Lottice Howell in Gay Madrid
Alabama Yesterdays: Random wanderings through Alabama history
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query gail patrick. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query gail patrick. Sort by date Show all posts
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Alabama Film Actresses Before 1960: A List
I've been gathering various related blog posts into lists, and this one covers the series "Film Actresses from Alabama Before 1960".
Monday, April 4, 2016
Film Actresses from Alabama Before 1960 (4): Mary Anderson
Back in January of this year I did a post in the "Movies with Alabama Connections" series on Lifeboat, a 1944 Alfred Hitchcock film that starred two state natives, Tallulah Bankhead and Mary Anderson. Now I'd like to do a post in this series on Mary Anderson.
She was born in Birmingham on April 3, 1918 or perhaps 1920. She attended Howard College [now Samford University] and started acting in the theater department there. Her BhamWiki entry says she was runner-up in the Miss Birmingham contest.
The 1930 U.S. Census shows 12-year old Mary living with her parents James O. and Mary E. Anderson, younger brother James and her 72-year old grandfather. The family lived at 533 McMillan Avenue in southwest Birmingham. By the 1940 census she is living at 5757 Franklin Avenue in Los Angeles. Mother Mary and brother James are also shown living with her. The record notes she had finished two years of college.
Those census records do not settle the question of her birth year. The 1920 and 1930 census both estimate her birth year at 1918; the 1940 census estimates 1921.
Whatever Anderson's age, she was in Hollywood in 1939 and auditioned for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. She and hundreds of other actresses did not get that role, but she was tapped for the supporting role of Maybelle Merriwhether. In that same year she also had a small uncredited part in another high profile movie, The Women. Another Birmingham native, Dorothy Sebastian, also had a tiny role in the film.
Anderson appeared in several other films in addition to Lifeboat. She had a significant role in 1943's The Song of Bernadette alongside Jennifer Jones, who played the title character. You can find all her acting credits here.
In addition to the film roles, Anderson performed on a number of television shows in the 1950's and 1960's. The programs ranged from Target and Mike Hammer to Perry Mason, My Three Sons and Peyton Place. In her appearance on the 1958 episode "The Case of the Rolling Bones" on Perry Mason, she might have had a chance to trade Birmingham stories with Gail Patrick, another actress born in the city who by that time was producing the show. Anderson's final appearance was an uncredited "Old Lady in Music Store" in the 1980 film Cheech and Chong's Next Movie.
Younger brother James [1921-1969] also became an actor; he played Bob Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird. His credits include appearances in several Westerns and other films as well. They acted together in one movie, the 1951 noir thriller Hunt the Man Down.
Anderson died in April 2014 in Burbank, California. Her first husband was writer Leonard M. Behrens; married in 1940, they divorced in 1950. In 1953 she married cinematographer Leon Shamroy; he won 4 Academy Awards and was nominated 14 additional times. One of those wins was for the 1944 film Wilson in which Mary Anderson played Eleanor, the youngest daughter of President Wilson. She had one child by Shamroy.
As noted below, Anderson returned to Birmingham in November 1947 for the world premier of her film Whispering City and a public appearance at Pizitz. The film premier benefited the Crippled Children's Clinic and was held at the Empire Theater on Third Avenue North.
You can find a number of photographs of Anderson, including glamour shots, at this Pinterest board.
She was born in Birmingham on April 3, 1918 or perhaps 1920. She attended Howard College [now Samford University] and started acting in the theater department there. Her BhamWiki entry says she was runner-up in the Miss Birmingham contest.
The 1930 U.S. Census shows 12-year old Mary living with her parents James O. and Mary E. Anderson, younger brother James and her 72-year old grandfather. The family lived at 533 McMillan Avenue in southwest Birmingham. By the 1940 census she is living at 5757 Franklin Avenue in Los Angeles. Mother Mary and brother James are also shown living with her. The record notes she had finished two years of college.
Those census records do not settle the question of her birth year. The 1920 and 1930 census both estimate her birth year at 1918; the 1940 census estimates 1921.
Whatever Anderson's age, she was in Hollywood in 1939 and auditioned for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. She and hundreds of other actresses did not get that role, but she was tapped for the supporting role of Maybelle Merriwhether. In that same year she also had a small uncredited part in another high profile movie, The Women. Another Birmingham native, Dorothy Sebastian, also had a tiny role in the film.
Anderson appeared in several other films in addition to Lifeboat. She had a significant role in 1943's The Song of Bernadette alongside Jennifer Jones, who played the title character. You can find all her acting credits here.
In addition to the film roles, Anderson performed on a number of television shows in the 1950's and 1960's. The programs ranged from Target and Mike Hammer to Perry Mason, My Three Sons and Peyton Place. In her appearance on the 1958 episode "The Case of the Rolling Bones" on Perry Mason, she might have had a chance to trade Birmingham stories with Gail Patrick, another actress born in the city who by that time was producing the show. Anderson's final appearance was an uncredited "Old Lady in Music Store" in the 1980 film Cheech and Chong's Next Movie.
Younger brother James [1921-1969] also became an actor; he played Bob Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird. His credits include appearances in several Westerns and other films as well. They acted together in one movie, the 1951 noir thriller Hunt the Man Down.
Anderson died in April 2014 in Burbank, California. Her first husband was writer Leonard M. Behrens; married in 1940, they divorced in 1950. In 1953 she married cinematographer Leon Shamroy; he won 4 Academy Awards and was nominated 14 additional times. One of those wins was for the 1944 film Wilson in which Mary Anderson played Eleanor, the youngest daughter of President Wilson. She had one child by Shamroy.
As noted below, Anderson returned to Birmingham in November 1947 for the world premier of her film Whispering City and a public appearance at Pizitz. The film premier benefited the Crippled Children's Clinic and was held at the Empire Theater on Third Avenue North.
You can find a number of photographs of Anderson, including glamour shots, at this Pinterest board.
Anderson with actor Charles Russell in Behind Green Lights (1946)
Source: Wikipedia
Source: Listal
Source: The Film Daily 1946
Source: Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
Source: Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
Source: Wikipedia
This November 1947 newspaper ad announces the opening of new escalators for the first four floors of the Birmingham Pizitz store. The dark photograph in the upper left corner notes that actress Mary (Bebe) Anderson will be on hand to untie the ribbon. Others present for what was treated as a major event on November 24 were Mayor Cooper Green and representatives from Westinghouse, the company that made the escalator. That day's Birmingham News covered the addition in an article, "Pizitz store installs moving stairways."
Source: Tim Hollis and his book Pizitz: Your Store [History Press, 2010]
Anderson starred in two of the films, Henry Aldrich for President (1941) and Henry and Dizzy (1942).
Source: Birmingham Rewound
Friday, January 1, 2016
What's Coming to the Blog in 2016??
On January 1, 2015, I posted a document with a similar title. Here I am again one year later doing more or less the same thing.
First, let's take a look at last year's list, which you can also find below. I've actually posted blogs on a couple of the topics I intended to do. In February I covered the film The Lawless Breed and its connections to Alabama. Two more postings in that series followed during the year and more are in the pipeline.
I also started the series on film actresses from Alabama before 1960 and have posted on Lois Wilson and Gail Patrick. Dorothy Sebastian is next and others will follow.
And that's it. All the other topics I listed a year ago have yet to appear on this blog. What can I say? I'm easily distracted. Don't worry; they are all still in that mythical pipeline and some may even pop up in 2016. I also have many other topics "coming soon":
-What was America's first female detective doing in Montgomery before the Civil War?
-Some old Alabama postcards and the messages they send to us
-Some Alabama medical ads in 1911
-Augustus Thomas' 1891 play "Alabama"
Of course, the various series such as "Alabama Book Covers", "Old Alabama Stuff", "Birmingham Photos of the Day" and so on will continue. And other topics will surely pop up that I don't even see coming at me yet. Isn't this fun?
And as granddad still used to say, "See you in the funny papers." You do know what funny papers are, don't you?
What's Coming to the Blog in 2015??
People will be born, people will die. People will fall in love, get married, fall out of love, get divorced--wait, wrong list!
What's in store for THIS BLOG in 2015? Maybe I can get more specific with that one.
I began this blog in March 2014 and by the end of the year I'd put up 95 postings. Crazy. Topics ranged from old books to silent movies to old photos to abandoned drive-ins to a giant frog in Mobile. Oh, and Alabama Pizza Pasta in London. All of it related in some way to Alabama history. Mostly.
This year the onslaught of random quirkiness will continue:
-What's the Alabama connection in Rock Hudson's 1953 film The Lawless Breed?
-Who were some well-known movie actresses from Alabama--besides Tallulah Bankhead--long before Kate Jackson, Louise Fletcher, Courtney Cox and Kim Dickens?
-What three famous film directors have Birmingham connections?
-Who were all those photographers criss-crossing Alabama for the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s?
-Who were three female writers from Alabama whose first names began with Z?
-Who was Ambrose Bierce and why did he come to Alabama in the 1860's?
-What kind of career has train robber Railroad Bill had in blues and folk music?
-Will the madness ever end?
As my grandfather used to say, "See you in the funny papers."
What's in store for THIS BLOG in 2015? Maybe I can get more specific with that one.
I began this blog in March 2014 and by the end of the year I'd put up 95 postings. Crazy. Topics ranged from old books to silent movies to old photos to abandoned drive-ins to a giant frog in Mobile. Oh, and Alabama Pizza Pasta in London. All of it related in some way to Alabama history. Mostly.
This year the onslaught of random quirkiness will continue:
-What's the Alabama connection in Rock Hudson's 1953 film The Lawless Breed?
-Who were some well-known movie actresses from Alabama--besides Tallulah Bankhead--long before Kate Jackson, Louise Fletcher, Courtney Cox and Kim Dickens?
-What three famous film directors have Birmingham connections?
-Who were all those photographers criss-crossing Alabama for the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s?
-Who were three female writers from Alabama whose first names began with Z?
-Who was Ambrose Bierce and why did he come to Alabama in the 1860's?
-What kind of career has train robber Railroad Bill had in blues and folk music?
-Will the madness ever end?
As my grandfather used to say, "See you in the funny papers."
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Mobile and a "Mission of Fear"
I recently read this book which has resided on my shelves for many years and discovered that much of it is set in and around Mobile, Alabama. Let's investigate.
George Harmon Coxe [1901-1984] was a prolific author of fiction in various genres--detective tales, mysteries, thrillers. He published 63 novels and dozens of stories between 1932 and 1975. Around 1922 he began work for various newspapers and published a few stories in the pulps. He won a Grand Master designation from the Mystery Writers of America in 1964.
Mission of Fear was published in 1963. The novel is a "stand-alone", i.e. not one of Coxe's series works. Marion and John Hayden are living the happy married life in suburbia when a stranger appears with bad news: Marion's first husband Ted Corbin did not die in a plane crash as reported. That makes Marion a bigamist and liable for return of the rather large life insurance payout.
After a bit of detective work John figures he has located Corbin in Mobile. Hayden's trip to the city and the area occupies pages 96-142. He has a window seat on the flight from Atlanta to Mobile and observes the landscape as the plane descends. "The land beneath the wingtip seem gently rolling now, with cultivated areas interspersed with stands of pine. For the past few minutes they had flown over one river after another, each seemingly flowing southward toward the gulf or bay, but he was hazy about his geography in that area and he could only identify those which were shown on the airline map--the Alabama first, the Tensaw, the Mobile."
Coxe also describes Hayden's drive from the airport into the city as he passes more and more development, a large shopping center, increasing traffic. He finally reaches his new motel a few blocks beyond Government Street. Other landmarks are mentioned such as Conti Street, and Hayden makes a couple of trips through the Bankhead Tunnel. One area also noted is Bayou La Batre.
Corbin lives across the Bay in Fairview, apparently a stand-in for Fairhope. Why this name is changed but not others is a mystery. There is a Fairview in Alabama, but it's much further north in Cullman County. A significant portion of the Alabama section of the book is set in "Fairview". It also includes a description of the drive from Mobile to New Orleans when Hayden & Corbin decide to fly out of the Big Easy instead of Mobile. Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, Biloxi, Gulfport, Long Beach and Pass Christian all are mentioned.
I've found no connection to Alabama in Coxe's biographical information online, but he did work for a newspaper in Florida at one point during his journalism career. Coxe has two other Alabama connections by way of films adapted from his work. The 1936 film Murder with Pictures was based on Coxe's first novel published the previous year. The female lead is Birmingham native Gail Patrick; I've written several blog posts about her life and career. Here's Flash Casey is a 1938 film based on Coxe's story "Return Engagement" first published in the March 1934 issue of the legendary Black Mask magazine. That film starred Boots Mallory, who grew up in Mobile.
This novel is a fun read; Coxe was a writer who kept the story moving and created interesting characters. This title is the first thing by him I've read; I'll have to seek out more. Author James Reasoner has written an appreciation of Coxe that's available here.
Monday, January 1, 2018
What's Coming to the Blog in 2018?
For the fourth time I'm taking a look at what's ahead for AlabamaYesterdays in the coming year, and what kind of success I've had fulfilling my own prophecy at the beginning of 2017, etc. All previous posts are below.
I maintain a long laundry list of possible blog post topics. Some may never get done, but I keep the wish list going. Here's a few I HOPE to do in 2018:
-Carnegie Libraries in Alabama
-Ambrose Bierce in Alabama
-Alabama Women at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893
-Alabama Author Michael McDowell's 1977 Dissertation on Death
-Birmingham Doctors in 1920
-P.T. Barnum Visits Alabama
-Langston Hughes' Alabama Poems
-There's a Ticket Stub for That [a journey through 30 or so years of movies, concerts, etc.]
-Vladimir Putin's Alabama Connections [just kidding--maybe]
Looking at the list for 2017, I'm pleased to note I actually managed to complete posts on four of the topics listed. These included my dad's time aboard the USS Errol, notes from a trip to some historical sites in Montgomery, several posts on 19th and early 20th century songs with Alabama connections, and artist Anne Goldthwaite. Hopefully, I'll be at least that successful!
I should also top 400 posts since March 2014 sometime this year. See you in the funny papers.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
I maintain a long laundry list of possible blog post topics. Some may never get done, but I keep the wish list going. Here's a few I HOPE to do in 2018:
-Carnegie Libraries in Alabama
-Ambrose Bierce in Alabama
-Alabama Women at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893
-Alabama Author Michael McDowell's 1977 Dissertation on Death
-Birmingham Doctors in 1920
-P.T. Barnum Visits Alabama
-Langston Hughes' Alabama Poems
-There's a Ticket Stub for That [a journey through 30 or so years of movies, concerts, etc.]
-Vladimir Putin's Alabama Connections [just kidding--maybe]
Looking at the list for 2017, I'm pleased to note I actually managed to complete posts on four of the topics listed. These included my dad's time aboard the USS Errol, notes from a trip to some historical sites in Montgomery, several posts on 19th and early 20th century songs with Alabama connections, and artist Anne Goldthwaite. Hopefully, I'll be at least that successful!
I should also top 400 posts since March 2014 sometime this year. See you in the funny papers.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
What's Coming to the Blog in 2017?
On January 1, 2016, I posted an item under a similar title purporting to described what was coming to the blog in the coming year. I had done the same thing in 2015; both of those posts are copied below.
So here I am wondering what's coming in 2017. Looking back at the predictions for 2015 and 2016, I realized I actually have posted some of the stuff I listed.
I did explore the Alabama connections in Rock Hudson's 1953 film The Lawless Breed. I have started a series and completed several entries on actresses from Alabama who achieved fame in Hollywood before 1960. I did take a look at Augustus Thomas' 1891 play "Alabama" and some old Alabama postcards.
I will leave topics listed in 2015 and 2016 but not yet covered to discovery by discerning readers. They all remain on the "to do" list.
I also hope to get around to at least some of these topics in 2017:
-Dad and the USS Errol
-A Visit to Montgomery
-The Lady from Lipscomb Who's Buried in Austria
-More Early Alabama Songs
-Harriet Martineau Visits Alabama in 1835
-Alabama's Weird Tales Connections
-Anne Goldthwaite, Alabama Artist
Sometime fairly early in 2017 I will also be putting up the 300th post on this blog. Scary. I started the blog in March 2014 and have posted some 285 items so far. Scary.
As I noted in closing the 2016 speculations, the various series such as "Alabama Book Covers", "Old Alabama Stuff", "Birmingham Photos of the Day" and so on will continue. And other topics will surely pop up that I don't even see coming at me yet. Isn't this fun?
And as granddad still used to say, "See you in the funny papers."
You do know what funny papers are, don't you?
888888888888888888888
On January 1, 2015, I posted a document with a similar title. Here I am again one year later doing more or less the same thing.
First, let's take a look at last year's list, which you can also find below. I've actually posted blogs on a couple of the topics I intended to do. In February I covered the film The Lawless Breed and its connections to Alabama. Two more postings in that series followed during the year and more are in the pipeline.
I also started the series on film actresses from Alabama before 1960 and have posted on Lois Wilson and Gail Patrick. Dorothy Sebastian is next and others will follow.
And that's it. All the other topics I listed a year ago have yet to appear on this blog. What can I say? I'm easily distracted. Don't worry; they are all still in that mythical pipeline and some may even pop up in 2016. I also have many other topics "coming soon":
-What was America's first female detective doing in Montgomery before the Civil War?
-Some old Alabama postcards and the messages they send to us
-Some Alabama medical ads in 1911
-Augustus Thomas' 1891 play "Alabama"
Of course, the various series such as "Alabama Book Covers", "Old Alabama Stuff", "Birmingham Photos of the Day" and so on will continue. And other topics will surely pop up that I don't even see coming at me yet. Isn't this fun?
And as granddad still used to say, "See you in the funny papers." You do know what funny papers are, don't you?
So here I am wondering what's coming in 2017. Looking back at the predictions for 2015 and 2016, I realized I actually have posted some of the stuff I listed.
I did explore the Alabama connections in Rock Hudson's 1953 film The Lawless Breed. I have started a series and completed several entries on actresses from Alabama who achieved fame in Hollywood before 1960. I did take a look at Augustus Thomas' 1891 play "Alabama" and some old Alabama postcards.
I will leave topics listed in 2015 and 2016 but not yet covered to discovery by discerning readers. They all remain on the "to do" list.
I also hope to get around to at least some of these topics in 2017:
-Dad and the USS Errol
-A Visit to Montgomery
-The Lady from Lipscomb Who's Buried in Austria
-More Early Alabama Songs
-Harriet Martineau Visits Alabama in 1835
-Alabama's Weird Tales Connections
-Anne Goldthwaite, Alabama Artist
Sometime fairly early in 2017 I will also be putting up the 300th post on this blog. Scary. I started the blog in March 2014 and have posted some 285 items so far. Scary.
As I noted in closing the 2016 speculations, the various series such as "Alabama Book Covers", "Old Alabama Stuff", "Birmingham Photos of the Day" and so on will continue. And other topics will surely pop up that I don't even see coming at me yet. Isn't this fun?
And as granddad still used to say, "See you in the funny papers."
You do know what funny papers are, don't you?
See the post "Pondering Alabama Maps (7): October 2, 1866"
888888888888888888888
What's Coming to the Blog in 2016??
On January 1, 2015, I posted a document with a similar title. Here I am again one year later doing more or less the same thing.
First, let's take a look at last year's list, which you can also find below. I've actually posted blogs on a couple of the topics I intended to do. In February I covered the film The Lawless Breed and its connections to Alabama. Two more postings in that series followed during the year and more are in the pipeline.
I also started the series on film actresses from Alabama before 1960 and have posted on Lois Wilson and Gail Patrick. Dorothy Sebastian is next and others will follow.
And that's it. All the other topics I listed a year ago have yet to appear on this blog. What can I say? I'm easily distracted. Don't worry; they are all still in that mythical pipeline and some may even pop up in 2016. I also have many other topics "coming soon":
-What was America's first female detective doing in Montgomery before the Civil War?
-Some old Alabama postcards and the messages they send to us
-Some Alabama medical ads in 1911
-Augustus Thomas' 1891 play "Alabama"
Of course, the various series such as "Alabama Book Covers", "Old Alabama Stuff", "Birmingham Photos of the Day" and so on will continue. And other topics will surely pop up that I don't even see coming at me yet. Isn't this fun?
And as granddad still used to say, "See you in the funny papers." You do know what funny papers are, don't you?
What's Coming to the Blog in 2015??
People will be born, people will die. People will fall in love, get married, fall out of love, get divorced--wait, wrong list!
What's in store for THIS BLOG in 2015? Maybe I can get more specific with that one.
I began this blog in March 2014 and by the end of the year I'd put up 95 postings. Crazy. Topics ranged from old books to silent movies to old photos to abandoned drive-ins to a giant frog in Mobile. Oh, and Alabama Pizza Pasta in London. All of it related in some way to Alabama history. Mostly.
This year the onslaught of random quirkiness will continue:
-What's the Alabama connection in Rock Hudson's 1953 film The Lawless Breed?
-Who were some well-known movie actresses from Alabama--besides Tallulah Bankhead--long before Kate Jackson, Louise Fletcher, Courtney Cox and Kim Dickens?
-What three famous film directors have Birmingham connections?
-Who were all those photographers criss-crossing Alabama for the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s?
-Who were three female writers from Alabama whose first names began with Z?
-Who was Ambrose Bierce and why did he come to Alabama in the 1860's?
-What kind of career has train robber Railroad Bill had in blues and folk music?
-Will the madness ever end?
As my grandfather used to say, "See you in the funny papers."
What's in store for THIS BLOG in 2015? Maybe I can get more specific with that one.
I began this blog in March 2014 and by the end of the year I'd put up 95 postings. Crazy. Topics ranged from old books to silent movies to old photos to abandoned drive-ins to a giant frog in Mobile. Oh, and Alabama Pizza Pasta in London. All of it related in some way to Alabama history. Mostly.
This year the onslaught of random quirkiness will continue:
-What's the Alabama connection in Rock Hudson's 1953 film The Lawless Breed?
-Who were some well-known movie actresses from Alabama--besides Tallulah Bankhead--long before Kate Jackson, Louise Fletcher, Courtney Cox and Kim Dickens?
-What three famous film directors have Birmingham connections?
-Who were all those photographers criss-crossing Alabama for the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s?
-Who were three female writers from Alabama whose first names began with Z?
-Who was Ambrose Bierce and why did he come to Alabama in the 1860's?
-What kind of career has train robber Railroad Bill had in blues and folk music?
-Will the madness ever end?
As my grandfather used to say, "See you in the funny papers."
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