It's Monday here in Australia, so no wonder that my friend Scott sent me this peppy video of 8-year-old child prodigy, Frank 'Sugar Chile' Robinson, playing 'Caldonia' to a disbelieving audience of Van Johnson, Keenan Wynn and Patricia Kirkwood in M-G-M's No Leave, No Love (1946). Frank was tiny when he showed unusual gifts for … Continue reading Frank ‘Sugar Chile’ Robinson: The Child Prodigy Who Walked Away From It All
Over the years, the Cummings and Mayer families had a bit to do with the Barrymores -- their lives intersected through the 'picture' business, charitable events, and parties. Then again, Hollywood's early 'film colony', as it was referred to, was really a tiny village with no degrees of separation for a core group of industry … Continue reading The Intersecting Lives of the Mayers and the Barrymores.
Last night I was looking through my grandmother Mitzi's scrapbook, containing the many articles she had written for Photoplay, when I ran into a couple of telegrams from her editor, Helen Gilmore. Here's one below asking if Mitzi can cover the Eleanor Powell/Glenn Ford wedding of October 1943, but from a different angle -- from … Continue reading The Telegram to My Grandmother That Led Me to the Patent for the World’s First Commercial Pager…
More from my great-grandmother Ida Mayer Cummings' scrapbook: A very interesting letter from Mae West to Ida, dated August 15, 1940, stating her deep support for 'the Jewish race' and making a financial contribution to the Los Angeles Jewish Home. (2018 UPDATE: I've learned more about this letter - click here.) What I find so … Continue reading Mae West and Her Eerie Letter of August 15, 1940
My Classic Hollywood crush is Gary Cooper so to find a photo of him with my great-grandmother, Ida Mayer Cummings, at his side (and about half his height) is such a fun start to 2016. I found this photo in Ida's massive scrapbook, which documents several years of her decades of philanthropic and civic duty … Continue reading Gary Cooper, My Classic Hollywood Crush
The Film Colony ♛ 
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