TIDBITS 01/10/10
Benjamin Mark
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Who Is She II
Back in the mid 1940's a trend had arisen whereby iconic film actors
and actresses were often represented "cast" in metal and adorned with
stones to be worn about the bodices of the women of the day.
As the fates would have it ... I have such a ornament. It is a brooch.
It's about three inches high. It is made of gilded metal and
rhinestones. And it is in the form of a sculptured head of ...?
Well ... here's the rub of it all. I can't tell you. The fun would be
gone. But I will tell you a bit about our maiden and you go look at
her face ... and you me who she is. For those of you who guess right
... you will have the incredible gift of being able to out-smug all of
those who guess wrong. And what greater joy is there on this earth
than the satisfaction that comes with the gift of justifiable smugness
... I ask you?
She was born in 1913 in Darjeeling, India and became one of the most
celebrated actresses ever known. World War I forced her parents to
stay in India longer than they had expected. At the end of the war
they returned to England where her mother wanted her to have a convent
education. She befriended a classmate while in school by the name of
Maureen O'Sullivan.
She married in 1932 ... had a child in 1933 ... and appeared in
British motion pictures as Rose Venables in 1935. Now ... here is
where we have a problem. If each and every one of you guesses
correctly ... I will know you went on to Google to look up Rose
Venables. This of course will immediately remove any and all
entitlements to adorn yourselves with the gift of Justifiable
Smugness. It ain't worth it folks ... trust me.
In her most renowned film ... she beat out some top names only to
enter into an antipathetic oppositional stance with her co-star during
the shoot. They did not get along.
She became a huge star ... but by 1945 her life began to go astray.
She suffered two miscarriages ... contracted tuberculosis ... and was
diagnosed as a manic depressive. She died at the age of 53.
Never-the-less ... her public remained entranced with her. In
1965--here comes another hint folks--she appeared in her last film:
Ship of Fools. I saw it. I do not remember seeing her.
So there it is. A small snippet of one of the great beauties and
talents of Hollywood. Wanna look at her iconic representation in
gilded metal. Then go. Go. Look. And tell me who she is. This last
part is restricted only to those who did not cheat and who truly covet
the Justifiable Gift of Smugness.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits...may I
direct you to my home page at http://www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that says
Current Tidbits ... and you will see represented on our pages a
sculpted and jewelled representatiion of one of Hollywood's true
greats.
And there ya have it.
That's it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark
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