Thursday, March 13, 2014
Blind Item #7 - Old Hollywood Blind
This A-list actor who got his start on Broadway died an unexpected death, presumably from a heart condition he had since birth. That's only partly true. He had a major nose candy habit which further quickened his demise. Sometimes he would share the coke with that troubled actress/biopic subject whom he co-starred with frequently on and off screen
Dick Powell
ReplyDeletefred astaire and judy garland just because he died of pneumonia
ReplyDeleteNot dick Powell.
ReplyDeleteBurton? He for sure had addictive personality.
ReplyDeleteSounds about right
DeleteDonald O Connor died from heart failure.
ReplyDeleteJohn Garfield, and ... Garbo?
ReplyDeleteDebbie Reynolds was in a lot of O Connor's movies.
ReplyDeleteJohn Ritter
ReplyDeleteBurton and Taylor
ReplyDeleteMontgomery Clift got his start on B'way. Biopic subject would be his best pal Miss Liz Taylor!
ReplyDeleteMontgomery Clift and Liz Taylor. It doesn't say that the woman was his girlfriend, so could be gay or straight fella.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of John Gilbert, but John Garfield was also someone who died young of heart problems.
ReplyDeleteHeather!!!! Ha! Great minds...
ReplyDeleteWasn't Monty's death attributed to alcoholism?
ReplyDeleteI'm with Candyland and Heather. Clift drank and drugged himself to death & Liz was about the only person he was friends with.
ReplyDeleteClark Gable fits - got his start on broadway and died of a heart attack at 59
ReplyDelete@Zelda - says heart attack for Monty on this site I found: http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/art/movie-stars-death-dates.htm See1966.
ReplyDeleteYeah you're right I just googled it. They originally said it was brought on by heart disease. I should have remembered Bc I read a bio about him a few years ago. Sorry blonde moment!
DeleteSandybrook, everyone dies of heart failure.
ReplyDeleteBobby Darin???
ReplyDeleteBobby Darin would be my guess. Him and Sandra dee.
DeleteClark Gable had an affair with Joan Crawford, so the biopic would be "Mommie Dearest."
ReplyDeleteGood guess @Dave. Did Gable start on Broadway?
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ReplyDeleteClark Gable and Joan Crawford
ReplyDeleteBobby Darin.
ReplyDelete& Sandra Dee would qualify as troubled and there were 2 movies.
ReplyDeleteI read it as Bobby Darin, but he didn't start on Broadway.
ReplyDeleteBobby Darin had a song called "On Broadway"... maybe a clue???
ReplyDeleteLove the old Hollywood blinds. After FULL SERVICE I can no longer watch Charles laughton....
ReplyDeleteSpencer Tracy (began on Broadway) and Katharine Hepburn came to my mind. Blanchett played Hepburn in The Aviator, a biopic not about Hepburn but featuring her. Tracy also died of a heart attack.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Bobby Darin.
ReplyDeleteMontgomery Clift was also VERY close to Marilyn Monroe.
ReplyDeleteI'm down with the Clark Gable guess except...it's Clark Fucking Gable; would he not be A+ list, especially in Old Hollywood?
ReplyDeleteThat, by the way, is my criteria for A+...if the word "fucking" can be added as a legit middle name that's A+ list in my book.
Bobby Darin for the win.
ReplyDeleteSpencer Tracy was old when he died. I like the Clift liz one for this. Diamonds and cocaine are forever
ReplyDeleteGable was my first thought, so going with Clark and Joan.
ReplyDeleteBobby Darin didn't start out on Broadway - he was a pop singer before moving into films. Plus I don't think he was ever really A-list as an actor.
ReplyDeleteI like the Clift-Taylor guess.
John Garfield
ReplyDeleteJohn Garfield
ReplyDeleteMonty n Liz
ReplyDeleteTotally Marilyn Monroe
ReplyDeleteI have two main guesses.
ReplyDeleteThe first one is Douglas Fairbanks. His first film as the lead was The Lamb, based on a play he had previously starred in on Broadway (and that was also the base for Buster Keaton's first feature film as a lead).
Married to Mary Pickford, a frequent co-star, who's currently the subject of a biopic, The First, starring Lily Rabe (American Horror Story) and Julia Stiles. Died at 56, but at that point his career had declined after talkies took over (he's the base for the main character in The Artist).
The second one is John Garfield, who died at 39 from a heart attack. Got his start on Broadway. At the time of his death, it was mentioned that the stress coming from being blacklisted because of HUAC may have been responsible for his premature death.
The co-star would be Joan Crawford, as they were both in Humoresque.
Another guess would be Robert Walker (Strangers on a Train), but he died at 32 from a barbiturate overdose. He was famous for his relationship with Jennifer Jones and the affair she had with Selznick.
It can't be Montgomery Clift, as he was in a horrific car accident while shooting Raintree County. After that he had to be shown with his right profile, given how much the left side of his face still had scars. He had addiction issues before the accident, and they got worse after that, while his looks deteriorated over the years. His death was unfortunately not unexpected.
Nobody ever mentioned a congenital heart condition for Clark Gable's death at 59. Gable had let himself go for quite some time and weighed 230 pounds. He wanted to go back in shape for The Misfits, and took a crash diet. The tension on the set and the physical demands on the part may have also played a part.
Montgomery Clift and Liz Taylor. They were super close friends off screen. This BI totally matches them.
ReplyDeleteI think it's Fairbanks and Pickford, as well.
ReplyDeleteFirst thought was John Gilbert, but how about Tyrone Power Jr
ReplyDeleteBobby Darin!
ReplyDelete