A Cupboard Full of Stars

From the Secret Oranges cupboard, this week are a few vintage photos I’ve managed to acquire since I arrived in California ten years ago. I’ve always collected photographs, but I figured if I’m this close to Hollywood, I should add a few stars to my stash!

First up, a portrait of Juliette Compton. Born May 3, 1899. Paramount Pictures. (Photographer not credited). Juliette Compton was an American dancer and actress whose career began in the silent film era. She appeared in the 1920 Ziegfeld Follies, and her last film appearance was in That Hamilton Woman in 1941. She died in Pasadena, California in March 19, 1989.

I feel very fortunate to have found two original prints by George Hurrell for my collection. They’re not in the best condition which made them inexpensive, but I like the fact they have a bit of history attached to them.

Photo #1 is a portrait of Gloria Youngblood, an actor of Native American (Cherokee) heritage, who was born May 12, 1916, in Madison, Illinois. She appeared in four movies, and after graduating in 1935, worked as a model in New York. She died on October 25, 2003, in Westlake Village, California.

By a bizarre coincidence, I realized that back in London, I have the very issue of Esquire magazine from 1941 that she appeared in, though the original portrait was taken in 1937, judging by the back of the photo signed by George Hurrell himself!

Photo #2 is this rather risqué portrait of actor Margot Stevenson. (February 8, 1912 – January 2, 2011) who was an American film, stage and radio actress, known for her role as Margo Lane in the radio adaptation of The Shadow, opposite Orson Welles in 1938.

This is definitely one of my favourite photos in the collection. The back of the photo reads, ‘Shirley MacLaine at home.’ Photo by Bob Beerman. Feb. 15, 1957. According to my calculations, this would most likely be Malibu, California, having moved there in 1955 at the beginning of her career.

Antoinette Olympe Bradna (12 August 1920 – 5 November 2012) was a French dancer and actress, who emigrated to the United States and lived here for the rest of her life. Yet another actress who died in California. Photograph by Hal A. McAlpin at Paramount.

The back of this photo reads: A STAR AT HOME--It's fun to work in pictures, but it is also fun to stay at home when one has a San Fernando ranch similar to Olympe Bradna's. Paramount's French star who recently completed ‘The Night of Nights,’ relaxes happily in the thought that the landscaping and gardening of her home was done only with the help of her father.

Bette Davis (1908-1989) photographed by Bert Longworth (Warner Bros. c. 1930). As a regular visitor to the Warner Bros. studio lot, I find this photo massively appealing, though I’m sure it’s changed a fair bit since then. I should also add that the security guards are always pleasant and accommodating.

From Bette Davis to Bettie Page, "Queen of Pinups" seen here being rather austere! Bettie Mae Page was born on April 22, 1923, in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A. and she died on December 11, 2008, in Los Angeles, California. As an iconic American model, her long jet-black hair and trademark bangs have influenced artists for generations. Bettie Page gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up photos, mostly by photographer Irving Klaw, and also Bunny Yeager, herself a former model, which leads me to…

This self-portrait by Bunny Yeager.

Linnea Eleanor “Bunny” Yeager (March 13, 1929 – May 25, 2014) was an American photographer, pin-up model, actress, and author. Born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, she relocated to Miami, Florida, with her family and enrolled in a fashion modeling course at Coronet Modeling School & Agency. She subsequently gained prominence as a glamour model before transitioning to the profession of glamour photographer.

As well as her iconic photographic collaborations with Bettie Page and some cheetahs at a wildlife park in Florida in 1954, some of her most famous images are those she took of Ursula Andress emerging from the water on the beach in Jamaica for the 1962 James Bond film Dr. No, for which she was the production stills photographer.

While I’m on the subject of James Bond, here’s a photo of Lois Maxwell (1927-2007) who starred as Miss Moneypenny in the first 14 Eon-produced James Bond films, from Dr. No in 1962 to A View to a Kill in 1985.

The back of the photo reads, ‘Bert Six, Warner Bros. photographer, prepares Lois Maxwell for a portrait shot’. Attached to this photo was a Bert Six fashion Memo from 1948.

The following photo is another of my favourites… Hell! They’re all my favourites, what am I on about!?!

Gary Cooper (1901-1961) and Fay Wray (1907-2004) in ‘The Legion of the Condemned’, 1928.

The reverse of the photo reads: Gary Cooper and Fay Wray, "Paramount's glorious young lovers," here in "The Legion of the Condemned," their first big picture together, execute a touching love scene in one of the tensest moments of the big new aviation melodrama.

And last but not least, a very old photo. This is Brigitte Helm (1906-1996), and the photo states on the back that it’s from ‘Metropolis’ (1927).

If you’d like to see more photos from the collection please leave a comment.

All photographs © their respective owners.