Celebrity Graveland

June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964

Born in Vienna, Peter Lorre (László Löwenstein) was already on his way to stardom in Europe appearing on the German stage as well as in films including – most notably – Fritz Lang’s 1931 chiller, M. Then in 1933, the Nazis took control of Germany and Lorre fled to England where he was able to continue his career. He appeared in Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much before sailing to the United States. In Hollywood, Lorre found success in bit roles and B-movies usually playing sinister foreign characters. In 1941, he went to work for Warner Bros. in the John Huston classic The Maltese Falcon. The film changed the trajectory of Lorre’s career and he went on to appear in numerous films with co-stars Humphrey Bogart, Claude Raines and Syd Greenstreet including the all-time opus, Casablanca. Continue reading →

November 19, 1889 – October 13, 1966

Clifton Webb was already a 20+ year veteran of the Broadway stage – where he starred in memorable classics like As Thousands Cheer, Blithe Spirit and the Gershwins‘ Treasure Girl – when he landed his first major film role in 1944’s noir classic, Laura, opposite Gene Tierney. Webb’s portrayal of the charismatic newspaperman in the film earned him his first of three Academy Award nominations. Continue reading →

May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926

Before Michael Jackson. Before Elvis. Before Marilyn. There was Valentino.

Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filibert Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguella, known to the world as “Rudolph Valentino” was an Italian-born silent film actor who was an international sex symbol and one of the first Hollywood superstars. And his life and career had all the trappings of a Hollywood superstar: getting caught up in a murder in New York, fleeing to Los Angeles and stumbling into the motion picture industry, marrying too many women at the same time. You know, the standard tropes. His exotic good looks and dancing ability enabled him to play a range of characters from a sheik in 1921’s The Sheik to a Spanish bullfighter in 1922’s Blood and Sand. Continue reading →

April 13, 1923 – September 25, 2005

“Missed it by THAT much.”

Don Adams (Donald Yarmy) gave life to one of the most memorable and imitated television characters of all time. In 1965, Adams was under contract with NBC, who decided he should play the role of Maxwell Smart on their new show, the Mel Brooks-created spy spoof, Get Smart. Adams took bits and catchphrases from his early stand-up days and wrapped them in a distinct speaking style to bring Agent 86 to the small screen for 5 seasons. Continue reading →