Okay. Ready? Who is she?
She began her career as a child actress in Britain. After coming to
America and establishing herself … she played opposite such leading
stars as Brando and Newman and Peck and Douglas. She was so pretty
that she elevated the word beauty from its mundane placings in this
world to an art-form which established her–in my mind-- a few steps
above Venus and Aphrodite. Hey … I tell it as I see it … ya know?
It has been said that she looked a bit like Vivien Leigh and in
fact–before she became the name she became–she was often referred
to as a Vivien Leigh look-alike. Quick hint: She played the young
Estella in Great Expectations.
Her prowess as an actress can be judged by the fact that at the early
age of nineteen she was chosen by Lawrence Olivier–no mean slouch
himself --to play Ophelia in his screen version of Hamlet. Next hint
… and this should give the answer to those major movie-goers who
linger in remembrances of a time long past–to borrow a thought from
dear old Marcel himself. She played Desiree in the film of the same
name opposite Marlon Brando’s Napoleon.
As to trivia … if you tend to gather that sort of thing and store
so much of it in your brain cells that there’s little room for
anything else in there to function properly … here are a few more
doo-dads to cram in whatever nooks and crannies are still available.
She holds two Academy Award Records. One is with Elizabeth Taylor in
having appeared in more films to receive Academy Award nominations
for their art-set direction than any other actors or actresses. Two
… only actresses Elizabeth Taylor and Deborah Kerr have appeared
in as many films with Oscar-nominated costumes as she. For some this
may be space-filling tripe … for others … its dizzyingly
fascinating stuff.
And now ladies and gennulmen … the Hint Finale. The Great
Give-Away. The ne plus ultra of clues. In 1955 she played opposite
Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando in a musical film with the quaint
title of: Guys and Dolls.
Okay okay. No more suspense. The time has come the jeweler said …
to speak of many things/of ships and sails and golden flasks and
actresses and things. Her name is–yup, you guessed it–Jean Simmons.
Anybody remember her?
And so … as the sun sets in the west and the cowboys hit the dusty
trails with a yippee ki yi ki yay … I end this Tidbits with this
question: Hey Benjamin! What’s this got to do with jewelry? Hunh?
And the answer is: Well … she owned this golden scent flask …
quite pretty in fact … signed by Ruser … given to her by husband
Steward Granger who–parenthetically … I remember reading this
somewhere once–was considered one of the smartest actors in the
movie industry.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that says
Tidbits Graphics … and then click on the link that says: Flask …
in order to view a golden shpritzer for perfume.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark