|
Movie Profiles & Premiums Newsletter Vol.4 #9
|
Cliff Aliperti
|
Sep 20, 2006 03:51 PDT
|
Movie Profiles & Premiums Volume 4, Number 9. September 15, 2006
Brought to you by http://www.things-and-other-stuff.com
#
This is the plain text version of the newsletter. Read this online in
html format and loaded with pictures of movie collectibles at:
http://www.things-and-other-stuff.com/issues/movie-newsletter-04-09.htm
#
Hi again, hope you had a great month plus, sorry I'm a few days late
this time around. This will be a brief issue, but while I'm shorting
you on the chit-chat I did manage to put together a couple of brand new
Photo ID Guides as well as a Collectibles Slide Show to accompany this
month's profile.
The bidding is open right now on both of our new Photo ID features! But
before you bid be sure to have a look at the brand new Photo ID Guides
for 1935-36 Shirley's Gum Cards from Holland and the later 1963 Monster
Flip Movies books that I believe were issued by Topps. Don't let the
later date fool you, these flip books are filled with images from
Universal horror classics such as Frankenstein, The Mummy, and The
Wolfman.
1935-36 Shirley's Gum:
http://www.things-and-other-stuff.com/movies/trading-cards/1935-shirleys-gum-cards.htm
1963 Monster Flip Movies:
http://www.things-and-other-stuff.com/movies/ephemera/1963-topps-monster-flip-movies.htm
Both the Shirley's Gum Cards and the Monster Flip Movies were listed
this past Monday at auction with bidding closing next Monday night,
September 25. Go here to bid now: http://tinyurl.com/f3b6k
I also updated Photo ID Guides with new information for the 1930's
Quaker Actors & Actresses Standees page and the 1933-1938 M23
Philadelphia Supplements page. For the Standees I noticed somebody
else's auction which included a few stars I hadn't seen before, and for
the Philly Supplements I had picked up some which also added some new
names to the checklists.
Quaker Standees:
http://www.things-and-other-stuff.com/movies/ephemera/1930s-quaker-standees.htm
M23 Philadelphia Supplements:
http://www.things-and-other-stuff.com/movies/ephemera/1936-m23-philadelphia.htm
#
As you may have noticed since I've resumed monthly publication of this
newsletter I've been alternating Profile entries from Tammy Stone, who
provides profiles to us of the early silent stars, and from Susan M.
Kelly, who does a great job putting together profiles of the Golden Age
stars. Besides being extremely dependable, I really enjoy reading
entries from both of these writers, and as an extra personal bonus to
me, they both make editing oh-so-easy as it's a rare occasion when I
need to change even a single word of their work!
Susan took care of Marilyn Monroe last issue, and so I had made a mental
note to request a silent star from Tammy for this issue, but I totally
goofed and contacted her a little later than usual this time around only
to find out she was busy with the Toronto International Film Festival--I
should have known better! Tammy, hope you had a great time! Anyway,
I'm hoping to run a Silent Collection piece from Tammy next issue, but
as for this issue Susan responded on short and unexpected notice and so
I want to extend special thanks to her this time around. She even took
a request, and so we proudly present:
Robert Taylor by Susan M. Kelly -- can be read here on
things-and-other-stuff.com:
http://www.things-and-other-stuff.com/movies/profiles/robert-taylor.htm
and is also included at the bottom of this issue.
along with the
Robert Taylor Collectible Slide Show:
http://www.things-and-other-stuff.com/collectibles-slide-shows/robert-taylor.htm
#
That's all for now, a brief one as promised. I'll be back again October
15, have a great month!
#
ROBERT TAYLOR
By Susan M. Kelly
Deep blue eyes, dashing good looks and a face the camera loved were the
hallmarks of the man who would come to be known as “The Perfect Profile”
and, with the departure of Clark Gable, “The New King”. Such was the
legacy of Robert Taylor, but his tremendous good looks would prove to be
a stumbling block which he fought to overcome throughout his career.
Spangler Arlington Brugh was born on the plains of Nebraska on August 5,
1911 to a country doctor and his invalid wife. Young Spangler had an
impressive number of accomplishments to match his rather impressive
name. As a teenager he was a talented track star and showed a flair for
public speaking. His real love, however, was music. He played the
cello in his high school orchestra and upon graduation he enrolled at
Doane College in Nebraska to study music.
Inspired by his father, who had become a doctor with the intent of
curing his invalid wife, the younger Brugh subsequently changed tracks
and moved west to study medicine at Pomona College in Los Angeles.
While at Pomona he joined the campus theater group and, aided by his
remarkable good looks, found yet another calling. He considered
continuing on to drama school upon his graduation from Pomona in 1933,
but before he could follow through on the plan an MGM talent scout
spotted him and gave him both a contract and a new name. Robert Taylor
was now set to make his mark on Hollywood, and what a mark it would be!
He made his first screen appearance in 1934’s “Handy Andy” and appeared
in a handful of movie shorts to get his feet wet and then took on his
first lead role, opposite Irene Dunne, in 1935’s “Magnificent
Obsession”. The plot of the film hit close to home for Taylor, as he
played a playboy who inadvertently blinds the girl he is trying to
impress then becomes a doctor to cure her. Reminiscent of his own
parent’s story, the movie quickly became a hit and its leading man a
full fledged Hollywood star.
While audiences took to his glossy good looks, the critics were not
always as kind, initially writing him off as yet another “all looks, no
substance” type. But Taylor was a true professional and, undaunted by
the critics, he threw himself into his work determined to prove that
there was more to him than a handsome face. He worked tirelessly
throughout 1935, putting together a string of no fewer than seven films
in one year, until he had earned legitimate leading man status.
In 1936 he appeared opposite Greta Garbo in “Camille” and by now he was
an audience favorite, causing legions of female fans to swoon and more
than a few critics to sit up and take notice. Though pinned mostly to
romantic leads, Taylor did his best to bring variety to his roles and
before long he had racked up memorable performances in everything from
“A Yank at Oxford” and “The Crowd Roars” (1938) to “Stand Up and Fight”
(1939). With the arrival of the 40’s, Taylor began taking on some
meatier roles such as the title character in “Billy the Kid” (1941), his
first western.
The dawn of World War II brought a change to Hollywood and Taylor was
quick to join in the war effort, first with roles in two combat movies
“Stand by for Action” (1942) and “Bataan” (1943) and then as a
lieutenant in the Naval Air Corps, where he worked as a flight
instructor and directed two flight instruction training films. Later in
the 40’s he would become a “friendly witness” for the House Un-American
Activities Committee.
Taylor returned to Hollywood after the war and quickly took up where he
had left off, with a string of action roles. By the early 1950’s his
handsome face was already beginning to show signs of age, and the roles
were harder to come by. Still, he managed to make his mark in what
would become one of his best known roles, as General Marcus Vinicius in
“Quo Vadis” (1951), opposite the lovely Deborah Kerr. The following
year, he starred opposite a much younger Elizabeth Taylor in the film
version of Walter Scott’s classic “Ivanhoe”. The movie proved to be a
smash hit and MGM quickly followed it up with 1953’s “Knights of the
Round Table”.
As the 50’s wore on, Taylor continued to fight his “pretty boy” image
and pushed for more challenging dramatic roles. He effortlessly moved
from westerns, to swashbucklers, even taking on the lead in another of
Scott’s works, “The Adventures of Quentin Durward” (1955), a character
much younger than the actor himself. He took on each role with panache
and his audience continued to respond in kind. His twenty year contract
with MGM, one of the longest in studio history, expired in 1958 and with
it his film career dwindled.
The same year he founded Robert Taylor Productions and made the segue
into TV work. From 1959-1962 he starred on the series “The Detectives”
and he took over as host of the popular western “Death Valley Days” when
his friend Ronald Reagan stepped down to pursue a political career. He
continued on “Death Valley Days” until his death from lung cancer on
June 8, 1969.
Robert Taylor spent his entire professional life trying to live down the
good looks nature had blessed him with and in so doing he left behind a
remarkable body of work. Though he would remain best known for his
handsome face, he was truly a man of many talents – a fact that scores
of loyal fans continue to appreciate to this day.
#
Susan M. Kelly is a freelance writer who lives and works in Dunellen,
New Jersey.
#
Unsubscribe simply by sending a blank e-mail to:
things-and-other--@topica.com
|
|
 |
|
