave Colbert credit not only for boosting his confidence, but MacMurray said that he learned more from Colbert than he did on any other film, according to Colbert’s biographer Lawrence J. Quirk. Quirk noted that part of the secret to their successful chemistry was their differences. Colbert was the pinnacle of glamour and — in contrast — MacMurray was the casual everyman who may live next door. On the sets of their films, cast and crew could see the chemical reaction that resulted in their on-screen magic. Robert Young, who co-starred with the pair in THE BRIDE COMES HOME, said that you could immediately see they were “simpatico” and “egged each other on” to give their best. “I’ve seen them take a situation that seemed intrinsically lifeless to me … and bring it stingingly, charmingly, excitingly to life,” Young said in Colbert’s biography. “And sometimes, they’d do bits of business that didn’t look like any great shakes to me at the time from my vantage on set, but that came out extraordinarily well during the rushes.” 

On their films NO TIME FOR LOVE and PRACTICALLY YOURS, director Mitchell Leisen watched the two as they planned their scenes before filming. “Many times when I was setting up the next scene, they’d go off in a corner and work it up themselves. They’d show me how they wanted to do it and it would be just right. I might edit it a bit, but they were talented natural performers, and I wanted them to do it in a way that was comfortable for them.” 

However, all good things have to end, even with a popular screen team. Colbert and MacMurray’s last two films together were not as satisfactory for the pair. Colbert’s last moneymaker was THE EGG AND I. Later, Colbert said she did the best she could with the film and “Fred was a big help with it—as always,” according to Quirk. On their last film together, FAMILY HONEYMOON, the two knew it was time to call it quits. “We had been getting together for 14 years and by 1949, Claudette knew as well as I did that things run their good and proper course and then they are simply over,” MacMurray later stated. “We had a long run, a rewarding one, and there are no complaints to offer in retrospect.”

#Fred MacMurray #Claudette Colbert #The Gilded Lily #1930s #old hollywood #classic hollywood #Paramount #TCM #Turner Classic Movies #Jessica Pickens

[joan-crawford-uncensored]

Joan Crawford in “Pretty Ladies” (1925)

Pretty Ladies marked the first credited appearance of "Lucille Le Sueur", soon to be known as Joan Crawford. According to Lawrence J. Quirk, author of The Films of Joan Crawford, this film was the only time Crawford was credited by her real name (Crawford is also billed as LeSueur in the 1925 promotional film MGM Studio Tour). It was also one of the first screen appearances of Myrna Loy (then still performing under her real last name Williams), who signed a seven-year contract with Warner Bros. in 1925 and then finally signed with MGM where she became a star in 1934 with the release of The Thin Man.

#joan crawford #classic hollywood #classic movie stars #golden age of hollywood #old hollywood #hollywood legend

[thesaurusarts]

#books and libraries #bookworm #reading #books

[giraffe44]

August 5 Is Robert Taylor's Birthday

August 5 Is Robert Taylor’s Birthday

Robert Taylor was born on August 5, 1911.  2019 is the 108th anniversary of his birth.  Mr. Taylor died on June 8, 1969 from lung cancer.

Robert Taylor was one of the most talented and versatile actors of Hollywood’s Golden Age.  He was a star from the 1930s to the 1960s. For those of you who want to know more about Mr. Taylor, I have listed  number of books, in chronological order.

Jane Ellen…

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#Books about Robert Taylor #Charles Tranberg #Gillian Kelly #Jane Ellen Wayne #Lawrence J. Quirk #Linda Alexander #Robert Taylor #Robert Taylor birthday #Ursula Thiess

[themisfitshere]

Just realized. Peter and Sammy both suffered from obstructed interracial love. Peter with Dorothy Dandridge. Sammy with Kim Novak. Now I see Salt and Pepper in a new light.

According to Lawrence J Quirk, after a friend casually commented that Sammy and Peter being together was like salt and pepper, Peter, loving the idea so much, made the phrase the name of his next movie with his old pal.

But imagine the name also being a fightback slogan, like, we’d both been in interracial relationships but were put off by social prejudice, now the victim league presents you a picture called Salt and Pepper, which contains inter-, oh, even better, interracial gay subtext, how’d you like that?

#just thoughts #peter lawford #sammy davis jr #quirk also said they two fucked which makes the whole thing even more dramatic

[adrian-paul-botta]

Established as master of war movies, D. W. Griffith took on World War I in Hearts of the World. It was made at the request of the British government in 1917-18, and is as much a propaganda film as a drama, with much newsreel footage thrown in for good measure. But its leads (Robert Harron, Lillian Gish, and Dorothy Gish), its villain (George Siegmann), and an adorable child actor, Ben Alexander (who was to become a poignant, vulnerable soldier in All Quiet on the Western Front twelve years later), help greatly to put it over. And it also offers a glimpse of Noel Coward, age eighteen, pushing a wheelbarrow through a French village street.

#DW Griffith #lillian gish #dorothy gish #robert harron #noel coward #film review #film criticism #1994 #lawrence quirk

[palecolorinfluencer]

Joan Crawford in the 1946 film “Humoresque” in which she co-starred with John Garfield. The film is an older woman/younger man tale about a violinist  and his patroness. The writer, Hollywood reporter and film historian Lawrence J Quirk commented "Humoresque is undoubtedly Crawford's finest performance... her timing was flawless, her appearance lovely, her emotions depthful." It was Joan’s first film after her Oscar-winning role in “Mildred Pierce”.

[oh-sewing-circle]

"Around the time of the shooting of Our Dancing Daughters (1928), rumors of Joan's bisexuality began to surface, in spite of (or perhaps because of) her highly publicized relationship with pretty-boy Douglas Fairbanks. Part of it was her intense desire to become friends with costar Anita Page, which some thought indicated that she had a crush on Page. For her part, Page later told writer William Mann that 'it may have been true in the beginning, that she wanted to know me for that reason.' Her friend and confidant, Jerry Asher was certain Joan lusted for Page, revealing that she had more than once admitted as much. Asher also related that Joan got farther with Dorothy Sebastian, cast as Beatrice in Our Dancing Daughters, and with Gwen Lee, who would appear with Joan in Untamed (1929) and Paid (1930). He felt certain that Joan and early roomate Mae Clarke had been on and off lovers for a time."

-Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography by Lawrence J. Quirk

#Joan Crawford #Anita Page #Our Dancing Daughters #Dorothy Sebastian #bisexuality #bisexual #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbt+ #queer history #queer women #classic hollywood #old hollywood #1928 #1920s #20s #silent film #silent era