When it comes to the bestowing of gifts… there is one universal
truth… and it is this: There is always a GivER and there is always
a GivEE. This deep-rooted bit of philosophy come to you gratis from
moi folks.
And for today’s entertainment value ladies and gennulmen… I give
you one hint… albeit a tad miniscule … and it is this: SHE is the
GivEE and HE is the GivER. To complicate things a wee bit more…
which of the three items which you are about to see was given by Him
to Her? Shall we proceed?
WARNING: Be careful when responding here lest your knowledge gives
away your age. Oh yeah. One more thing. Don’t go hunting and pecking
through the Internet for the answers. That’s called cheating… and I
know there isn’t a single one of you out there that would even deign
to stoop to such levels. Right? Right?
HER: She was 16 years old when she was discovered and signed by MGM.
Thanks to her role in the 1941 horror film of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde… she became known as one of Hollywood’s first Scream Queens.
One of the bits of jewelry you are about to see was given to HER by
HIM.
HIM: His career started during the swing era with Henry James and
Tommy Dorsey and reached and unprecedented peak in the early to mid
1940’s. His career stalled by the 1950’s but it was reborn in 1954
after he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in From Here
To Eternity. I saw it. It was one of the greats.
HER: In 1958 her daughter stabbed her mother’s lover to death. A
coroner’s inquest determined the daughter had acted in self-defense.
Her next film, Imitation of Life (1959) proved to be one of the
greatest successes of her career. But after that her roles began
diminishing.
HIM: He also a nomination for Best Actor for The Man with the Golden
Arm. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald
Reagan in 1985. He was born in Hoboken in 1915, the only son of
Italian immigrants. He left high school without graduating, having
attended for only 47 days before being expelled due to his rowdy
conduct. His mother was influential in the local Democratic Party and
also ran an illegal abortion business from her home.
HER: She was born Julia Jean (last name withheld for obvious
reasons), in Wallace, Idaho. Before her career took off she was known
to family friends as Judy. Her discovery at a Hollywood drugstore is
show-biz legend. She was 16 years old. She skipped a typing class
that day and bought a coke at the Top Hat Cafe. She was spotted by a
reporter. Her beauty and physique drew him in. He referred her to the
actor/ comedian/talent agent Zeppo Marx. And the rest is history.
So… who is HER and who is Him and which of the three doo-dads did
he give her as a gift?
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at http://www.tyler-adam.com where you
will scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that
says Current Tidbits. Click it… and you will see represented on our
pages… a trio of jewels belonging to one helluva famous lass.
And there ya have it. That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark