Celebrity Graveland

May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987

Making the transition to the “talkies” was every Silent Era star’s nightmare.  For some, the change was easy and sound only helped make their career greater.

Meet Mary Astor; the young, auburn-haired girl of German descent whose family moved to New York so she could be discovered. A ploy that worked, as it turns out. Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke) landed small roles in silent films and  a contract with Paramount pictures. Though successful, her early life as an actor was not a happy one. In fact, Mary’s life was rife with scandal.  Her parents lived lavishly off the money she made and kept her locked away from the world in their Hollywood mansion. She endured tragic marriages and messy divorces. Lawsuits, affairs, secret diaries, you name it. If TMZ existed in the 1930’s, they would have loved her.

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June 4, 1907 – November 28, 1976

Multiple Golden Globe and Tony Award winner, Rosalind Russell, was a versatile character actress who made a career out of playing both comedic and dramatic roles. Russell was known for her portrayal of professional-types and was rarely cast as a sex symbol. Her career highlights included films such as His Girl Friday, Mourning Becomes Electra and The Trouble With Angels and stage hits like Auntie Mame and Wonderful Town. In addition to the aforementioned awards, she was also nominated for an Academy Award twice. Continue reading →

October 20, 1882 – August  16, 1956

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó was born in Lugos, Hungary (now, Romania) in 1882. He acted on stage and in films in his native country before fleeing to Germany, and eventually, the U.S.A. He changed is name to Lugosi (after his hometown) and made a career of playing one of the most recognizable monsters in pop culture history. As far as I am concerned, Bela Lugosi – with his eastern European accent and steely glare – WAS Count Dracula. You can’t convince me otherwise (except for the fact that he is dead, as evidenced by his presence in this blog – though he WAS buried in a cape¹.)

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