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1-4 of 4
- Actress
- Soundtrack
With blonde hair, big blue eyes and a big smile, Joan Blondell was usually cast as the wisecracking working girl who was the lead's best friend.
Joan was born Rose Blondell in Manhattan, New York, the daughter of Katie and Eddie Blondell, who were vaudeville performers. Her father was a Polish Jewish immigrant, and her mother was of Irish heritage. Joan was on the stage when she was three years old. For years, she toured the circuit with her parents and joined a stock company when she was 17. She made her New York debut with the Ziegfeld Follies and appeared in several Broadway productions.
She was starring with James Cagney on Broadway in "Penny Arcade" (1929) when Warner Brothers decided to film the play as Sinners' Holiday (1930). Both Cagney and Joan were given the leads, and the film was a success. She would be teamed with Cagney again in The Public Enemy (1931) and Blonde Crazy (1931) among others. In The Office Wife (1930), she stole the scene when she was dressing for work. While Warner Brothers made Cagney a star, Joan never rose to that level. In gangster movies or musicals, her performances were good enough for second leads, but not first lead. In the 1930s, she made a career playing gold-diggers and happy-go-lucky girlfriends. She would be paired with Dick Powell in ten musicals during these years, and they were married for ten years. By 1939, Joan had left Warner Brothers to become an independent actress, but by then, the blonde role was being defined by actresses like Veronica Lake. Her work slowed greatly as she went into straight comedy or dramatic roles. Three of her better roles were in Topper Returns (1941), Cry 'Havoc' (1943), and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945). By the 50s, Joan would garner an Academy Award nomination for The Blue Veil (1951), but her biggest career successes would be on the stage, including a musical version of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."
In 1957, Joan would again appear on the screen as a drunk in Lizzie (1957) and as mature companion to Jayne Mansfield in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957). While she would appear in a number of television shows during the 50s and 60s, she had the regular role of Winifred on The Real McCoys (1957) during the 1963 season. Her role in the drama The Cincinnati Kid (1965) was well received, but most of her remaining films would be comedies such as Waterhole #3 (1967) and Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971). Still in demand for TV, she was cast as Lottie on Here Come the Brides (1968) and as Peggy on Banyon (1971).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Lee Bowman made his reputation as a suave, polished leading man opposite glamorous stars like Rita Hayworth and Jean Arthur in the 1940s. The columnist Jack Sher, later a noted writer and director,,referred to him in 1944 as 'a very hot commodity' in Hollywood. A graduate from the University of Cincinnati, Bowman had studied acting at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts, and, with the determination to succeed as a screen actor, went to tinsel town in 1934. After several bit parts, he landed his first credited screen role and made a quick impact in the screwball comedy I Met Him in Paris (1937). Sporting a thin mustache and invariably elegantly attired, Bowman quickly established an image as a smooth, wise-cracking bon vivant, most frequently in films for MGM or Columbia. He rarely enjoyed top billing - a rare exception being his co-starring role opposite Jean Arthur in the charming comedy The Impatient Years (1944) - and was often third or fourth on the list of credits as the man-about-town friend of the hero, who doesn't get the girl in the end.
Bowman gave possibly his best, and most typical screen performances in the gangster drama Kid Glove Killer (1942) and two breezy Rita Hayworth musicals, Cover Girl (1944) and, in the role of a dashing RAF pilot Tonight and Every Night (1945). He took on a more heavyweight role, less convincingly, as husband of alcoholic Susan Hayward in Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947). His last film role of note was as the crippled brother of murderer Louis Hayward in Republic's gas-lit melodrama, House by the River (1950), directed by Fritz Lang. In January 1951, Bowman took over as the star of the ABC television series The Adventures of Ellery Queen (1950), replacing Richard Hart who had died suddenly. The show lasted until 1952.
With movie roles drying up, Bowman began to concentrate on working in radio and guest-starring on television, with occasional forays to the stage. On radio, his voice was heard, among others, in episodes of 'Inner Sanctum' (1945) and 'Cavalcade of America' (1946-53). He also starred in a second short-lived series (38 half-hour episodes) as private eye Jeff Thompson in Miami Undercover (1961), with former heavyweight boxer Rocky Graziano cast as his sidekick.
After retiring from the screen in 1968, Lee Bowman set about utilizing his talents as a corporate communications consultant (chairman from 1974 of the London-based Kingstree Group), media-training businessmen and politicians in public address and conversational interviewing techniques. He was also called upon to act as master of ceremonies for Republican Party conventions. Bowman died on Christmas Day in Brentwood, California, in 1979 at the age of 64.- Originally married to Gwendoline Mary in 1950 and had two children, Jane and Matthew. Divorced in 1963 and then remarried. Had two further children, Simon and Timothy. Most notable role was in the BBC TV series "The Newcomers", which ran for 3 years in the late 1960s. He played the role of a farmer called Jeff Langley.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Mario Filippeschi was born on 7 June 1907 in Montefoscoli, Palaia, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for Rigoletto (1946), Violanchelo (2008) and Lucia di Lammermoor (1946). He was married to Anna Pucci. He died on 25 December 1979 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.