Women's Health Awareness
View allAll Photos Tagged Obstetrician
At the time of delivery of potatoes my wife designated me as standby obstetrician to clamp and cut the umbilical cords (thin roots you see on a few of them). After clean up, we put them all on a white corning plate and I have taken this photo. Upon seeing this photo, our eyes became moist (tears of joy) ! !
See my cute vids with my cats:
Mom cat's first desire after difficult surgery www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUYzkqrns5o
It's a new Life on Earth. Cat obstetrician www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUYzkqrns5o
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWxWM9wqxyY
cats in the bathroom
This photo was taken during one of our annual family visits in Shenyang, China. The twin buildings highlighted by red lights on the right side of the photo is one of the teaching hospitals in the medical university I attended. This hospital is specialized as children hospital plus a big OB/GNY department where my wife used to work as an obstetrician.
南五马路青年大街西侧。 路右侧的盛京医院是我就读的医学院的附属医院之一。
Instagram | Surgery Picture
Sony A6000, f2.0, 1/125sec, 58.0mm, ISO 125
Viltrox Focal Reducer
Speed Booster
This De Havilland DH.114 Heron 1B G-ANXB is named 'Sir James Young Simpson' after the Scottish obstetrician, a significant figure in the history of medicine. The small propeller-driven British airliner was delivered to British European Airways (BEA) in December 1954.
The aircraft was used by BEA on its Scottish Airways Division from October 1971 until 31st March 1973. G-ANXB flew to many of the island and highland regional airport including the beach airstrip on Barra Island. An important additional role for the Heron was as an air ambulance to transport patients to a major mainland hospital for emergency medical treatment under contract to the Scottish Air Ambulance Service. At least one baby was born aboard the aircraft.
After leaving BEA the aircraft joined the Norwich-based airline Peters Aviation on 19th November 1973 and was still flying with them until at least April 1978.
In May 1981 the aircraft was seen in storage at Biggin Hill in Kent before being moved to the Newark Air Museum for restoration on 27th November 1981.
Coburg, Victoria
Dr Ines Rio has held Board and committee positions for over 12 years in Federal, State and Local Governments and in the community non-profit sector.
Dr Rio works as a GP in a community health centre and as a GP obstetrician at the Royal Women's Hospital, where she is also head of the General Practice Liaison Unit.
Dr Rio is currently Chair of the North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network, a member of the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services Human Research Ethics, Emergency Clinical Network and Ministerial Advisory Council for the New Victorian Services and Infrastructure Plan and Chair of AMA Vic GP Division.
Dr Rio also works with the City of Melbourne where she is Medical Officer for Health and a member of the Family and Children's Advisory and Emergency Planning Committees.
Dr Rio has extensive experience in the health care sector as a clinician in a range of diverse settings and roles, an educator, a service developer and manager, and a public health advisor. In addition she is lead author of Growing Together. A Kit For Parents.
MATERIALS: Polychrome brickwork in English bond, mainly brown brick with red brick bands. Stone window dressings. Gabled tiled roof with terracotta ridge tiles.
PLAN: Rectangular structure with three bay nave with aisles, two south-east porches either side of the one bay chancel and north-west bellcote. It is aligned south-east to north-west.
EXTERIOR: The south-east side has a central gable crowned by a metal cross-shaped saddlestone and large arched window with three trefoil-headed lights surmounted by a central cinquefoil light and two roundels. Recessed on either side are gabled porches with central arched openings flanked by sidelights and arched openings to side walls. Original arched wooden doors behind. The north-east and south-west sides have two small hipped dormers with wooden louvres and paired trefoil-headed windows. The north-west side has a gabled bellcote with trefoil-shaped bell opening, central window with quatrefoil above two trefoil-headed lights and similar single trefoil lights to the aisles.
INTERIOR: The walls are of red brick with black brick bands with a three bay pointed arched arcade with stiff leaf stone capitals, granite columns and deep brick bases. There is a canted roof with tiebeams with quatrefoil mouldings to the spandrels. Most of the wooden pews survive with tiled flooring to the centre and aisles, metal floor grilles and a small octagonal stone font. The south-east window, has probably original glass depicting Christ as The Good Shepherd, flanked by scenes appropriate to a workhouse of a baker giving bread to a pauper and a woman visiting the sick. Other windows have probably been brought in. The north-east central window has two lights, one depicting St Vincent de Paul with two children in early C20 dress, the other St Luke. The north window of the south-west aisle depicts The Good Shepherd and was inserted after 1938 in memory of staff members and surgical staff of Pembury Hospital. The south-west aisle contains two windows considered by the hospital chaplain in 1956 to be by C E Kempe (1837-1907). These comprise The Virgin and Child, dedicated to Edith Mary Myles (1874-1957), the first President of the League of Friends and Headmistress of Tunbridge Wells County Grammar School and the adjoining quatrefoil with an inscription of 1957 in memory of Philip Stewart Browning, a former hospital chaplain. A further stained glass window in the north-east aisle depicting the Baptism of Christ is to the memory of Amelia Scott with an inscription of 1955. There are also a number of small wall plaques to people connected with the workhouse or hospital. These include plaques dedicated to Thomas R McGill, Master of Tonbridge Workhouse between 1866 and 1893, John Francis Carter Braine, surgeon to the radiotherapy department 1939-1953, Ivor Elwyn Joseph Thomas, obstetrician and gynaecologist 1939-1953 and Constantine Lambrinudi, orthopaedic surgeon 1890-1943. The pipe organ to the west end of the eastern aisle is probably original.
HISTORY: The earliest buildings on the Pembury Hospital site were the two buildings of Tonbridge Workhouse dating from 1836. The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 prescribed a Church of England chaplain should hold divine service at workhouses every Sunday but in the early days most boards did not set aside a dedicated room for use as a chapel but adapted a dining room for the purpose. From 1859 onwards the "Journal of the Workhouse Visiting Society" enjoined the erection of dedicated chapels which were not usually consecrated but always licenced.
On April 24th 1863 the Rev. Saint of Groombridge Place wrote to the Board of Guardians of the Tonbridge Workhouse asking whether they would consider granting a sum from the Rates for a separate room for Public Worship or a site for a building built by voluntary contributions. The Board agreed to this providing it was under the control of the Guardians and would be used only for divine service. In June, the Committee specified that the building should be detached from the existing buildings, that the site should be as near as possible to the north-western corner of the site, the building range should be parallel with the road, the number to be accomodated should be not less than 300, that the partition for the separation of the sexes should be not less than 6 feet high and be constructed so that the church was divided longitudinally, that the plans should show separate entrances fenced off from the surrounding ground for males and females and the elevation of the building should be as much in harmony as possible with the Fever Ward of the hospital. These resolutions were approved by the Poor Law Board on 14th July 1863 and on 22nd July Robert Wheeler (fl. 1856-1882) of Brenchley (the architect) wrote to say he had taken these alterations into account and re-drawn the plans. These plans were subsequently approved by the Poor Law Board.
A dedicated chapel was duly erected to the north-west of the Tonbridge Workhouse buildings, beside the workhouse laundry, and is shown on the First Edition OS map which was surveyed in 1868. The workhouse function of the chapel is demonstrated from the exterior by the provision of two entrance porches, one for male paupers and one for female paupers, but although the Board of Guardians stipulated an internal screen there is no evidence of this. By the 1860s screens to separate various categories of paupers had gone out of fashion and perhaps it was never built. The cost of the chapel was £650 with seating for 300. The workhouse capacity was 400 but Catholics and Non-conformists were permitted to attend their own place of worship if one was located nearby or to receive visits from their priest or minister.
On 10th September 1887, a contract was drawn up with Messrs. George and Frank Penn in the sum of £3161 12s., for the stripping, boarding, fitting and retiling the chapel and works connected therewith, as well as the taking down of the bell turret. The surveyor was William Oakley.
In 1938 Tonbridge Workhouse became Pembury Hospital and the workhouse chapel became the hospital chapel.
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: A little altered Gothic style chapel constructed of good quality materials which is an unusually elaborate example (particularly for its interior) of a purpose-built workhouse chapel, a building type which is becoming increasingly rare. There is additional value for historical associations and memorials particular to its later hospital use.
MATERIALS: Polychrome brickwork in English bond, mainly brown brick with red brick bands. Stone window dressings. Gabled tiled roof with terracotta ridge tiles.
PLAN: Rectangular structure with three bay nave with aisles, two south-east porches either side of the one bay chancel and north-west bellcote. It is aligned south-east to north-west.
EXTERIOR: The south-east side has a central gable crowned by a metal cross-shaped saddlestone and large arched window with three trefoil-headed lights surmounted by a central cinquefoil light and two roundels. Recessed on either side are gabled porches with central arched openings flanked by sidelights and arched openings to side walls. Original arched wooden doors behind. The north-east and south-west sides have two small hipped dormers with wooden louvres and paired trefoil-headed windows. The north-west side has a gabled bellcote with trefoil-shaped bell opening, central window with quatrefoil above two trefoil-headed lights and similar single trefoil lights to the aisles.
INTERIOR: The walls are of red brick with black brick bands with a three bay pointed arched arcade with stiff leaf stone capitals, granite columns and deep brick bases. There is a canted roof with tiebeams with quatrefoil mouldings to the spandrels. Most of the wooden pews survive with tiled flooring to the centre and aisles, metal floor grilles and a small octagonal stone font. The south-east window, has probably original glass depicting Christ as The Good Shepherd, flanked by scenes appropriate to a workhouse of a baker giving bread to a pauper and a woman visiting the sick. Other windows have probably been brought in. The north-east central window has two lights, one depicting St Vincent de Paul with two children in early C20 dress, the other St Luke. The north window of the south-west aisle depicts The Good Shepherd and was inserted after 1938 in memory of staff members and surgical staff of Pembury Hospital. The south-west aisle contains two windows considered by the hospital chaplain in 1956 to be by C E Kempe (1837-1907). These comprise The Virgin and Child, dedicated to Edith Mary Myles (1874-1957), the first President of the League of Friends and Headmistress of Tunbridge Wells County Grammar School and the adjoining quatrefoil with an inscription of 1957 in memory of Philip Stewart Browning, a former hospital chaplain. A further stained glass window in the north-east aisle depicting the Baptism of Christ is to the memory of Amelia Scott with an inscription of 1955. There are also a number of small wall plaques to people connected with the workhouse or hospital. These include plaques dedicated to Thomas R McGill, Master of Tonbridge Workhouse between 1866 and 1893, John Francis Carter Braine, surgeon to the radiotherapy department 1939-1953, Ivor Elwyn Joseph Thomas, obstetrician and gynaecologist 1939-1953 and Constantine Lambrinudi, orthopaedic surgeon 1890-1943. The pipe organ to the west end of the eastern aisle is probably original.
HISTORY: The earliest buildings on the Pembury Hospital site were the two buildings of Tonbridge Workhouse dating from 1836. The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 prescribed a Church of England chaplain should hold divine service at workhouses every Sunday but in the early days most boards did not set aside a dedicated room for use as a chapel but adapted a dining room for the purpose. From 1859 onwards the "Journal of the Workhouse Visiting Society" enjoined the erection of dedicated chapels which were not usually consecrated but always licenced.
On April 24th 1863 the Rev. Saint of Groombridge Place wrote to the Board of Guardians of the Tonbridge Workhouse asking whether they would consider granting a sum from the Rates for a separate room for Public Worship or a site for a building built by voluntary contributions. The Board agreed to this providing it was under the control of the Guardians and would be used only for divine service. In June, the Committee specified that the building should be detached from the existing buildings, that the site should be as near as possible to the north-western corner of the site, the building range should be parallel with the road, the number to be accomodated should be not less than 300, that the partition for the separation of the sexes should be not less than 6 feet high and be constructed so that the church was divided longitudinally, that the plans should show separate entrances fenced off from the surrounding ground for males and females and the elevation of the building should be as much in harmony as possible with the Fever Ward of the hospital. These resolutions were approved by the Poor Law Board on 14th July 1863 and on 22nd July Robert Wheeler (fl. 1856-1882) of Brenchley (the architect) wrote to say he had taken these alterations into account and re-drawn the plans. These plans were subsequently approved by the Poor Law Board.
A dedicated chapel was duly erected to the north-west of the Tonbridge Workhouse buildings, beside the workhouse laundry, and is shown on the First Edition OS map which was surveyed in 1868. The workhouse function of the chapel is demonstrated from the exterior by the provision of two entrance porches, one for male paupers and one for female paupers, but although the Board of Guardians stipulated an internal screen there is no evidence of this. By the 1860s screens to separate various categories of paupers had gone out of fashion and perhaps it was never built. The cost of the chapel was £650 with seating for 300. The workhouse capacity was 400 but Catholics and Non-conformists were permitted to attend their own place of worship if one was located nearby or to receive visits from their priest or minister.
On 10th September 1887, a contract was drawn up with Messrs. George and Frank Penn in the sum of £3161 12s., for the stripping, boarding, fitting and retiling the chapel and works connected therewith, as well as the taking down of the bell turret. The surveyor was William Oakley.
In 1938 Tonbridge Workhouse became Pembury Hospital and the workhouse chapel became the hospital chapel.
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: A little altered Gothic style chapel constructed of good quality materials which is an unusually elaborate example (particularly for its interior) of a purpose-built workhouse chapel, a building type which is becoming increasingly rare. There is additional value for historical associations and memorials particular to its later hospital use.
See my cute vids with my cats:
Mom cat's first desire after difficult surgery www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUYzkqrns5o
It's a new Life on Earth. Cat obstetrician www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUYzkqrns5o
cat
Display Name:
Silva Flasheart
Resident Name:
Silva Flasheart
Title in Agapeo:
Sheriff
Please explain your role in Agapeo. (ie slave: I run around Aga collecting merits hoping to get caught by the bulls. Branded: My job is to enforce the Kings law so I find a spot on sim where I can watch all those on sim.)
I represent Hunters. It is an elected role and one that I feel privileged to hold. I liaise with the Branded’s leader Rane and am pleased to report our meetings although serious are full of laughter. So far we have resolved all issues between Hunters and Branded amicably mainly because there haven’t been any. My Hunters, whilst demanding with regard to their pleasures, generally behave well and with a quiet word from me and explanations to them that some women are the finest bows imaginable and don’t think the chasing Hunter is the finest male she has ever seen, fur is soon smoothed and like a cock’s feathers they are deruffled. So at the moment peace and goodwill reigns and pleasure is the order of the day.
How long have you been in Aga?#
Since its renaissance.
Did you play on the original Aga?
Yes
What is your favorite part about Agapeo?
Thinks hard. The adrenaline rush of the chase, the thrill of success and then the pleasure roleplay afterwards.
What advice would you give to someone who is considering playing on Aga?
Aga is like a crazy diamond. It sparkles, it reflects, it is a place of beauty but it has many facets many sides. It is great fun, entertaining, sexually very exciting but also frustrating. You cannot have everyone. You have to win your spurs with bowing and some will be better than you and unobtainable. But then some will be worse than you and some have no bows at all. So something for nearly everyone. If you are monogamous or a princess or don’t like fornicating, Agapeo is not for you. If you are a red blooded male come and spread your seed like a fertile sower should. If you are a woman, come and spread joy. There is also a lot of laughter, friendly talented people, firm friendships and interesting general roleplay. So come on down and try it out. Everyone comes back !
Would you please share your back story?
I am a Hunter specialising in sable furs. A while back I was in a dive of a port tavern beneath a brothel, the sort of place women who disobey their captors end up in, getting the dust out of my throat and befriended an old salt. Having just made a tidy sum from selling my furs, I lent him some money to sample the girls upstairs. He then in whispered hushed tones told be about this fabled isle where a King held court, Bulls ruled, Brandeds patrolled, Villagers frolicked, Slaves ran like the wind, Hunters fornicated and Healers were skilled obstetricians. I laughed at this fantastical description of Eden until he dropped me off at the landing stage. I shortly thereafter promised to myself I would never disbelieve a drunken sailor again. Agapeo is now my home.
"Amazing roleplay.. and just all around kind. He snuck up on me the first day back in Agapeo and all I kept thinking, "Oh Peter Pan, I hope you got word skills or I'm gonna be shopping on the MP".. he completely surprised me." -Brenna
"One of the nicest Sheriff's and hunters I have ever know on both realms. He is also an incredible story teller...." -Neiryn
"He is sneaky and sweet, handsome and flirty and is all over pretty good. smiles." -Squirt
"The Hunter Silva. He is both the calm and the storm. Not to mention an excellent descriptive role player. You can always expect a good quality story with him and a couple of kids as a result. " -N'Kara
See my cute vids with my cats:
Mom cat's first desire after difficult surgery www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUYzkqrns5o
It's a new Life on Earth. Cat obstetrician www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUYzkqrns5o
cat is sitting at the window
Bruce Springsteen on the Oldies station: Atlantic City
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3eu1gW-bQ8
Well they blew up the chicken man in Philly last - Night now they blew up his house too
Michael: (enters the small Village Green police station and can see into Dan's office, where there are several balloons saying "congrats" floating about, he smirks) Hey, Dan. Just dropped off Chris at work. Stu's there, so I figured they'd both be okay.
Dan: (glares at him, over his monitor) If I find out you had anything to do with this. (points up at the balloons w/out breaking eye contact) I'll volunteer you for K-9 perp practice.
Michael: (holding up his hands) I didn't do it. (grins and saunters into Dan's office) Looking up baby names?
Bruce Springsteen on the Oldies station: And the D.A. can't get no relief - Gonna be a rumble out on the promenade and
Dan: No. I'm trying to ID the guy in the dunes. Maybe if we know who he is, we can figure out who shot him.
Michael: (turns a chair around and straddles it, facing Dan across his desk) He's definitely not local.
Dan: No. And Chris is sure he's not the guy he saw?
Michael: He didn't get a good look at the guy, but he said he remembers he had long hair.
Bruce Springsteen on the Oldies station: Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty and - Meet me tonight in Atlantic City
Dan: The guy we brought in has a fuzzy polecut at best. (there's a quiet bell tone from his computer)
Michael: What was that?
Dan: (hits a couple keys) Alerts me to hits on the missing time board.
Michael: Isn't that for people who think they've been abducted by aliens?
Dan: It's for anyone who has experienced, or knows someone who has experienced, missing periods of time, in their life. I put up a page about Helen's missing summer.
Michael: Holy shit, dude.
Bruce Springsteen on the Oldies station: So I drew what I had from the Central Trust - And I bought us two tickets on that Coast City bus
Dan: It's completely anonymous. I didn't use her name, or any geographical indicators.
Michael: You had me heart attacking over here.
Dan: (teases) Maybe you got into the wrong line of work, if that's all it takes. I'm just trying to find out if anyone's had a similar experience, or if there's somebody out there on the internet who knows anything about that summer.
Michael: Except it wouldn't be HER summer, because nobody knows where it took place.
Dan: I know it's a long shot, but I'm trying to find out if anyone else had an odd experience during the summer of that year, or anything similar to it.
Michael: How long have you had the post up?
Dan: Months. (gives Michael a rueful smile) I know, it's probably a waste of time, and I get a lot of abductees claiming they might have met her on the "mother ship," but it doesn't hurt to dangle your bait in the water.
Michael: As long as there aren't any sharks in the area. What does Helen think about it?
Dan: (eyes shuttered) She asked me to stop.
Michael: (surprised) When?
Dan: About a month after I had it up.
Michael: Why?
Dan: She said she didn't want anyone finding out it was about her, even though I showed her that it could never be traced back to her. She said she was happy with the way her life turned out, and what happened in her past didn't matter.
Michael: You don't believe her?
Dan: I wanted to, but I'm a cop, and I kept thinking some freak might be out there kidnapping little girls. Helen didn't seem to be physically hurt, but she also had no memory of what happened to her. And she keeps seeing this little girl when no one's there, that nobody else can see or hear. It's like she's being haunted.
Bruce Springsteen on the Oldies station: Be cold but with you forever I'll stay
Michael: Do you think it's a repressed memory? Maybe the little girl is someone from her past?
Dan: All I know is, my pregnant wife is frightened, and I'll do whatever it takes to help her.
Michael: You're a good husband. (gets up from the chair) I'm gonna grab a cup. You want coffee?
Dan: Yeah, thanks.
Michael: (hearing another bell tone as he leaves Dan's office) So, that bell means somebody read your post?
Dan: Yeah. One bell means they read it. Two bells mean they posted a reply.
Michael: (watching the coffee fill the cup) All those bells would be a little distracting, for me.
Dan: (smiles grimly) Doesn't happen as often as you think it does. It did, in the beginning, but once I added the tag; NOT an alien abduction, the hits dropped dramatically.
Michael: (returning w/two cups of coffee and passing one to Dan) Plus, there's a serious lack of alien invaders wanting to be taken to our current leader.
Bruce Springsteen on the Oldies station: That's a fact but maybe everything that dies - Someday comes back
Dan: (snorts into his coffee at that, and there's another bell ding)
Michael: I thought you said it doesn't do that much?
Dan: It doesn't. The average is maybe one a day, if that. (he pulled up the missing time page) Looks like the same person opened my page three times.
Michael: (goes around the desk to look over Dan's shoulder) Who is it?
Dan: Don't know. Like I said, it's anonymous, but their screen name is, PoeBoy.
Michael: Like the sandwich?
Dan: Like the author. You know, the raven, nevermore.
Michael: I thought they were a heavy metal band from Seattle.
Dan: Illiterate swine. (both men laugh)
Bruce Springsteen on the Oldies station: Down here it's just winners and losers and
Michael: You know, I've heard that some women have mood swings, even hallucinations, when they're pregnant. You think Helen's sudden flashbacks, or whatever they are, might have something to do with that?
Dan: I didn't consider it, but I'll run it by her doctor.
Michael: Not Springlon?
Dan: (smiles) No, he's not an obstetrician.
Michael: Thank goodness.
Dan: Doesn't look like PoeBoy's going to post anything.
Michael: Just another Looky-Lou. I'm going to take a drive by the Surf'n Sail, just to show there's extra police presence in the area. (he goes into the kitchenette area to grab a lid for his coffee cup)
Dan: I think I'll go with you. We can swing by my house and I can see how Helen's doing. (putting on his jacket as he exits his office)
Michael: Your ride, or mine?
Dan: Either. I'm easy.
Bruce Springsteen on the Oldies station: So honey last night I met this guy and I'm - Gonna do a little favor for him
Michael: Dude, you're a married man, with a kid on the way. (they both chuckle) Hey, you forgot to close your window.
Dan: Can you get that for me?
Michael: Sure. (he puts the lid on his coffee cup and hears two soft bell chimes from the computer, frowns and looks at the screen) Hey, Dan. That guy replied to your post. I think you should read it.
Dan: (frowns and returns to his office, going around to his chair, and as he reads what was posted, he slowly sits)
PoeBoy: we were in washington that same summer -- my younger brother disappeared while we were camping on the coast -- there was a huge search but he wasn't found -- cops thought he might have drowned in the ocean --
Dan: It sound like an abduction. (to Michael, then he typed) 'Sorry for your loss, but my wife came back. She just doesn't remember where she was.' (he hit the SEND key)
PoeBoy: my brother came back too -- about a month later
Dan: Michel, you see this?
Michael: Reading with you.
Dan: (typed) 'Does your brother remember what happened to him?'
PoeBoy: i don't know -- i don't think we'll ever know
Dan: What does that mean? (then he typed) 'Why not?'
PoeBoy: he was found at the fire station -- in the town where we took our vacation -- just sitting there -- he never talked -- he never reacted -- doctors finally decided it was mental trauma -- he's been in a psych ward ever since
Bruce Springsteen on the Oldies station: Well I guess everything dies baby that's a fact
Dan: (typing) 'That sounds awful. Was your brother physically harmed?'
PoeBoy: no they said he was perfectly healthy
Dan: (typing) 'What was he wearing, when he was found?'
PoeBoy: the same clothes he disappeared in
Dan: (to Michael) That sounds just like what happened to Helen. (typing) 'You said it was a coastal town in Washington State. Do you mind if I ask the name of the town?'
PoeBoy: too risky
Michael: What does that mean?
Dan: Don't know. (typing) 'I don't understand. I don't know who you are. What risk?'
PoeBoy: this was a mistake -- the alien overlords will be angry -- they track your brain waves -- try to think of something else
Michael: Okay ... wow.
Bruce Springsteen on the Oldies station: But maybe everything that dies someday - Comes back
Dan: (sighs) I thought I found a connection, but it's just another guy in a foil hat.
Michael: Sorry, man. (pats Dan's shoulder) You must get a lot of guys like that, huh?
Dan: Almost everyone who posts. Come on, let's go check on our S.O.s
Bruce Springsteen on the Oldies station: Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty and - Meet me tonight in Atlantic City
(Thank you to Erebus for playing Michael and to Seth for playing Dan)
Dutch postcard by Foto-archief Film en Toneel, no. 3370. Photo: Universal-International. Ann Blyth in Another Part of the Forest (Michael Gordon, 1948).
American actress and singer Ann Blyth (1928) was often cast in Hollywood musicals, but she was also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Ann Blyth was born in 1928, in Mount Kisco, New York, to Harry and Nan Lynch Blyth. After her parents separated, she, her mother and her sister moved to a walk-up apartment on East 31st Street in New York City, where her mother took in ironing. Blyth attended St. Patrick's School in Manhattan. Blyth performed on children's radio shows in New York for six years, making her first appearance when she was five. When she was nine she joined the New York Children's Opera Company. Her first acting role was on Broadway in Lillian Hellman's 'Watch on the Rhine' (1941-1942). She played the part of Paul Lukas's daughter, Babette. The play ran for 378 performances and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. After the New York run, the play went on tour, and while performing at the Biltmore Theatre in Los Angeles, Blyth was offered a contract with Universal Studios. Blyth began her acting career initially as "Anne Blyth", but changed the spelling of her first name back to "Ann" at the beginning of her film career. She made her film debut in 1944, teamed with Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan in the teenage musical Chip Off the Old Block (1944). She followed it with two similar films: The Merry Monahans (1944) with O'Connor and Ryan again, and Babes on Swing Street (1944) with Ryan. She had a support role in the bigger budgeted Bowery to Broadway (1944), a showcase of Universal musical talent. On loan to Warner Brothers, Blyth was cast 'against type' as Veda Pierce, the scheming, ungrateful daughter of Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945). Her dramatic portrayal won her outstanding reviews, and she received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Blyth was only 16 when she made the film, for which Crawford won the Best Actress award. After Mildred Pierce, Blyth sustained a broken back while tobogganing in Snow Valley, and was not able to fully capitalise on the film's success. She recovered and made two films for Mark Hellinger's unit at Universal: Swell Guy (1946), with Sonny Tufts, and Brute Force (1947) with Burt Lancaster. During this time her father died. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer borrowed her to play the female lead in Killer McCoy (1947), a boxing film with Mickey Rooney that was a box office hit. Back at Universal, she did a Film Noir with Charles Boyer, A Woman's Vengeance (1948). She was then cast in the part of Regina Hubbard in Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest (1948), an adaptation of the 1946 play where Regina had been played by Patricia Neal. The play was a prequel to The Little Foxes. Blyth followed it with Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) with William Powell. She was top-billed in Red Canyon (1949), a Western with Howard Duff. Paramount borrowed Blyth to play the female lead in Top o' the Morning (1949), a daughter of Barry Fitzgerald who is romanced by Bing Crosby. It was the first time she sang on screen. Back at Universal, she was teamed with Robert Montgomery in Once More, My Darling (1949), meaning she had to drop out of Desert Legion. She did a comedy with Robert Cummings, Free for All (1949). In April 1949, Universal suspended her for refusing a lead role in Abandoned (1949). Gale Storm played it.
Ann Blyth was borrowed by Sam Goldwyn to star opposite Farley Granger in Our Very Own (1950). Universal gave her top billing in a romantic comedy, Katie Did It (1951). Blyth was borrowed by MGM for The Great Caruso (1951) opposite Mario Lanza which was a massive box office hit. She made Thunder on the Hill (1951) with Claudette Colbert and had the female lead in The Golden Horde (1951) with David Farrar. Then, 20th Century Fox borrowed her to star opposite Tyrone Power in I'll Never Forget You (1952), a last-minute replacement for Constance Smith. She appeared on TV in Family Theater in an episode called 'The World's Greatest Mother' alongside Ethel Barrymore. Universal teamed Blyth with Gregory Peck in The World in His Arms (1952). She was top-billed in the comedy Sally and Saint Anne (1952) and was borrowed by RKO for One Minute to Zero (1952), a Korean War drama with Robert Mitchum where she replaced Claudette Colbert who came down with pneumonia. MGM had been interested in Blyth since The Great Caruso. In December 1953, Blyth left Universal and she signed a long term contract with MGM. She was the leading lady in All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953) with Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor, stepping in for Elizabeth Taylor who had to drop out due to pregnancy. On television, she was in a version of A Place in the Sun for Lux Video Theatre alongside John Derek. Back at MGM, Blyth had the lead in the remake of Rose Marie (1954) with Howard Keel, which earned over $5 million but lost money due to high costs. She was meant to be reteamed with Lanza in The Student Prince (1954) but he was fired from the studio and was replaced in the picture by Edmund Purdom. The film did well at the box office. Blyth and Purdom were reunited on a swashbuckler, The King's Thief (1955). She was teamed again with Keel on the musical Kismet (1955). Despite strong reviews, the film was a financial flop. She was named for the female lead in The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955) but was eventually not cast in the film. MGM put Blyth in Slander (1957) with Van Johnson. Sidney Sheldon cast Blyth in The Buster Keaton Story (1957) with Donald O'Connor at Paramount. Warner Bros then cast her in the title role of The Helen Morgan Story (Michael Curtiz, 1957) with Paul Newman. Blyth reportedly beat 40 other actors for the part. Even though her voice was more like the original Helen Morgan, her vocals were dubbed by Gogi Grant. That soundtrack was much more successful than the film itself. Blyth made no further films. In 1957, she sued Benedict Bogeaus for $75,000 for not making the film Conquest. From the late 1950s into the 1970s, Blyth worked in musical theatre and summer stock, starring in the shows 'The King and I', 'The Sound of Music', and 'Show Boat'. and also on television, including co-starring opposite James Donald in The Citadel (1960), an adaptation of A.J. Cronin's novel. She guest-starred on episodes of such series as The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Dick Powell Theatre, Saints and Sinners, The Christophers, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, and Burke's Law. Several of these appearances were for Four Star Television with whom Blyth signed a multi-appearance contract. Blyth also became the spokesperson for Hostess Cupcakes. Her last television appearances were in episodes of Switch (1983), Quincy, M.E. (1983) and Murder, She Wrote (1985). In 1985, she officially retired. For her contributions to the film industry, Blyth has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6733 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1953, Blyth married obstetrician James McNulty, brother of singer Dennis Day, who had introduced them. After her marriage, Blyth took somewhat of a reprieve from her career to focus on raising their five children, Timothy Patrick (1954); Maureen Ann (1955); Kathleen Mary (1957); Terence Grady (1960); and Eileen Alana (1963).
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
How exciting those 1870s! Here's pretty tiny Veronica arvensis, Field Speedwell, whose flowers are only a few millimetres across. Among many cures for which it can be employed according to Abraham Munting (1626-1683), untiring botanist of the University of Groingen, is the infertility of women. Whether that cure works I don't know. But as I was botanising in the garden of great Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866) - see my two earlier photos - I saw this Blue (only naturalised in Japan since the 1870s) and was immediately reminded of two formidable women.
The first is Aletta Jacobs (1854-1929), left inset in this photo, the second is Ine Kusamoto (1827-1903), the right inset.
Ine Kusamoto was the daughter of Von Siebold by his Japanese wife Taki. She was taught western medicine by her father's students after he had had to leave Japan on charges of spying. She rose to be the first female obstetrician and gynecologist according to western principles in Japan. In 1871 she opened a clinic in Tsukigi, Tokyo, and she assisted at the birth of the son of the Mejii Emperor.
Aletta Jacobs is her 'sister in medicine'. Born near Groningen in The Netherlands she was to become the first female physician in The Netherlands - doctorate in 1879 - and also a formidable fighter for women's rights.
Whether either woman ever used Veronica arvensis for their female patients is unknown. But that through their perseverance often against daunting forces they opened up the field of medicine to women in Japan and The Netherlands is a thing to remember!
The characters so far in my a High Rockies story:
Eden:
Eden is a girl who prizes truth and nobility of spirit above all else including riches... she has had a very privileged upbringing though so she has never had to want for anything in her life... except a mother. Her mother died from a post natal infection* shortly after Eden was born and she was brought up by her father on his own. Now they have moved to a horse ranch in the Rockies, Eden is hoping that he will meet someone special...
Fargo (Eden's horse):
Also called Kamaal ibn Zafir which means 'Perfect son of Victorious' and his 'family' name is 'Fargo'. Eden chose this name because it reminds her of the horse of one of her favourite actresses Tippi Hedren, in the film 'Marnie'. Marnie's horse was called 'Forio' and he was the one love of her life 😍. Fargo was initially misidentified as a mustang beacause he was running wild with the herd but now a famous breeder has identified him as of Arab descent. His mother had been kidnapped while pregnant and disappeared without a trace. Later Fargo's story was pieced together and it seems the kidnappers had retreated with their prize to a ranch in the High Rockies. They had quarrelled very badly and it didn't end well for that gang of bandits. Nobody knows what they quarrelled over but it could have been about a very valuable mare and her foal... Their herd of Mustang had been abandoned and was only recovered when a local newcomer, a world famous horse veterinarian, moved to the area with his daughter, Eden, and he rescued the horses and treated them... and that's when Fargo's story came to light.
Rory Llewelyn:
Name: Rory Llewellyn
Age: 34
Star sign: Leo
Profession: Horse veterinarian. Now also breeds Mustangs on a farm in the High Rockies
Marital status: single
Family: one daughter, Eden aged 16
Before starting his veterinary training Rory went travelling with his beautiful and headstrong girlfriend, Nusch, who, slightly older than him, had already started studying medicine hoping to go on to specialise as an obstetrician. Rory and Nusch were doing Voluntary Service Overseas when Nusch fell pregnant. She insisted on giving birth in the same conditions as the local women, with tragic consequences; she died from a post natal infection shortly after their baby daughter, Eden, was born. Rory was devastated by the loss of his first love who he had expected to spend the rest of this life with but he clung to the baby daughter they had conceived together. He brought Eden up entirely on his own and for many years they travelled the world together as he built an impressive career as a highly renowned Horse Veterinarian, caring for some of the world's top international race horses . Tired of living such a fast paced existence and above all feeling that he needed to give Eden some roots he has taken the dramatic step of moving them to a horse ranch in the Rockies. Rory has been single for a long time dedicating himself to his beloved horses and his beloved daughter but now they have settled in one place perhaps the time is right for him to meet someone special. Two local ladies have already noticed the handsome newcomer and may be looking to find a way to meet him...
Erin:
Erin has a kind of magic where horses are concerned; they follow her and want to be close to her and she seems to be able to talk to them in ways that calm and comfort them. She rides like she was born on a horse and indeed horses have been in her family in some kind of way for many generations. Her Irish grandfather, Cary, was a saddle maker in Connemara, at the wild West tip of County Galway in Ireland. He fell in love with an American nurse, Katherine, during the war and followed her back to the small town in the High Rockies that is the closest to the Llewellyn Ranch. They had one son, Josh, Erin's father. Josh was a wildly handsome boy with a mass of dark curls, a devilish laugh and a way of playing the Irish fiddle that made all the girls swoon. He made the most of his popularity to the extent that he managed to get not one but two of the local lasses with child. He quickly decided fatherhood was not for him and set off on a road trip that was to become his way of life from then on. He occasionally drops in to visit his two children...
Erin's mother was very young and only just starting her studies when she had Erin and she lived with Josh's parents for a while in Erin's early infancy. But she studied very hard and there came a point that in order progress she had to move to a large city. Because she was unable to work and look after her young daughter she had to leave her little daughter behind with Cary and Katherine, Josh's parents. So Erin was raised by her grandparents and from a very young age indeed showed an almost magical affinity with horses...
Sir James Young Simpson, 1st Baronet, FRCPE (7 June 1811 – 6 May 1870) was a Scottish obstetrician and a significant figure in the history of medicine. He was the first physician to demonstrate the anaesthetic properties of chloroform on humans and helped to popularise its use in medicine. Quoted from Wikipedia
Rapeseed - Brassica napus - is very popular here as a Spring ornamental for park borders, for roadsides and the sidings of railways. Mustard seed's wonderful yellow forms a beautiful combination, too, with blue skies. And it's a good bottom frame for this photo of the Nippon Maru.
Walking along the harbor and admiring what was left of the Tall Ships Show of the last few days in Nagasaki - how could I not be reminded of Robert Louis Stevenson's (1850-1894) novel Kidnapped (1886)! (Especially, too, of course, because for someone with a bit of etymological knowledge 'rape' doesn't have to have that modern sexual connotation but can 'merely' mean 'stolen' or 'kidnapped'.)
I've been fortunate enough to visit Hawes Inn in South Queensferry on the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh where Stevenson had David Balfour's adventure take its maritime turn. But long before that I'd dreamed of his kind of story...
Whatever the case, here I am in Nagasaki on an adventure of another kind. My heroes now are the sailors and scholars of Dejima and scientists such as Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866) - also a spy -, and his daughter Kusumoto Ine (1827-1903), the first 'western' obstetrician in Japan. They all travelled here on sailing ships under many hardships...
My heart beat faster remembering both novel and history as I walked the quay here yesterday and today.
But the sails of the Nippon Maru weren't unfurled... and there was no call for me... much less a kdinapping. I guess I should be grateful!
See my cute vids with my cats:
Mom cat's first desire after difficult surgery www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUYzkqrns5o
It's a new Life on Earth. Cat obstetrician www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUYzkqrns5o
West-German postcard by Krüger, no. 902/6.
American actress and singer Ann Blyth (1928) was often cast in Hollywood musicals, but she was also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Ann Blyth was born in 1928, in Mount Kisco, New York, to Harry and Nan Lynch Blyth. After her parents separated, she, her mother and her sister moved to a walk-up apartment on East 31st Street in New York City, where her mother took in ironing. Blyth attended St. Patrick's School in Manhattan. Blyth performed on children's radio shows in New York for six years, making her first appearance when she was five. When she was nine she joined the New York Children's Opera Company. Her first acting role was on Broadway in Lillian Hellman's 'Watch on the Rhine' (1941-1942). She played the part of Paul Lukas's daughter, Babette. The play ran for 378 performances and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. After the New York run, the play went on tour, and while performing at the Biltmore Theatre in Los Angeles, Blyth was offered a contract with Universal Studios. Blyth began her acting career initially as "Anne Blyth", but changed the spelling of her first name back to "Ann" at the beginning of her film career. She made her film debut in 1944, teamed with Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan in the teenage musical Chip Off the Old Block (1944). She followed it with two similar films: The Merry Monahans (1944) with O'Connor and Ryan again, and Babes on Swing Street (1944) with Ryan. She had a support role in the bigger budgeted Bowery to Broadway (1944), a showcase of Universal musical talent. On loan to Warner Brothers, Blyth was cast 'against type' as Veda Pierce, the scheming, ungrateful daughter of Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945). Her dramatic portrayal won her outstanding reviews, and she received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Blyth was only 16 when she made the film, for which Crawford won the Best Actress award. After Mildred Pierce, Blyth sustained a broken back while tobogganing in Snow Valley, and was not able to fully capitalise on the film's success. She recovered and made two films for Mark Hellinger's unit at Universal: Swell Guy (1946), with Sonny Tufts, and Brute Force (1947) with Burt Lancaster. During this time her father died. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer borrowed her to play the female lead in Killer McCoy (1947), a boxing film with Mickey Rooney that was a box office hit. Back at Universal, she did a Film Noir with Charles Boyer, A Woman's Vengeance (1948). She was then cast in the part of Regina Hubbard in Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest (1948), an adaptation of the 1946 play where Regina had been played by Patricia Neal. The play was a prequel to The Little Foxes. Blyth followed it with Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) with William Powell. She was top-billed in Red Canyon (1949), a Western with Howard Duff. Paramount borrowed Blyth to play the female lead in Top o' the Morning (1949), a daughter of Barry Fitzgerald who is romanced by Bing Crosby. It was the first time she sang on screen. Back at Universal, she was teamed with Robert Montgomery in Once More, My Darling (1949), meaning she had to drop out of Desert Legion. She did a comedy with Robert Cummings, Free for All (1949). In April 1949, Universal suspended her for refusing a lead role in Abandoned (1949). Gale Storm played it.
Ann Blyth was borrowed by Sam Goldwyn to star opposite Farley Granger in Our Very Own (1950). Universal gave her top billing in a romantic comedy, Katie Did It (1951). Blyth was borrowed by MGM for The Great Caruso (1951) opposite Mario Lanza which was a massive box office hit. She made Thunder on the Hill (1951) with Claudette Colbert and had the female lead in The Golden Horde (1951) with David Farrar. Then, 20th Century Fox borrowed her to star opposite Tyrone Power in I'll Never Forget You (1952), a last-minute replacement for Constance Smith. She appeared on TV in Family Theater in an episode called 'The World's Greatest Mother' alongside Ethel Barrymore. Universal teamed Blyth with Gregory Peck in The World in His Arms (1952). She was top-billed in the comedy Sally and Saint Anne (1952) and was borrowed by RKO for One Minute to Zero (1952), a Korean War drama with Robert Mitchum where she replaced Claudette Colbert who came down with pneumonia. MGM had been interested in Blyth since The Great Caruso. In December 1953, Blyth left Universal and she signed a long term contract with MGM. She was the leading lady in All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953) with Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor, stepping in for Elizabeth Taylor who had to drop out due to pregnancy. On television, she was in a version of A Place in the Sun for Lux Video Theatre alongside John Derek. Back at MGM, Blyth had the lead in the remake of Rose Marie (1954) with Howard Keel, which earned over $5 million but lost money due to high costs. She was meant to be reteamed with Lanza in The Student Prince (1954) but he was fired from the studio and was replaced in the picture by Edmund Purdom. The film did well at the box office. Blyth and Purdom were reunited on a swashbuckler, The King's Thief (1955). She was teamed again with Keel on the musical Kismet (1955). Despite strong reviews, the film was a financial flop. She was named for the female lead in The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955) but was eventually not cast in the film. MGM put Blyth in Slander (1957) with Van Johnson. Sidney Sheldon cast Blyth in The Buster Keaton Story (1957) with Donald O'Connor at Paramount. Warner Bros then cast her in the title role of The Helen Morgan Story (Michael Curtiz, 1957) with Paul Newman. Blyth reportedly beat 40 other actors for the part. Even though her voice was more like the original Helen Morgan, her vocals were dubbed by Gogi Grant. That soundtrack was much more successful than the film itself. Blyth made no further films. In 1957, she sued Benedict Bogeaus for $75,000 for not making the film Conquest. From the late 1950s into the 1970s, Blyth worked in musical theatre and summer stock, starring in the shows 'The King and I', 'The Sound of Music', and 'Show Boat'. and also on television, including co-starring opposite James Donald in The Citadel (1960), an adaptation of A.J. Cronin's novel. She guest-starred on episodes of such series as The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Dick Powell Theatre, Saints and Sinners, The Christophers, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, and Burke's Law. Several of these appearances were for Four Star Television with whom Blyth signed a multi-appearance contract. Blyth also became the spokesperson for Hostess Cupcakes. Her last television appearances were in episodes of Switch (1983), Quincy, M.E. (1983) and Murder, She Wrote (1985). In 1985, she officially retired. For her contributions to the film industry, Blyth has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6733 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1953, Blyth married obstetrician James McNulty, brother of singer Dennis Day, who had introduced them. After her marriage, Blyth took somewhat of a reprieve from her career to focus on raising their five children, Timothy Patrick (1954); Maureen Ann (1955); Kathleen Mary (1957); Terence Grady (1960); and Eileen Alana (1963).
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Elsevier now offers a series of derivative works based on the acclaimed Meylers Side Effect of Drugs, 15th Edition. These individual volumes are grouped by specialty to benefit the practicing physician or health care clinician.
Endocrine and metabolic diseases are common, includes diseases such as diabetes, thyroid disease, and obesity. Endocrinologists, including diabetes professionals, internal medicine and primary care practitioners, obstetricians and gynecologists, and others will find this book useful when treating endocrine or metabolic diseases.
The material is drawn from the 15th edition of the internationally renowned encyclopedia, Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs, and the latest volumes in the companion series, Side Effects of Drugs Annuals. Drug names have usually been designated by their recommended or proposed International Non-proprietary Names (rINN or pINN); when those are not available, clinical names have been used. In some cases, brand names have been used.
This volume is critical for any health professional involved in the administration of endocrine and metabolics mediations.
Dr Jeffrey K. Aronson is a consultant clinical pharmacologist and physician in the Department of Primary Health Care in the University of Oxford and a consultant physician in the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust. He has been associated with the Meyler series since 1977 and has published many research papers on adverse drug reactions. He is also the editor of Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs and the Side Effects of Drugs Annual series. He is President of the British Pharmacological Society and serves on many committees concerned with drug therapy, including the Technology Appraisal Committee of the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the Joint Formulary Committees of the British National Formulary and the British National Formulary for Children.
Fleet number 1013 was captured in winter sunshine making its way westwards on Princes Street. The bus - looking great in the green and cream livery - is working route X28 from Edinburgh Regent Road to Bathgate via East Calder, Mid Calder, Livingston, and St John’s Hospital. In another minute, the bus will pass a statue of a “Bathgate bairn” - James Young Simpson (1811-1870), the obstetrician who was the first to discover the anaesthetic properties of chloroform
Each of the three Great Western Naturalists who worked in the Dutch Trading Post of Nagasaki, Dejima, is associated with the study of Japanese Irises: Engelbert Kaempfer (1651-1716), Carl Peter Thunberg (1743-1828) and Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866). But the name and the paintings that stick most in our minds in this connection are those of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). His famous painting - inspired by the history of Japanese wood-block prints of the Iris - fetched many millions of euros on a sale some time ago. So I can hardly leave Japan without an Iris Picture. Which one this is exactly I don't know. It was growing wild on Mt Nabekanmuri just opposite the hills on the inset-miniature painting by Kawahira Keiga (1786-1861). It could be an Ayame, a Japanese Blood-Iris. Then again it may have escaped from a Westerner's garden...
The inset by Keiga shows Von Siebold and his family - his Japanese wife Taki with the still young Ine (see my previous posting). They are standing on the viewing platform - which you can still see today - above the roof of one of the houses of Dejima, the Dutch trading-post island. Through a telescope Von Siebold is looking at the rare sight of a Dutch ship coming in to Nagasaki's harbor. Perhaps the ship that will soon take him home. He will not return to Nagasaki for thirty years. In Europe he will raise another family, but he remains in contact with his Japanese wife and daughter. The latter will become the first Japanese female obstetrician working along Western methods...
Ah! Fascinating stories. But I too must be on my way!
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: July 25, 2009
MEERWALA, Pakistan
After being kidnapped at the age of 16 by a group of thugs and enduring a year of rapes and beatings, Assiya Rafiq was delivered to the police and thought her problems were over.
Then, she said, four police officers took turns raping her.
The next step for Assiya was obvious: She should commit suicide. That’s the customary escape in rural Pakistan for a raped woman, as the only way to cleanse the disgrace to her entire family.
Instead, Assiya summoned the unimaginable courage to go public and fight back. She is seeking to prosecute both her kidnappers and the police, despite threats against her and her younger sisters. This is a kid who left me awed and biting my lip; this isn’t a tale of victimization but of valor, empowerment and uncommon heroism.
“I decided to prosecute because I don’t want the same thing to happen to anybody else,” she said firmly.
Assiya’s case offers a window into the quotidian corruption and injustice endured by impoverished Pakistanis — leading some to turn to militant Islam.
“When I treat a rape victim, I always advise her not to go to the police,” said Dr. Shershah Syed, the president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Pakistan. “Because if she does, the police might just rape her again.”
Yet Assiya is also a sign that change is coming. She says she was inspired by Mukhtar Mai, a young woman from this remote village of Meerwala who was gang raped in 2002 on the orders of a village council. Mukhtar prosecuted her attackers and used the compensation money to start a school.
Mukhtar is my hero. Many Times readers who followed her story in past columns of mine have sent her donations through a fund at Mercy Corps, at www.mercycorps.org, and Mukhtar has used the money to open schools, a legal aid program, an ambulance service, a women’s shelter, a telephone hotline — and to help Assiya fight her legal case.
The United States has stood aloof from the ubiquitous injustices in Pakistan, and that’s one reason for cynicism about America here. I’m hoping the Obama administration will make clear that Americans stand shoulder to shoulder with heroines like Mukhtar and Assiya, and with an emerging civil society struggling for law and social justice.
Assiya’s saga began a year ago when a woman who was a family friend sold her to two criminals who had family ties to prominent politicians. Assiya said the two men spent the next year beating and raping her.
The men were implicated in a gold robbery, so they negotiated a deal with the police in the town of Kabirwala, near Khanewal: They handed over Assiya, along with a $625 bribe, in exchange for the police pinning the robbery on the girl.
By Assiya’s account, which I found completely credible, four police officers, including a police chief, took turns beating and raping her — sometimes while she was tied up — over the next two weeks. A female constable obligingly stepped out whenever the men wanted access to Assiya.
Assiya’s family members heard that she was in the police station, and a court granted their petition for her release and sent a bailiff to get her out. The police hid Assiya, she said, and briefly locked up her 10-year-old brother to bully the family into backing off.
The bailiff accepted bribes from both the family and the police, but in the end he freed the girl. Assiya, driven by fury that overcame her shame, told her full story to the magistrate, who ordered a medical exam and an investigation. The medical report confirms that Assiya’s hymen had been broken and that she had abrasions all over her body.
The morning I met Assiya, she said she had just received the latest in a series of threats from the police: Unless she withdraws her charges, they will arrest, rape or kill her — and her two beloved younger sisters.
The family is in hiding. It has lost its livelihood and accumulated $2,500 in debts. Assiya’s two sisters and three brothers have had to drop out of school, and they will find it harder to marry because Assiya is considered “dishonored.” Most of her relatives tell Assiya that she must give in. But she tosses her head and insists that she will prosecute her attackers to spare other girls what she endured.
(For readers who want to help, more information is available on my blog at: www.nytimes.com/ontheground.)
Assiya’s mother, Iqbal Mai, told me that in her despair, she at first had prayed that God should never give daughters to poor families. “But then I changed my mind,” she added, with a hint of pride challenging her fears. “God should give poor people daughters like Assiya who will fight.”
Amen.
- The New York Times
Sir James Young Simpson, 1st Baronet, FRCPE (7 June 1811 – 6 May 1870) was a Scottish obstetrician and a significant figure in the history of medicine. He was the first physician to demonstrate the anaesthetic properties of chloroform on humans and helped to popularise its use in medicine. Quoted from Wikipedia
Belgian postcard, no. 11. Photo: Universal-International.
American actress and singer Ann Blyth (1928) was often cast in Hollywood musicals, but she was also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Ann Blyth was born in 1928, in Mount Kisco, New York, to Harry and Nan Lynch Blyth. After her parents separated, she, her mother and her sister moved to a walk-up apartment on East 31st Street in New York City, where her mother took in ironing. Blyth attended St. Patrick's School in Manhattan. Blyth performed on children's radio shows in New York for six years, making her first appearance when she was five. When she was nine she joined the New York Children's Opera Company. Her first acting role was on Broadway in Lillian Hellman's 'Watch on the Rhine' (1941-1942). She played the part of Paul Lukas's daughter, Babette. The play ran for 378 performances and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. After the New York run, the play went on tour, and while performing at the Biltmore Theatre in Los Angeles, Blyth was offered a contract with Universal Studios. Blyth began her acting career initially as "Anne Blyth", but changed the spelling of her first name back to "Ann" at the beginning of her film career. She made her film debut in 1944, teamed with Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan in the teenage musical Chip Off the Old Block (1944). She followed it with two similar films: The Merry Monahans (1944) with O'Connor and Ryan again, and Babes on Swing Street (1944) with Ryan. She had a support role in the bigger budgeted Bowery to Broadway (1944), a showcase of Universal musical talent. On loan to Warner Brothers, Blyth was cast 'against type' as Veda Pierce, the scheming, ungrateful daughter of Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945). Her dramatic portrayal won her outstanding reviews, and she received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Blyth was only 16 when she made the film, for which Crawford won the Best Actress award. After Mildred Pierce, Blyth sustained a broken back while tobogganing in Snow Valley, and was not able to fully capitalise on the film's success. She recovered and made two films for Mark Hellinger's unit at Universal: Swell Guy (1946), with Sonny Tufts, and Brute Force (1947) with Burt Lancaster. During this time her father died. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer borrowed her to play the female lead in Killer McCoy (1947), a boxing film with Mickey Rooney that was a box office hit. Back at Universal, she did a Film Noir with Charles Boyer, A Woman's Vengeance (1948). She was then cast in the part of Regina Hubbard in Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest (1948), an adaptation of the 1946 play where Regina had been played by Patricia Neal. The play was a prequel to The Little Foxes. Blyth followed it with Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) with William Powell. She was top-billed in Red Canyon (1949), a Western with Howard Duff. Paramount borrowed Blyth to play the female lead in Top o' the Morning (1949), a daughter of Barry Fitzgerald who is romanced by Bing Crosby. It was the first time she sang on screen. Back at Universal, she was teamed with Robert Montgomery in Once More, My Darling (1949), meaning she had to drop out of Desert Legion. She did a comedy with Robert Cummings, Free for All (1949). In April 1949, Universal suspended her for refusing a lead role in Abandoned (1949). Gale Storm played it.
Ann Blyth was borrowed by Sam Goldwyn to star opposite Farley Granger in Our Very Own (1950). Universal gave her top billing in a romantic comedy, Katie Did It (1951). Blyth was borrowed by MGM for The Great Caruso (1951) opposite Mario Lanza which was a massive box office hit. She made Thunder on the Hill (1951) with Claudette Colbert and had the female lead in The Golden Horde (1951) with David Farrar. Then, 20th Century Fox borrowed her to star opposite Tyrone Power in I'll Never Forget You (1952), a last-minute replacement for Constance Smith. She appeared on TV in Family Theater in an episode called 'The World's Greatest Mother' alongside Ethel Barrymore. Universal teamed Blyth with Gregory Peck in The World in His Arms (1952). She was top-billed in the comedy Sally and Saint Anne (1952) and was borrowed by RKO for One Minute to Zero (1952), a Korean War drama with Robert Mitchum where she replaced Claudette Colbert who came down with pneumonia. MGM had been interested in Blyth since The Great Caruso. In December 1953, Blyth left Universal and she signed a long term contract with MGM. She was the leading lady in All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953) with Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor, stepping in for Elizabeth Taylor who had to drop out due to pregnancy. On television, she was in a version of A Place in the Sun for Lux Video Theatre alongside John Derek. Back at MGM, Blyth had the lead in the remake of Rose Marie (1954) with Howard Keel, which earned over $5 million but lost money due to high costs. She was meant to be reteamed with Lanza in The Student Prince (1954) but he was fired from the studio and was replaced in the picture by Edmund Purdom. The film did well at the box office. Blyth and Purdom were reunited on a swashbuckler, The King's Thief (1955). She was teamed again with Keel on the musical Kismet (1955). Despite strong reviews, the film was a financial flop. She was named for the female lead in The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955) but was eventually not cast in the film. MGM put Blyth in Slander (1957) with Van Johnson. Sidney Sheldon cast Blyth in The Buster Keaton Story (1957) with Donald O'Connor at Paramount. Warner Bros then cast her in the title role of The Helen Morgan Story (Michael Curtiz, 1957) with Paul Newman. Blyth reportedly beat 40 other actors for the part. Even though her voice was more like the original Helen Morgan, her vocals were dubbed by Gogi Grant. That soundtrack was much more successful than the film itself. Blyth made no further films. In 1957, she sued Benedict Bogeaus for $75,000 for not making the film Conquest. From the late 1950s into the 1970s, Blyth worked in musical theatre and summer stock, starring in the shows 'The King and I', 'The Sound of Music', and 'Show Boat'. and also on television, including co-starring opposite James Donald in The Citadel (1960), an adaptation of A.J. Cronin's novel. She guest-starred on episodes of such series as The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Dick Powell Theatre, Saints and Sinners, The Christophers, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, and Burke's Law. Several of these appearances were for Four Star Television with whom Blyth signed a multi-appearance contract. Blyth also became the spokesperson for Hostess Cupcakes. Her last television appearances were in episodes of Switch (1983), Quincy, M.E. (1983) and Murder, She Wrote (1985). In 1985, she officially retired. For her contributions to the film industry, Blyth has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6733 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1953, Blyth married obstetrician James McNulty, brother of singer Dennis Day, who had introduced them. After her marriage, Blyth took somewhat of a reprieve from her career to focus on raising their five children, Timothy Patrick (1954); Maureen Ann (1955); Kathleen Mary (1957); Terence Grady (1960); and Eileen Alana (1963).
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Belgian card by Kwatta, Bois d'Haine, no. C. 206. Ann Blyth in Killer McCoy (Roy Rowland, 1947).
American actress and singer Ann Blyth (1928) was often cast in Hollywood musicals, but she was also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Ann Blyth was born in 1928, in Mount Kisco, New York, to Harry and Nan Lynch Blyth. After her parents separated, she, her mother and her sister moved to a walk-up apartment on East 31st Street in New York City, where her mother took in ironing. Blyth attended St. Patrick's School in Manhattan. Blyth performed on children's radio shows in New York for six years, making her first appearance when she was five. When she was nine she joined the New York Children's Opera Company. Her first acting role was on Broadway in Lillian Hellman's 'Watch on the Rhine' (1941-1942). She played the part of Paul Lukas's daughter, Babette. The play ran for 378 performances and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. After the New York run, the play went on tour, and while performing at the Biltmore Theatre in Los Angeles, Blyth was offered a contract with Universal Studios. Blyth began her acting career initially as "Anne Blyth", but changed the spelling of her first name back to "Ann" at the beginning of her film career. She made her film debut in 1944, teamed with Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan in the teenage musical Chip Off the Old Block (1944). She followed it with two similar films: The Merry Monahans (1944) with O'Connor and Ryan again, and Babes on Swing Street (1944) with Ryan. She had a support role in the bigger budgeted Bowery to Broadway (1944), a showcase of Universal musical talent. On loan to Warner Brothers, Blyth was cast 'against type' as Veda Pierce, the scheming, ungrateful daughter of Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945). Her dramatic portrayal won her outstanding reviews, and she received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Blyth was only 16 when she made the film, for which Crawford won the Best Actress award. After Mildred Pierce, Blyth sustained a broken back while tobogganing in Snow Valley, and was not able to fully capitalise on the film's success. She recovered and made two films for Mark Hellinger's unit at Universal: Swell Guy (1946), with Sonny Tufts, and Brute Force (1947) with Burt Lancaster. During this time her father died. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer borrowed her to play the female lead in Killer McCoy (1947), a boxing film with Mickey Rooney that was a box office hit. Back at Universal, she did a Film Noir with Charles Boyer, A Woman's Vengeance (1948). She was then cast in the part of Regina Hubbard in Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest (1948), an adaptation of the 1946 play where Regina had been played by Patricia Neal. The play was a prequel to The Little Foxes. Blyth followed it with Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) with William Powell. She was top-billed in Red Canyon (1949), a Western with Howard Duff. Paramount borrowed Blyth to play the female lead in Top o' the Morning (1949), a daughter of Barry Fitzgerald who is romanced by Bing Crosby. It was the first time she sang on screen. Back at Universal, she was teamed with Robert Montgomery in Once More, My Darling (1949), meaning she had to drop out of Desert Legion. She did a comedy with Robert Cummings, Free for All (1949). In April 1949, Universal suspended her for refusing a lead role in Abandoned (1949). Gale Storm played it.
Ann Blyth was borrowed by Sam Goldwyn to star opposite Farley Granger in Our Very Own (1950). Universal gave her top billing in a romantic comedy, Katie Did It (1951). Blyth was borrowed by MGM for The Great Caruso (1951) opposite Mario Lanza which was a massive box office hit. She made Thunder on the Hill (1951) with Claudette Colbert and had the female lead in The Golden Horde (1951) with David Farrar. Then, 20th Century Fox borrowed her to star opposite Tyrone Power in I'll Never Forget You (1952), a last-minute replacement for Constance Smith. She appeared on TV in Family Theater in an episode called 'The World's Greatest Mother' alongside Ethel Barrymore. Universal teamed Blyth with Gregory Peck in The World in His Arms (1952). She was top-billed in the comedy Sally and Saint Anne (1952) and was borrowed by RKO for One Minute to Zero (1952), a Korean War drama with Robert Mitchum where she replaced Claudette Colbert who came down with pneumonia. MGM had been interested in Blyth since The Great Caruso. In December 1953, Blyth left Universal and she signed a long term contract with MGM. She was the leading lady in All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953) with Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor, stepping in for Elizabeth Taylor who had to drop out due to pregnancy. On television, she was in a version of A Place in the Sun for Lux Video Theatre alongside John Derek. Back at MGM, Blyth had the lead in the remake of Rose Marie (1954) with Howard Keel, which earned over $5 million but lost money due to high costs. She was meant to be reteamed with Lanza in The Student Prince (1954) but he was fired from the studio and was replaced in the picture by Edmund Purdom. The film did well at the box office. Blyth and Purdom were reunited on a swashbuckler, The King's Thief (1955). She was teamed again with Keel on the musical Kismet (1955). Despite strong reviews, the film was a financial flop. She was named for the female lead in The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955) but was eventually not cast in the film. MGM put Blyth in Slander (1957) with Van Johnson. Sidney Sheldon cast Blyth in The Buster Keaton Story (1957) with Donald O'Connor at Paramount. Warner Bros then cast her in the title role of The Helen Morgan Story (Michael Curtiz, 1957) with Paul Newman. Blyth reportedly beat 40 other actors for the part. Even though her voice was more like the original Helen Morgan, her vocals were dubbed by Gogi Grant. That soundtrack was much more successful than the film itself. Blyth made no further films. In 1957, she sued Benedict Bogeaus for $75,000 for not making the film Conquest. From the late 1950s into the 1970s, Blyth worked in musical theatre and summer stock, starring in the shows 'The King and I', 'The Sound of Music', and 'Show Boat'. and also on television, including co-starring opposite James Donald in The Citadel (1960), an adaptation of A.J. Cronin's novel. She guest-starred on episodes of such series as The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Dick Powell Theatre, Saints and Sinners, The Christophers, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, and Burke's Law. Several of these appearances were for Four Star Television with whom Blyth signed a multi-appearance contract. Blyth also became the spokesperson for Hostess Cupcakes. Her last television appearances were in episodes of Switch (1983), Quincy, M.E. (1983) and Murder, She Wrote (1985). In 1985, she officially retired. For her contributions to the film industry, Blyth has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6733 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1953, Blyth married obstetrician James McNulty, brother of singer Dennis Day, who had introduced them. After her marriage, Blyth took somewhat of a reprieve from her career to focus on raising their five children, Timothy Patrick (1954); Maureen Ann (1955); Kathleen Mary (1957); Terence Grady (1960); and Eileen Alana (1963).
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
City of Vancouver, B. C. Airport Dedication Event: City of Vancouver, B. C. Airport Official Opening and Dedication Date: July 22nd 1931 Location: Vancouver British Columbia Cachet - Roessler envelope.
Clipped from - The Vancouver Sun newspaper - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - 11 May 1931 - MAY CHANGE DATE OF AIRPORT OPENING - The official opening of the Sea Island airport may possibly be postponed from July 1 to July 22 to coincide with the arrival of the trans-Canada air tour, following receipt of a telegram from City Solicitor J. B. Williams, read to the City Council today. The tour, which will comprise about 30 planes, including a squadron of the famous Royal Canadian Air Force Siskin Fighters, will put on an air pageant here June 22 and 25. It is suggested that the city contribute 30 per cent of the gate receipts towards the cost of bringing the tour to Vancouver, or a minimum of $1500; also pay for gasoline and oil for the planes and provide accommodation for pilots and mechanics. Plans are being made for a return air mall flight from Lethbridge to Vancouver for that date, the telegram added. It is estimated that at least 30,000 people will attend, including many tourists. The event will be advertised in the principal cities In the Pacific States by Vancouver Publicity Bureau. Many airplanes from the United States are expected to take part in the various events.
Clipped from - The Province newspaper - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - 15 July 1931 - Planes Which Stole' the Show at Cleveland Coming - R.C.A.F. Siskin Fighters Beat Col. Lindbergh's Famous Stunt Team at National Air Race - Will Give Dazzling Thirty-Minute Display of Aeronautics at Airport Opening Next Wednesday and Saturday. FIVE Royal Canadian Air Force single-seated fighters, which "stole the show" from Col. Charles Lindbergh and his famous "High Hats" at the National Air Races in Cleveland, will arrive In Vancouver with the trans-Canada Air Pageant on Tuesday. They will give displays of formation flying arid stunting on Wednesday and Saturday at the civic airport opening at Sea Island. The Cleveland newspapers admitted the Canadians' superiority and headlines declared "Royal Aces Burn Up Sky In Most Daring of Stunts" and "Canadians Outdo Lindbergh and High Hats." LINK to the complete newspaper article - www.newspapers.com/clip/103289653/rcaf-siskin-fighters-be...
Clipped from - The Province newspaper - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - 23 July 1931 - Siskins Thrill Crowd - LINK to the complete newspaper article - www.newspapers.com/clip/103290280/siskins-thrill-crowd/
LINK to a photo of the Vancouver Airport in 1929 - searcharchives.vancouver.ca/vancouver-airport-7
LINK to a photo of the opening of the Vancouver Airport in 1931 - searcharchives.vancouver.ca/uploads/r/null/7/7/778879/34c...
Vancouver (YVR) officially opened on July 22, 1931. At the time, the airport was nothing more than a small, wood-frame administration building and a single runway that could only hold 12 large planes or 30 small aircraft with their wings folded. According to the airport's website, YVR only served 1,072 passengers that year. LINK to the complete article - bc.ctvnews.ca/from-1-000-passengers-to-25m-vancouver-airp...
LINK to a video of the Vancouver (YVR) Airport Opening Ceremonies in 1931 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaGjWD9vxew
- sent from - / VANCOUVER / JUL 22 / 2 PM / 1931 / BRITISH COLUMBIA / - / ADVISE / CORRESPONDENCE / OF YOUR / CORRECT ADDRESS / - slogan cancel (Coutts A-75) - in use at Vancouver from 1931 to 1933.
Air Mail Service in Canada to the United States - July 1, 1931 - July 31, 1932: War Tax - A War Tax of 1 cent was added to the 1st ounce air mail letter weight on July 1, 1931 for a total of 6 cents. The rate for each additional ounce was 10 cents.
Tax. 2¢ - handstamp in greenish ink - 6 cents paying 5 cents United States air mail letter rate + 1 cent War Tax - 1 cent shortpaid + 1 cent penalty = 2 cents. LINK to airmail rates - postalhistorycorner.blogspot.com/2014/02/air-us.html
- with handstamp - / CITY OF VANCOUVER, B. C. AIRPORT / OFFICIAL OPENING AND DEDICATION / JULY 22ND 1931 / CANADA AIR MAIL / - cachet in green ink
Addressed to - L. E. Mendonsa / 7046 Amherst Ave. / University City / Missouri / U.S. America - / - "Via Airmail", Vancouver.
Lawrence "Larry" Ernest Mendonsa
(b. 11 April 1913 in Missouri, USA - d. 6 January 2001 at age 87 in Chesterfield, Missouri, USA)
Dr. Lawrence Mendonsa - Was obstetrician for 48 years - Dr. Lawrence E. Mendonsa, a retired physician, died of infirmities Saturday (Jan. 6, 2001) at his home in Chesterfield. He was 87. Dr. Mendonsa was an obstetrician-gynecologist for 48 years. He worked on the staff of five hospitals in the St Louis area, including St John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur. In 1946, he started a private practice in St Louis and later moved it to Florissant. He retired in 1985. Dr. Mendonsa received a medical degree from Washington University in 1937 and completed his internship at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1939. He completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology in 1941 at Greenpoint Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y. In World War II, he served in the Army Medical Corps in the Panama Canal Zone, attaining the rank of major. Dr. Mendonsa received the Distinguished Physician Award from St John's Mercy Medical Center. He was a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists. He was a lifelong member of Hamilton Christian Church.
His wife - Dorothy Deane (nee Oates) Mendonsa
(b. 1914 - d. 19 September 2012 in Missouri, USA) - they were married - 19 August 1940 in St. Louis, Missouri - they had two children - she was a registered nurse. LINK to her obituary - www.newspapers.com/clip/103308622/obituary-for-dorothy-de...
Darla now has a biog... my first doll biog. It somehow came to me spontaneously. Have you done a biog before? Its fun... if you see this and fancy writing a doll biog, tag me back as I'd love to find out more about your dolls too!
Darla's biog:
Name: Darla Velazquez Cubano
Born: August 31 1996, Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital, Condado, San Juan
Age: 21
Nationality: Puerto Rican
Parents:
Carlos Ruíz Cubano: obstetrician and gynaecologist at Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital
Maria Rivera Garcia Velasquez: painter and artist. Also tutors high school kids to pass college entrance exams.
Siblings: Alberto (9), Beatríz (11)
Star sign: Virgo
* Skilled and successful in career
* Keeps emotions reined
* Analytical and focused on task at hand
* Tend to be overly-critical in desire to find perfection
* Steady workers and attentive to details
Boyfriend: Tobias Rodriguez Acosta. Cuban. Age 22. Studied at National Ballet School of Cuba and joined the American Ballet Theater in NY on graduation.
Studies: Architecture and Fashion at the Pratt Institute New York. She has just graduated with a First Class honours degree. Having undertaken internships in Fashion and Architecture during her studies, she now has job offers from both disciplines on the table. Undecided about which direction to pursue, Darla is currently taking a break to visit Europe and consider her next steps. Her boyfriend Tobias has been invited to collaborate with the National Ballet of Cuba as their youngest up and coming choreographer but he has yet to accept their offer. Darla has a lot of thinking to do...
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 675. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 1952.
American actress and singer Ann Blyth (1928) was often cast in Hollywood musicals, but she was also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Ann Blyth was born in 1928, in Mount Kisco, New York, to Harry and Nan Lynch Blyth. After her parents separated, she, her mother and her sister moved to a walk-up apartment on East 31st Street in New York City, where her mother took in ironing. Blyth attended St. Patrick's School in Manhattan. Blyth performed on children's radio shows in New York for six years, making her first appearance when she was five. When she was nine she joined the New York Children's Opera Company. Her first acting role was on Broadway in Lillian Hellman's 'Watch on the Rhine' (1941-1942). She played the part of Paul Lukas's daughter, Babette. The play ran for 378 performances and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. After the New York run, the play went on tour, and while performing at the Biltmore Theatre in Los Angeles, Blyth was offered a contract with Universal Studios. Blyth began her acting career initially as "Anne Blyth", but changed the spelling of her first name back to "Ann" at the beginning of her film career. She made her film debut in 1944, teamed with Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan in the teenage musical Chip Off the Old Block (1944). She followed it with two similar films: The Merry Monahans (1944) with O'Connor and Ryan again, and Babes on Swing Street (1944) with Ryan. She had a support role in the bigger budgeted Bowery to Broadway (1944), a showcase of Universal musical talent. On loan to Warner Brothers, Blyth was cast 'against type' as Veda Pierce, the scheming, ungrateful daughter of Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945). Her dramatic portrayal won her outstanding reviews, and she received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Blyth was only 16 when she made the film, for which Crawford won the Best Actress award. After Mildred Pierce, Blyth sustained a broken back while tobogganing in Snow Valley, and was not able to fully capitalise on the film's success. She recovered and made two films for Mark Hellinger's unit at Universal: Swell Guy (1946), with Sonny Tufts, and Brute Force (1947) with Burt Lancaster. During this time her father died. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer borrowed her to play the female lead in Killer McCoy (1947), a boxing film with Mickey Rooney that was a box office hit. Back at Universal, she did a Film Noir with Charles Boyer, A Woman's Vengeance (1948). She was then cast in the part of Regina Hubbard in Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest (1948), an adaptation of the 1946 play where Regina had been played by Patricia Neal. The play was a prequel to The Little Foxes. Blyth followed it with Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) with William Powell. She was top-billed in Red Canyon (1949), a Western with Howard Duff. Paramount borrowed Blyth to play the female lead in Top o' the Morning (1949), a daughter of Barry Fitzgerald who is romanced by Bing Crosby. It was the first time she sang on screen. Back at Universal, she was teamed with Robert Montgomery in Once More, My Darling (1949), meaning she had to drop out of Desert Legion. She did a comedy with Robert Cummings, Free for All (1949). In April 1949, Universal suspended her for refusing a lead role in Abandoned (1949). Gale Storm played it.
Ann Blyth was borrowed by Sam Goldwyn to star opposite Farley Granger in Our Very Own (1950). Universal gave her top billing in a romantic comedy, Katie Did It (1951). Blyth was borrowed by MGM for The Great Caruso (1951) opposite Mario Lanza which was a massive box office hit. She made Thunder on the Hill (1951) with Claudette Colbert and had the female lead in The Golden Horde (1951) with David Farrar. Then, 20th Century Fox borrowed her to star opposite Tyrone Power in I'll Never Forget You (1952), a last-minute replacement for Constance Smith. She appeared on TV in Family Theater in an episode called 'The World's Greatest Mother' alongside Ethel Barrymore. Universal teamed Blyth with Gregory Peck in The World in His Arms (1952). She was top-billed in the comedy Sally and Saint Anne (1952) and was borrowed by RKO for One Minute to Zero (1952), a Korean War drama with Robert Mitchum where she replaced Claudette Colbert who came down with pneumonia. MGM had been interested in Blyth since The Great Caruso. In December 1953, Blyth left Universal and she signed a long term contract with MGM. She was the leading lady in All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953) with Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor, stepping in for Elizabeth Taylor who had to drop out due to pregnancy. On television, she was in a version of A Place in the Sun for Lux Video Theatre alongside John Derek. Back at MGM, Blyth had the lead in the remake of Rose Marie (1954) with Howard Keel, which earned over $5 million but lost money due to high costs. She was meant to be reteamed with Lanza in The Student Prince (1954) but he was fired from the studio and was replaced in the picture by Edmund Purdom. The film did well at the box office. Blyth and Purdom were reunited on a swashbuckler, The King's Thief (1955). She was teamed again with Keel on the musical Kismet (1955). Despite strong reviews, the film was a financial flop. She was named for the female lead in The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955) but was eventually not cast in the film. MGM put Blyth in Slander (1957) with Van Johnson. Sidney Sheldon cast Blyth in The Buster Keaton Story (1957) with Donald O'Connor at Paramount. Warner Bros then cast her in the title role of The Helen Morgan Story (Michael Curtiz, 1957) with Paul Newman. Blyth reportedly beat 40 other actors for the part. Even though her voice was more like the original Helen Morgan, her vocals were dubbed by Gogi Grant. That soundtrack was much more successful than the film itself. Blyth made no further films. In 1957, she sued Benedict Bogeaus for $75,000 for not making the film Conquest. From the late 1950s into the 1970s, Blyth worked in musical theatre and summer stock, starring in the shows 'The King and I', 'The Sound of Music', and 'Show Boat'. and also on television, including co-starring opposite James Donald in The Citadel (1960), an adaptation of A.J. Cronin's novel. She guest-starred on episodes of such series as The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Dick Powell Theatre, Saints and Sinners, The Christophers, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, and Burke's Law. Several of these appearances were for Four Star Television with whom Blyth signed a multi-appearance contract. Blyth also became the spokesperson for Hostess Cupcakes. Her last television appearances were in episodes of Switch (1983), Quincy, M.E. (1983) and Murder, She Wrote (1985). In 1985, she officially retired. For her contributions to the film industry, Blyth has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6733 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1953, Blyth married obstetrician James McNulty, brother of singer Dennis Day, who had introduced them. After her marriage, Blyth took somewhat of a reprieve from her career to focus on raising their five children, Timothy Patrick (1954); Maureen Ann (1955); Kathleen Mary (1957); Terence Grady (1960); and Eileen Alana (1963).
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Name: Rory Llewellyn
Age: 34
Star sign: Leo
Profession: Horse veterinarian. Now also breeds Mustangs on a farm in the High Rockies
Marital status: single
Family: one daughter, Eden aged 16
Before starting his veterinary training Rory went travelling with his beautiful and headstrong girlfriend, Nusch, who, slightly older than him, had already started studying medicine hoping to go on to specialise as an obstetrician. Rory and Nusch were doing Voluntary Service Overseas when Nusch fell pregnant. She insisted on giving birth in the same conditions as the local women, with tragic consequences; she died from a post natal infection shortly after their baby daughter, Eden, was born. Rory was devastated by the loss of his first love who he had expected to spend the rest of this life with but he clung to the baby daughter they had conceived together. He brought Eden up entirely on his own and for many years they travelled the world together as he built an impressive career as a highly renowned Horse Veterinarian, caring for some of the world's top international race horses . Tired of living such a fast paced existence and above all feeling that he needed to give Eden some roots he has taken the dramatic step of moving them to a horse ranch in the Rockies. Rory has been single for a long time dedicating himself to his beloved horses and his beloved daughter but Eden is hoping that, now they have settled in one place, he will meet someone special. Two local ladies have already noticed the handsome newcomer and may be looking to find a way to meet him...
If you would like to see some of my friends, please click "here" !
The domestic Goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the family Bovidae and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat. Goats are one of the oldest domesticated species, and have been used for their milk, meat, hair, and skins over much of the world. In 2011, there were more than 924 million live goats around the globe, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Female goats are referred to as "does" or "nannies", intact males as "bucks", "billies", or "rams" and their offspring are "kids". Castrated males are "wethers". Goat meat from younger animals is called "kid" or cabrito (Spanish), and from older animals is simply known as "goat" or sometimes called chevon (French), or in some areas "mutton" (which more often refers to adult sheep meat). The Modern English word goat comes from Old English gāt "she-goat, goat in general", which in turn derives from Proto-Germanic *gaitaz (cf. Dutch/Icelandic geit, German Geiß, and Gothic gaits), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰaidos meaning "young goat" (cf. Latin haedus "kid"), itself perhaps from a root meaning "jump" (assuming that Old Church Slavonic zajęcǐ "hare", Sanskrit jihīte "he moves" are related). To refer to the male, Old English used bucca (giving modern buck) until ousted by hegote, hegoote in the late 12th century. Nanny goat (females) originated in the 18th century and billy goat (for males) in the 19th. Goats are among the earliest animals domesticated by humans. The most recent genetic analysis confirms the archaeological evidence that the wild Bezoar ibex of the Zagros Mountains are the likely origin of almost all domestic goats today. Neolithic farmers began to herd wild goats for easy access to milk and meat, primarily, as well as for their dung, which was used as fuel, and their bones, hair, and sinew for clothing, building, and tools. The earliest remnants of domesticated goats dating 10,000 years before present are found in Ganj Dareh in Iran. Goat remains have been found at archaeological sites in Jericho, Choga Mami Djeitun and Çayönü, dating the domestication of goats in Western Asia at between 8000 and 9000 years ago. Studies of DNA evidence suggests 10,000 years BP as the domestication date. Historically, goat hide has been used for water and wine bottles in both traveling and transporting wine for sale. It has also been used to produce parchment.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
My travels around the UK by car for three weeks with my son. June/July 2019 Scotland.
Day Seventeen .. We have two nights in Glasgow starting at a wonderful airbnb in a two bedroom flat. And we have a washing machine!
The Hunterian is the legacy of Dr William Hunter (1718 - 1783), a pioneering obstetrician and teacher with a passion for collecting.
Born locally, and a student at the University of Glasgow, Hunter found fame and fortune in London as physician to Queen Charlotte and as a teacher of anatomy. He lavished his wealth on building up the vast private collection which he bequeathed to the University in 1783, along with money to create a suitable museum.
The Hunterian opened its doors in 1807, making it Scotland’s oldest museum and giving it a unique place within Scotland’s cultural heritage.
The Hunterian has undergone many changes over the years. The first Hunterian Museum, built with William Hunter’s bequest and filled with his collections, opened in 1807. It was located in the University of Glasgow’s first site, in the East End near Glasgow Cathedral. The classical style building, designed by William Stark, was open to the public from 12.00pm until 2.00pm every day except Sunday.
When the University moved west to its present location in 1870, the Hunterian collections were relocated to the Gilbert Scott building, where the Museum remains today. To begin with, the whole collection was displayed together, but gradually sizeable sections were removed to other parts of the University.
The zoology collections are now housed within the Graham Kerr building, the art collections in the purpose built Hunterian Art Gallery, and the books and manuscripts in Glasgow University Library. Hunter’s anatomical collections are housed in the Thomson Building, and his pathological preparations at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
At over 200 years old, the Hunterian today is home to one of the finest university collections in the world and one of Scotland’s most important cultural assets.
For More Infohttps://www.gla.ac.uk/hunterian/about/history/
Name: Rory Llewellyn
Age: 34
Star sign: Leo
Profession: Horse veterinarian. Now also breeds Mustangs on a farm in the High Rockies
Marital status: single
Family: one daughter, Eden aged 16
Before starting his veterinary training Rory went travelling with his beautiful and headstrong girlfriend, Nusch, who, slightly older than him, had already started studying medicine hoping to go on to specialise as an obstetrician. Rory and Nusch were doing Voluntary Service Overseas when Nusch fell pregnant. She insisted on giving birth in the same conditions as the local women, with tragic consequences; she died from a post natal infection shortly after their baby daughter, Eden, was born. Rory was devastated by the loss of his first love who he had expected to spend the rest of this life with but he clung to the baby daughter they had conceived together. He brought Eden up entirely on his own and for many years they travelled the world together as he built an impressive career as a highly renowned Horse Veterinarian, caring for some of the world's top international race horses . Tired of living such a fast paced existence and above all feeling that he needed to give Eden some roots he has taken the dramatic step of moving them to a horse ranch in the Rockies. Rory has been single for a long time dedicating himself to his beloved horses and his beloved daughter but Eden is hoping that, now they have settled in one place, he will meet someone special. Two local ladies have already noticed the handsome newcomer and may be looking to find a way to meet him...
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Montblanc Elizabeth I Patron of Arts 2010 fountain pen.
1/4 You Tube vid: youtu.be/DWN22eyQ64A
Montblanc Elizabeth I writing instrument seriously tempted my pocket book but MAC preferred another holiday trip to a warm climate.
Limited Edition 4810 and Limited Edition 888
Montblanc's Patron of Art Edition has annually honoured a legendary benefactor of the arts and culture since this special writing instrument line was originally conceived in 1992. This year’s edition is dedicated to an all time great cultural force - Elizabeth I. Regarded the most successful monarch to ever ascend an English throne, under Elizabeth's astute and skillful rule, England "came of age" and, witnessing groundbreaking achievements, was transformed from a "remote backwater" to a globally dominant imperial power. Great battles were won. The New World - or the "Americas" - was discovered and the English Renaissance reached its zenith because of Elizabeth's artistic patronage.
Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I - Limited Edition 888
Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I - Limited Edition 4810
The "best educated woman of her generation..." Elizabeth was "passionately" interested in the arts and her "luminous" court stimulated some of the greatest artistic achievements of all time. William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe flourished during her reign as did the poet Edmund Spenser, the painter Nicholas Hillyard and the English composers William Byrd, John Dowland and Thomas Tallis.
Elizabeth I was also a gifted writer and the 2010 Montblanc Patron of Art Edition is therefore composed of two writing instruments conceived with sumptuously striking and clever adornments celebrating her intellect and inimitable regal flair. Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I, limited to 4810 pieces and limited to 888 pieces, will debut in April 2010 and May 2010, respectively. And, as their presentation has always been associated with the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award - which annually celebrates contemporary arts and cultural patrons - the Patron of Art Edition continues a story linking a historical figure with future talent.
Elizabeth I - A Legend in her Own Lifetime
Centuries after her death, Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603), is still considered as one of England's "most popular and influential rulers". She was born at Greenwich Palace on 7 September 1533 to Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, although her arrival was greeted with "surprise and displeasure", by the Court. The "failure" to produce a son for King Henry jeopardized Queen Anne’s life due to her husband's obsession with conceiving a male heir. Charged with adultery, she was beheaded in May 1536.
A retinue of governesses raised the young princess Elizabeth and though she was shunned by her father, Catherine Parr, the "remarkable" sixth and last wife of Henry VIII, oversaw the education which groomed the future queen for greatness and the Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I will celebrate their special bond. Under the Cambridge scholar Roger Ascham, Elizabeth studied the classics, read history and theology and became fluent in six languages - Greek, Latin, French, Italian, Spanish and German. Her love of music and, skill as a musician, developed from the 60 instrumentalists who resided at Hatfield House, her childhood residence. From age 11, she composed prayers and poems and, when jailed for suspected treason against Mary I, her cousin in 1554, she etched onto a glass prison window a two-line verse with a diamond.
Upon ascending the throne on 15 January 1559, Elizabeth's writing focussed on government matters. She wrote powerful speeches, such as that which she delivered at Tilbury in Essex where English troops had gathered to prepare for Spanish invasion in 1588. Brandishing a silver breastplate over a flowing white velvet gown she arrived on horseback demonstrating the "courage and leadership the English expected" of a monarch - but had never been displayed by a female - and declared to the troops: “I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman but I have the heart and stomach of a king and of a King of England, too".
Nine days later, the defeat of the Spanish Armada proved England's "finest hour". Elizabeth's popularity reached a level no "English woman had enjoyed as a public figure" and she attained supreme power comparable to a "biblical and mythological figure". Her grand mode of dress overawed her subjects while the flourishing of her Renaissance court stimulated new literary, artistic and musical achievements. "Theatres thrived", and, as Shakespeare elevated the English language to its highest level of development, England’s literacy rate soared. Elizabeth attended the debut of Shakespeare's romantic comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream. Numerous works were dedicated to her including poet Edmund Spenser's masterpiece The Fairie Queen. Composers William Byrd, John Dowland and Thomas Tallis also toiled at her court.
The discoveries of adventurers Sir Francis Drake, who circumnavigated the world in 1580, Walter Raleigh's exploration of eastern Venezuela in 1594 and Humphrey Gilbert’s conquering of Newfoundland for the English throne in 1583, spearheaded a new age expansion by the end of Elizabeth's reign. Upon her passing on 24 March 1604, the pioneering monarch, it is said, "departed this life mildly like a lamb, easily like a ripe apple from the tree".
The Limited Edition Celebrating the Elizabethan Age
Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I 4810
The design and adornments of the Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I 4810 reflects the life, reign and heraldic regalia of Elizabeth I. Hand engraved on the 18 K gold nib is a bejewelled gold crown which she brandished ascending the throne in 1559. Lacquer barrel and cap signify the spots which appear on an ermine cape, part of the traditional coronation attire which Elizabeth also flaunted. While an ivory coloured Montblanc emblem tops the cap, the clip descends from gold plated Tudor Rose. This "double rose" motif became England’s floral emblem after Henry VII, Elizabeth's grandfather, commandeered it as the symbol of the Tudor Dynasty upon taking the crown from Richard IIII in 1485. The green cabochon embellishing the gold-plated cross upon the clip also reflects the bejewelled cross upon Elizabeth's crown.
Encircling the gold plate band adorning the cap - as well as the cone - is an elegant interlaced pattern inspired by the pretty needlework sleeve Elizabeth conceived for a prayer book she created especially for her stepmother, Catherine Parr, as a New Year's gift in 1544. Entitled The Mirror of the Sinful Soul, it was Lady Elizabeth's own English translation of the French verse originally composed by Queen Margaret of Navarre. A friend of Anne Boleyn, the French Queen gave the original manuscript to her and the religious poem was also a favourite of Catherine Parr’s. Today, Elizabeth I’s handmade book is owned by the University of Oxford's Bodleian Library. Etched by gold plated cap ring is "Video et Taceo" - or "I see and I keep silent". This maxim of Elizabeth I signified her moderate political views and cautious approach to foreign affairs.
Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I Limited Edition 888
This 750 solid gold fountain pen features a barrel and cap in precious lacquer. Hand engraved on its 18 K gold nib is a bejewelled gold crown in which Elizabeth I ascended the throne in 1559. Topping the cap is the Montblanc emblem rendered in shimmering mother-of-pearl. The clip descends from a solid gold Tudor Rose while its embellishment - a princess cut green garnet - reflects the bejewelled crown. The intricate interlaced motif, derived from the needlework cover of The Mirror of the Sinful Soul, beautifies the solid gold cap and barrel. Elizabeth I's "Video et Taceo" maxim is embossed upon the cap ring.
Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award
Celebrating Past and Present
The Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award is presented in 11 countries and represents an exemplary bond forged between past and present and, since its inception in 1992, this merit has been directly linked with the Patron of the Art Edition. The prize, therefore, combines a tribute to an historic patron of the arts while acknowledging a contemporary one. By recognizing the importance of private patronage, the award conveys to the public its crucial role in fostering the arts and culture.
Each recipient of the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award is chosen by an international jury of artists and receives financial support of € 15.000 in each country for a cultural project of their own choice. Montblanc also presents the honoree and the jury members with the precious Patron of Art Edition. Sought after by collectors around the world, Montblanc's Patron of Art Edition are writing instruments that will last a lifetime. And like every Montblanc writing instrument, these exceptionally handcrafted fountain pens have been created with the highest demand of craftsmanship that has made Montblanc the benchmark for writing culture.
Prized by connoisseurs and avid collectors, the Montblanc Patron of the Art Edition is a commemorative keepsake meant to be passed down through generations. Manufacturing tools, specially developed for the making of every Montblanc Limited Edition, are destroyed at the end of each production run. As a consequence, these intricately handcrafted pens are collector’s items. Limited Editions produced between 1992 and 2000, for example, have sold at auction for sums greatly exceeding their original retail price, ranging from (US) $ 2,200 to (US) $35,000. And nine years after its 1992 debut, Montblanc Patron of the Art Lorenzo de Medici sold at Christie’s in New York for more than six times its initial cost of (US) $1,292.00, ultimately fetching (US) $8,225.00.
Mei Boa-Jiu, China:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mei_Baojiu
www.flickr.com/photos/gregsu/14914200150/in/photolist-uiq...
Mei Baojiu (Chinese: 梅葆玖; pinyin: Méi Bǎojiǔ) (29 March 1934 – 25 April 2016)[1] was a contemporary Peking opera artist, also a performer of the Dan role type in Peking Opera and Kunqu opera, the leader of Mei Lanfang Peking Opera troupe in Beijing Peking Opera Theatre. Mei's father Mei Lanfang was one of the most famous Peking opera performers. Mei Baojiu was the ninth and youngest child of Mei Lanfang. For this reason, he was called Baojiu, since in Chinese, jiu means nine.[2] Mei Baojiu was the master of the second generation of Méi School descendant, he was also Mei Lanfang's only child who is now a performer of the Dan role of the Peking Opera.[3]
Mei Baojiu: 梅葆玖
Born: 29 March 1934. Shanghai, China
Died: 25 April 2016 (aged 82) Beijing, China
Occupation: Peking opera artist
Parents: Mei Lanfang (father), Fu Zhifang (mother)
From childhood, Mei had learned Peking Opera from many artists. Mei Baojiu's first opera teacher was Wang Youqing (王幼卿), the nephew of Wang Yaoqing (王瑶卿), who had been the teacher of Mei Lanfang. Tao Yuzhi (陶玉芝) was his teacher of martial arts, while Zhu Chuanming (朱传茗), the famous performer of the Dan role type in Kunqu opera, taught him Kunqu. After that Mei learned the Dan role from Zhu Qinxin (朱琴心). Mei's regular performances of traditional opera include The Hegemon-King Bids His Concubine Farewell, Guifei Intoxicated (貴妃醉酒), Lady General Mu Takes Command (穆桂英挂帅), The story of Yang Guifei (太真外传), Luo Shen (洛神), Xi Shi (西施), etc. Mei has made significant contributions to cultural exchanges and promoting Peking Opera culture. Meanwhile, he also trains more than twenty students, such as Li Shengsu (李胜素), Dong Yuanyuan (董圆圆), Zhang Jing (张晶), Zhang Xinyue (张馨月), Hu Wenge (胡文阁) (the only male student),[4] Tian Hui (田慧), Wei Haimin.[5]
Biography:
Mei Baojiu as a child
In the spring of 1934, Mei Baojiu was born at No. 87 Sinan Road, Shanghai.[2] Because of his comely appearance and delicate voice, his father decided to send Baojiu to learn Peking opera and hoped that Baojiu could make contributions to Méi School. Baojiu himself also showed great interest as well as gifts in Peking opera in his early life. In 1942, Mei Lanfang and his wife Fu Zhifang (福芝芳) invited Wang Youqing (王幼卿), the disciple of famous Dan role performer - Wang Yaoqing (王瑶卿), from Beijing to teach Baojiu as his first qingyi teacher while requesting Zhu Chuanming (朱传茗), one of the most prestigious performers of the Dan role type to teach Baojiu Kunqu Opera. When Mei Lanfang was free from work, he also gave directions to his son himself.[6]
When Baojiu was ten years old, he played Xue Yi (薛倚) in San Niang teaches the child (三娘教子) as his first performance in Shanghai. At the age of twelve, together with his sister Mei Baoyue (梅葆玥), Baojiu acted in Yang Silang Visits His Mother (四郎探母). Being a Qingyi (青衣) performer, he started giving performances of the Legend of the White Snake, The Story Of Su San (玉堂春) and some other traditional plays for charity since the age of 13. He also performed in Wu Jiapo Hill (武家坡) with Baoyue (梅葆玥) at the same time. When Baojiu was 16, he took part in the national tour of the Mei Lanfang Troupe, and toured the country with the troupe. Usually, Baojiu performed for the first three days, and Mei Lanfang performed plays in the rest, sometimes they also performed cooperatively, such as in Legend of the White Snake. Baojiu played the part of Xiao Qing the green snake, while his father played Bai Suzhen the white snake.[6]
Mei Lanfang used to make suggestions to Baojiu in order to make the performance of Baojiu perfect when Baojiu was young. Once, after watching the play The Story Of Sue San (玉堂春), in which Baojiu performed, he came to Baojiu and suggested that Baojiu change the way of acting the spoken parts. He mentioned that it was the most exciting time when the heroine, Sue San, got the Senior judge. For this reason, Baojiu should speak infectiously, he should speak faster and faster to create tension.[7]
Baojiu also got a chance to share the stage with some prestigious senior performers, such as Xiao Changhua (萧长华), Jiang Miaoxiang (姜妙香) and Yu Zhenfei (俞振飞).[8]
Due to the guidance of the actors from the earlier generation, Mei Baojiu's acting greatly improved and hemade a great effort to promote Méi School as well.[9]
In 1961, after Mei Lanfang died, Baojiu took over the position of the leader of Mei Lanfang Peking Opera troupe. During this time, he acted in some other well known plays, such as The mulan (木兰从军), Return of the Phoenix (凤还巢) and Lian Jinfeng (廉锦枫). However, after 1964, almost all performance of traditional plays was forbidden, according to central government regulations. For this reason, Baojiu was forced to do recording and stage lighting related work.[10]
Fourteen years later, in 1978, Baojiu returned to the Mei Lanfang Peking Opera troupe and came back to stage. He reformed the troupe and rearranged many traditional plays like Yuzhoufeng the Sword(宇宙锋), The story of Yang Guifei (太真外传), Luo Shen (洛神), Xi Shi (西施) as well as Royal pavilion (御碑亭) at the same time.[11]
From 1981 to 1984, together with his sister Mei Baoyue and descendants of other schools, he participated in the performance of a series memorial activities to commemorate his father. Making the eight-hour long play lasts for only three hours, he also rearranged The story of Yang Guifei in the late 1980s.[12]
In 1993, led by Baojiu, the Mei Lanfang Peking Opera troupe visited Taiwan and gave elaborately prepared performances to the public. He has made significant contributions to cultural exchanges and promoting Peking Opera culture.[13]
Baojiu cultivates more than twenty students, such as Li Shengsu, Dong Yuanyuan (董圆圆), Zhang Jing (张晶), Zhang Xinyue (张馨月), Hu Wenge (the only male student), Tian Hui (田慧), Wei Haimin (魏海敏). In the last twenty years, he mainly focused on training these students.
As a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Mei Baojiu put forward a proposal on introducing Peking Opera into elementary schools in 2009.[14]
In March 2012, at the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Mei put forward a proposal on introducing the form of animation into Peking Opera in order to make more teenagers be interested in Peking Opera.[15]
On 26 March 2012, Mei received his Ph.D. from J. F. Oberlin University in Japan.[16]
On 31 March 2016, Mei was hospitalized because of bronchospasm. He died on 25 April 2016, at the age of 82.[17]
Famous plays:
Like his father, Mei Baojiu acts Dan role in the following classic Peking opera plays. The Hegemon-King Bids His Concubine Farewell tells the sad love story of Xiang Yu and his favourite concubine Consort Yu when he is surrounded by Liu Bang’s forces. Mei plays the role of Consort Yu. Shang Changrong (the 3rd son of Shang Xiaoyun) once played the role of Xiang Yu as Mei's partner.
Guifei Intoxicated, also named Bai Hua Ting (百花亭), is about Yang Guifei. In this play she drinks down her sorrow because she is irritated by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang breaking his promise. Based on Mei Lanfang’s original work, Mei Baojiu adapted this play for The Great Concubine of Tang (大唐贵妃), a contemporary Beijing opera with historical motif in 2002. Mu Guiying Takes Command, a classic Yu opera was adapted by Mei Lanfang in 1959, and he acted the leading role the same year in celebration of the 10th anniversary of PRC.
Cooperating with famous Yu opera master Ma Jinfeng (马金凤), Mei Baojiu performed this play in the Shuang xia guo style (双下锅), which means different forms of opera performed in one play.[3]
Family:
Mei Baojiu's mother, Fu Zhifang (福芝芳), the second wife of Mei Lanfang, bore 9 children, but only 4 of them survived.
Mei Baojiu is the youngest child in his family. His eldest brother, Mei Baochen (梅葆琛) (1925-2008), was a senior engineer in Beijing's Academy of Architecture (北京建筑设计院). His elder brother, Mei Shaowu (梅绍武) (1928-2005), was a researcher of the Chinese academy of social sciences institute of the United States (中国社会科学院美国研究所) and the president of Mei Lanfang Culture-art Seminar (中国梅兰芳文化艺术研究会). His elder sister Mei Baoyue (梅葆玥) (1930-2000) was a performer of the Laosheng role type in Peking Opera, and performed together with Mei Baojiu sometimes. Mei Baojiu is the only heir to the Meipai Qingyi (梅派青衣).[3][18]
Mei Baojiu's wife is named Lin Liyuan (林丽媛), she is the consultant of Mei Lanfang Troupe. They have no children.[19]
References:
^ Mei Shaowu (梅绍武), Mei Weidong (梅卫东), Biography of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳自述) :Appendix - studies (附录：年谱简表)
^ a b Wu Ying (吴迎), From Mei Lanfang to Mei Baojiu (从梅兰芳到梅葆玖) Page 50
^ a b c "梅氏家族 (May Family)". Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
^ "胡文阁被梅葆玖"看"得紧紧的(组图) (Mei Baojiu keeps a close watch on Hu Wenge (photo))". 9 January 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
^ "梅葆玖简介 (About Mei Baojiu)". July 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
^ a b Li Zhongming (李仲明), The Family of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳家族) Page93
^ Li Zhongming (李仲明), The Family of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳家族) Page 96
^ "梅兰芳的剧照 Mei Lanfang snapshot". Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
^ Li Zhongming (李仲明), The Family of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳家族) Page92 - 93
^ Li Zhongming (李仲明), The Family of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳家族) Page110
^ Li Zhongming (李仲明), The Family of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳家族) Page112-113
^ Xu Beicheng (徐北城), Mei Lanfang and the 20th century (梅兰芳与二十世纪) :chapter 10. the Dance of Mei (第十章：梅之舞)
^ Li Zhongming (李仲明), The Family of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳家族) Page113-121
^ "Mei Baojiu". 11 March 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
^ "Mei Baojiu". 7 March 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
^ "Mei Baojiu". 29 March 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
^ "京剧大师梅葆玖去世享年82岁 世间从此再无"梅先生"". people.cn. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
^ Li Zhongming (李仲明), The Family of Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳家族) Page84 - 90
^ "About Mei Baojiu". 29 March 2012. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
Martine Franck, France:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martine_Franck
Martine Franck (2 April 1938 – 16 August 2012) was a British-Belgian documentary and portrait photographer. She was a member of Magnum Photos for over 32 years. Franck was the second wife of Henri Cartier-Bresson and co-founder and president of the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation.
Martine Franck
Photo of Martine Franck.jpg
Franck in 1972, by Henri-Cartier Bresson
Born: 2 April 1938 Antwerp, Belgium
Died: 16 August 2012 (aged 74) Paris, France
Occupation
Documentary and portrait photographer
Spouse(s): Henri Cartier-Bresson (m. 1970; died 2004)
Children: 1
Contents:
Early life:
Franck was born in Antwerp[1] to the Belgian banker Louis Franck and his British wife, Evelyn.[2] After her birth the family moved almost immediately to London.[2] A year later, her father joined the British army, and the rest of the family were evacuated to the United States, spending the remainder of the Second World War on Long Island and in Arizona.[3]
Franck's father was an amateur art collector who often took his daughter to galleries and museums. Franck was in boarding school from the age of six onwards, and her mother sent her a postcard every day, frequently of paintings. Ms. Franck, attended Heathfield School, an all-girls boarding school close to Ascot in England, and studied the history of art from the age of 14. "I had a wonderful teacher who really galvanized me," she says. "In those days she took us on outings to London, which was the big excitement of the year for me."[4]
Career:
Franck studied art history at the University of Madrid and at the Ecole du Louvre in Paris. After struggling through her thesis (on French sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska and the influence of cubism on sculpture), she said she realized she had no particular talent for writing, and turned to photography instead.[5]
In 1963, Franck's photography career started following trips to the Far East, having taken pictures with her cousin’s Leica camera. Returning to France in 1964, now possessing a camera of her own, Franck became an assistant to photographers Eliot Elisofon and Gjon Mili at Time-Life. By 1969 she was a busy freelance photographer for magazines such as Vogue, Life and Sports Illustrated, and the official photographer of the Théâtre du Soleil (a position she held for 48 years).[6] From 1970 to 1971 she worked in Paris at the Agence Vu photo agency, and in 1972 she co-founded the Viva agency.[2]
In 1980, Franck joined the Magnum Photos cooperative agency as a "nominee", and in 1983 she became a full member. She was one of a very small number of women to be accepted into the agency.
In 1983, she completed a project for the now-defunct French Ministry of Women's Rights and in 1985 she began collaborating with the non-profit International Federation of Little Brothers of the Poor. In 1993, she first traveled to the Irish island of Tory where she documented the tiny Gaelic community living there. She also traveled to Tibet and Nepal, and with the help of Marilyn Silverstone photographed the education system of the Tibetan Tulkus monks. In 2003 and 2004 she returned to Paris to document the work of theater director Robert Wilson who was staging La Fontaine's fables at the Comédie Française.[7]
Nine books of Franck's photographs have been published, and in 2005 Franck was made a chevalier of the French Légion d'Honneur.[8]
Franck continued working even after she was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2010. Her last exhibition was in October 2011 at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie. The exhibit consisted of 62 portraits of artists "coming from somewhere else” collected from 1965 through 2010. This same year, there were collections of portraits shown at New York's Howard Greenberg Gallery and at the Claude Bernard Gallery, Paris.[9]
Work:
Franck was well known for her documentary-style photographs of important cultural figures such as the painter Marc Chagall, philosopher Michel Foucault and poet Seamus Heaney, and of remote or marginalized communities such as Tibetan Buddhist monks, elderly French people, and isolated Gaelic speakers. Michael Pritchard, the Director-General of the Royal Photographic Society, observed: "Martine was able to work with her subjects and bring out their emotions and record their expressions on film, helping the viewer understand what she had seen in person. Her images were always empathetic with her subject." In 1976, Frank took one of her most iconic photos of bathers beside a pool in Le Brusc, Provence. By her account, she saw them from a distance and rushed to photograph the moment, all the while changing the roll of film in her camera. She quickly closed the lens just at the right moment, when happened to be most intense.[9]
She cited as influences the portraits of British photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, the work of American photojournalist Dorothea Lange and American documentary photographer Margaret Bourke-White.[8] In 2010, she told The New York Times that photography "suits my curiosity about people and human situations." [10]
She worked outside the studio, using a 35 mm Leica camera, and preferring black and white film.[2] The British Royal Photographic Society has described her work as "firmly rooted in the tradition of French humanist documentary photography."[11]
Personal life:
Franck was often described as elegant, dignified and shy.[12][13][14]
In 1966, she met Henri Cartier-Bresson, thirty years her senior, when she was photographing Paris fashion shows for The New York Times. In 2010, she told interviewer Charlie Rose "his opening line was, ‘Martine, I want to come and see your contact sheets.’" They married in 1970, had one child, a daughter named Mélanie, and remained together until his death in 2004.[2]
Throughout her career Franck, who was sometimes described as a feminist, was uncomfortable being in the shadow of her famous husband and wanted to be recognized for her own work. In 1970, the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London planned to stage Franck's first solo exhibition: when she saw that the invitations included her husband's name and said he would be present at the launch, she cancelled the show. Franck once said that she put her husband's career ahead of her own. In 2003 Franck and her daughter launched the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation to promote Cartier-Bresson's photojournalism, and in 2004 Franck became its president.[8]
Franck was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010, and died in Paris in 2012 at 74 years old.[2]
Publications:
Martine Franck: Dun jour, l'autre. France: Seuil, 1998. ISBN 978-2-02-034771-6
Tibetan Tulkus, images of continuity. London: Anna Maria Rossi & Fabio Rossi Publications, 2000. ISBN 978-0-9520992-8-4
Tory Island Images. Wolfhound Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-86327-561-6
Martine Franck Photographe, Musée de la Vie romantique, Paris-Musées/Adam Biro, 2002. ISBN 978-2-87660-346-2
Fables de la Fontaine (production by Robert Wilson), Actes Sud. Paris, 2004
Martine Franck: One Day to the Next. Aperture, 2005. ISBN 978-0-89381-845-6
Martine Franck. Louis Baring. London: Phaidon, 2007. ISBN 978-0-7148-4781-8
Martine Franck: Photo Poche. France: Actes Sud, 2007. ISBN 978-2-7427-6725-0
Women/Femmes, Steidl, 2010. ISBN 978-3-86930-149-5
Venus d'ailleurs, Actes Sud, 2011
ExhibitionsEdit
La vie et la mort, Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, France, 1980[citation needed]
Martine Franck Photographe, Musée de la Vie romantique, Paris, 2004[citation needed]
Les Rencontres, Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, France, 2004[citation needed]
ReferencesEdit
^ Phaidon Editors (2019). Great women artists. Phaidon Press. p. 141. ISBN 0714878774.
^ a b c d e f Leslie Kaufman (22 August 2012). "Martine Franck, Documentary Photographer, Dies at 74". New York Times. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
^ Tori (21 August 2012). "'Magnum has lost a point of reference, a lighthouse, and one of our most influential and beloved members – Martine Franck". Film's Not Dead. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
^ Grey, Tobias (21 October 2011). "Martine Franck's Curious Lens". ProQuest 899273270.
^ Bussell, Mark (8 June 2010). "Martine Franck's Pictures Within Pictures". New York Times. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
^ Wallace, Vaughan (20 August 2012). "Martine Franck: 1938 – 2012". Life magazine. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
^ Magnumphotos
^ a b c Hopkinson, Amanda (19 August 2012). "Martine Franck obituary". Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
^ a b Childs, Martin (29 August 2012). "The Independent". The Independent. Independent Print Ltd.
^ Bussell, Mark (8 June 2010). "Martine Franck's Pictures Within Pictures". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
^ Laurent, Olivier (17 August 2012). "Magnum Photos member and photographer Martine Franck has died". British Journal of Photography. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
^ Gill, A.A. (2008). Previous convictions: assignments from here and there (1st Simon & Schuster trade pbk. ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. p. 90. ISBN 978-1416572497.
^ Walker, David (17 August 2012). "Photographer Martine Franck dies". Photo District News. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
^ "Wife of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Martine Franck, dies at 74". Art Media Agency. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
External linksEdit
Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation
New York Times "Martine Franck's Pictures Within Pictures"
Martine Franck 1991 catalogue of Taipei Fine Art Museum, with the pencil painting of Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Dr. rer. pol. Arend Oetker, Germany:
de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arend_Oetker
Arend Oetker was born on March 30, 1939 in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and studied business administration and political science in Hamburg, Berlin and Cologne as well as Marketing at Harvard Business School. He received his doctorate in 1966 from the University of Cologne.
Dr. Arend Oetker, Managing Partner of Dr. Arend Oetker Holding, is Honorary Chairman of the Board and majority shareholder of the food company Hero AG, Deputy Chairman and major shareholder of KWS Saat AG and chairman of the board of Cognos AG.
Furthermore, Dr. Arend Oetker is actively involved as president of the German Council on Foreign Relations (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik e. V.), board member of the Confederation of German Employers‘ Associations (Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände e. V.) and honorary member of the Federation of German Industries (Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e. V.). He has received a number of accolades in the field of visual arts and music.
Dr. Arend Oetker is married and has five children.
Dr. William Mong Man Wai, Hong Kong:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Mong
William Mong Man-wai GBS (Chinese: 蒙民偉, 7 November 1927 – 20 July 2010) was the chairman of the Shun Hing Group, the distributor of Matsushita products (National, Panasonic, Technics) in Hong Kong.
He attended La Salle College in Hong Kong. Mong Man-wai died from cancer on 20 July 2010, aged 82. Many buildings in Hong Kong universities are named after him.[1]
Award received:
Gold Bauhinia Star
honorary doctor of the University of Hong Kong
honorary doctor of the Tsinghua University (2007)
honorary doctor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Giulio Mogol, Italy:
Giulio Rapetti (born 17 August 1936), in art Mogol (Italian pronunciation: [moˈɡɔl]), is an Italian music lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with Lucio Battisti, Gianni Bella, Adriano Celentano and Mango.
Career:
Mogol was born in Milan. His father, Mariano Rapetti, was an important director of the Ricordi record label, and had been in his own time a successful lyricist of the 1950s. Young Giulio, who was likewise employed by Ricordi as a public relations expert, began his own career as a lyricist against his father's wishes.
His first successes were "Il cielo in una stanza", set to music by Gino Paoli and sung by Mina; "Al di là", a piece that won the 1961 Sanremo Festival, performed by Luciano Tajoli and Betty Curtis; "Una lacrima sul viso", which was a huge hit for Bobby Solo in 1964. Another famous song from 1961 was "Uno dei tanti" (English: "One among many") which was rewritten by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1963 for Ben E. King and released under the title "I (Who Have Nothing)".
In addition to writing new lyrics in Italian for a great many singers, Mogol also took it upon himself, in years in which familiarity with the English language in Italy was still sparse, to translate many hits from overseas, especially film soundtracks, but also works of Bob Dylan and David Bowie.
In 1965, he met Lucio Battisti, a young guitarist and composer from the Latium region of central Italy. Mogol's lyrics contributed to Battisti's initial success as an author, in megahits such as "29 settembre", and led him to undertake the role of producer as well, as happened with the song "Sognando la California", which Mogol himself had translated from the signature number of The Mamas & the Papas, "California Dreamin'", and with "Senza luce" ("Without light"), an Italian rendering of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum.
In 1966, Mogol, overcoming resistance from his record label, convinced Battisti to perform his own songs. The lyricist's intuition would have one of the most rewarding outcomes of the history of Italian music, as Battisti, after a halting start, would explode as a singer, becoming one of the most successful artists in the panorama of Italian music. In the same year, Mogol left the Ricordi label to create his own with Battisti, called Numero Uno, which brought together many celebrated Italian singer-songwriters. The pair wrote songs as well for Bruno Lauzi and Patty Pravo. Their greatest chart success came from the songs written for Mina in 1969–1970.
In 1980, Mogol broke the artistic relationship with Battisti, and successfully continued his independent career as a lyricist with the noted singer-songwriter Riccardo Cocciante, with whom he wrote the texts for some successful albums, first in the series being "Cervo a Primavera".
Mogol (2007)
Lately, he began his collaboration with Mango, co-writing successful songs like "Oro", "Nella mia città", "Come Monna Lisa" and "Mediterraneo".
Mogol has formed a stable partnership with Adriano Celentano; his songs for Celentano are scored by the Sicilian singer-songwriter Gianni Bella. This collaboration has produced the delicate song "L'arcobaleno", included in the CD Io non so parlar d'amore, which is considered dedicated to Battisti, who had recently died. Mogol has also collaborated with singer-songwriter Jack Rubinacci.
Mari Natsuki, Japan:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari_Natsuki
Junko Nakajima (中島 淳子, Nakajima Junko, born 2 May 1952), more commonly known by her stage name Mari Natsuki (夏木 マリ, Natsuki Mari), is a Japanese singer, dancer and actress.[1] Born in Tokyo, she started work as a singer from a young age. In 2007, Natsuki announced her engagement to percussionist Nobu Saitō, with their marriage taking place in Spring 2008.
Mari Natsuki
MJK 08427 Mari Natsuki (Berlinale 2018).jpg
Mari Natsuki (2018)
Born: Mari Natsuki. 夏木 マリ. 2 May 1952 (age 67) Tokyo, Japan
Nationality: Japanese
Other names: Junko Nakajima
Occupation: Singer, dancer, actress
Natsuki has participated in musical theatre, including that of Yukio Ninagawa. She provided the voice of Yubaba in Spirited Away, played the young witch's mother in the Japanese TV remake of Bewitched and has twice been nominated for a Japanese Academy Award. Natsuki played the character Big Mama in the Japanese version of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots[2] and has also acted in television dramas, such as the 2005 series Nobuta o Produce, playing the Vice Principal, Katharine.
Contents:
Film:
Otoko wa Tsurai yo series:
Tora-san, My Uncle (1989)
Tora-san Takes a Vacation (1990)
Tora-san Confesses (1991)
Tora-San Makes Excuses (1992)
Tora-san to the Rescue (1995)
Tora-san, Wish You Were Here (2019)
Onimasa (1982)
Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983)
Kita no Hotaru (1984)
Jittemai (1986)
Death Powder (1986)
Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Boku no Ojisan (1989)
The Hunted (1995)
Samurai Fiction (1998)
Spirited Away (2001)
Shōjo (2001)
Ping Pong (2002)
Okusama wa Majo (2004)
Sugar and Spice (2006)
Sakuran (2007)
Girl In The Sunny Place (2013)
Isle of Dogs (2018)
Ikiru Machi (2018)
Vision (2018)
Dai Kome Sōdō (2021), Taki
Television: Yoshitsune (2005), Carnation (2011), Montage (2016), Meet Me After School (2018)
Video Games: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Big Mama) (2008), Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Katherine Marlowe) (2011)
Japanese dub:
Live-action: Feud (Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange)), The West Wing (C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney))
Animation: Moana (Tala)
References:
^ Mills, Ted. "Apple Music Preview. About Mari Natsuki". music.apple.com. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
^ Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots: MGS4 Voice Cast Announced Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
Changjae Shin, South Korea:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Chang-jae
Shin Chang-jae (born 1953/54) is a Korean billionaire businessman, Chairman and CEO of Kyobo Life Insurance Company.
Shin Chang-jae
Born: 1953/1954 (age 65–66)[1]
Nationality: Korean
Alma mater: Seoul National University
Occupation: Chairman and CEO, Kyobo Life Insurance Company
Net worth: $2.3 billion (June 2015)[1]
Spouse(s): married
Children: 2 sons
Early life:
He is the son of Shin Yong-ho, who founded Kyobo Life Insurance Company in 1958.[1] he has a doctorate from Seoul National University.[1]
Career: Kyobo Life Insurance Building, Seoul
He trained as an obstetrician and worked as a professor at the Seoul National University medical school.[1]
He has been Chairman and CEO of Kyobo Life Insurance Company since 2000.[1] In June 2015, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$2.3 billion.[1]
Personal life: He is married with two sons and lives in Seoul, South Korea.[1]
References: ^ a b c d e f g h "Shin Chang-Jae". Forbes. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
Patrick Charpenel, Mexico;
Patrick Charpenel will be the new executive director of El Museo del Barrio in New York.
Charpenel is a Mexico City–based curator who has worked extensively in Mexico as well as internationally. He organized a Gabriel Orozco retrospective at the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City in 2006 and an exhibition of work by Franz West at the Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo in 2009. He also oversaw the Art Public section for the 2009 and 2010 editions of Art Basel Miami Beach.
Charpenel served as the executive director of Museo Jumex, the private museum in Mexico City of ART news Top 200 collector Eugenio López Alonso. (Charpenel resigned from his post in 2015 amid the controversy over the cancellation of a Hermann Nitsch show.) Charpenel is also a writer and a collector of “a heterogeneous group of works” that focuses on such interests as “the structure of the global economy and the extension of artistic experience into the social sphere.”
Patrick Charpenel is an art historian and collector currently working as an independent curator in Mexico City. He holds a graduate degree in philosophy. Charpenel has curated numerous exhibitions including Franz West, Tamayo Museum, Mexico City, Mexico (2006); Sólo los personajes cambian, Museum of Contemporary Art, Monterrey, Mexico (2004); Inter.play, Moore Space, Miami, Florida (2003); Edén, Jumex Collection, Mexico City, Mexico (2003); and ACNÉ, Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City, Mexico (1995). He has numerous critical texts published in catalogues and magazines.
2018 Bienvenidos a El Museo del Barrio!
We are excited to announce the appointment of our new Executive Director, Patrick Charpenel. El Museo del Barrio is thrilled to have Charpenel join the institution’s leadership and we look forward to seeing what he will bring to the legacy of this museum.
YouTube: youtu.be/l1Amlj49bt8
Laura Garcia-Lorca de los Rios, Spain:
Gloria Giner de los Ríos García (28 March 1886 – 6 February 1970) was a Spanish teacher at the Escuela Normal Superior de Maestras and the Institución Libre de Enseñanza. The author of innovative manuals dedicated to the teaching of history and geography,[1] she, together with Leonor Serrano Pablo [es], developed the educational "recipe" that they called "enthusiastic observation". They also worked to change the androcentric canon of geographical studies to include women.[2]
Gloria Giner de los Ríos García
Born: 28 March 1886 Madrid, Spain
Died: 6 February 1970 (aged 83) Madrid, Spain
Resting place: Civil Cemetery of Madrid [es]
Occupation: Teacher
Spouse(s): Fernando de los Ríos
Children: Laura de los Ríos Giner [es]
Parents: Hermenegildo Giner de los Ríos [es] (father), Laura García Hoppe [es] (mother)
She lived in exile during the Francoist Spain era, forming part of the intellectual elite that carried out educational, philological, literary, legal, and cultural work. Her family had close connections to that of poet Federico García Lorca.
Biography:
Gloria Giner de los Ríos García was born in Madrid on 28 March 1886. The daughter of Laura García Hoppe [es] and Hermenegildo Giner de los Ríos [es], she spent her childhood and adolescence in Madrid, Alicante, and Barcelona, cities where her father held the Chair of Philosophy. After finishing high school in 1906 and teaching in 1908, she completed her training by attending classes at the Institución Libre de Enseñanza and taking courses in art, pedagogy, and philosophy.[3] In 1909, she was promoted to the Escuela de Estudios Superiores de Magisterio [es].[1]
Marriage, family, and social life:
On 1 July 1912, Giner married Fernando de los Ríos, who had obtained the Chair of Law at the University of Granada. It was in this city that the couple took up residence, and in which Gloria was a teacher at the Normal School, by right of consort at first, and later in her own position.[3] A year later, their daughter Laura de los Ríos Giner [es] was born. In Granada, the Ríos Giner family became friends with the García Lorca family, with Manuel de Falla, and with Berta Wilhelmi and her husband Eduardo Domínguez. Wilhelmi had been in contact with the Institución Libre de Enseñanza and had organized some community schools in Almuñécar.[4] With her collaboration, Giner organized the education of her daughter Laura and other children, including Isabel García Lorca [es], in order to separate them from Granada's private education system.[3]
Laura de los Ríos and Isabel García Lorca:
Federico García Lorca was one of the select circle of friends of the Ríos family. He dedicated the poem Romance sonámbulo to Fernando and Gloria,[5] and was the one who introduced their daughters, Laura de los Ríos and Isabel García Lorca. The friendship between the latter was very intense and lasting. They became sisters-in-law when Laura married Federico's younger brother Francisco [es]. In an interview, Isabel Garcia Lorca recalled:
Gloria Giner was an extraordinary being. Well, of character, I think there was a certain similarity in all of them, some high moral tension. People a little demanding with what others did and what they could do. They were like that down deep, including my mother.[6]
Laura, in another interview, told of her mother's life in Granada:
My mother attended her classes every day...in the afternoon she prepared her classes and helped my father. She translated from German, the language my father and a German teacher in Granada had taught her. She also translated from French, which she knew very well, from Greek and Latin...lovingly and intellectually my parents were a very well-matched marriage.[7]
Professional career:
In 1931, the Provisional Government of the Republic appointed her husband Minister of Justice, and in December, Minister of Public Instruction. Giner told her daughter, "I'm not going to give up my career and live as a minister."[8] Nonetheless she performed some ceremonial functions and accompanied her husband on trips through Spain.[3] In 1932 she was on leave as a teacher at the Normal School, but continued teaching at the Institución Libre de Enseñanza. In 1933, after her husband resigned from government office, she rejoined teaching by accepting a position in Zamora. For three courses she lived alone in a hotel room three days a week, returning to Madrid for the rest of the week.[8] In Zamora, as in Granada, society shunned her for being the wife of a socialist and not attending religious services.[7]
Exile:
At the end of September 1936, Fernando de los Ríos was appointed ambassador of Spain to the United States, a position he held until March 1939. Gloria Giner moved to Washington, D.C. with her daughter, her mother, and a nephew of her husband. Fernanda Urruti, Fernando's mother, would later join them. In Washington, Giner was invited to several meetings that Eleanor Roosevelt organized in the White House.[3] During the Civil War, Fernando de los Ríos was separated from his professorship at the University of Madrid. In 1939, the Franco government definitively separated him from his chair and dismissed him.
Fernando de los Ríos taught at The New School for Social Research in New York, an institution founded to welcome European intellectuals who emigrated for political reasons.[5] Giner was a professor at Columbia University.[3][9] The Ríos-Giner family lived in exile in the United States, which did not recognize Spanish Republican exiles and subjected those who wanted to enter to immigration laws. However, university students and artists were exempt from the rigid immigration quota, provided they were endorsed by US citizens or claimed by a university. Gloria was one of the exiled academics who passed through American universities and formed an intellectual elite.[10]
In 1942, her daughter Laura married Francisco García Lorca, younger brother of the poet Federico, in the Mead Chapel of Middlebury College, where both were professors at the Spanish School.[11] The couple had three daughters, and the family lived together in a New York apartment. In addition to preparing classes, writing poems, and working on the publication of her works, Giner took care of her three granddaughters, took them out for walks and, if necessary, took them on the bus and subway in New York.
In 1949, Fernando de los Ríos died. Over 50 personalities of politics and culture attended the funeral. José de los Ríos – the younger brother of Fernando and Francisco García Lorca – presided over the dual family. Fernando's wife, mother, and daughter stayed at the house during the funeral, in accordance with Spanish custom at the time.
Return to Spain:
Gloria Giner returned to Spain with her daughter's family in 1965. She died in Madrid on 6 February 1970.[12] She was buried in the Civil Cemetery of Madrid [es], and her husband's remains were reinterred there alongside hers on 28 June 1980.[13]
Teaching methods:
Gloria Giner and her great friend Leonor Serrano Pablo [es] worked together on the teaching of geography in order to connect with students.[14] Giner defended the formative capacity of the plastic arts "as a real basis for the teaching of history in the first years of the formation of the culture of the child". Her 1935 book Cien lecturas históricas became a prominent text for educational reformers inspired by the work of Rafael Altamira.[1]
With Altamira and Maria Montessori as references, they developed didactic methods that, in Serrano's words, revolved around "enthusiastic observation". This consisted of teaching geography in dialogue with the students, strengthening their physical and emotional relationship with the environment. Another component of enthusiastic observation was emotional. Impositions of rote memorization were eliminated. In Giner's words, "the soul was educated and the spirit strengthened".
Serrano and Giner also advocated for the meaningful inclusion of women in the androcentric canon of studies on geography. The Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy had, in 1803, included the meaning of the word hombre (man) to refer to all mankind. Taking the term as inclusive of women, they understood that it forced men to relate to nature as women did. Serrano considered that rendering the androcentric references in geography meaningless would foster a "new creative, loving, anti-destructive, and anti-war humanity".[2] In the opinion of professor Ana I. Simón Alegre, this teaching, in the language of the 21st century, could be called the development of environmental education or the first manifestations of ecofeminism.[15]
Giner's last book, Por tierras de España (1962), also incorporated audio-lingual teaching methods.[9]
Works:
Historia de la pedagogía (1910)
Weimer, Hermann 1872-1942 (translation)
Geografía Primer grado. Aspectos de la naturaleza y vida del hombre en la tierra (1919)
Geografía: Primer grado (1919), with Federico Ribas (1890–1952)
Geografía general. El cielo, la Tierra y el hombre (1935)
Cien lecturas históricas (1935)
Lecturas geográficas. Espectáculos de la naturaleza, paisajes, ciudades y hombres (1936)
Romances de los ríos de España (1943)
Manual de historia de la civilización española (1951)
Cumbres de la civilización española: Interpretación del espíritu español individualizado en diecinueve figuras representativas (1955)
El paisaje de Hispanoamérica a través de su literatura: (antología) (1958)
Introducción a la historia de la civilización española (1959)
Por tierras de España (1962), with Luke Nolfi, ISBN 9780030800238
References:
^ a b c Duarte-Piña, Olga (2015). La enseñanza de la historia en la educación secundaria [Teaching of History in Secondary Education] (Thesis) (in Spanish). University of Seville. pp. 105–108. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Dialnet.
^ a b Simón Alegre, Ana I.; Sanz Álvarez, Arancha (January–June 2010). "Prácticas y teorías de descubrir paisajes: Viajeras y cultivadoras del estudio de la geografía en España, desde finales del siglo XIX hasta el primer tercio del XX" [Practices and Theories of Discovering Landscapes: Travelers and Cultivators of the Study of Geography in Spain, from the End of the 19th Century to the First Third of the 20th]. Arenal. Revista de historia de las mujeres (in Spanish). 17 (1): 55–79. ISSN 1134-6396. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Dialnet.
^ a b c d e f Ruiz-Manjón, Octavio (2007). "Gloria Giner de los Ríos: noticia biográfica de una madrileña" [Gloria Giner de los Ríos: Biographical Report of a Woman from Madrid]. Cuadernos de historia contemporánea (in Spanish) (Extra 1): 265–272. ISSN 0214-400X. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Dialnet.
^ Ruiz-Manjón, Octavio (31 May 2007). "Fernando de los Ríos. Un intelectual en el PSOE". El Cultural (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ a b "Ríos Urruti, Fernando de los (1879–1949)" (in Spanish). Charles III University of Madrid. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ Méndez, José. "Isabel García Lorca". Revista Residencia (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ a b Rodrigo, Antonia (1 May 1982). "Laura de los Ríos". Revista Triunfo (in Spanish). No. 19. p. 64. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ a b "La niña que tocaba con Falla" [The Girl Who Played With Falla]. Granada Hoy (in Spanish). 8 March 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ a b "Local Pair Co-Author Spanish Text". Democrat and Chronicle. 26 December 1962. p. 15. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ García Cueto, Pedro (30 April 2015). "Dos visiones del exilio cultural español: Vicente Llorens y Jordi Gracia" [Two Visions of Spanish Cultural Exile: Vicente Llorens and Jordi Gracia]. Fronterad (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ Seseña, Natacha (26 December 1981). "Laura de los Ríos, un duelo de labores y esperanzas" [Laura de los Ríos, a Duel of Labors and Hopes]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ "Doña Gloria Giner de los Ríos". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 13 February 1970. p. 4. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Google News.
^ "Los restos de Fernando de los Ríos recibieron sepultura en el cementerio civil de Madrid" [The Remains of Fernando de los Ríos Buried in the Civil Cemetery of Madrid]. El País (in Spanish). 29 June 1980. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ Ortells Roca, Miquel; Artero Broch, Inmaculada (1 December 2013). "¿Para qué sirven las inspectoras? Leonor Serrano: La pedagogía y/contra el poder" [What are Inspectors For? Leonor Serrano: Pedagogy and/Against Power]. Quaderns (in Spanish) (76). Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ Simón Alegre, Ana I. (1 March 2013). "Los inicios del ecofeminismo en España" [The Beginnings of Ecofeminism in Spain]. El Ecologista (in Spanish) (76). Retrieved 15 July 2019.
Further readingEdit
Fuentes, Víctor (2010). "'Manhattan transfers' personales al trasluz del exilio republicano en Nueva York". In Faber, Sebastiaan (ed.). Contra el olvido: el exilio español en Estados Unidos (in Spanish). Instituto Franklin de Estudios Norteamericanos. pp. 223–241. ISBN 9788481388701.
Zulueta, Carmen (2001). "Los domingos de don Fernando" [Sundays with Don Fernando]. Fundamentos de antropología (in Spanish) (10–11): 130–137.
Candida Gertler & Yana Peel, United Kingdom:
Candida Gertler (born 1966/1967) OBE is a British/German art collector, philanthropist, and former journalist.[2]
Candida Gertler
Born: 1966/1967 (age 52–53)[1]. Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Nationality: British, German
Occupation: Art collector
Net worth: £150 million (2009)
Spouse(s): Zak Gertler
Children: 2
Early life:
She was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, to Romanian Jewish immigrant parents.[1] [3] She studied journalism and law.[1]
Career:
In 2003 Gertler and Yana Peel founded the Outset Contemporary Art Fund.[4]
In June 2015, she was given an OBE "for services to Contemporary Visual Arts and Arts Philanthropy".[5]
She is a member of the Tate International Council.[6]
Personal life:
She is married to Zak Gertler.[7] They are Jewish, and have two children.[8]
He has been called "one of London's leading property developers".[7] In 2009, Zak Gertler and family had an estimated net worth of £150 million, down from £250 million in 2008.[9] "The Gertlers developed offices in Germany, moving into the London market in the 1990s."[9]
References:
^ a b c "The Tate's Secret Weapon: Outset". Art Market Monitor. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
^ "A missionary for art". Arterritory.com - Baltic, Russian and Scandinaviawn Art Territory. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
^ ""Artfully Dressed: Women in the Art World", Volume IV: Collectors & Patrons". Issuu. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
^ www.arterritory.com/en/art_market/collections/6202-a_miss...
^ "Candida GERTLER". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
^ "Interview with Candida Gertler, OBE". Artkurio Consultancy. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
^ a b "The London Magazine". www.thelondonmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
^ parkeastsynagogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Annoucem...
^ a b "Zak Gertler and family". The Sunday Times. 26 April 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
Yana Peel (born June 1974) is a Canadian executive, businesswoman, children's author and philanthropist.[2] She was CEO of the Serpentine Galleries from 2016 to 2019, and was previously a board member.[3][4]
Yana Peel:
Born: Yana Mirkin[1]. June 1974 (age 45). Leningrad, USSR (now Russia)
Nationality: Canadian
Alma mater: McGill University, London School of Economics
Predecessor: Julia Peyton-Jones
Spouse(s): Stephen Peel (m. 1999)
Children: 2
Peel is a co-founder of the Outset Contemporary Art Fund (with Candida Gertler), and Intelligence Squared Asia, and was CEO of Intelligence Squared Group from 2013 to 2016.[5]
Peel has several advisory positions including the Tate International Council, V-A-C Foundation, and the NSPCC therapeutic board.[6][7] She has been an advisor to the British Fashion Council, Asia Art Archive, Lincoln Center, Para Site and the Victoria and Albert Museum, where she founded the design fund.[6][8][9][7]
Early life:
Yana Peel was born in June 1974[10] in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia. Her family emigrated to Canada via Austria in 1978.[3] She grew up in Toronto, Ontario.[11]
Peel studied Russian studies at McGill University during the 1990s. [12][3][1] In 1996,[13] while being a student she co-organised a fashion show for charity.[1][6][14] After that, Peel undertook a post-graduate degree in economics at the London School of Economics.[3][11] Peel was a member of the 2011 class of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders programme.[15]
Career:
Goldman Sachs:
Peel started her career in the equities division of Goldman Sachs in 1997 in London, and became an executive director before leaving in 2003.[16][6][3][2]
Outset Contemporary Art Fund:
Peel co-founded the charity Outset Contemporary Art Fund in 2003 with Candida Gertler.[17][6][11] Peel and Gertler generated a model whereby artists could be presented to potential donors in order to raise funds to purchase their work, or to fund new commissions with a view to donating them to public institutions.[6] The Fund purchased over 100 pieces for the Tate Modern, and commissioned work by artists including Francis Alys, Yael Bartana, Candice Breitz and Steve McQueen.[6][16]
Intelligence Squared:
In 2009, Peel co-founded Intelligence Squared Asia with Amelie Von Wedel, a not-for-profit platform for hosting live debates in Hong Kong.[18][17][19] In 2012 Peel became CEO of Intelligence Squared Group,[18][20] bringing the live events business out of its financial difficulties.[6] Peel has hosted interviews including: Olafur Eliasson and Shirin Neshat at Davos,[21] Ai Wei Wei at the Cambridge Union.[22]
Serpentine Galleries:
In April 2016, Peel was appointed to the role of CEO of the Serpentine Galleries.[23][3] Peel said it was her "mission to create a safe space for unsafe ideas",[2] and to promote a "socially conscious Serpentine".[11] She indicated that she wanted to give artists a greater say in the development of the Serpentine Galleries, in order to give "artists a voice in the biggest global conversations".[11] Peel worked in tandem with the artistic director, Hans Ulrich Obrist.[6]
Peel furthered the Serpentine Galleries' technological ambitions, introducing digital engagement initiatives including Serpentine Mobile Tours[24] and the translation of the exhibition Zaha Hadid: Early Paintings and Drawings into Virtual Reality.[25][26] Peel stated that she was "committed to maintaining and open-source spirit"[27] at the Serpentine Galleries, and that it was her ambition "to inspire the widest audiences with the urgency of art and architecture".[2] The Financial Times noted that Peel "has been able to lure companies such as Google and Bloomberg as partners to help meet the Serpentine's annual £9.5m target".[24]
Peel and Obrist selected both the first African architect to work on a pavilion,[28] and the youngest architect to do so.[29] In 2018, she broadened the global reach of the Serpentine Pavilion programme by announcing the launch of a pavilion in Beijing designed by Sichuan practice, Jiakun Architects.[30]
Together with Lord Richard Rogers and Sir David Adjaye, Peel and Obrist selected Burkina Faso architect Diébédo Francis Kéré to design the 2017 pavilion.[31] The pavilion was awarded the Civic Trust Award in 2018.[32]
The Serpentine selected Mexican architect Frida Escobedo to design the 2018 pavilion. She will be the youngest architect to have participated in the Pavilion programme since it began in 2000.[29]
She stepped down as CEO in June 2019 as a consequence of the attention paid to her co-ownership of NSO Group, an Israeli cyberweapons company whose software has allegedly been used by authoritarian regimes to spy on dissidents.[4]
Philanthropy:
Peel co-chaired Para Site, a not-for-profit contemporary art space in Hong Kong, from 2010 to 2015.[33] She has been involved with the project since 2009.[17]
Peel founded the Victoria and Albert Museum's design fund in 2011.[9] The fund supported the acquisition of contemporary design objects.[9]
Peel is a member of NSPCC's therapeutic board.[7] Inspired by her children, in 2008 Peel produced a series of toddler-friendly art books published by Templar, including: Art For Baby, Color For Baby and Faces For Baby.[34] These books feature works by artists ranging from Damien Hirst to Keith Haring. Proceeds from the sales of the books go towards the NSPCC.[35]
Personal life:
In 1999, Peel married Stephen Peel,[36] a private equity financier.[37] They have two children and live in Bayswater, London.[37][38]
Awards and honours:
Montblanc Award for Arts Patronage 2011[39]
Debrett's 500 List: Art[40]
Evening Standard Progress 1000 2017[41]
ArtLyst Power 100[42]
Harper's Bazaar Women Of The Year 2017[27]
Harper's Bazaar Working Wardrobe: Best dressed women 2018[43]
Henry Crown Fellow. Appointed by the Aspen Institute in 2018.[44]
References:
^ a b c "McGill Reporter - Volume 28 Number 11". reporter-archive.mcgill.ca. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
^ a b c d Bailey, Sarah. "In Conversation: Art and Fashion Are Both About Desire", Red, London, 1 November 2017. Retrieved on 19 February 2018.
^ a b c d e f McElvoy, Anne. "In The Hot Seat", Porter, London, 1 December 2016.
^ a b Greenfield, Patrick (18 June 2019). "Serpentine Galleries chief resigns in spyware firm row". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 June 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
^ Sloway, Diane. "Meet Yana Peel, the Audacious Canadian Who's Transforming London's Famed Serpentine Galleries", W Magazine, 29 November 2016. Retrieved on 19 February 2018.
^ a b c d e f g h i Bourne, Henry. "L’alchimista", La Repubblica, Rome, 8 May 2017. Retrieved on 19 February 2018.
^ a b c "Serpentine Galleries Announce Appointment of Outset’s Yana Peel As CEO", ArtLys
See my cute vids with my cats:
Mom cat's first desire after difficult surgery www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUYzkqrns5o
It's a new Life on Earth. Cat obstetrician www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUYzkqrns5o
The Postcard
A postally unused postcard that was published by Charles Skilton & Fry Ltd. The card, which has a divided back, was printed in Great Britain. The photography was by Lord Lichfield, courtesy of Weidenfeld Publishers Ltd.
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, was born on the 21st. August 1930. She was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II.
Margaret spent much of her childhood with her parents and sister. Her life changed at the age of six when King Edward VIII, her paternal uncle, abdicated to marry divorcée Wallis Simpson. Margaret's father became king, and her sister became heir presumptive, with Margaret second in line to the throne.
Margaret's position in the line of succession diminished over the following decades as Elizabeth's children and grandchildren were born. During the Second World War, the two sisters stayed at Windsor Castle despite suggestions that they should be evacuated to Canada. During the war years, Margaret was too young to perform official duties and continued her education, being nine years old when the war broke out and turning 15 just after hostilities ended.
From the 1950's onwards, Margaret became one of the world's most celebrated socialites, famed for her glamorous lifestyle and reputed romances. Most famously, she fell in love in the early 1950's with Peter Townsend, a married RAF officer in the royal household.
In 1952, Margaret's father died, her sister became queen, and Townsend divorced his wife. He proposed to Margaret early in the following year. Many in the government believed that he would be an unsuitable husband for the Queen's 22-year-old sister, and the Archbishop of Canterbury refused to countenance her marriage to a divorced man.
Margaret abandoned her plans with Townsend and married Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960; the Queen created him Earl of Snowdon. The couple had two children, David and Sarah, and divorced in 1978. Margaret did not remarry.
Margaret was a controversial member of the British royal family. Her divorce received much negative publicity, and her private life was for many years the subject of speculation by the media and royal watchers. Her health deteriorated in the last 20 years of her life. She was a heavy smoker for most of her adult life, and had a lung operation in 1985, a bout of pneumonia in 1993 as well as three strokes between 1998 and 2001.
Annus Horribilis
Margaret died in London at the age of 71 on the 9th. February 2002, following a fourth stroke. Margaret's death contributed to the Queen's 'Annus Horribilis' to which she referred in a speech at the London Guildhall on the 24th. November 1992.
Other events contributing to the Queen's awful year of 1992 included:
-- The publication of photographs of Diana sitting alone on a bench at the Taj Mahal when she was on a trip to India with Charles on the 11th. February 1992.
-- In March Andrew and Sarah announced their separation.
-- In April, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips divorced.
-- In June, Andrew Morton's biography of Diana was published. The book was controversial as it detailed Diana's suicidal unhappiness within her marriage, and her struggles with depression. At the time of publication, Buckingham Palace denied any cooperation between the princess and Morton, but it was later revealed that Diana was the main source behind the book's content.
-- In August, there were scandals in the tabloids relating to both Sarah and Diana.
-- In November, there was an enormously destructive fire at Windsor Castle which prompted controversy over who should pay for the restoration.
After the Queen's Guildhall speech, the Annus Horribilis continued unabated -- on the 9th. December, Charles and Diana announced their separation.
Princess Margaret - The Early Years
Princess Margaret was born at 9:22 p.m. on the 21st. August 1930 at Glamis Castle in Scotland, her mother's ancestral home, and was affectionately known as Margot within the royal family. She was the first member of the royal family in direct line of succession to be born in Scotland since the 1600's.
She was delivered by Sir Henry Simson, the royal obstetrician. The Home Secretary, J. R. Clynes, was present to verify the birth. The registration of her birth was delayed for several days to avoid her being numbered 13 in the parish register. Margaret was baptised in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace on the 30th. October 1930 by Cosmo Lang, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
At the time of her birth, Margaret was fourth in the line of succession to the British throne. Her father was the Duke of York (later King George VI), the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. Her mother was the Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother), the youngest daughter of the 14th. Earl and the Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne.
The Duchess of York originally wanted to name her second daughter Ann Margaret, as she explained to Queen Mary in a letter:
"I am very anxious to call her Ann
Margaret, as I think Ann of York
sounds pretty, & Elizabeth and Ann
go so well together."
King George V disliked the name Ann but approved of the alternative, Margaret Rose.
Margaret's early life was spent primarily at the Yorks' residences at 145 Piccadilly (their town house in London) and Royal Lodge in Windsor. The Yorks were perceived by the public as an ideal family: father, mother and children, but unfounded rumours that Margaret was deaf and mute were not completely dispelled until her first main public appearance at her uncle Prince George's wedding in 1934.
Margaret was educated alongside her sister, Elizabeth, by their Scottish governess, Marion Crawford. Margaret's education was mainly supervised by her mother, who in the words of Randolph Churchill "never aimed at bringing her daughters up to be more than nicely behaved young ladies".
When Queen Mary insisted upon the importance of education, the Duchess of York commented:
"I don't know what she meant.
After all, I and my sisters only
had governesses, and we all
married well — one of us very
well".
Margaret resented her limited education, especially in later years, and criticised at her mother. However, Margaret's mother told a friend that she "regretted" that her daughters did not go to school like other children, and the employment of a governess rather than sending the girls to school may have been done only at the insistence of King George V.
J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, read stories to the sisters as children.
Margaret's grandfather, George V, died when she was five, and her uncle acceded as King Edward VIII. Less than a year later, on 11 December 1936, in the abdication crisis, he left the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American, whom neither the Church of England nor the Dominion governments would accept as queen. The Church would not recognise the marriage of a divorced woman with a living ex-husband as valid.
Edward's abdication made a reluctant Duke of York the new king, and Margaret became second in line to the throne with the title The Princess Margaret to indicate her status as a child of the sovereign. The family moved into Buckingham Palace; Margaret's room overlooked The Mall.
Margaret was a Brownie in the 1st. Buckingham Palace Brownie Pack, formed in 1937. She was also a Girl Guide and later a Sea Ranger. She served as President of Girlguiding UK from 1965 until her death in 2002.
At the outbreak of World War II, Margaret and her sister were at Birkhall, on the Balmoral Castle estate, where they stayed until Christmas 1939, enduring nights so cold that drinking water in carafes by their bedside froze. They spent Christmas at Sandringham House before moving to Windsor Castle for much of the remainder of the war.
Viscount Hailsham wrote to Prime Minister Winston Churchill to advise the evacuation of the princesses to the greater safety of Canada, to which their mother famously replied:
"The children won't go without me.
I won't leave without the King.
And the King will never leave."
At Windsor, the princesses staged pantomimes at Christmas in aid of the Queen's Wool Fund, which bought yarn to knit into military garments. In 1940, Margaret sat next to Elizabeth during their radio broadcast for the BBC's Children's Hour, addressing other children who had been evacuated from cities. Margaret spoke at the end by wishing all the children goodnight.
Unlike other members of the royal family, Margaret was not expected to undertake any public or official duties during the war. She developed her skills at singing and playing the piano, often tunes from stage musicals. Her contemporaries thought she was spoiled by her parents, especially her father, who allowed her to take liberties not usually permissible, such as being allowed to stay up to dinner at the age of 13.
Crawford despaired at the attention Margaret was getting, writing to friends:
"Could you this year only ask
Princess Elizabeth to your party?
Princess Margaret does draw all
the attention, and Princess
Elizabeth lets her do that."
Elizabeth, however, did not mind this, and commented:
"Oh, it's so much easier when
Margaret's there — everybody
laughs at what Margaret says".
King George described Elizabeth as his pride and Margaret as his joy.
Princess Margaret and the Post-War Years
At the end of the war in 1945, Margaret appeared on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with her family and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Afterwards, both Elizabeth and Margaret joined the crowds outside the palace, incognito, chanting:
"We want the King, we want the Queen!"
On the 15th. April 1946, Margaret was confirmed into the Church of England. On the 1st. February 1947, she, Elizabeth and their parents embarked on a state tour of Southern Africa. The three-month-long visit was Margaret's first visit abroad, and she later claimed that she remembered "every minute of it".
Margaret's chaperone was Peter Townsend, the King's equerry, and very firm toward Margaret, whom he apparently considered an indulged child. Later that year, Margaret was a bridesmaid at Elizabeth's wedding. In the next three years, Elizabeth had two children, Charles and Anne, whose births moved Margaret further down the line of succession.
In 1950, the former royal governess, Marion Crawford, published an unauthorized biography of Elizabeth's and Margaret's childhood years, titled The Little Princesses, in which she described Margaret's "light-hearted fun and frolics" and her "amusing and outrageous antics".
The Margaret Set
Around the time of Princess Elizabeth's wedding in November 1947, the press started to follow the social life of "unconventional" Margaret and her reputation for vivacity and wit. As a beautiful young woman, with an 18-inch waist and "vivid blue eyes", Margaret enjoyed socialising with high society and young aristocrats, including Sharman Douglas, the daughter of the American ambassador, Lewis Williams Douglas.
A celebrated beauty known for her glamour and fashion sense, Margaret was often featured in the press at balls, parties, and nightclubs with friends who became known as the "Margaret Set". The number of her official engagements increased, and she joined a growing number of charitable organisations as president or patron.
Favoured haunts of the Margaret Set were The 400 Club, the Café de Paris and the Mirabelle restaurant. Anticipation of an engagement or romance between Margaret and a member of her set were often reported. In 1948, international news grew that her engagement to "Sunny", the Marquess of Blandford, would be announced on her 18th. birthday.
Similar speculation moved to the Hon. Peter Ward, then Billy Wallace and others. The set also mixed with celebrities, including Danny Kaye, whom she met after watching him perform at the London Palladium in February 1948. He was soon accepted by the royal social circle.
In July 1949, at a fancy dress ball at the American Ambassador's residence, Margaret performed the can-can on stage, accompanied by Douglas and ten other costumed girls. A press commotion ensued, with Kaye denying he had taught Margaret the dance. Press interest could be intrusive. During a private visit to Paris in 1951, Margaret and Prince Nicholas of Yugoslavia were followed into a nightclub by a paparazzo who took photographs of them until British detectives physically removed him from the club.
In 1952, although Margaret attended parties and debutante balls with friends such as Douglas and Mark Bonham Carter, the set were seen infrequently together. They regrouped in time for Coronation season social functions. In May 1953, Margaret met singer Eddie Fisher when he performed at the Red, White and Blue Ball.
She asked him to her table and he was "invited to all sorts of parties". Margaret fell out with him in 1957, but years later, Fisher still claimed the night he was introduced to her was the greatest thrill of his lifetime. In June 1954, the Set performed the Edgar Wallace play 'The Frog' at the Scala Theatre. It was organized by Margaret's by now best girlfriend Judy Montagu with Margaret as Assistant Director.
The play drew praise for raising £10,500 for charity, but was also criticised for incompetent performances. By the mid 1950's, although still seen at fashionable nightspots and theatre premieres, the set was depleted by its members getting married. As Margaret reached her late twenties unmarried, the press increasingly turned from predicting whom she might marry to suspecting she would remain a spinster.
'Romances' and the Press (1947–1959)
The press avidly discussed "the world's most eligible bachelor-girl" and her alleged romances with more than 30 bachelors, including David Mountbatten and Michael I of Romania, Dominic Elliot, Colin Tennant (later Baron Glenconner), Prince Henry of Hesse-Kassel, and future Prime Minister of Canada John Turner.
Most had titles and almost all were wealthy. Blandford and Lord Dalkeith, both wealthy sons of dukes, were the likeliest potential husbands. Her family reportedly hoped that Margaret would marry Dalkeith, but, unlike him, the princess was uninterested in the outdoors. Billy Wallace, sole heir to a £2.8 million (£78 million today) fortune and an old friend, was reportedly Margaret's favourite date during the mid-1950's.
During her 21st. birthday party at Balmoral in August 1951, the press was disappointed to only photograph Margaret with Townsend, always in the background of pictures of royal appearances, and to her parents a safe companion as Elizabeth's duties increased.
The following month her father underwent surgery for lung cancer, and Margaret was appointed one of the Counsellors of State who undertook the King's official duties while he was incapacitated. Her father died five months later, on the 6th. February 1952, and her sister became Queen.
Romance with Peter Townsend
-- The Early Relationship
During the war, the King suggested choosing palace aides who were highly qualified men from the military, instead of only aristocrats. Told that a handsome war hero had arrived, the princesses met Townsend, the new equerry, on his first day at Buckingham Palace in 1944; Elizabeth reportedly told her sister, 13 years old, "Bad luck, he's married".
A temporary assignment of three months from the RAF became permanent. George VI and the Queen Mother were fond of Townsend; the king reportedly saw the calm and efficient combat veteran as the son he never had. He may have been aware of his daughter's infatuation with the non-titled and non-wealthy Townsend, reportedly seeing the courtier reluctantly obey the princess's order to carry her up palace stairs after a party.
Townsend was so often near Margaret that gossip columnists overlooked him as a suitor for the princess. When their relationship began is unclear. The princess told friends she fell in love with the equerry during the 1947 South Africa tour, where they often went riding together. Her biographer Craig Brown stated that, according to a National Trust curator, Townsend requested the bedroom next to hers during a trip to Belfast in October 1947.
In November 1948, they attended the inauguration of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. In later life, Townsend admitted at this point there was an attraction between them, but neither of them ever acknowledged it to one another. Not long after he discovered his wife Rosemary was involved in an extramarital affair, which ended.
Contemporary anecdotes about their closeness then dissipated until late 1950, when friendship seems to have rekindled, coinciding with Townsend's appointment as Deputy Master of the Household and the breakdown of his marriage.
From the spring of 1951 came several testimonies of a growing romantic attraction. A footman told how the King diverted the pair's picnic plans, adding that whatever the King and Queen knew about the developing relationship, few royal staff failed to notice as it was obvious to them.
Townsend said that his love for Margaret began in Balmoral in 1951, and recalled an incident there in August when the princess woke him from a nap after a picnic lunch while the King watched, to suggest the King knew. Townsend and his wife separated in 1951, which was noticed by the press by July.
Margaret was grief-stricken by her father's death and was prescribed sedatives to help her sleep. Of her father she wrote:
"He was such a wonderful person,
the very heart and centre of our
happy family."
Margaret was consoled by her deeply-held Christian beliefs, sometimes attending church twice daily. She re-emerged attending events with her family in April, and returned to public duties and the social scene when official mourning ended in June.
American newspapers noted her increasing vitality and speculated that she must be in love. With the widowed Queen Mother, Margaret moved out of Buckingham Palace and into Clarence House in May 1953, while her older sister, now Queen, and her family moved out of Clarence House and into Buckingham Palace. After the king's death, Townsend was appointed Comptroller of Margaret's mother's restructured household.
In June 1952, the estranged Townsends hosted Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and Princess Margaret at a cocktail party at their home. A month later, Rosemary Townsend and her new partner John de László attended judging at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. It is thought that the romance between Margaret and Townsend began around this time.
The first reports that Townsend and Margaret wished to marry began in August 1952, but these remained uncommon. The Townsend divorce in November was mentioned little in Britain and in greater detail abroad. After the divorce was finalized in December 1952, however, rumours spread about him and Margaret; the divorce, and shared grief over the death of the king in February 1952, likely helped them come together within the privacy of Clarence House, where the princess had her own apartment.
-- The Marriage Proposal
Private Secretary to the Queen Sir Alan Lascelles wrote that Townsend came to tell him that he had asked Margaret to marry him shortly before Christmas 1952. Other sources claim it occurred in April 1953. He was 15 years her senior, and had two children from his previous marriage. Margaret accepted and informed her sister, the Queen, whose consent was required by the Royal Marriages Act 1772.
During the abdication crisis, the Church of England refused to countenance the remarriage of the divorced.
Queen Mary had recently died, and, after the coronation of Elizabeth II, the new queen planned to tour the Commonwealth for six months. She told her sister:
"Under the circumstances, it isn't
unreasonable for me to ask you
to wait a year."
Although foreign media speculated on Margaret and Townsend's relationship, the British press did not. After reporters saw her plucking fluff from his coat during the coronation on the 2nd. June 1953. Townsend later said:
"I never thought a thing about it,
and neither did Margaret. After
that the storm broke."
The People first mentioned the relationship in Britain on the 14th. June 1953. With the headline "They Must Deny it NOW", the front-page article warned that "scandalous rumours about Princess Margaret are racing around the world", which the newspaper stated were "of course, utterly untrue".
The foreign press believed that the Regency Act 1953—which made Prince Philip, the Queen's husband, regent instead of Margaret on the Queen's death—was enacted to allow the princess to marry Townsend, but as late as the 23rd. July most other British newspapers except the Daily Mirror did not discuss the rumours. Acting Prime Minister Rab Butler asked that "deplorable speculation" end, without mentioning Margaret or Townsend.
The constitutional crisis that the proposed marriage caused was public. The Queen was advised by Lascelles to post Townsend abroad, but she refused, and instead transferred him from the Queen Mother's household to her own, although Townsend did not accompany Margaret as planned on a tour of Southern Rhodesia.
Prime Minister Churchill personally approved of "a lovely young royal lady married to a gallant young airman" but his wife reminded Churchill that he had made the same mistake during the abdication crisis. His cabinet refused to approve the marriage, and Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury, did not approve of Margaret marrying a divorced man; opponents said that the marriage would threaten the monarchy as Edward VIII's had.
The Church of England Newspaper said that:
"Margaret is a dutiful churchwoman
who knows what strong views leaders
of the church hold in this matter."
However the Sunday Express—which had supported Edward and Wallis—asked:
"IF THEY WANT TO MARRY,
WHY SHOULDN'T THEY?"
Churchill discussed the marriage at the 1953 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference held with the coronation; the Statute of Westminster 1931 requires Dominion parliaments to also approve any Bill of Renunciation changing the line of succession.
The Canadian government stated that altering the line twice in 25 years would harm the monarchy. Churchill informed the Queen that both his cabinet and Dominion prime ministers were against the marriage, and that Parliament would not approve a marriage that would be unrecognized by the Church of England unless Margaret renounced her rights to the throne.
Prince Philip was reportedly the most opposed to Townsend in the royal family, while Margaret's mother and sister wanted her to be happy, but could not approve of the marriage. Besides Townsend's divorce, two major problems were financial and constitutional.
Margaret did not possess her sister's large fortune, and would need the £6,000 annual civil list allowance and £15,000 additional allowance Parliament had provided for her upon a suitable marriage. She did not object to being removed from the line of succession to the throne, as the Queen and all her children dying was unlikely, but receiving parliamentary approval for the marriage would be difficult and uncertain.
At the age of 25 Margaret would not need Elizabeth's permission under the 1772 Act; she could, after notifying the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, marry in one year if Parliament did not prevent her. If Churchill told the Queen, however, one could easily leave the line of succession, another could easily enter the line, dangerous for a hereditary monarchy.
The Queen told the couple to wait until 1955, when Margaret would be 25, avoiding the Queen having to publicly disapprove of her sister's marriage. Lascelles—who compared Townsend to Theudas "boasting himself to be somebody"—hoped that separating him and Margaret would end their romance.
Churchill arranged for Townsend's assignment as air attaché at the British Embassy in Brussels; he was sent on the 15th. July 1953, before Margaret's return from Rhodesia on the 30th. July. The assignment was so sudden that the British ambassador learned about it from a newspaper. Although the princess and Townsend knew about his new job, they had reportedly been promised a few days together before his departure.
-- Press Coverage
For two years, press speculation continued. In Brussels, Townsend only said that "The word must come from somebody else". He avoided parties and being seen with women. With few duties (the sinecure was abolished after him), Townsend improved his French and horsemanship. He joined a Belgian show jumping club and rode in races around Europe.
Margaret was told by the Church that she would be unable to receive communion if she married a divorced man. Three quarters of Sunday Express readers opposed the relationship, and Mass-Observation recorded criticism of the "silly little fool" as a poor example for young women who emulated her. Other newspaper polls showed popular support for Margaret's personal choice, regardless of Church teaching or government.
97% of Daily Mirror readers supported marriage, and a Daily Express editorial stated that even if the Archbishop of Canterbury was displeased:
"She would best please the vast
majority of ordinary folk by finding
happiness for herself".
The couple were not restricted on communicating by mail and telephone. Margaret worked with friends on charity productions of Lord and Lady Algy and The Frog, and publicly dated men such as Tennant and Wallace. In January 1955, she made the first of many trips to the Caribbean, perhaps to distract, and as a reward for being apart, from Townsend.
The attaché secretly travelled to Britain; while the palace was aware of one visit, he reportedly made other trips for nights and weekends with the princess at Clarence House—her apartment had its own front door—and friends' homes.
That spring Townsend for the first time spoke to the press:
"I am sick of being made to hide in
my apartment like a thief, but whether
I can marry involves more people than
myself".
He reportedly believed that his exile from Margaret would soon end, their love was strong, and that the British people would support marrying. Townsend received a bodyguard and police guard around his apartment after the Belgian government received threats on his life, but the British government still said nothing.
Stating that people were more interested in the couple than the recent 1955 United Kingdom general election, on the 29th. May the Daily Express published an editorial demanding that Buckingham Palace confirm or deny the rumours.
The press described Margaret's 25th. birthday, the 21st. August 1955, as the day she was free to marry, and expected an announcement about Townsend soon. Three hundred journalists waited outside Balmoral, four times as many as those later following Diana, Princess of Wales. "COME ON MARGARET!", the Daily Mirror's front page said two days earlier, asking her to "Please Make up Your Mind!".
On the 12th. October Townsend returned from Brussels as Margaret's suitor. The royal family devised a system in which it did not host Townsend, but he and Margaret formally courted each other at dinner parties hosted by friends such as Mark Bonham Carter. A Gallup poll found that 59% of Britons approved of their marrying, with 17% opposed.
Women in the East End of London shouted "Go on, Marg, do what you want" at the princess. Although the couple were never seen together in public during this time, the general consensus was that they would marry. Crowds waited outside Clarence House, and a global audience read daily updates and rumours on newspaper front pages.
The Manchester Guardian said on the 15th. October:
"Nothing much else than Princess
Margaret's affairs is being talked
of in this country, Now the Nation
Waits."
Observers interpreted Buckingham Palace's request to the press to respect Margaret's privacy—the first time the palace discussed the princess's recent personal life—as evidence of an imminent betrothal announcement,
As no announcement occurred—the Daily Mirror on the 17th. October showed a photograph of Margaret's left hand with the headline "NO RING YET!"—the press wondered why. The News Chronicle wrote:
"Parliamentarians are frankly puzzled
by the way the affair has been handled.
If a marriage is on, why not announce it
quickly?
If there is to be no marriage, why allow
the couple to continue to meet without
a clear denial of the rumours?"
Why a betrothal did not occur is still unclear. Margaret may have been uncertain of her desire, having written to Prime Minister Anthony Eden in August that:
"It is only by seeing him in this way
that I feel I can properly decide
whether I can marry him or not".
Margaret may have told Townsend as early as the 12th. October that governmental and familial opposition to their marriage had not changed; it is possible that neither they nor the Queen fully understood until that year how difficult the 1772 Act made a royal marriage without the monarch's permission.
An influential 26th. October editorial in The Times stating that "The Queen's sister married to a divorced man (even though the innocent party) would be irrevocably disqualified from playing her part in the essential royal function" represented The Establishment's view of what it considered a possibly dangerous crisis.
It convinced many, who had believed that the media were exaggerating, that the princess really might defy the Church and royal standards. Leslie Weatherhead, President of the Methodist Conference, now criticized the proposed marriage.
Townsend recalled that:
"We felt mute and numbed at
the centre of this maelstrom."
The Queen also wanted the media circus to end. Townsend only had his RAF income and, other than a talent for writing, had no experience in other work. He wrote in his autobiography that:
"The princess could have married
me only if she had been prepared
to give up everything -- her position,
her prestige, her privy purse.
I simply hadn't the weight, I knew it,
to counterbalance all she would have
lost"
Kenneth Rose described Margaret's potential marriage as "life in a cottage on a Group Captain's salary".
Royal historian Hugo Vickers wrote that:
"Lascelles's separation plan
had worked, and the love
between them had died".
Margaret's authorized biographer Christopher Warwick said that:
"Having spent two years apart, they
were no longer as in love as they had
been. Townsend was not the love of
her life – the love of her life was her
father, King George VI, whom she
adored".
More than 100 journalists waited at Balmoral when Eden arrived to discuss the marriage with the Queen and Margaret on the 1st. October 1955. Lord Kilmuir, the Lord Chancellor, that month prepared a secret government document on the proposed marriage.
According to a 1958 biography of Townsend by Norman Barrymaine and other accounts, Eden said that his government would oppose in Parliament Margaret retaining her royal status. Parliament might pass resolutions opposing the marriage, which the people would see as a disagreement between government and monarchy; Lord Salisbury, a High Anglican, might resign from the government rather than help pass a Bill of Renunciation.
While the government could not prevent the marriage when Margaret become a private individual after a Bill of Renunciation, she would no longer be a Counsellor of State, and would lose her civil list allowance; otherwise, taxpayers would subsidise a divorced man and the princess's new stepsons. The Church would consider any children from the marriage to be illegitimate. Eden recommended that, like Edward VIII and Wallis, Margaret and Townsend leave Great Britain for several years.
Papers released in 2004 to the National Archives disagree. They show that the Queen and Eden (who had been divorced and remarried himself) planned to amend the 1772 Act. Margaret would have been able to marry Townsend by removing her and any children from the marriage from the line of succession, and thus the Queen's permission would no longer be necessary. Margaret would be allowed to keep her royal title and her allowance, stay in the country, and even continue with her public duties.
Eden described the Queen's attitude in a letter on the subject to the Commonwealth prime ministers as:
"Her Majesty would not wish to stand
in the way of her sister's happiness".
Eden himself was sympathetic. He wrote:
"Exclusion from the Succession would
not entail any other change in Princess
Margaret's position as a member of the
Royal Family."
In the 28th. October 1955 final draft of the plan, Margaret would announce that she would marry Townsend and leave the line of succession. As prearranged by Eden, the Queen would consult with the British and Commonwealth governments, and then ask them to amend the 1772 Act. Eden would have told Parliament that it was "out of harmony with modern conditions"; Kilmuir estimated that 75% of Britons would approve of allowing the marriage.
He advised Eden that the 1772 Act was flawed, and might not apply to Margaret anyway. The decision not to marry was made on the 24th. October, and for the following week, Margaret was in disputes about the release and wording of her statement, which was released on the 31st.
It is unverified what or when she was told about proposals, drafted on the 28th., four days after the decision was made. By the early 1980's she was still protesting to biographers that the couple had been given false hope that marriage was possible, and she would have ended the relationship sooner had she been informed otherwise.
The Daily Mirror on the 28th. October discussed The Times's editorial with the headline "THIS CRUEL PLAN MUST BE EXPOSED". Although Margaret and Townsend had read the editorial the newspaper denounced as from "a dusty world and a forgotten age", they had earlier made their decision and written an announcement.
-- The End of the Relationship
On the 31st. October 1955, Margaret issued a statement:
"I would like it to be known that I have decided
not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend.
I have been aware that, subject to my renouncing
my rights of succession, it might have been possible
for me to contract a civil marriage.
But mindful of the Church's teachings that Christian
marriage is indissoluble, and conscious of my duty
to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these
considerations before others.
I have reached this decision entirely alone, and in
doing so I have been strengthened by the unfailing
support and devotion of Group Captain Townsend."
"Thoroughly drained, thoroughly demoralized", Margaret later said, she and Townsend wrote the statement together. She refused when Oliver Dawnay, the Queen Mother's private secretary, asked to remove the word "devotion". The written statement, signed "Margaret", was the first official confirmation of the relationship.
Some Britons were disbelieving or angry while others, including clergy, were proud of the princess for choosing duty and faith; newspapers were evenly divided on the decision. Mass-Observation recorded indifference or criticism of the couple among men, but great interest among women, whether for or against.
Kenneth Tynan, John Minton, Ronald Searle, and others signed an open letter from "the younger generation". Published in the Daily Express on 4 November, the letter said that the end of the relationship had exposed The Establishment and "our national hypocrisy".
Townsend recalled that:
"We had reached the end of the road, our
feelings for one another were unchanged,
but they had incurred for us a burden so
great that we decided together to lay it
down".
The Associated Press said:
"Margaret's statement is almost a
rededication of her life to the duties
of royalty, making unlikely any
marriage for her in the near future,"
The princess may have expected to never marry after the long relationship ended, because most of her eligible male friends were no longer bachelors.
Barrymaine agreed that Margaret intended the statement to mean that she would never marry, but wrote that Townsend probably did not accept any such vow to him by the princess, and his subsequent departure from Britain for two years was to not interfere with her life.
Townsend said:
"We both had a feeling of unimaginable
relief. We were liberated at last from this
monstrous problem."
After resigning from the RAF and travelling around the world for 18 months, Townsend returned in March 1958; he and Margaret met several times, but could not avoid the press ("TOGETHER AGAIN") or royal disapproval. Townsend again left Britain to write a book about his trip; Barrymaine concluded in 1958 that:
"None of the fundamental obstacles to
their marriage has been overcome – or
shows any prospects of being overcome".
Townsend said during a 1970 book tour that he and Margaret did not correspond, and they had not seen each other since a "friendly" 1958 meeting:
"Just like I think a lot of people
never see their old girl friends".
Their love letters are in the Royal Archives, and will not be available to the public until 100 years after Margaret's birth, February 2030. These are unlikely to include Margaret's letters. In 1959, she wrote to Townsend in response to him informing her of his remarriage plans, accusing him of betraying their vow not to marry anyone else, and requesting her love letters to him be destroyed.
He claimed he had complied with her wishes, but kept this letter and an envelope of burned shards of the vow she had sent, eventually destroying these also. He was apparently unaware Margaret had already broken the pact by her engagement to Billy Wallace, as it wasn't revealed until many years later.
In October 1993, a friend of Margaret revealed she had met Townsend for what turned out to be the last time before his death in 1995. She hadn't wanted to attend the reunion they'd both been invited to, in 1992, for fear it might be picked up by the press, so she asked to see him privately instead.
Margaret said that he looked "exactly the same, except he had grey hair". Guests said he hadn't really changed, and that they just sat chatting like old friends. They also found him disgruntled and had convinced himself that in agreeing to part, he and Margaret had set a noble example which seemed to have been in vain.
Marriage to Antony Armstrong-Jones
Billy Wallace later said that:
"The thing with Townsend was a girlish
nonsense that got out of hand. It was
never the big thing on her part that
people claim".
Margaret accepted one of Wallace's many proposals to marry in 1956, but the engagement ended before an official announcement when he admitted to a romance in the Bahamas; "I had my chance and blew it with my big mouth", Wallace said.
Margaret did not reveal this publicly until an interview and subsequent biography with Nigel Dempster in 1977.
Margaret met the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones at a supper party in 1958. They became engaged in October 1959. Armstrong-Jones proposed to Margaret with a ruby engagement ring surrounded by diamonds in the shape of a rosebud. She reportedly accepted his proposal a day after learning from Townsend that he intended to marry a young Belgian woman, Marie-Luce Jamagne, who was half his age and greatly resembled Margaret.
Margaret's announcement of her engagement, on the 26th. February 1960, surprised the press, as she had concealed the romance from reporters.
Margaret married Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey on the 6th. May 1960. The ceremony was the first royal wedding to be broadcast on television, and it attracted viewing figures of 300 million worldwide. 2,000 guests were invited for the wedding ceremony.
Margaret's wedding dress was designed by Norman Hartnell and worn with the Poltimore tiara. She had eight young bridesmaids, led by her niece, Princess Anne. The Duke of Edinburgh escorted the bride, and the best man was Dr. Roger Gilliatt. The Archbishop of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher conducted the marriage service.
Following the ceremony, the couple made the traditional appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The honeymoon was a six-week Caribbean cruise aboard the royal yacht Britannia. As a wedding present, Colin Tennant gave her a plot of land on his private Caribbean island, Mustique. The newlyweds moved into rooms in Kensington Palace.
In 1961, Margaret's husband was created the Earl of Snowdon. The couple had two children (both born by Caesarean section at Margaret's request): David, born 3rd. November 1961, and Sarah, born 1st. May 1964.
The marriage widened Margaret's social circle beyond the Court and aristocracy to include show business celebrities and bohemians. At the time, it was thought to reflect the breaking down of British class barriers. The Snowdons experimented with the styles and fashions of the 1960's.
Separation and Divorce
Both parties in the marriage regularly committed adultery. Antony had a series of affairs, including with long-term mistress, Ann Hills, and Lady Jacqueline Rufus-Isaacs, daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Reading. Anne De Courcy’s 2008 biography summarises the situation with a quote from a close friend: "If it moves, he'll have it."
Reportedly, Margaret had her first extramarital affair in 1966, with her daughter's godfather Anthony Barton, a Bordeaux wine producer. A year later she had a one-month liaison with Robin Douglas-Home, a nephew of former British Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home.
Margaret claimed that her relationship with Douglas-Home was platonic, but her letters to him (which were later sold) were intimate. Douglas-Home, who suffered from depression, died by suicide 18 months after the split with Margaret.
Claims that she was romantically involved with musician Mick Jagger, actor Peter Sellers, and Australian cricketer Keith Miller are unproven. According to biographer Charlotte Breese, entertainer Leslie Hutchinson had a "brief liaison" with Margaret in 1955.
A 2009 biography of actor David Niven included assertions, based on information from Niven's widow and a good friend of Niven's, that he had had an affair with the princess, who was 20 years his junior. In 1975, the Princess was listed among women with whom actor Warren Beatty had had romantic relationships.
John Bindon, an actor from Fulham, who had spent time in prison, sold his story to the Daily Mirror, boasting of a close relationship with Margaret.
Beyond adultery, the marriage was accompanied by drugs, alcohol, and bizarre behaviour by both parties, such as his leaving lists of "things I hate about you" for the princess to find between the pages of books she read.
According to biographer Sarah Bradford, one note read:
"You look like a Jewish
manicurist and I hate you".
By the early 1970's, the Snowdons had drifted apart. In September 1973, Colin Tennant introduced Margaret to Roddy Llewellyn. Llewellyn was 17 years her junior. In 1974, she invited him as a guest to Les Jolies Eaux, the holiday home she had built on Mustique. It was the first of several visits.
Margaret described their relationship as "a loving friendship". Once, when Llewellyn left on an impulsive trip to Turkey, Margaret became emotionally distraught and took an overdose of sleeping tablets. She later said:
"I was so exhausted because
of everything that all I wanted
to do was sleep".
As she recovered, her ladies-in-waiting kept Lord Snowdon away from her, afraid that seeing him would distress her further.
In February 1976, a picture of Margaret and Llewellyn in swimsuits on Mustique was published on the front page of the News of the World. The press portrayed Margaret as a predatory older woman and Llewellyn as her toyboy lover. On the 19th. March 1976, the Snowdons publicly acknowledged that their marriage had irretrievably broken down and had decided to separate.
Some politicians suggested removing Margaret from the civil list. Labour MPs denounced her as "a royal parasite" and a "floozie". On the 24th. May 1978, the decree nisi for their divorce was granted. In the same month, Margaret was taken ill, and diagnosed as suffering from gastroenteritis and alcoholic hepatitis, although Warwick denied that she was ever an alcoholic.
On the 11th. July 1978, the Snowdons' divorce was finalized. It was the first divorce of a senior member of the British royal family since Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh's in 1901. On the 15th. December 1978, Snowdon married Lucy Lindsay-Hogg, but he and Margaret remained close friends.
In 1981, Llewellyn married Tatiana Soskin, whom he had known for 10 years. Margaret remained close friends with them both.
Princess Margaret's Public Life
Among Margaret's first official engagements was launching the ocean liner Edinburgh Castle in Belfast in 1947. Subsequently, Margaret went on multiple tours of various places; in her first major tour she joined her parents and sister for a tour of South Africa in 1947. Her tour aboard Britannia to the British colonies in the Caribbean in 1955 created a sensation throughout the West Indies, and calypsos were dedicated to her.
As colonies of the British Commonwealth of Nations sought nationhood, Princess Margaret represented the Crown at independence ceremonies in Jamaica in 1962 and Tuvalu and Dominica in 1978. Her visit to Tuvalu was cut short by an illness, which may have been viral pneumonia, and she was flown to Australia to recuperate.
Other overseas tours included East Africa and Mauritius in 1956, the United States in 1965, Japan in 1969 and 1979, the United States and Canada in 1974, Australia in 1975, the Philippines in 1980, Swaziland in 1981, and China in 1987.
In August 1979, Louis Mountbatten, 1st. Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and members of his family were killed by a bomb planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. That October, while on a fundraising tour of the United States on behalf of the Royal Opera House, Margaret was seated at a dinner reception in Chicago with columnist Abra Anderson and Mayor Jane Byrne.
Margaret told them that the royal family had been moved by the many letters of condolence from Ireland. The following day, Anderson's rival Irv Kupcinet published a claim that Margaret had referred to the Irish as "pigs". Margaret, Anderson and Byrne all issued immediate denials, but the damage was already done. The rest of the tour drew demonstrations, and Margaret's security was doubled in the face of physical threats.
Princess Margaret's Charity Work
Margaret's main interests were welfare charities, music and ballet. She was president of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and of the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (Children 1st.) and Invalid Children's Aid Nationwide (also called 'I CAN').
She was Grand President of the St. John Ambulance Brigade and Colonel-in-Chief of Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps. She was also the president or patron of numerous organisations, such as the West Indies Olympic Association, the Girl Guides, Northern Ballet Theatre, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Tenovus Cancer Care, the Royal College of Nursing, and the London Lighthouse (an AIDS charity that has since merged with the Terrence Higgins Trust).
In her capacity as president of the Royal Ballet, she played a key role in launching a fund for Dame Margot Fonteyn, who was experiencing financial troubles. With the help of the Children's Royal Variety Performance, she also organized yearly fundraisers for NSPCC.
Princess Margaret's Illness and Death
Margaret's later life was marred by illness and disability. She began smoking cigarettes in her early teens, and had continued to smoke heavily for many years thereafter. In the 1970s, she suffered a nervous breakdown and was treated for depression by Mark Collins, a psychiatrist from the Priory Clinic. Later on, she suffered from migraines, laryngitis, and bronchitis. On the 5th. January 1985, she had part of her left lung removed; the operation drew parallels with that of her father 34 years earlier. In 1991, she gave up smoking, though she continued to drink heavily.
In January 1993, Margaret was admitted to hospital for pneumonia. She experienced a mild stroke on the 23rd. February 1998 at her holiday home in Mustique. Early the following year, she suffered severe scalds to her feet in a bathroom accident, which affected her mobility in that she required support when walking and sometimes used a wheelchair.
Margaret was hospitalized on the 10th. January 2001, due to loss of appetite and swallowing problems after a further stroke. By March 2001, strokes had left her with partial vision and paralysis on the left side. Margaret's last public appearances were at the 101st. birthday celebrations of her mother in August 2001, and the 100th. birthday celebration of her aunt Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, that December.
Princess Margaret died in the King Edward VII's Hospital, London, at 06:30 (GMT) on the 9th. February 2002, at the age of 71, one day after having suffered another stroke that was followed by cardiac problems, and three days after the 50th. anniversary of her father's death.
Her sister's eldest son, Charles, then Prince of Wales, paid tribute to his aunt in a television broadcast. UK politicians and foreign leaders sent their condolences as well. Following her death, private memorial services were held at St. Mary Magdalene Church and Glamis Castle.
Margaret's coffin, draped in her personal standard, was taken from Kensington Palace to St. James's Palace before her funeral. The funeral was held on the 15th. February 2002, the 50th anniversary of her father's funeral. In line with her wishes, the ceremony was a private service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, for family and friends.
Unlike most other members of the royal family, Princess Margaret was cremated, at Slough Crematorium. Her ashes were placed in the Royal Vault in St. George's Chapel before being transferred to the tomb of her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (who died seven weeks after Margaret), in the King George VI Memorial Chapel two months later. Princess Margaret had opted to be cremated so that her remains could fit alongside her father King George VI’s grave in a vault that was made especially to hold him specifically.
In keeping with her rebellious reputation, the princess broke from what was typically expected of a royal family member and chose to be cremated. Princess Margaret was the first member of the royal family to be cremated since the procedure became legal.
A state memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey on the 19th. April 2002. Another memorial service to mark the 10th. anniversary of Margaret and the Queen Mother's death was held on the 30th. March 2012 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, which was attended by the Queen and other members of the royal family.
The Legacy of Princess Margaret
Observers often characterized Margaret as a spoiled snob capable of cutting remarks and hauteur. Critics claimed that she even looked down on her grandmother Queen Mary because Mary was born a princess with the lower "Serene Highness" style, whereas Margaret was a "Royal Highness" by birth. Their letters, however, provide no indication of friction between them.
Margaret could also be charming and informal. People who came into contact with her could be perplexed by her swings between frivolity and formality. Former governess Marion Crawford wrote in her memoir:
"Impulsive and bright remarks she
made became headlines and, taken
out of their context, began to produce
in the public eye an oddly distorted
personality that bore little resemblance
to the Margaret we knew."
Margaret's acquaintance Gore Vidal, the American writer, wrote: "She was far too intelligent for her station in life". He recalled a conversation with Margaret in which, discussing her public notoriety, she said:
"It was inevitable, when there are
two sisters and one is the Queen,
who must be the source of honour
and all that is good, while the other
must be the focus of the most
creative malice, the evil sister".
As a child, Margaret enjoyed pony shows, but unlike other family members she did not express interest in hunting, shooting, and fishing in adulthood. She became interested in ballet from a very young age, and enjoyed participating in amateur plays. She directed one such play, titled The Frogs, with her aristocratic friends as cast members.
Actors and movie stars were among the regular visitors to her residence at Kensington Palace. In January 1981, she was the castaway in an episode of BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. There she chose Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake as her favourite piece of music. In 1984, she appeared as herself in an episode of the radio drama The Archers, becoming the first member of the royal family to take part in a BBC drama.
Princess Margaret's private life was for many years the subject of intense speculation by media and royalty watchers. Her house on Mustique, designed by her husband's uncle Oliver Messel, a stage designer, was her favourite holiday destination. Allegations of wild parties and drug taking also surfaced in the media.
Following Margaret's death, her lady-in-waiting, Lady Glenconner, said that Margaret was devoted to the Queen and tremendously supportive of her. Margaret was described by her cousin Lady Elizabeth Shakerley as:
"Somebody who had a wonderful
capacity for giving a lot of people
pleasure, and she was making a
very, very, very good and loyal
friend".
Another cousin, Lord Lichfield, said that:
"Margaret was pretty sad towards
the end of her life because it was
a life unfulfilled".
The Independent wrote in Townsend's 1995 obituary that:
"The immense display of popular sentiment and interest
in the relationship can now be seen to have constituted
a watershed in the nation's attitude towards divorce".
The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church received much of the popular anger toward the end of the relationship. Randolph Churchill believed that rumours that Fisher had intervened to prevent the Princess from marrying Townsend has done incalculable harm to the Church of England.
A Gallup poll found that 28% agreed, and 59% disagreed, with the Church's refusal to remarry a divorced person while the other spouse was alive. Biographer Warwick suggests that Margaret's most enduring legacy is an accidental one. Perhaps unwittingly, Margaret paved the way for public acceptance of royal divorce. Her life, if not her actions, made the decisions and choices of her sister's children, three of whom divorced, easier than they otherwise would have been.
Eden reportedly told the Queen in Balmoral when discussing Margaret and Townsend that, regardless of outcome, the monarchy would be damaged. Harold Brooks-Baker said
"In my opinion, this was the turning point to
disaster for the royal family. After Princess
Margaret was denied marriage, it backfired
and more or less ruined Margaret's life.
The Queen decided that from then on,
anyone that someone in her family wanted
to marry would be more or less acceptable.
The royal family and the public now feel
that they've gone too far in the other direction".
Princess Margaret's Fashion and Style
During her lifetime, Princess Margaret was considered a fashion icon. Her fashion earned the nickname 'The Margaret Look'. The princess, dubbed a 'royal rebel' styled herself in contrast to her sister's prim and timeless style, adopting trendy mod accessories, such as brightly coloured headscarves and glamorous sunglasses.
Margaret developed a close relationship with atelier Christian Dior, wearing his designs throughout her life and becoming one of his most prominent customers. In 1950, he designed a cream gown worn for her 21st. birthday, which has been cited as an iconic part of fashion history. Throughout the decade, the princess was known for wearing floral-print dresses, bold-hued ballgowns and luxurious fabrics, accessorising with diamonds, pearls, and fur stoles.
British Vogue wrote that Margaret's style 'hit her stride' in the mid-60's, where she was photographed alongside celebrities like The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Sophia Loren. Princess Margaret was also known for her "magnificent" hats and headdresses, including a canary feather hat worn on a 1962 Jamaica visit and a peacock feather pillbox hat to the 1973 Royal Ascot.
Marie Claire stated that the princess "refused to compromise" on her style later in life, continuing with trends of big sleeves and strapless evening gowns.
In April 2007, an exhibition titled Princess Line – The Fashion Legacy of Princess Margaret opened at Kensington Palace, showcasing contemporary fashion from British designers such as Vivienne Westwood inspired by Princess Margaret's legacy of style. Christopher Bailey's Spring 2006 collection for Burberry was inspired by Margaret's look from the 1960's.
Princess Margaret's Finances
In her lifetime, Margaret's fortune was estimated to be around £20 million, with most of it being inherited from her father. She also inherited pieces of art and antiques from Queen Mary, and Dame Margaret Greville left her £20,000 in 1943.
In 1999, her son, Lord Linley, sold his mother's Caribbean residence Les Jolies Eaux for a reported £2.4 million. At the time of her death Margaret received £219,000 from the Civil List. Following her death, she left a £7.6 million estate to her two children, which was cut down to £4.5 million after inheritance tax.
In June 2006, much of Margaret's estate was auctioned by Christie's to meet the tax and, in her son's words, "normal family requirements such as educating her grandchildren", though some of the items were sold in aid of charities such as the Stroke Association.
Reportedly, the Queen had made it clear that the proceeds from any item that was given to her sister in an official capacity must be donated to charities.
A world record price of £1.24 million was set by a Fabergé clock. The Poltimore Tiara (shown in the above photograph), which Margaret wore for her wedding in 1960, sold for £926,400. The sale of her effects totalled £13,658,000.
The Poltimore Tiara
You know the photograph: Princess Margaret lying in a bath and wearing nothing but a tiara on her head. The photograph which was taken by her husband, famed photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, was not released to the public until 2006, four years after Margaret's death.
As flirtatious as it is shameless, the photograph consolidated her status as the eternal rebel of the British Royal House. Margaret once said about herself:
"Disobedience is my fun."
Eleven years later, the portrait was withdrawn from the public eye, but the image remains ingrained in the minds of the world, to such an extent that The Crown included a scene about it in the third season. In fact the image is still readily accessible on the Internet.
Despite the fact that much of what was so shocking about the image had to do with the fact that it was taken in a bath, it acquired iconic status due to the presence of the tiara: grand, resplendent and downright stunning.
The tiara has a lot of history. Known as the Poltimore tiara, it originally belonged to Lady Poltimore, the wife of the 2nd. Baron Poltimore. Made in 1870 by London's House of Garrard, it is the epitome of Victorian-era jewellery style: diamond scrolls evoking flora and nature.
Lady Poltimore wore this fantastic creation, whose support is made up of gold and silver, at the coronation of King George V in 1911.
The 4th. baron put it up for auction in January 1959, and it was then that Princess Margaret acquired it for £5,500.
It was purchased for Princess Margaret on the advice of Lord Patrick Plunkett, Deputy Master of the Household, prior to the official announcement of her engagement to Antony Armstrong-Jones.
Despite having access to the crown jewels (the Duchess of Cambridge, for example, wore tiaras borrowed from the Queen), the then-29-year-old princess wanted something she could call uniquely hers.
Sara Prentice, Creative Director of the House of Garrard, says:
“It's very modern. It is becoming more and
more common for women to buy for themselves,
but looking back to 1959, the truth is that she
chose it for herself. She had to charm him to
do it."
A year and a half later, on the 6th. May 1960, Princess Margaret wore her tiara on the most important of occasions: her wedding to Antony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey. The tiara has been part of history ever since. It is the tiara most associated with Princess Margaret.
Margaret's wedding was the tiara's most high-profile outing. In 1977 she wore it again for the Shah of Iran's state visit to the United Kingdom.
While no tiara can be considered functional, the design of the Poltimore tiara allowed for multiple uses. It could be transformed into a necklace (which Margaret did in 1960) or, if she wanted to, into 11 different brooches.
The tiara appears to be practically floating when worn. This is because the bracket is entwined with a brown ribbon that matched Margaret 's hair color. Thus, only the ribbon-covered portion sank into her hair, while her spectacular jewellery remained fully in view.
Prentice estimates that such a piece would take around six months to make.
The Poltimore tiara was sold in 2006 at Christie's by Margaret's children Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto in order to raise funds to cover unexpectedly high inheritance taxes. The tiara went to an Asian buyer for £926,400.
Since the Christie's sale of the Poltimore, the tiara's current whereabouts are unknown. A number of observers felt that the royal family should have taken the opportunity to buy the historic piece, but they didn't.
Belgian postcard. Photo: M.G.M.
American actress and singer Ann Blyth (1928) was often cast in Hollywood musicals, but she was also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Ann Blyth was born in 1928, in Mount Kisco, New York, to Harry and Nan Lynch Blyth. After her parents separated, she, her mother and her sister moved to a walk-up apartment on East 31st Street in New York City, where her mother took in ironing. Blyth attended St. Patrick's School in Manhattan. Blyth performed on children's radio shows in New York for six years, making her first appearance when she was five. When she was nine she joined the New York Children's Opera Company. Her first acting role was on Broadway in Lillian Hellman's 'Watch on the Rhine' (1941-1942). She played the part of Paul Lukas's daughter, Babette. The play ran for 378 performances and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. After the New York run, the play went on tour, and while performing at the Biltmore Theatre in Los Angeles, Blyth was offered a contract with Universal Studios. Blyth began her acting career initially as "Anne Blyth", but changed the spelling of her first name back to "Ann" at the beginning of her film career. She made her film debut in 1944, teamed with Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan in the teenage musical Chip Off the Old Block (1944). She followed it with two similar films: The Merry Monahans (1944) with O'Connor and Ryan again, and Babes on Swing Street (1944) with Ryan. She had a support role in the bigger budgeted Bowery to Broadway (1944), a showcase of Universal musical talent. On loan to Warner Brothers, Blyth was cast 'against type' as Veda Pierce, the scheming, ungrateful daughter of Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945). Her dramatic portrayal won her outstanding reviews, and she received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Blyth was only 16 when she made the film, for which Crawford won the Best Actress award. After Mildred Pierce, Blyth sustained a broken back while tobogganing in Snow Valley, and was not able to fully capitalise on the film's success. She recovered and made two films for Mark Hellinger's unit at Universal: Swell Guy (1946), with Sonny Tufts, and Brute Force (1947) with Burt Lancaster. During this time her father died. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer borrowed her to play the female lead in Killer McCoy (1947), a boxing film with Mickey Rooney that was a box office hit. Back at Universal, she did a Film Noir with Charles Boyer, A Woman's Vengeance (1948). She was then cast in the part of Regina Hubbard in Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest (1948), an adaptation of the 1946 play where Regina had been played by Patricia Neal. The play was a prequel to The Little Foxes. Blyth followed it with Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) with William Powell. She was top-billed in Red Canyon (1949), a Western with Howard Duff. Paramount borrowed Blyth to play the female lead in Top o' the Morning (1949), a daughter of Barry Fitzgerald who is romanced by Bing Crosby. It was the first time she sang on screen. Back at Universal, she was teamed with Robert Montgomery in Once More, My Darling (1949), meaning she had to drop out of Desert Legion. She did a comedy with Robert Cummings, Free for All (1949). In April 1949, Universal suspended her for refusing a lead role in Abandoned (1949). Gale Storm played it.
Ann Blyth was borrowed by Sam Goldwyn to star opposite Farley Granger in Our Very Own (1950). Universal gave her top billing in a romantic comedy, Katie Did It (1951). Blyth was borrowed by MGM for The Great Caruso (1951) opposite Mario Lanza which was a massive box office hit. She made Thunder on the Hill (1951) with Claudette Colbert and had the female lead in The Golden Horde (1951) with David Farrar. Then, 20th Century Fox borrowed her to star opposite Tyrone Power in I'll Never Forget You (1952), a last-minute replacement for Constance Smith. She appeared on TV in Family Theater in an episode called 'The World's Greatest Mother' alongside Ethel Barrymore. Universal teamed Blyth with Gregory Peck in The World in His Arms (1952). She was top-billed in the comedy Sally and Saint Anne (1952) and was borrowed by RKO for One Minute to Zero (1952), a Korean War drama with Robert Mitchum where she replaced Claudette Colbert who came down with pneumonia. MGM had been interested in Blyth since The Great Caruso. In December 1953, Blyth left Universal and she signed a long term contract with MGM. She was the leading lady in All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953) with Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor, stepping in for Elizabeth Taylor who had to drop out due to pregnancy. On television, she was in a version of A Place in the Sun for Lux Video Theatre alongside John Derek. Back at MGM, Blyth had the lead in the remake of Rose Marie (1954) with Howard Keel, which earned over $5 million but lost money due to high costs. She was meant to be reteamed with Lanza in The Student Prince (1954) but he was fired from the studio and was replaced in the picture by Edmund Purdom. The film did well at the box office. Blyth and Purdom were reunited on a swashbuckler, The King's Thief (1955). She was teamed again with Keel on the musical Kismet (1955). Despite strong reviews, the film was a financial flop. She was named for the female lead in The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955) but was eventually not cast in the film. MGM put Blyth in Slander (1957) with Van Johnson. Sidney Sheldon cast Blyth in The Buster Keaton Story (1957) with Donald O'Connor at Paramount. Warner Bros then cast her in the title role of The Helen Morgan Story (Michael Curtiz, 1957) with Paul Newman. Blyth reportedly beat 40 other actors for the part. Even though her voice was more like the original Helen Morgan, her vocals were dubbed by Gogi Grant. That soundtrack was much more successful than the film itself. Blyth made no further films. In 1957, she sued Benedict Bogeaus for $75,000 for not making the film Conquest. From the late 1950s into the 1970s, Blyth worked in musical theatre and summer stock, starring in the shows 'The King and I', 'The Sound of Music', and 'Show Boat'. and also on television, including co-starring opposite James Donald in The Citadel (1960), an adaptation of A.J. Cronin's novel. She guest-starred on episodes of such series as The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Dick Powell Theatre, Saints and Sinners, The Christophers, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, and Burke's Law. Several of these appearances were for Four Star Television with whom Blyth signed a multi-appearance contract. Blyth also became the spokesperson for Hostess Cupcakes. Her last television appearances were in episodes of Switch (1983), Quincy, M.E. (1983) and Murder, She Wrote (1985). In 1985, she officially retired. For her contributions to the film industry, Blyth has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6733 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1953, Blyth married obstetrician James McNulty, brother of singer Dennis Day, who had introduced them. After her marriage, Blyth took somewhat of a reprieve from her career to focus on raising their five children, Timothy Patrick (1954); Maureen Ann (1955); Kathleen Mary (1957); Terence Grady (1960); and Eileen Alana (1963).
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Another Beauty...The Windsor Castle Dates From Georgian London And Is Grade 2 Listed...The Pub Forms Part Of The Crown Estate....Pool Table Upstairs Long Gone...The Building To Thr Left Is The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Where I Once Lived....They Have Or Had Still Born Babies In The Basement In Liquid Quite Creepy When You Are A Child Some Were Badly Deformed...
The Chevick.
... where fantasy becomes reality
The parents of this luxury car are:
and
... and the obstetrician was Photoshop of course
___
if you like music too (as I do), please listen to my jazz compositions
at my soundcloud.com site Paper Plane Factory
_
and/or listen to my doughter's talented voice
at her site Sophfire Alphafrau
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4478/1, 1929-1930. Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.
American film actress Dolores Costello (1903-1979) was 'The Goddess of the Silent Screen'. She was Hollywood royalty: the daughter of popular matinee idol Maurice Costello, wife of John Barrymore and grandmother of Drew Barrymore.
Dolores Costello was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1903. She was the daughter of actors Maurice Costello and Mae Costello (née Altschuk). With her younger sister, Helene, she made her first film appearances in the years 1909–1915 as child actress for the Vitagraph Film Company. They played supporting roles in several films starring their father, who was a popular matinee idol at the time. Dolores Costello's earliest listed credit on the IMDb is in the role of a fairy in a 1909 adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (Charles Kent, J. Stuart Blackton, 1909). The two sisters appeared on Broadway together as chorines in 'George White Scandals of 1924'. They were then signed by Warners Bros. Following small parts in feature films, she was selected by John Barrymore to star opposite him in The Sea Beast (Millard Webb, 1926), a loose adaptation of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. During their lengthy kissing scene Dolores fainted in John's arms. The film was a major commercial success and one of the biggest pictures of 1926 becoming Warner Brothers' highest grossing film. Warner soon began starring her in her own vehicles. Meanwhile, she and Barrymore became romantically involved. They married in 1928 despite the misgivings of her mother, who would die the following year at the age of 45. Within a few years of achieving stardom, the delicately beautiful blonde-haired actress had become a successful and highly regarded film personality in her own right. As a young adult her career developed to the degree that in 1926, she was named a WAMPAS Baby Star, and had acquired the nickname 'The Goddess of the Silver Screen'.
Dolores Costello was alternated by Warner Bros between films with contemporary settings and elaborate costume dramas. In 1927, she was re-teamed with John Barrymore in When a Man Loves (Alan Crosland, 1927), an adaptation of Manon Lescaut. The following year, she co-starred with George O'Brien in Noah's Ark (1928), a part-talkie epic directed by Michael Curtiz. Tenderloin (Michael Curtiz, 1928), starring Dolores Costello, was the second Vitaphone feature to have talking sequences. It is considered a lost film, where today only the Vitaphone soundtrack survives
Costello spoke with a lisp and found it difficult to make the transition to talking pictures, but after two years of voice coaching she was comfortable speaking before a microphone. One of her early sound film appearances was with her sister Helene in Warner Bros.'s all-star extravaganza, The Show of Shows (John G. Adolfi, 1929). Her acting career became less a priority for her following the birth of her first child, Dolores Ethel Mae 'DeeDee' Barrymore, in 1930, and she retired from the screen in 1931 to devote time to her family. Her second child, John Drew Barrymore, was born in 1932, but the marriage proved difficult due to her husband's increasing alcoholism. Her sister Helene and her new husband, actor Lowell Sherman, successfully convinced Dolores to divorce Barrymore in 1935, mainly because of his excessive drinking. She resumed her career a year later and achieved some successes, most notably in Little Lord Fauntleroy (John Cromwell, 1936) featuring Freddie Bartholomew, and The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942). Making a rare radio appearance, Costello appeared as the Danish Countess Elsa on the radio program Suspense (1943). The title of the episode is The King's Birthday written by Corporal Leonard Pellitier US Army. Her film career was largely ruined by the destructive effects of early film makeup, which ravaged her complexion too severely to camouflage. She retired permanently from acting following her appearance in This is the Army (Michael Curtiz, 1943). In 1939, she had married Dr. John Vruwink, an obstetrician who was her physician during her pregnancies, but they divorced in 1950. Costello spent the remaining years of her life in semi-seclusion, managing an avocado farm. In the 1970s her house was inundated in a flash flood which destroyed a lot of her property and memorabilia from her film career and life with John Barrymore. Shortly before her death, she was interviewed for the documentary series Hollywood (1980) discussing her film career. Dolores Costello died from emphysema in Fallbrook, California, in 1979, and is interred in Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles. She was stepmother of John Barrymore's daughter Diana, by his second wife Blanche Oelrichs, the mother of John Drew Barrymore and Dolores (Dee Dee) Barrymore, and the grandmother of John Barrymore III, Blyth Dolores Barrymore, Brahma Blyth (Jessica) Barrymore, and Drew Barrymore.
Sources: Jarod Hitchings (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
2022: A Year Unlike Any Other
By Andrew J. Karagianis
January 2, 2023
You know how there are some years where you just plod along and nothing really happens out of the ordinary, whereas there are other years where you experience something huge and life-changing?
My headline story of 2022 is that it’s the year in which I became a father. Definitely life-changing! The year was pretty evenly split into Ally being pregnant for the first half, and our baby’s first almost-six-months in the second half. But, because it’s me, you’re going to get all the minutiae of 2022, and not just a one-paragraph summary. Someone suggested years ago that I try to write a TL;DR version, but that’s not my style. I am a creator, not just a consumer. Plus, now that I have a kid, there’s someone who may be genuinely interested in reading about the details, many years from now.
So in light of that, I think it’s no longer appropriate to call this a summary of 2022, but rather, it’s my story of 2022.
Ally and I rang in the new year in bed – Get your mind out of the gutter! We had watched a show about Betty White (who died earlier that day), read our books, and went to sleep, only to be awoken by fireworks later.
The first song I listened to in 2022 was “You Said It All” by Ozzy Osbourne.
I was given the order to work exclusively from home again on January 7th to start January 10th, although it was an internal order rather than a provincial mandate this time. Fine by me!
In early January, I started typing a document to my as-yet-unborn child, documenting who their family members were – particularly those who have already died, since knowledge of their lives is fading, as they had the misfortune (or good fortune?) to have lived their lives before the age of the Internet.
On the week of January 19th, a local rabbit took up residence in our back yard. I would see him outside sitting by the shed during the day whilst working from home. After a week or two, I noticed I hadn’t seen him for several days, so that was that. Maybe he got evicted from his hole in the ground.
Also in January, I started typing a retrospective trip journal for my Europe 2008 trip, because I love writing trip journals but hadn’t started writing them yet back in 2008. In so doing, I realized there were parts of that trip that I didn’t really remember or have photo evidence for, so I got the idea to try to find the Europe 2008 pics that didn’t make it to Flickr in an attempt to fill in the blanks. I got my old 2003 eMac from storage on January 23rd, and fired it up on January 30th. It worked perfectly fine, but I discovered that I had deleted the vast majority of my pictures from that computer several years earlier (I hadn’t even turned the eMac on since 2013). I did find a few salvageable Europe 2008 pics on it, though, so that means it wasn’t a complete dead end. I transferred a handful of them to my red external hard drive via my blue 16GB USB key, and started posting them in a new album on Flickr on January 31st. I also decided I’d go back to the storage unit, because I knew I had also saved those pictures onto CDs (it was the late 2000s, remember). On February 5th, I got them, and started transferring them from the CDs to a USB key via my MacBookPro (which also still works), then plugged the USB key into my iMac, to transfer straight to my red external hard drive. I found lots of pics that I had no memory of taking, so it was neat to see those because it was like they were from a completely different trip. And to my delight, lots of the pics on the CDs were good enough to post online! I posted 26 to Flickr before I got back on track with posting my Europe 2020 pictures.
Ally got another ultrasound on January 31st, and she found out the baby’s permanent gender identity. We had talked about not finding out until the baby was born, but I guess curiosity got the better of her. The next day, I cracked, and Ally told me it looks like we’d be having a girl!
I’m going to take a few paragraphs to talk about external events now, because the winter of 2022 was pretty bad in that regard, if you recall. From late January into February, libertarian terrorists from the Flu Trux Klan and funded largely by American supporters held Ottawa hostage, in one of the biggest national embarrassments of my lifetime, protesting mandates that were largely Provincial (not Federal) in nature, and meant to save their lives. Remember, lives > jobs. Thankfully, peace, order, and good government prevailed over the American-style mentality of “give me liberty and give them death.”
Then within days of the Freedumb Convoy protestors being cleared out, Vladputeen decided to invade Ukraine, wreaking havoc on the global food supply and on my investments, which dropped in value by almost 20% this year. As of today, it still hasn’t escalated to nuclear war, which is remarkable, but I guess time will tell how that plays out.
And of course, the Omicron variant continued to rage across the planet, as governments (in Canada at least) gave up on mandates for fear of another armed trucker protest. Thankfully Omicron disease was less lethal than 2021’s Delta variant, but maybe that’s also because so many people have been vaccinated now.
Speaking of COVID-19, as I type this, it’s been nearly three years since this whole fiasco began. Remember how at the very end of December 2019, or in the early days of January 2020, you first heard the word “coronavirus”? Yeah. I still haven’t gone to a movie in a theater since December of 2019, or eaten indoors in a restaurant since March of 2020, or taken the TTC since June of 2020. But I did eat at my first family meal since 2019 on Thanksgiving this year, so that was an important step for me. That’s how long it took for me to feel moderately safe taking my mask off around other people who weren’t my wife and child. Remember folks, the virus doesn’t care if you’re family; the virus just sees another human and thinks “Mmm, fresh meat!”
Anyway, back to the personal stuff!
Throughout the winter, I lifted weights at home as an alternative to walking on the icy sidewalks.
In early March, Terrance had a fall and we took him to the vet. He was okay.
On March 23rd, we were awoken to the sound of two douchebags breaking into our shed and trying to steal stuff during a pissing rainstorm. Ally yelled at them through the window while I went outside to the front and saw them casually walk away empty-handed.
On March 26th, I went planespotting for the first time in an hwhile. On March 28th, I found out that my prediabetes had improved significantly, which I was very happy about. My fasting blood glucose went from 6.6 in September 2021 down to 6.1 in March 2022.
… Only to be overshadowed by finding out a few days later that I might have high blood pressure. That worried me throughout April as I kept getting worse results at the pharmacy machines. I got a few readings at my doctor’s office (as high as 161/97), and she referred me to a cardiologist to do some testing first.
On April 17th, I started shooting another roll of APS film for the first time since September 2021. It turned out awful. Every picture was blue, or as someone else put it, only the cyan showed up. In spite of this discouraging result, you could tell that the lens was doing its job perfectly well, and so I tried again. I almost became obsessed with APS film in the spring and I even had a dream about it. In fact, 2022 would be the year of film for me. Even though I got back into film photography in 2020, it really took off in 2022. I shot 20 rolls in 2022, and am on roll # 21 right now. That’s far more than I shot in any previous year, and it’s almost as many rolls as I shot during my entire childhood and youth. I also joined a Facebook group for APS film.
Sometime around April 20th, I planted a seed from Terrance’s seed mix, and within a few days it had sprouted and started growing quickly. Wanting to keep it safe from tree rats, I put it outside in a big planter and covered it with chicken wire. Over the summer it turned into a long pumpkin vine with nice yellow flowers, but the neighborhood vermin kept biting them off (the flowers on the vine that extended beyond the chicken wire).
On May 4th, Ally and I started a 5-week online parenting class hosted by a nurse from St. Joseph’s Hospital. I think I remember the nurse’s mannerisms and way of speaking more than I remember the content of the class, but we met some other first-time-parents-to-be on that class, and swapped Instagram usernames (yes, usernames) with each other.
On Monday May 9th, I went to the cardiology clinic to do an echocardiogram and an EKG, and then got my blood pressure checked and it was 111/71! So that was baffling, but good news. Then they hooked up a Holter monitor and I went home to wear it for three days, during which time I couldn’t get a shower. The Holter monitor was pretty painless, but by Tuesday day my chest started itching, as the tech had to shave parts of it in order to stick the electrodes on. I ripped it all off on Thursday morning at the designated time, and had a nice shower that evening right after work-from-home.
In mid-May, I first heard the term “Monkeypox”, and how it had been found in Canada, and how we had been told not to panic. Ugh, not again!
Thankfully, monkeypox didn’t seem to take off (in the media at least) to anywhere close to the same degree that COVID-19 did. Obviously a lot of people have gotten it, but I don’t personally know any of them, unlike COVID.
On May 22nd, I shot my first-ever roll of 35mm film. Yes, ten years shooting film as a kid/teenager and two years shooting it as an adult, and not once had I used the most-popular format. Until now. I carefully popped and wound a roll of Fujifilm into my grandfather’s old Kodak Retinette camera (which I later found out was probably made in 1957), and tried out this ancient technology. It turned out better than I expected, so that was encouraging. I joined a Facebook group dedicated to Kodak Retina and Retinette cameras.
Throughout the spring, Ally would regularly put my hand on her belly and I would feel the baby kicking or moving around. By May or June, I could feel more-distinct parts; perhaps a foot or a knee.
On May 28th (my 5th wedding anniversary; hard to believe it’s been 5 years already!), I went to Mom’s house for her 60th birthday party. Elliot ordered an ice cream truck and I got lots of pictures, so that was a good time.
Throughout May and June, I continued working, taking film pics, and going on bike rides as we awaited the arrival of our bébé. On June 15th, I bought a Canon EOS Elan IIe 35mm film SLR on eBay for $70. I liked the Retinette, but the lens isn’t connected to the viewfinder, so getting the right focus distance involves making your best guess. When it works out, it looks great, but it doesn’t always work out. So I got a film SLR that I could use my detachable lenses with.
On I believe June 12th, I met Rob Chew from Flickr; we walked around Roncesvalles and I took the Retinette for that outing.
Not wanting to take any chances getting stuck in traffic 30km from home when Ally’s water broke, I decided to take my parental leave at the start of her 39th week. On my first day of parental leave, we went to the Zoo for the first time since 2016. I saw Andrew and Jay, and got some good APS film pics, but we only got to see Indo, Africa and Savannah, as it would have been too much walking for Ally to visit my old slacking grounds of Eurasia.
On June 23rd, I started a public Instagram account for my film pics -- @36filmpics.
Ally’s due date came and went, but still no bébé. We went on walks, and she did exercises, and went to midwife appointments, but still no bébé. It was decided that she would be induced. On the morning of Saturday July 2nd, I took my last photo of Ally with her belly visible, a week past her due date, with my little old Kodak Advantix T500 APS film camera. We went to St. Joe’s that evening, and Ally had a Foley catheter installed (yes, Ally reviewed and approved this story before I posted it). We went home at 12:12am.
On Sunday July 3rd, we got up before 6:15am and got to the hospital at 8:06am; the longest day of Ally’s life (her words). And I documented everything! We were brought to the birthing room just before 9:00am. A doctor broke Ally’s water at 9:49am, and started her on oxytocin at 10:29am. Ally’s contractions were getting more frequent by 12:40pm, but by mid-afternoon she was in more pain. Around 4:30pm she said she felt like pushing, but the anesthesiologist wasn’t available to give an epidural until around 5:50pm. At 10:10pm, Ally was fully dilated, and a nurse said we’d talk about pushing in an hour or two, so we tried to sleep a bit. We woke up at 11:53pm.
Ally started pushing at midnight, and I have never seen her strain like that before. Her face was beet-red, her eyes were squeezed shut, and I felt so bad for her. After an hour being assisted by me, a nurse and the midwives, the doctor came back and determined that the baby’s head was still not engaged, so Ally would have to have a c-section. It was not what Ally wanted to hear, but she was brave. They wheeled her into the OR around 1:23am while the midwives took me to get suited up into scrubs. I waited in the hall for about 20 minutes with my camera (digital this time; I couldn’t take any chances with film in a moment like this), and then the midwife student brought me into the OR and around the table, and I sat on a metal stool near Ally’s head. She was awake, so I held her hand. Barely two minutes after I sat down, the midwife told me to get my camera ready. On cue, I stood up and took two pictures of our baby, only about ten seconds old, covered in blood, screaming, and very much alive.
Rae was born at 1:54am on Monday July 4th, 2022, nine days after her due date. At that moment, I became a father, and we love her more than she will ever know.
A pediatrician and respiratory therapist roughly massaged and patted Rae to get the lung fluids out on a table nearby (which happens with c-section babies), while Ally looked over and I took a few pictures. Then the midwife brought Rae over to rest on Ally’s chest and took a few pictures of us while the doctors repaired Ally’s body.
The midwives led me out of the OR after less than ten minutes while the doctors finished patching Ally up. I went to a recovery room and took off my shirt, and the midwives put Rae on my chest. She immediately started rooting toward my nipple, but I told her she wouldn’t get much there. A few minutes later, Ally was hwheeled in on a bed and held Rae to breastfeed her for the first time. Ally looked exhausted, but completely natural at being a mother.
So many things happened that day that it’s sort of a blur. Due to my work benefits, we got a private room, which we were grateful for. I finally got ready for bed around 4:10am. We hardly slept at all that first night, but it’s all worth it, for the little girl that we now have in our lives.
Rae had jaundice, so we had to stay in the hospital a bit longer than expected. After two and a half days full of feeding, crying, and napping, we were given the go-ahead to go home at 8:04am on Wednesday July 6th. But it was delayed when the nurse found out that Ally needed to see an obstetrician first. That didn’t happen, but she was given a prescription, so we packed up the rest of our things and left the hospital with Rae in the car seat around noon.
I spent the next month and a half with Ally, getting to know our baby together and figuring out how to be parents. I took 8 weeks off work for parental leave (the maximum that EI would pay for), so we went on a lot of walks and spent a lot of time outside this summer. We went to the Centennial Park Conservatory; the Beltline Trail; Sam Smith Park; the Humber River Recreational Trail; and I took Rae on a walk around Leslieville and Little India (our old stomping grounds) one afternoon while Ally went to the dentist.
On July 20th, Ally and I got our 4th COVID-19 vaccines. This time, I felt like crap the next day, but I was back to normal the following day.
On August 2nd, we took Rae on her first roadtrip/overnight trip, to Spring Lake Resort just outside Algonquin [Provincial] Park. Ally and I had gone there in 2018 and thought it’d be a safe place as far as COVID was concerned, as there were no shared indoor hallways (it’s a multi-storey motel). We went into Algonquin and Arrowhead Provincial Parks and I got some nice film pics, and we took Rae on her first ride in a canoe. I also found out on that trip that Good Shepherd was looking for a GACW again, as Akua had left. I guess I was right in my assumption back in 2020 that they wouldn’t find funding to hire me back as a GACW, but they must have had enough funding to keep Akua going. I declined to apply, because the external circumstances that made the GACW job a good job in the past were largely gone. I didn’t live nearby anymore; the pandemic still exists, and so on. During that trip, I found out that my Canon EOS IX Lite APS SLR camera had stopped working, so that pissed me off. I bought a new one in October, and by “new” I mean “new used”, since those cameras haven’t been made since 2001.
On August 13th, I went up to Vicki’s cottage for Dad’s 60th birthday party, and the following weekend I went to Wasaga Beach for a Shaka Wasaga tiki bar cruise, also for Dad’s birthday.
On August 15th, I went back to work. I found out that while I was away, 7 coworkers had ceased to work at the organization, and another full-timer took a job somewhere else and went down to relief. But I thankfully didn’t come back to a shitshow in terms of workload. Nobody was calling angrily or asking WTF was going on with their referral, although there was a backlog of referrals. Most of the actual waitlist was made up of guys who I’d interviewed prior to my parental leave; only about 8 guys had been interviewed while I was away. But I guess that shows how irreplaceable I was, right? Right!
At some point in the summer, I gave my old Canon EOS Rebel XSi camera to Heather, as Matt wanted it.
On August 27th, I went to ServiceOntario and downgraded my F licence to a G licence rather than do the written test again. After almost ten years, it wasn’t needed anymore – my employer got rid of the bus while I was on parental leave. I decided that I won’t be taking any more jobs in the future that require driving, as it’s too much of a liability.
On September 4th, I was out for a walk with Rae by myself, and sat down on a bench to feed her a bottle of formula. A woman of about 50 and presumably her teenage daughter stopped, looked at me, and said “God bless you, sir!” I went home and told Ally about how that’s all I had to do, as a man, to receive praise from a random stranger about my parenting skills. As much as I complain about some aspects of parenting, I do realize that Ally does the vast majority of the work. But I spend 40 hours a week at my job (plus about 8 hours a week commuting), so that’s the trade-off, as neither of us can do it all.
Ally got me what will probably be our last cake from Hype Food Co. for my birthday (as the company is moving to Quebec). I took my 37th birthday off work and we went on our second overnight roadtrip with Rae; this time to go to a few places around Lake Erie. We went to Turkey Point Provincial Park and walked a trail and sat on the beach. Being mid-September, there were hardly any other people there, but the flies were biting and there were wasps aplenty…perhaps that’s part of the reason why. The next day, we went to the Long Point Bird Observatory and Long Point Provincial Park. I got frustrated with Rae, and sat on the beach with Ally after going for a walk by myself, talking about the challenges of parenting that I wasn’t ready for. In my life in general, I take steps to prevent problems from happening, every day, with pretty much every decision, but with Rae, it felt like I wasn’t able to do that. I felt ineffective.
On September 20th, as I was stuck in another traffic jam on the way to work, I sat in a mostly-silent rage about my reputation being affected by other people’s fuck-ups (i.e., me being late for work because of other people’s car accidents). As I sat in my car eating lunch later that day, I e-mailed a therapy organization and said I need help dealing with stress. They got back to me that afternoon and that evening I spoke to a therapist. I spoke to another the next day, and decided to start working with her. The idea is to learn how to better prevent and deal with stress so I can be a good role model for Rae.
On September 22nd, I took the GO train to work for the first time ever, after being repeatedly made late for work due to the aforementioned traffic jams. I ended up taking the train to/from work 6 or 7 times in the fall, and it was a good idea. I got way more exercise on those days; I could read my book; I didn’t have to worry about liability (the main thing motivating me to take transit); and I didn’t catch COVID, either (which was the main thing keeping me from taking transit). However, at $16/day, I can’t justify taking the GO train every day. It only costs $4/day in gas, and driving saves me about an hour each day. So unfortunately, transit will remain an occasional thing, done for health benefits rather than saving time or money.
Around the same date, I found out we had our first client COVID cases and COVID outbreak at work – remarkably, it didn’t happen until two and a half years into the pandemic. They isolated the clients and it didn’t spread out of control, so that was fortunate. As much as I’m often on edge about people not taking the still-existing pandemic seriously enough anymore, my workplace has been very effective (and/or lucky) in keeping it under control thus far.
On November 6th, Ally and I got our flu shots. On November 15th, I got an ambulatory blood pressure monitor, to wear for 24 hours and figure out what’s really going on with my blood pressure. Turns out my daytime readings were okay, but my nighttime readings were a little high, so the cardiologist told me to eat less salt. He also said he’d arrange a sleep study to look into sleep apnea. If it’s not one thing, it’s something else!
Work really slowed down in the second half of November, as we knew we weren’t admitting any more men to treatment for a few months due to the staffing shortage. It was nice to catch my breath and allow my heart rate to slow down – and that’s no joke; my Fitbit graph shows a clear and persistent decrease since that time, compared to the previous two months where it was go-go-go all the time. On December 14th, I passed the ten-year mark with that organization. I didn’t get a card this time, though.
In late November, in another act of nostalgia, I moved aside the storage locker door and resurrected my very first camera; a Kodak Star 110, given to me by Granny and Grandad for Christmas of probably 1994. Why? More like “Why not?” I hadn’t used that camera in about 23 years. I shot a roll between November 28th and December 17th, and am waiting for it to come back from West Camera. ‘pparently 110 film is even more troublesome than APS film to develop, so I was told to expect a two-week wait for scans.
The only problem with all this film photography in 2022 is that it’s very expensive, especially considering I have a perfectly-good DSLR that takes better-quality photos on a huge memory card that I only had to buy once. Each roll of film costs between $9-$17 to buy, and about $13 to develop. So it hasn’t been a cheap year in terms of photography, but I have to say, shooting film has been a challenge I’ve enjoyed.
On December 18th, we put Rae in the crib to sleep at night for the first time, finishing her time sleeping in the bassinette in the bedroom with us for her first five-and-a-half months. It’s been more difficult for Ally and I because now we have to walk to another room to tend to Rae when she wakes up, but she had reached a milestone as far as the bassinette manufacturer’s instructions were concerned, so…safety first! Ally and I were sad about that change. Ally had said around November that she doesn’t want the bébé to grow up, and I felt the same way. It seems like yesterday that Rae’s head easily fit in the palm of my hand, and now she’s almost 18 pounds. She sits up in her high chair and eats pulverized vegetable slop a few times a day now. Pretty soon she’ll be walking, having temper tantrums in the grocery store, asking to borrow my car, and paying from her six-figure income for me to move into a reputable retirement home. Dad told me this summer that kids grow up in the blink of an eye, and these first almost-six-months have flown by indeed. On December 28th, we packed up the bassinette and brought it back to Gill, from whom we borrowed it.
I’ve learned lots of things about babies this year, having had no experience with babies since my sister was born in 1992, when I was a kid myself. For example:
•Babies will be laughing one second; freaking out the next (this was our motto for Rae for the first few months. Call me a jerk, but we needed humor).
•Babies will fuss and whine while you’re satiating their basic need for food or milk. They don’t understand cause-and-effect yet.
•Babies will wake up before the sun and not go back to sleep, which is okay during the workweek when I also get up before the sun, but they do it on weekends, too.
•Sometimes a car ride will make them fall asleep, and sometimes a car ride will make them scream bloody murder.
•Sometimes nothing works to calm an upset baby, whereas other times it’s easy to placate them simply by lifting them up in the air like Rafiki in the Lion King, except facing you, the baby-holder.
But for now, I’m 37, and she’s still a baby. So I’ll enjoy this time with her, before she starts telling me to fuck off and that I don’t understand, or before she starts using words out of context like “mid”, “vibe”, or “mood”. Of course, by the time she’s a teenager, those improperly-used words, like their Gen-Z proponents, will be cheugy.
Anyway, here we are at the beginning of 2023. Although the pandemic is not over, I have a wife and a baby and a job and a roof over my head. I’ve already set up an RESP for Rae (because science knows how much a postsecondary education will cost by the time she’s 18 – either it’ll be free, or it’ll be a million dollars). And although my health has started showing some cracks in the last few years that shouldn’t have become visible in my 30s and considering my body weight, at least they were identified early enough to make changes and incorporate them into my lifestyle before it’s too late. Let’s finish off this year’s summary with a few lists, shall we?
Books read in 2022 (in order):
1.Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari (finished in 2022)
2.With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge (if you’ve watched The Pacific, Eugene Sledge is the solider portrayed by Joseph Mazzello, a.k.a. Tim from Jurassic Park).
3.Talking to Canadians by Rick Mercer
4.You’re Going to be a Dad! By Daddilife Books
5.Canada’s Baby Care Book by Drs. Friedman & Saunders/The Hospital for Sick Children (perhaps if I had finished this book, I would better know how to take care of Rae).
6.The Underground Railroad: Authentic Narratives and First-Hand Accounts by William Still.
7.Confess by Rob Halford (the book I enjoyed most in 2022)
8.21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph
9.How to Prevent the Next Pandemic by Bill Gates
10.An Embarrassment of Critch’s by Mark Critch
11.Son of Hitler by Del Col/Moore/McComsey/McClelland
12.The Bullet: Stories from the Newfoundland Railway by Robert Hunt (started)
Indeed, 2022 was just as much a Newfoundland renaissance year for me as any previous year, even though it’s now been five years since I’ve been back, and seven years since I’ve been back to St. John’s. But with three Newfoundland[er] books; a Newfoundland-based TV show; four Simani songs and four Great Big Sea songs purchased, I think that counts.
TV shows watched in 2022:
•Son of a Critch
•Lincoln’s Dilemma
•The Boba Fett Show
•The Obi-Wan Kenobi Show (probably my favorite show of 2022)
•The G Word with Adam Conover (some of it, anyway)
•The Kids In The Hall Revival Show
•Our Great National Parks (narrated by my man-crush, Barack Obama)
•The first few seasons of Seinfeld again
•The Crown Season 5
•The Harry & Meghan Ruin Everything Show
A sample of songs I got into in 2022:
•“Bad Boy (Razor Ramon)” and “Snake Bit (Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts)” by Jim Johnston
•“Turbo Lover” and “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” by Judas Priest
•“Catfish’s Maw” and “Face Shrine” from The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
•“The Rock Show” and “Try, Try, Try” by Rockabye Baby!
•“Santa’s a Bayman Like Us” by Shanneyganock
•“Step Into Christmas” by Elton John
•“If Not For You” by George Harrison
•“Head First” by Home
•“Mining Melancholy” from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest
I went through a bit of a Queen revival in the summer. I bought Ozzy’s new album (Patient Number 9) and the Chili Peppers new album (Unlimited Love), but I wasn’t impressed with either. The songwriting just wasn’t there in Ozzy’s album. The songwriting on the Chili Peppers album was okay, and it was nice to hear John Frusciante back with them, but there weren’t any songs on it that I loved.
I hardly recorded any music in 2022, especially compared to 2021. I didn’t record any original songs; just a drum solo, some birds out the window; a few attempts to get Terrance and Rae to vocalize; a part of a cover song that Ally and I were working on, and an interview with Nanny in which I forgot to record the first half (whoops!).
I was a bit less active on Flickr this year (184 photos/videos posted) vs. last year (211 posted), but that’s still quite a lot. The reason I couldn’t post as often in 2022 is because Rae and Ally were sleeping in the bedroom (which is also my computer room) in the mornings while I was getting ready for work, and I tended not to use the computer after work, so I was really only posting pics on weekends from mid-August to mid-December.
Favorite things in 2022 not otherwise specified:
•Store: West Camera
•Snack food: Yogurt mixed with low-sugar ice cream, frozen berries, cinnamon and peanuts.
•Health: Finding out my fasting blood glucose had improved since last year.
•People: Seeing my baby daughter smile at me.
•Work: The afternoon commute occasionally being faster than usual for no apparent reason.
•Quotes:
----“Yeah, that’s right”/”It’s gonna be rough” – David Puddy;
----“Here I am” – Steve Bridges as George W. Bush;
----“I’m terribly sorry I’m dressed as a tree…shall we get unhappily married?” “I don’t want to marry you; I hate you; yes.” – Princess Diana and Prince Charles as portrayed by Kieran Hodgson;
----Saying “Take the piss” when I mean “Take a piss”.
•Politics: The local Big Development city councillor being ousted and replaced by a woman of color, who surprisingly got elected in Ford Nation.
•Travel: Actually being able to go on two multi-day trips with a newborn baby, even if they were frustrating at times and I haven’t left the province in almost three years.
And there you have it! Tune in again next year for my Story of 2023!
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2022Collage.jpg
Dutch postcard.
American actress and singer Ann Blyth (1928) was often cast in Hollywood musicals, but she was also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Ann Blyth was born in 1928, in Mount Kisco, New York, to Harry and Nan Lynch Blyth. After her parents separated, she, her mother and sister moved to a walk-up apartment on East 31st Street in New York City, where her mother took in ironing. Blyth attended St. Patrick's School in Manhattan. Blyth performed on children's radio shows in New York for six years, making her first appearance when she was five. When she was nine she joined the New York Children's Opera Company. Her first acting role was on Broadway in Lillian Hellman's 'Watch on the Rhine' (1941-1942). She played the part of Paul Lukas's daughter, Babette. The play ran for 378 performances and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. After the New York run, the play went on tour, and while performing at the Biltmore Theatre in Los Angeles, Blyth was offered a contract with Universal Studios. Blyth began her acting career initially as "Anne Blyth", but changed the spelling of her first name back to "Ann" at the beginning of her film career. She made her film debut in 1944, teamed with Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan in the teen-age musical Chip Off the Old Block (1944). She followed it with two similar films: The Merry Monahans (1944) with O'Connor and Ryan again, and Babes on Swing Street (1944) with Ryan. She had a support role in the bigger budgeted Bowery to Broadway (1944), a showcase of Universal musical talent. On loan to Warner Brothers, Blyth was cast 'against type' as Veda Pierce, the scheming, ungrateful daughter of Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945). Her dramatic portrayal won her outstanding reviews, and she received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Blyth was only 16 when she made the film, for which Crawford won the Best Actress award. After Mildred Pierce, Blyth sustained a broken back while tobogganing in Snow Valley, and was not able to fully capitalise on the film's success. She recovered and made two films for Mark Hellinger's unit at Universal: Swell Guy (1946), with Sonny Tufts, and Brute Force (1947) with Burt Lancaster. During this time her father died. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer borrowed her to play the female lead in Killer McCoy (1947), a boxing film with Mickey Rooney that was a box office hit. Back at Universal, she did a Film Noir with Charles Boyer, A Woman's Vengeance (1948). She was then cast in the part of Regina Hubbard in Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest (1948), an adaptation of the 1946 play where Regina had been played by Patricia Neal. The play was a prequel to The Little Foxes. Blyth followed it with Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) with William Powell. She was top-billed in Red Canyon (1949), a Western with Howard Duff. Paramount borrowed Blyth to play the female lead in Top o' the Morning (1949), a daughter of Barry Fitzgerald who is romanced by Bing Crosby. It was the first time she sang on screen. Back at Universal, she was teamed with Robert Montgomery in Once More, My Darling (1949), meaning she had to drop out of Desert Legion. She did a comedy with Robert Cummings, Free for All (1949). In April 1949, Universal suspended her for refusing a lead role in Abandoned (1949). Gale Storm played it.
Ann Blyth was borrowed by Sam Goldwyn to star opposite Farley Granger in Our Very Own (1950). Universal gave her top billing in a romantic comedy, Katie Did It (1951). Blyth was borrowed by MGM for The Great Caruso (1951) opposite Mario Lanza which was a massive box office hit. She made Thunder on the Hill (1951) with Claudette Colbert and had the female lead in The Golden Horde (1951) with David Farrar. Then, 20th Century Fox borrowed her to star opposite Tyrone Power in I'll Never Forget You (1952), a last-minute replacement for Constance Smith. She appeared on TV in Family Theater in an episode called 'The World's Greatest Mother' alongside Ethel Barrymore. Universal teamed Blyth with Gregory Peck in The World in His Arms (1952). She was top-billed in the comedy Sally and Saint Anne (1952) and was borrowed by RKO for One Minute to Zero (1952), a Korean War drama with Robert Mitchum where she replaced Claudette Colbert who came down with pneumonia. MGM had been interested in Blyth since The Great Caruso. In December 1953, Blyth left Universal and she signed a long term contract with MGM. She was the leading lady in All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953) with Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor, stepping in for Elizabeth Taylor who had to drop out due to pregnancy. On television, she was in a version of A Place in the Sun for Lux Video Theatre alongside John Derek. Back at MGM, Blyth had the lead in the remake of Rose Marie (1954) with Howard Keel, which earned over $5 million but lost money due to high costs. She was meant to be reteamed with Lanza in The Student Prince (1954) but he was fired from the studio and was replaced in the picture by Edmund Purdom. The film did well at the box office. Blyth and Purdom were reunited on a swashbuckler, The King's Thief (1955). She was teamed again with Keel on the musical Kismet (1955). Despite strong reviews, the film was a financial flop. She was named for the female lead in The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955) but was eventually not cast in the film. MGM put Blyth in Slander (1957) with Van Johnson. Sidney Sheldon cast Blyth in The Buster Keaton Story (1957) with Donald O'Connor at Paramount. Warner Bros then cast her in the title role of The Helen Morgan Story (Michael Curtiz, 1957) with Paul Newman. Blyth reportedly beat 40 other actors for the part. Even though her voice was more like the original Helen Morgan, her vocals were dubbed by Gogi Grant. That soundtrack was much more successful than the film itself. Blyth made no further films. In 1957, she sued Benedict Bogeaus for $75,000 for not making the film Conquest. From the late 1950s into the 1970s, Blyth worked in musical theater and summer stock, starring in the shows 'The King and I', 'The Sound of Music', and 'Show Boat'. and also on television, including co-starring opposite James Donald in The Citadel (1960), an adaptation of A.J. Cronin's novel. She guest-starred on episodes of such series as The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Dick Powell Theatre, Saints and Sinners, The Christophers, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, and Burke's Law. Several of these appearances were for Four Star Television with whom Blyth signed a multi-appearance contract. Blyth also became the spokesperson for Hostess Cupcakes. Her last television appearances were in episodes of Switch (1983), Quincy, M.E. (1983) and Murder, She Wrote (1985). In 1985, she officially retired. For her contributions to the film industry, Blyth has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6733 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1953, Blyth married obstetrician James McNulty, brother of singer Dennis Day, who had introduced them. After her marriage, Blyth took somewhat of a reprieve from her career to focus on raising their five children, Timothy Patrick (1954); Maureen Ann (1955); Kathleen Mary (1957); Terence Grady (1960); and Eileen Alana (1963).
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Looking at Mother's Day from a different perspective, from that of the obstetrician and newborn ;-) Push... breath... push!
Thanks mom, you did a great job!
French postcard by Europe, no. 658. Photo: Warner Bros / Arta Film. Dolores Costello in Noah's Ark (Michael Curtiz, 1929).
American film actress Dolores Costello (1903-1979) was 'The Goddess of the Silent Screen'. She was Hollywood royalty: the daughter of popular matinee idol Maurice Costello, wife of John Barrymore and grandmother of Drew Barrymore.
Dolores Costello was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1903. She was the daughter of actors Maurice Costello and Mae Costello (née Altschuk). With her younger sister, Helene, she made her first film appearances in the years 1909–1915 as child actress for the Vitagraph Film Company. They played supporting roles in several films starring their father, who was a popular matinee idol at the time. Dolores Costello's earliest listed credit on the IMDb is in the role of a fairy in a 1909 adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (Charles Kent, J. Stuart Blackton, 1909). The two sisters appeared on Broadway together as chorines in 'George White Scandals of 1924'. They were then signed by Warners Bros. Following small parts in feature films, she was selected by John Barrymore to star opposite him in The Sea Beast (Millard Webb, 1926), a loose adaptation of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. During their lengthy kissing scene Dolores fainted in John's arms. The film was a major commercial success and one of the biggest pictures of 1926 becoming Warner Brothers' highest grossing film. Warner soon began starring her in her own vehicles. Meanwhile, she and Barrymore became romantically involved. They married in 1928 despite the misgivings of her mother, who would die the following year at the age of 45. Within a few years of achieving stardom, the delicately beautiful blonde-haired actress had become a successful and highly regarded film personality in her own right. As a young adult her career developed to the degree that in 1926, she was named a WAMPAS Baby Star, and had acquired the nickname 'The Goddess of the Silver Screen'.
Dolores Costello was alternated by Warner Bros between films with contemporary settings and elaborate costume dramas. In 1927, she was re-teamed with John Barrymore in When a Man Loves (Alan Crosland, 1927), an adaptation of Manon Lescaut. The following year, she co-starred with George O'Brien in Noah's Ark (1928), a part-talkie epic directed by Michael Curtiz. Tenderloin (Michael Curtiz, 1928), starring Dolores Costello, was the second Vitaphone feature to have talking sequences. It is considered a lost film, where today only the Vitaphone soundtrack survives. Costello spoke with a lisp and found it difficult to make the transition to talking pictures, but after two years of voice coaching she was comfortable speaking before a microphone. One of her early sound film appearances was with her sister Helene in Warner Bros.'s all-star extravaganza, The Show of Shows (John G. Adolfi, 1929). Her acting career became less a priority for her following the birth of her first child, Dolores Ethel Mae 'DeeDee' Barrymore, in 1930, and she retired from the screen in 1931 to devote time to her family. Her second child, John Drew Barrymore, was born in 1932, but the marriage proved difficult due to her husband's increasing alcoholism. Her sister Helene and her new husband, actor Lowell Sherman, successfully convinced Dolores to divorce Barrymore in 1935, mainly because of his excessive drinking.
Dolores Costello resumed her career a year later and achieved some successes, most notably in Little Lord Fauntleroy (John Cromwell, 1936) featuring Freddie Bartholomew, and The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942). Making a rare radio appearance, Costello appeared as the Danish Countess Elsa on the radio program Suspense (1943). The title of the episode is The King's Birthday written by Corporal Leonard Pellitier US Army. Her film career was largely ruined by the destructive effects of early film makeup, which ravaged her complexion too severely to camouflage. She retired permanently from acting following her appearance in This is the Army (Michael Curtiz, 1943). In 1939, she had married Dr. John Vruwink, an obstetrician who was her physician during her pregnancies, but they divorced in 1950. Costello spent the remaining years of her life in semi-seclusion, managing an avocado farm. In the 1970s her house was inundated in a flash flood which destroyed a lot of her property and memorabilia from her film career and life with John Barrymore. Shortly before her death, she was interviewed for the documentary series Hollywood (1980) discussing her film career. Dolores Costello died from emphysema in Fallbrook, California, in 1979, and is interred in Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles. She was stepmother of John Barrymore's daughter Diana, by his second wife Blanche Oelrichs, the mother of John Drew Barrymore and Dolores (Dee Dee) Barrymore, and the grandmother of John Barrymore III, Blyth Dolores Barrymore, Brahma Blyth (Jessica) Barrymore, and Drew Barrymore.
Sources: Jarod Hitchings (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
West-German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin, no. A 414. Photo: Universal International.
American actress and singer Ann Blyth (1928) was often cast in Hollywood musicals, but she was also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Ann Blyth was born in 1928, in Mount Kisco, New York, to Harry and Nan Lynch Blyth. After her parents separated, she, her mother and her sister moved to a walk-up apartment on East 31st Street in New York City, where her mother took in ironing. Blyth attended St. Patrick's School in Manhattan. Blyth performed on children's radio shows in New York for six years, making her first appearance when she was five. When she was nine she joined the New York Children's Opera Company. Her first acting role was on Broadway in Lillian Hellman's 'Watch on the Rhine' (1941-1942). She played the part of Paul Lukas's daughter, Babette. The play ran for 378 performances and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. After the New York run, the play went on tour, and while performing at the Biltmore Theatre in Los Angeles, Blyth was offered a contract with Universal Studios. Blyth began her acting career initially as "Anne Blyth", but changed the spelling of her first name back to "Ann" at the beginning of her film career. She made her film debut in 1944, teamed with Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan in the teenage musical Chip Off the Old Block (1944). She followed it with two similar films: The Merry Monahans (1944) with O'Connor and Ryan again, and Babes on Swing Street (1944) with Ryan. She had a support role in the bigger budgeted Bowery to Broadway (1944), a showcase of Universal musical talent. On loan to Warner Brothers, Blyth was cast 'against type' as Veda Pierce, the scheming, ungrateful daughter of Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945). Her dramatic portrayal won her outstanding reviews, and she received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Blyth was only 16 when she made the film, for which Crawford won the Best Actress award. After Mildred Pierce, Blyth sustained a broken back while tobogganing in Snow Valley, and was not able to fully capitalise on the film's success. She recovered and made two films for Mark Hellinger's unit at Universal: Swell Guy (1946), with Sonny Tufts, and Brute Force (1947) with Burt Lancaster. During this time her father died. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer borrowed her to play the female lead in Killer McCoy (1947), a boxing film with Mickey Rooney that was a box office hit. Back at Universal, she did a Film Noir with Charles Boyer, A Woman's Vengeance (1948). She was then cast in the part of Regina Hubbard in Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest (1948), an adaptation of the 1946 play where Regina had been played by Patricia Neal. The play was a prequel to The Little Foxes. Blyth followed it with Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) with William Powell. She was top-billed in Red Canyon (1949), a Western with Howard Duff. Paramount borrowed Blyth to play the female lead in Top o' the Morning (1949), a daughter of Barry Fitzgerald who is romanced by Bing Crosby. It was the first time she sang on screen. Back at Universal, she was teamed with Robert Montgomery in Once More, My Darling (1949), meaning she had to drop out of Desert Legion. She did a comedy with Robert Cummings, Free for All (1949). In April 1949, Universal suspended her for refusing a lead role in Abandoned (1949). Gale Storm played it.
Ann Blyth was borrowed by Sam Goldwyn to star opposite Farley Granger in Our Very Own (1950). Universal gave her top billing in a romantic comedy, Katie Did It (1951). Blyth was borrowed by MGM for The Great Caruso (1951) opposite Mario Lanza which was a massive box office hit. She made Thunder on the Hill (1951) with Claudette Colbert and had the female lead in The Golden Horde (1951) with David Farrar. Then, 20th Century Fox borrowed her to star opposite Tyrone Power in I'll Never Forget You (1952), a last-minute replacement for Constance Smith. She appeared on TV in Family Theater in an episode called 'The World's Greatest Mother' alongside Ethel Barrymore. Universal teamed Blyth with Gregory Peck in The World in His Arms (1952). She was top-billed in the comedy Sally and Saint Anne (1952) and was borrowed by RKO for One Minute to Zero (1952), a Korean War drama with Robert Mitchum where she replaced Claudette Colbert who came down with pneumonia. MGM had been interested in Blyth since The Great Caruso. In December 1953, Blyth left Universal and she signed a long term contract with MGM. She was the leading lady in All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953) with Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor, stepping in for Elizabeth Taylor who had to drop out due to pregnancy. On television, she was in a version of A Place in the Sun for Lux Video Theatre alongside John Derek. Back at MGM, Blyth had the lead in the remake of Rose Marie (1954) with Howard Keel, which earned over $5 million but lost money due to high costs. She was meant to be reteamed with Lanza in The Student Prince (1954) but he was fired from the studio and was replaced in the picture by Edmund Purdom. The film did well at the box office. Blyth and Purdom were reunited on a swashbuckler, The King's Thief (1955). She was teamed again with Keel on the musical Kismet (1955). Despite strong reviews, the film was a financial flop. She was named for the female lead in The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955) but was eventually not cast in the film. MGM put Blyth in Slander (1957) with Van Johnson. Sidney Sheldon cast Blyth in The Buster Keaton Story (1957) with Donald O'Connor at Paramount. Warner Bros then cast her in the title role of The Helen Morgan Story (Michael Curtiz, 1957) with Paul Newman. Blyth reportedly beat 40 other actors for the part. Even though her voice was more like the original Helen Morgan, her vocals were dubbed by Gogi Grant. That soundtrack was much more successful than the film itself. Blyth made no further films. In 1957, she sued Benedict Bogeaus for $75,000 for not making the film Conquest. From the late 1950s into the 1970s, Blyth worked in musical theatre and summer stock, starring in the shows 'The King and I', 'The Sound of Music', and 'Show Boat'. and also on television, including co-starring opposite James Donald in The Citadel (1960), an adaptation of A.J. Cronin's novel. She guest-starred on episodes of such series as The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Dick Powell Theatre, Saints and Sinners, The Christophers, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, and Burke's Law. Several of these appearances were for Four Star Television with whom Blyth signed a multi-appearance contract. Blyth also became the spokesperson for Hostess Cupcakes. Her last television appearances were in episodes of Switch (1983), Quincy, M.E. (1983) and Murder, She Wrote (1985). In 1985, she officially retired. For her contributions to the film industry, Blyth has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6733 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1953, Blyth married obstetrician James McNulty, brother of singer Dennis Day, who had introduced them. After her marriage, Blyth took somewhat of a reprieve from her career to focus on raising their five children, Timothy Patrick (1954); Maureen Ann (1955); Kathleen Mary (1957); Terence Grady (1960); and Eileen Alana (1963).
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
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