Blind Items Revealed #6 - Old Hollywood
June 13, 2016
Her first film was essentially her last. This actress had been a hit in theatre when she met this A+ list director. One of the all-time greatest directors. They hooked up while he was married and eventually he left his wife for the actress. She moved out to Hollywood to live with him. She wanted to be in a movie and he cast her as the lead in what would become a multiple Oscar winner. The thing is though, on the first day of filming he met an extra who would later become his wife. They would remain married to each other for the rest of their lives.
Anyway, here he was, hooking up with this extra on the set of a movie where his newly installed live in girlfriend was also working. It was like one of his comedies. To make things easier, the director reduced the part of the live in girlfriend to a third lead so she would spend much less time on set. Meanwhile, the romance with the extra saw the director having her move into a hotel suite he also used for himself when he didn’t want to go home.
Soon, the extra demanded that the live in girlfriend be moved out and the extra further demanded that the director have nothing to do with the actress again. As in making sure he never even ran into her at any studio or on any production. The director did this and gave the live in girlfriend enough money to live on for a year and told her he would make sure she could not work in Hollywood any longer so she should go back home or leave the country. She left the country and barely worked ever again.
The Lost Weekend/Doris Dowling/Billy Wilder/Audrey Young
El got it.
ReplyDeleteBilly had enough power to ruin somebody's career but an extra's pussy kicked his POS ass.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Imdb, Doris worked as a character actress long after Billy and/or Audrey stopped working.
ReplyDeleteSo, Billy's power may have been great at one time, but the, "you'll never work in this town ever again," saying truly doesn't hold water -- if you are ambitious enough to prevail through it.
Billy (finally) married Audrey in 1949, Lost Weekend is from 1945, and Doris worked constantly. Her IMDb page says she had a project out pretty much every year from 1944-1984. How is that "barely working eve again"? Enty, if you want to make up blinds at least make them mildly plausible.
ReplyDelete*ever
ReplyDeleteBarely ever worked again? Dorothy Dowling has a long list of filmography credits (64 in all) that span the years from 1944 to 1984. From the IMDb site:
ReplyDelete"Doris started off auspiciously with the role of the barfly and drinking companion to fellow alcoholic Ray Milland in the sobering classic film The Lost Weekend (1945). That movie, which won "best picture" and "best actor" and was the first to deal with the harrowing effects of alcoholism, led to an equally victimy part for Doris in the choice Raymond Chandler piece The Blue Dahlia (1946) starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. Her post-war credits started dropping off, however, and (like her sister) managed to revive her career in Italy where her soulful eyes and dark, earthy beauty complemented several dramas whose themes reflected the realities of war, including Bitter Rice (1949) and Rome, Open City (1945) (Open City). Doris also appeared in Orson Welles' European production of Othello (1952) playing the role of Bianca. Returning to the US, theater and TV would comprised much of her later work, continuing on such popular shows as Bonanza (1959) and Barnaby Jones (1973). In 1973, she shared an Outer Critics Circle award for her performance in the all-star stage production of "The Women" on Broadway. Married three times, she was wife #7 to band leader Artie Shaw, by whom she had a son, Jonathan Shaw.
Maybe he means barely worked in Hollywood again? I think a lot of her credits are from Italy but not sure.
ReplyDelete