It's Joan, no it's ROSEMARY, no it's JOAN, no it's...

Rosemary Craig. Who the heck was Rosemary Craig? And is this not one of the strangest celebrity ads you've ever seen? And with Joan "no wire" Crawford no less.

Click on image to see it larger.

Okay this one is NOT from Photoplay. This is from the August 2o, 1949 Collier's. Joan plugging plugs. Now I've seen everything. And just as she was hawking Flamingo Road with the pearls she's doing the same with the spark plugs.

Now, how did they ever find Rosemary Craig the look-a-like? Actually when you look at Rosemary in the magazine it's pretty easy to tell that there was some retouching done to her photo. Well, there was retouching done to both shots, but especially Rosemary. But it worked. I did a double take when I saw this ad. And that's the reason I bought the magazine. I knew this had to be shared. Why they chose spark plugs for Joan I'll never know. Maybe some dim-witted soul in the promotion department misunderstood what the movie Flamingo Road was about. Road, spark plugs, pretty much the same thing.

To see more products Joan Crawford hawked click here.

And so ends the movie star ads...for now. Now let's see...ummmm...Rosemary Craig. Who was Rosemary Craig?

WESTMORE COSMETICS and Jane Wyman

"Rapture Pink." There's no messing around with a name like that. If you used all the available "Rapture Pink" products - lipstick, rouge, foundation, face powder - would it be overkill? How pink would you be?

Jane Wyman is the star of this ad and she's hawking the film A Kiss in the Dark which came out in...can you guess? 1949. Of course it did. Once again the ad is from the April 1949 Photoplay.

Jane Wyman (January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007) was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades. She received an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Johnny Belinda (1948), and later achieved success during the 1980s for her leading role in the television series Falcon Crest.

Wyman was the first wife of Ronald Reagan, marrying him in 1940 and divorcing him in 1948, long before he ran for any public office. To date, she is the only woman to have been an ex-wife of a U.S. president, and Ronald Reagan is the only divorced person to hold the office of President. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

To read more about Wyman, including the fact that she was buried in a nun's habit, click here to go to Wikipedia. To see her IMDb link click here.

As to the movie being hawked:

A Kiss in the Dark is a 1949 comedy film directed by Delmer Daves. It stars David Niven and Jane Wyman. The plot revolves around a pianist that inherits an apartment house full of loony tenants.

Okay, I'd like to see this one. Read more about it here at IMDb.

Now here's what really interests me about this ad: Westmore Cosmetics.

If you love movies you're bound to have heard of the Westmore family. There were always certain names I looked for in the end credits: Edith Head and the name Westmore.

The Westmore Family is a prominent family in Hollywood make-up. Led by their patriarch, George Westmore, the family has had three generations serve Hollywood as make-up artists in various capacities since George's establishment of Hollywood's first make-up department in 1917.

The English wigmaker George Westmore, for whom the Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild's George Westmore Lifetime Achievement Award is named, founded the first (and tiny) film makeup department, at Selig Studio in 1917. He also worked at Triangle but soon was freelancing across the major studios. He understood that cosmetic and hair needs were personal and would make up stars such as Mary Pickford (whom he relieved of having to curl her famous hair daily by making false ringlets) or The Talmadge Sisters in their homes before they left for work in the morning.

He fathered three legendary and scandalous generations of movie makeup artists, beginning with his six sons—Perc, Ern, Monte, Wally, Bud, and Frank—who soon eclipsed him in Hollywood. By 1926, Monte, Perc, Ern, and Bud had penetrated the industry to become the chief makeup artists at four major studios, and all continued to break ground in new beauty and horror illusions until the end of their careers. In 1921, after dishwashing at Famous Players-Lasky, Monte became Rudolph Valentino's sole makeup artist. (The actor had been doing his own.) When Valentino died in 1926, Monte went to Selznick International where, thirteen years later, he worked himself to death with the enormous makeup demands for Gone With the Wind (1939).

In 1923 Perc established a blazing career at First National-Warner Bros. and, over twenty-seven years, initiated beauty trends and disguises including, in 1939, the faces of Charles Laughton's grotesque Hunchback of Notre Dame (for RKO) and Bette Davis's eyebrowless, almost bald, whitefaced look in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. In the early 1920s he blended Stein Pink greasepaint with eye shadow, preceding Factor's Panchromatic. Ern, at RKO from 1929 to 1931 and then at Fox from 1935, was adept at finding the right look for stars of the 1930s. Wally headed Paramount makeup from 1926, where he created, among others, Frederic March's gruesome transformation in Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde (1931). Frank followed him there. Bud led Universal's makeup department for twenty-three years, specializing in rubber prosthetics and body suits such as the one used in Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).

Together they built the House of Westmore salon, which served stars and public alike. Later generations have continued the name, including brothers Michael and Marvin who have excelled in special effects makeup, such as in Blade Runner (1982), Mask (1985) and Raging Bull (1980). (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

And here's an interesting piece from a book called The Munsters: A Trip Down Mockingbird Lane by Stephen Cox, Yvonne DeCarlo, Butch Patrick:

The Westmores of Hollywood: The Westmores were comprised of six brothers: Monte, Perc, Bud,Wally, Em, and Frank. Their fiather,George Westmores, began as a wigmaker In Europe. OrIginally from England, the Westmore family immigrated o the United States in 1909 and settled in the Los Angeles area in 1916, where George became a makeup artist on silent films at MGM. He died in 1931, and the sons carried on the craft, dominating the profession for more than half a century.

Son Perce Westmore started young, learnng to be a wigmaker while going to school. He helped his father in the various wig shops and salons he operated. By age fourteen, Perc (pronounced "purse," short for Percival) was a skilled wigmaker and employed by the Paris Hair Company and Hepner's. Later, at Maison Cesare, Perc experimented in the fields of cosmetology and makeup. He painstakingly developed his talents and hones natural ability. In 1923, Perc conceived the first makeup department of the First National Studios, which later consolidated with Warner Bros. For the next thirty years, Perc was under personal contract to Jack warner, working with First National and serving as head of the makeup department at Warners. he became a respected name in the business, just like his brothers.

Perc Westmore entered into an agreement with the Max Factor Company in 19029 (with consent from Warner Bros.) whereby he served for six years as an advisor. Many revolutionary improvements in the cosmetic and wig fields were the result of his eyars there. The hair-lace feature of wig making was created by Perc, for instance. One of his most impressive contributions was the founding of the Hollywood Art School of Makeup.

Perc's abilities to draw, sketch, and paint, combined with his knowledge of sculpting, served him well in creating character makeup and hairstyles. Like most of the Westmores, Perc had his fans, like Bette Davis, who loved his artistry and how he made her look on film. Perc became an authority on feminine beauty techniques, and proved he could apply his knowledge to other businesses. Working in conjunction with his brothers, he founded both the House of Westmore, a beauty salon that operated from the mid-thirties to 1965, and a House of Westmore cosmetics company. At age sixty, Perc was urged out of retirement by his brother, bud, and assigned to do makeup on The Munsters, specifically Al Lewis.

"There are makeup people who didn't work if they wronged Perc, says his nephe, Mike. "Perc was a powerful guy in the business. Very creative and nice, but you didn't cross him. He was a tidy guy. I remember he used to wear these white suits and never got anything on them."

Perc, like his brother Ern, was a drinker, and it became a hindrance in his life and undoubtedly at work. Perc was eventually relieved of his duties with Warner Bros. He had worked on many films in his career, most notably A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), Casablanca (1943), and Mildred Pierce (1945). The Munsters kept Perc busy during a fragile period in his life, and he put in some fine artistry on the show. Perc's final work was on the 1970 Kirk Douglas film There Was a Crooked Man. He died on September 30, 1970.

"Perc and I got to know each other later in life," says Karl Silvera, who worked with or knew four of the Westmore brothers. "When Perc was fired from Warner Brothers, he lost his confidence. He kept getting lower because nobody would hire him. One of those things. He even tried to commit suicide a couple of times. Bud put him the studio and I was on good terms with Bud at the time. Bud asked if I would mind if Perc would 'work her with you' and I told him, 'Hell, no, I don't mind.' In the beginning, I was doing Grandpa's makeup as well."

"I loved Perc," Silvera says. "He was one of the finest people I ever knew, and probably one of the most talented. I wish I had known him earlier because he was, without a doubt, one of the most creative people I'd ever seen. We had great times together."

"Perc's equally talented brother all carve out niches in the industry as well. Monte, who worked in the filed for just a few years, contributed to makeup on Gone With the Wind. Monte died early on, in 1940. Ernest "Ern" Westmore, a longtime film makeup man, died in 1968. Wally Westmore served as Director of Makeup for Paramount Studio for many years. His first films, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) and Island of Lost Souls (1933), featured some innovative makeup and film techniques. Wally built a strong reputation in Hollywood and worked on more than 300 motion pictures. He died in 1973. Brother Bud (real name: Hamilton) was affiliated with 20th Century-Fox and then Universal, eventually becoming the latter studio's makeup supervisor. Bud's impressive credits include Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Jimmy Cagney's Man of a Thousand Faces (1957), and Spartacus (1960). Just days following Wally's death, Bud died too, with 1973's Soylent Green proving his final film work. Frank began in the forties, and eventually contributed to a long line of films including epics like The Ten Commandments (1956). Frank, the quiet one, who had worked in films and with the art school early on put the story of the family down on paper in his 1976 book The Westmores of Hollywood. The last surviving member of the Westmore brothers, Frank, died in 1985.

"If they had stuck together, they would be as big as any cosmetic company today," Karl Silvera surmises. "They just couldn't pull together, and they competed against each other. At times, they'd stick together; then they'd go back to fighting." Despite the rivalry and bitter betrayals between the famous brothers over the years, the Westores collectively launched a traditions of excellence that anchored the beginnings of Hollywood filmmaking.

Until I saw this ad I'd never heard of Westmore cosmetics. From what I've gathered it was an inexpensive makeup sold at places like Woolworth and Kresge. I don't know if it's still available, but the Westmore Academy still exists.

To see more ads click here and here. And here's another Jane Wyman ad, this time hawking Stage Fright from 1950.

Here's one last column from the November 26, 1945 Time magazine:

When he was in the U.S. last summer, British Cinemagnate Joseph Arthur Rank remarked: "I want to teach English women to look as well as American women." Last week he was busy on a deal to give the job to Hollywood's famed House of Westmore. Under the terms, Rank would make and distribute Westmore cosmetics in Britain. In return, the Westmores would do their best to make Britain's movie queens look just like Hollywood.

No one was better qualified to apply the glamor than the Westmore brothers, Perc (rhymes with nurse), 41, Wally, 39, Bud, 27, and Frank, 22 (now in the Coast Guard). Between them they have personally made up 90% of Hollywood's stars, trained nearly 75% of Hollywood's make-up artists.

The Westmores came by their skill honestly. Their father was a London wigmaker and hairdresser. He was also an iron disciplinarian: he once chained Perc to his wigmaker's bench. In 1909 he packed up his family and set sail for Montreal. There he got a job in a beauty shop. The pay was low, so at night he added to it by glamorizing Montreal's ladies of the evening.

Slip of the Razor. Eventually, the Westmores landed in Hollywood. There, in 1920, Perc broke into the movies by rescuing Film Star Adolph Menjou from the effects of a hasty razor stroke. Menjou had inadvertently shaved off half his mustache just before he was to appear in The Three Musketeers. Young Perc, a beauty-shop apprentice, fixed up the mishap so expertly that he and his father were hired on the spot.

By 1924 Perc, both leader and goad of the brothers, was make-up man for First National (later Warner Bros.), where he has stayed ever since. There he has quietly revolutionized makeup. First he invented the panchromatic base, a tan cream which would evenly reflect all lights, thus keep faces or lips from fading out. Then came the "hair lace wig," which added years of professional life to balding oldsters like Bing Crosby, Charles Boyer, Jack Benny and Fred Astaire, and molded rubber faces for Frankenstein's monster & Mr. Hyde. He also devised a foolproof method for other make-up men to use. He catalogued all women's faces in five basic types, i.e., Claudette Colbert has a "diamond" face, Ann Sheridan a "square" face, etc. The same technique is applied in making up all faces of the same type. For these things, Perc became the highest-paid make-up artist in the world, getting $50,000 a year from Warner Bros. (At Paramount, Wally gets $35,000.)

Slip of the Hand. But when Perc and his brothers branched out into the beauty business in 1933, in a pink-brocaded, chromium and black-glass salon on Sunset Boulevard, their, hand slipped. None had any business sense. The House of Westmore almost folded before they hired a businessman, S. Willard Isaacs, former owner of a local beauty-shop chain, to run it. He still runs the House of Westmore. Last year it grossed $2,225,000 from the sale of Westmore products, $300,000 more from the salon, paid the brothers both salaries and handsome dividends.

Through their pending deal with Rank, the Westmores hope to take a long step toward becoming the world's biggest sellers of cosmetics. But even the present size of the business leaves Perc a little dumbfounded. Said he: "This is all pretty silly. We're really just a bunch of lucky barbers."

Next time you're watching an older film, or even tv show, watch for the name Westmore. Believe me, you've seen it more times than you can count.

GAIL RUSSELL, JOHN PAYNE, and soft hands

I did a post months ago about Jergens so I'm not going to bore myself or anyone else by repeating the information. You can click here to read about Jergen's hand lotion. Gail Russell and John Payne are another matter.

In my continuing searh for stars hawking products I give you Gail Russell and John Payne for Jergen's lotion. Well, actually they're doing it for Paramount who is hoping to spread the word about their movie El Paso. So, let's get started with the stars of our ad. Again, this ad is from the April 1949 Photoplay magazine. A treasure trove I tell 'ya! A real gold mine!

Click on image to see it larger.

Our tragic and beautiful leading lady:

Gail Russell (September 21, 1924 – August 26, 1961) was an American film and television actress.

She was born Elizabeth L. Russell to George and Gladys (Barnet) Russell in Chicago, Illinois, and then moved to the Los Angeles, California area when she was a teenager. Russell's extraordinary beauty brought her to the attention of Paramount Pictures in 1942. Although she was almost clinically shy and had no acting experience, Paramount had great expectations for her and employed an acting coach to work with her.

At the age of 19 she appeared in her first film, Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour (1943). Russell appeared in several more films in the early and mid 1940s, the most notable being The Uninvited (1944) with Ray Milland, and Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944), in which she co-starred with Diana Lynn. Russell later appeared in the more popular films, Calcutta (1947) with Alan Ladd, and two films with John Wayne, Angel and the Badman (1947) and Wake of the Red Witch (1948).

She continued working after 1947, and married actor Guy Madison in 1949, but by 1950, it was well known that she had become a victim of alcoholism, and Paramount did not renew her contract. She started drinking on the set of The Uninvited to ease her paralyzing stage fright and lack of self-confidence. Alcohol made a shambles of her career and personal life. She was divorced by Madison in 1954, and after a five-year absence, returned to work in a co-starring role with Randolph Scott in the western Seven Men from Now (1956), produced by her friend Wayne, and had a substantial role in The Tattered Dress (1957).

On July 5, 1957, she was photographed by a Los Angeles Times photographer after she drove her convertible into the front of Jan's coffee shop at 8424 Beverly Blvd. Russell was driving under the influence.

She appeared in two more films after that, but was not able to control her addiction, and on August 26, 1961, Russell was found dead in her apartment in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California at the age of 36. She died from liver damage attributed to alcohol. She was found to have been suffering from malnutrition at the time of her death. She was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, California. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

You can find her IMDb listing here. Click here to read more about her troubled life and here to see very sad photos of her in the LA Times near the end of her life.

Our very handsome leading man:

John Payne (May 28, 1912 - December 6, 1989) was an American film actor who is mainly remembered as a singer in 20th Century Fox musical films, as well as his leading role in Miracle on 34th Street.

Payne was born in Roanoke, Virginia. His mother, Margie Payne, graduated from the Virginia Seminary in Roanoke and became the bride of George Washington Payne, a developer of Roanoke. They lived at Ft. Lewis, an antebellum mansion that became a state historical property. It was destroyed by fire in the late 1950s. Payne went to Roanoke College then enrolled at Columbia University in the fall of 1930. He studied drama at Columbia and voice at Juilliard School. To support himself, he took on a variety of odd jobs, including wrestling and singing in vaudeville. In 1934, he was spotted by a talent scout for the Shubert theaters and was given a job as a stock player.

Payne toured with several Shubert Brothers shows, and frequently sang on New York-based radio programs. In 1936, he was offered a contract by Samuel Goldwyn, and he left New York for Hollywood. He worked for various studios until 1940, when he signed with 20th Century Fox. Fox made him a star, in 1940s musicals like Tin Pan Alley (1940), Sun Valley Serenade (1941), and Hello, Frisco, Hello (1943). In these films, he was usually cast as somewhat of a supporting player in love with the likes of Sonja Henie, Betty Grable, and Alice Faye. A highlight during this period was co-starring with Gene Tierney and Tyrone Power in The Razor's Edge (1946).

Payne's most popular role may be in his final film for Fox, that of attorney Fred Gailey in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). It is almost certainly his most visible role, as it typically receives frequent airplay during the Christmas season.

Later in his career Payne changed his image and began playing tough-guy roles in Hollywood films noir and westerns including Kansas City Confidential (1952), 99 River Street (1953), Silver Lode (1954), Tennessee's Partner (1955) and Slightly Scarlet (1956). Payne was a contract star with Pine-Thomas Productions where he shrewdly insisted that the films he appeared in be filmed in color and that the rights to the films reverted to him after several years that made him wealthy when he rented them to television.

Payne also starred in a television western series, The Restless Gun (1957-1959). In 1955, he paid a $1,000-a-month option for nine months on the Ian Fleming James Bond novel Moonraker (he eventually gave up the option when he learned he could not retain the rights for the entire book series).

In March 1961, Payne suffered extensive, life-threatening injuries when struck by a car in New York City. His recovery took two years. In his later roles, facial scars from the accident can be detected in close-ups; he chose not to have them removed. One of Payne's first public appearances during this period was as a guest panelist on the popular CBS-TV game show What's My Line.

Payne directed one of his last films, They Ran for Their Lives (1968). His final role was in 1975 when he co-starred with Peter Falk and Janet Leigh in the Columbo episode Forgotten Lady. Later in life, Payne became wealthy through real estate investments in Southern California.

Payne was married to actress Anne Shirley from 1937 to 1943; they had a daughter, Julie Anne Payne. He then married actress Gloria DeHaven in 1944; the union produced two children, Kathleen Hope Payne and Thomas John Payne, before divorcing in 1950. Payne then married Alexandra Beryl Curtis in 1953, and remained with her until his death. He was also the father-in-law of writer-director Robert Towne.

Payne died in Malibu, California of congestive heart failure on December 6, 1989, aged 77. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

You can see John Payne's IMDb listing here. I always thought he was an incredibly handsome man, but for some reason I remember as a kid getting John Payne and Robert Taylor mixed up. Have no idea why.

You can also see a web page devoted to him here.

As to El Paso. I imagine I've seen it, but I don't remember.

El Paso (1949) Ex-confederate officer Clay Fletcher jumps at the chance to reunite with his once lady-friend, Susan Jeffers, when his father, Judge Fletcher, sends him on an errand to El Paso, Texas to get the signature of Susan's father, Judge Jeffers, on a legal document. Once there he finds the judge has become a drunk and a laughing stock, doing the bidding of local magnate Bert Donner and his running dog, Sheriff La Farge. Just as Clay starts straightening out the town's problems, events occur which force him to abandon the legal system and instead adopt the murderous tactics of a vigilante. (Source: IMDb; Written by Doug Sederberg)

It's rather strange to go digging into the lives of these people simply because of finding an old advertisement in a magazine, but that's what fascinates me about ephemera. I never know what will link to what, what story will unfold. Gail Russell died too young and when she did I was too young to be aware of it.

Fame is ephemeral and those in search of it need to remember that.

________________________

New book available on Amazon.
Tattered and Lost: Forgotten Dolls

This one is for those who love dolls!

Snapshots from the last 100+ years of children and adults with dolls. Okay, there are a couple of dogs too.

Perfect stocking stuffer!

I'm a LUX GIRL*

I guess I always thought that "Lux" in Lux Toilet Soap meant luxurious, and indeed that's what they were going for:

Lux soap was first launched in the UK in 1899 as a flaked version of Sunlight soap. Subsequently it was launched in the US in 1916, and marketed as a laundry soap targeted specifically at 'delicates'. Lever Brothers encouraged women to home launder their clothes without fear of satins and silks being turned yellow by harsh lyes that were often used in soaps at the time. The flake-type soap allowed the manufacturer some leeway from lye because it did not need to be shaped into traditional cake-shaped loaves as other soaps were. The result was a gentler soap that dissolved more readily and was advertised as suitable for home laundry use. Lux is currently a product of Unilever. The name "Lux" was chosen as the Latin word for "light" and because it was suggestive of "luxury."

Lux toilet soap was introduced as a bathroom soap in the US in 1925, and in the UK in 1928 as a brand extension of Lux soap flakes. Subsequently Lux soap has been marketed in several forms, including handwash, shower gel and cream bath soap. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

This ad, from the April 1949 Photoplay, features Evelyn Keys and Glenn Ford. I actually don't remember Evelyn Keyes. I recognize the name, but not the face. Her major claim to fame was playing Scarlett O'Hara's sister in Gone With the Wind. Okay, right there is where I run into a problem because I watched GWTW once and only once. Let's just say I didn't like it...at all. I know for many people it is THE movie, but for me it was like having all my teeth pulled on one day.

Click on image to see it larger.

Evelyn Louise Keyes (November 20, 1916 – July 4, 2008) was an American film actress. She is best-known for her role as Suellen O'Hara in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.

Evelyn Keyes was born on November 20, 1916, in Port Arthur, Texas to Omar Dow Keyes and Maude Ollive Keyes, the daughter of a Methodist minister. After Omar Keyes died when she was three years old, she moved with her mother to Atlanta, Georgia where they lived with her grandparents. As a teenager, Keyes took dancing lessons and performed for local clubs such as the Daughters of the Confederacy.

A chorus girl by age 18, Keyes was put under contract by Cecil B. DeMille. After a handful of B movies at Paramount Pictures, she landed her most notable role, that of Scarlett O'Hara's sister Suellen in Gone with the Wind (1939).

Columbia Pictures signed her to a contract. In 1941 she played an ingenue role in Here Comes Mr. Jordan, but the studio evidently thought her too young to play romantic roles in major films, so she spent most of the 1940s playing leads in many of Columbia's B dramas and mysteries. She developed her dramatic skill sufficiently to be given the feminine lead opposite Larry Parks in Columbia's blockbuster hit The Jolson Story (1946). Her later performances were fewer, but noteworthy, like her 1949 role as Kathy Flannigan in Mrs. Mike. Keyes' last important film role was a small part as Tom Ewell's vacationing wife in The Seven Year Itch (1955), which starred Marilyn Monroe. Keyes officially retired in 1956, but continued to act.

She was married to Barton Bainbridge from 1938 until his death from suicide in 1940. Later she married and divorced director Charles Vidor (1943–1945), actor/director John Huston (23 July 1946–February 1950), and bandleader Artie Shaw (1957–1985).[8] Keyes said of her many relationships, "I was always interested in the man of the moment, and there were many such moments." While married to Huston, the couple adopted a Mexican child, Pablo, whom Huston had discovered while on the set of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

Her autobiography, Scarlett O'Hara's Younger Sister: My Lively Life In and Out of Hollywood, was published in 1977. Keyes expressed her opinion that Mrs. Mike was her best film. She also wrote of the personal cost she paid by having an abortion just before Gone with the Wind was to begin filming. The experience left her unable to have children. Among the many Hollywood affairs she recounted were those to producer Michael Todd (who left Evelyn for Elizabeth Taylor), Anthony Quinn, David Niven and Kirk Douglas.

She died of uterine cancer on July 4, 2008 at the Peppers Estate Care Home in Montecito, California, near Santa Barbara. She had also suffered from Alzheimer's disease. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

Click here to see her listing at IMDb.

Lux used a lot of stars to advertise their soap, and yes, many were hawking a movie:

• Judy Garland
• June Allyson
• Lauren Bacall
• Betty Grable, and here
• Cyd Charisse
• Paulette Goddard
• Claudette Colbert, and here
• Loretta Young
• Carole Lombard
• Virginia Mayo
• Yvonne de Carlo
• Olivia de Havilland
• Helen Twelvetrees (who?)
• Marlene Dietrich
• and JOAN CRAWFORD! Looks like Joan was double-dipping in the old advertising game.

Okay, I'll stop. I'm sure there are a lot more.

Glenn Ford was an actor I always liked. He was in a lot of movies I enjoyed, especially the original 3:10 to Yuma and Blackboard Jungle.

Glenn Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades. Despite his versatility, Ford was best known for playing ordinary men in unusual circumstances.

Born as Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford at Jeffrey Hale Hospital in Quebec City, Ford was the son of Anglo-Quebecers Hannah Wood Mitchell and Newton Ford, a railway conductor. Through his father, Glenn Ford was a great-nephew of Canada's first Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald. Ford moved to Santa Monica, California with his family at the age of eight, and became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1939.

After Ford graduated from Santa Monica High School, he began working in small theatre groups. Ford later commented that his railroad executive father had no objection to his growing interest in acting, but told him, "It's all right for you to try to act, if you learn something else first. Be able to take a car apart and put it together. Be able to build a house, every bit of it. Then you'll always have something." Ford heeded the advice and during the 1950s, when he was one of Hollywood's most popular actors, he regularly worked on plumbing, wiring and air conditioning at home. At times, he worked as a roofer and installer of plate-glass windows.

He acted in West Coast stage companies, before joining Columbia Pictures in 1939. His stage name came from his father's hometown of Glenford, Canada. His first major movie part was in the 1939 film, Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence.

In 1942, Ford's film career was interrupted when he volunteered for duty in World War II with the United States Marine Corps Reserve on December 13, 1942, as a photographic specialist at the rank of Sergeant. He was assigned in March 1943 to active duty at the Marine Corps Base in San Diego. He was sent to Marine Corps Schools Detachment (Photographic Section) in Quantico, Virginia three months later, with orders as a motion-picture production technician. Sergeant Ford returned to the San Diego base in February 1944 and was assigned next to the radio section of the Public Relations Office, Headquarters Company, Base Headquarters Battalion. There he staged and broadcast the radio program Halls of Montezuma. Ford was honorably discharged from the Marines on December 7, 1944.

In 1958, he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve and was commissioned as a lieutenant commander with a 1655 designator (public affairs officer). During his annual training tours, he promoted the Navy through radio and television broadcasts, personal appearances, and documentary films. He was promoted to commander in 1963 and captain in 1968.

Ford went to Vietnam in 1967 for a month's tour of duty as a location scout for combat scenes in a training film entitled Global Marine. He traveled with a combat camera crew from the demilitarized zone south to the Mekong Delta. For his service in Vietnam, the Navy awarded him a Navy Commendation Medal. His World War II decorations are as follows: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Rifle Marksman Badge, and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Medal. He retired from the Naval Reserve in the 1970s at the rank of captain.

Following military service, Ford's breakthrough role was in 1946, starring alongside Rita Hayworth in Gilda. He went on to be a leading man opposite her in a total of five films. While the movie is mostly remembered as the vehicle for Hayworth's "provocative rendition of a song called Put the Blame on Mame, The New York Times movie reviewer Bosley Crowther praised Ford's "stamina and poise in a thankless role" despite the movie's poor direction.

Ford's career flourished in the 1950s and into the 1960s and continued into the early 1990s, with an increasing number of television roles. His major roles in thrillers, dramas and action films include A Stolen Life with Bette Davis, The Secret of Convict Lake with Gene Tierney, The Big Heat, Blackboard Jungle, Framed, Interrupted Melody with Eleanor Parker, Experiment in Terror with Lee Remick, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Superman and westerns such as The Fastest Gun Alive, 3:10 to Yuma and Cimarron. Ford's versatility also allowed him to star in a number of popular comedies, such as The Teahouse of the August Moon, Don't Go Near the Water, The Gazebo, Cry for Happy and The Courtship of Eddie's Father.

In 1971, Ford signed with CBS to star in his first television series, a half hour comedy/drama titled The Glenn Ford Show. However, CBS head Fred Silverman noticed that many of the featured films being shown at a Glenn Ford film festival were westerns. He suggested doing a western series instead, which resulted in the "modern day western" series, Cade's County. Ford played southwestern Sheriff Cade for one season (1971–1972) in a mix of western drama and police mystery. In The Family Holvak (1975–1976), Ford portrayed a depression era preacher in a family drama, reprising the same character he had played in the TV film, The Greatest Gift.

In 1978, Ford had a supporting role in Superman, as Clark Kent's adopted father, Jonathan Kent, a role that introduced Ford to a new generation of film audiences. Ford's final scene in the film begins with a subtle indirect reference (either sly or coincidental) to Blackboard Jungle - the earlier film's theme song "Rock Around the Clock" is heard on a car radio. In 1991, Ford agreed to star in a cable network series, African Skies. However, prior to the start of the series, he developed blood clots in his legs which required a lengthy stay in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Eventually he recovered, but at one time his situation was so severe that he was listed in critical condition. Ford was forced to drop out of the series and was replaced by Robert Mitchum.

The 2006 movie Superman Returns includes a scene where Ma Kent (played by Eva Marie Saint) stands next to the living room mantel after Superman returns from his quest to find remnants of Krypton. On that mantel is a picture of Pa Kent (as played by Glenn Ford). This "cameo" of sorts was Ford's last screen appearance (the photograph is more easily visible in a deleted scene included with the DVD release of the film).

Ford's first wife was actress and dancer Eleanor Powell (1943–1959), with whom he had his only child, Peter (born 1945). The couple appeared together on screen once, in a short subject produced in the 1950s entitled The Faith of Our Children; when they married, Powell was more famous than Ford. Ford subsequently married actress Kathryn Hays (1966–1969); Cynthia Hayward (1977–1984) and Jeanne Baus (1993–1994). All four marriages ended in divorce. Ford was not on good terms with his ex-wives. He also had a long-term relationship with actress Hope Lange in the early 1960s, although they never married.

In 1978, Ford underwent hypnosis at his home in Beverly Hills, and recalled a past life of being a Colorado cowboy named Charlie Bill. He gave a detailed description of a past life, which was tape-recorded for academics at the University of California to study. A second experiment was conducted at the university itself when Ford, then 61, responded well to the hypnosis. This time he did not recall the life of Charlie Bill, but that of a Scottish piano teacher named Charles Stuart. "I teach the piano to young flibbertigibbets", said Ford under the hypnosis, using a quaint old English word for rascals not in common use in California. He allegedly played a few notes on piano during the experiment, despite later telling that he never had been taught to play the instrument. The researchers then managed to locate the grave of a Charles Stuart in Elgin, Scotland, who died in 1840. After being shown a photo of the burial place, Ford said "That shook me up real bad. I felt immediately that it was the place I was buried."

Ford suffered a series of minor strokes which left him in frail health in the years leading up to his death. He died in his Beverly Hills home on August 30, 2006 at the age of 90.[8]

His interment was located in Santa Monica's Woodlawn Cemetery. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

Click here to see his listing at IMDb.

As to the movie they're hawking, Mr. Soft Touch, it sounds like an interesting Noir film. Haven't seen it and it's not listed to be on TCM anytime soon.

Polish American Joe Miracle (Glenn Ford) returns from fighting in World War II, only to find his San Francisco nightclub under the control of the Mob, and his friend and partner Leo missing and presumed murdered. To get even, he robs $100,000 from his former business, planning to leave the country as soon as possible.

He goes to the apartment of Victor Christopher (Ray Meyer), Leo's brother, where he picks up a ticket Victor and his wife Clara (Angela Clarke) had purchased for him. However, he discovers to his dismay that they could only book him on a ship that sails for Yokohama on Christmas Eve, the next night. He has to hide until then. When the police come to stop Victor from ringing a bell and disturbing the neighbors, Joe pretends to be him in order to spend the night safely in jail. However, Jenny Jones (Evelyn Keyes), a kind-hearted social worker, gets him remanded into her custody instead.

She takes him to the Borden Street Settlement House, where the down and out are helped, among them a talkative, opinionated carpenter named Rickle (Percy Kilbride). As they get better acquainted, Jenny and Joe begin falling in love, though she turns down the advances of a married wife beater. Joe causes trouble. He turns the tables on some youths who try to cheat him at craps and also accidentally falls on an old piano, breaking it. Feeling responsible, he goes to a nearby piano store (actually a front for a gambling parlor) and, pretending to be newly assigned to the police precinct, cons the owner into donating a piano in return for Joe turning a blind eye to the illicit activities there. However, he is recognized by newspaper columnist Henry "Early" Byrd (John Ireland).

Byrd tries to find out from Jenny if Joe is staying at the settlement house, but she refuses to divulge anything. From Byrd's description, Jenny realizes that Joe is not Victor. Then, when she finds out Joe also has a pistol, she insists he leave. Byrd returns and tries to get Joe to tell him the name of the man providing protection to the crooks, but Joe refuses to talk. When he collects his money, Jenny pleads with him to give it back so they can start a life together. He counters by asking her to leave the country with him. Neither accepts the other's proposal. Meanwhile, the mobsters force Clara to tell them where Joe is hiding and start a fire to smoke him out. They recover the money, while the settlement house is left in smoldering ruins.

Joe enters the nightclub through a secret passageway and takes the money again from the new boss, Barney Teener (Roman Bohnen). Then he hires some men to dress up as Santa Claus to distribute presents to the children at a fundraiser at the settlement house. Joe slips in as another Santa and leaves the money to pay for the rebuilding. As he slips away, Jenny realizes what is going on and chases him out into the street, calling his name. Hearing this, the waiting mobsters shoot Joe in the back. The film ends at this point, leaving it unclear whether he will live or die, or what the future holds for the couple. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

Does it strike anyone else that it's sort of funny that they're using Lux soap to hawk a film called Mr. Soft Touch? How often did that work out so perfectly? Let's see, Betty Grable was hawking The Beautiful Blond from Bashful Bend and Wabash Avenue, June Allyson for High Barbaree, and Judy Garland for Ziegfield Follies. I'm guessing Lux never found a better movie title than Mr. Soft Touch.

*Well, not me personally. I've got a cousin's wife who keeps cranking out enough soap to keep me clean for years to come.

JOAN CRAWFORD and faux pearls

I haven't made up my mind if I believe Joan Crawford would choose to wear faux pearls. Oh sure, in a movie I can imagine it, but on her own? I imagine her being a bit of a diva and turning a cold shoulder to anyone who offered her fakes. I'm trying to envision the "authentically designed Chinese-type, rose-quartz plastic case" sitting on her dresser. I mean, come on...she wouldn't use wire hangers!

Here's Joan in an ad for Deltha Simulated Pearls in the April 1949 Photoplay. Of course, what's she's really doing in the ad is hawking her latest movie, Flamingo Road.

Click on image to see it larger. (SOURCE: April 1949 Photoplay)

To see more ads featuring "stars" wearing Deltha pearls click here.

As to Flamingo Road:

Flamingo Road (1949) More at IMDb

Carnival dancer Lane Bellamy finds herself stranded in a southern town ruled by corrupt political boss Titus Semple. Lane becomes romantically involved with sheriff Fielding Carlisle, a weakling whose career is being driven by Titus. Seeing Lane as a liability to his own political ambitions, Titus mounts a campaign to get her driven out of town. She finds she can't get a job and even gets arrested on a trumped-up morals charge. Released from jail, Lane finds work as a "hostess" at Lutie-Mae's road house, where she meets Dan Reynolds, another member of the town's political machine. They marry and move to a home on Flamingo Road, the town's social pinnacle. Their marriage is soon marked by scandal when a drunken Carlisle visits Lane at home one evening and shoots himself. (Written by Daniel Bubbeo dbubbeo@cmp.com)

Now carnival dancer Lane Bellamy, I can imagine her wearing simulated pearls and being thrilled. Lovingly looking at them, holding them up to the light to see their faux luster. Joan? "Get these damn things off of me!"

To see the trailer for the movie click here, or just enjoy a little bit of Joan's sultry singing below.

Click here to read a post I did last year featuring a photo of Joan. Okay, so really it's about Hymie Fink, but I think Hymie should be mentioned at least once a year, Joan or no Joan.