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Post by Aj_June on Jul 17, 2018 9:04:37 GMT
I just finished watching The Window (1949) starring Bobby Driscoll. Thinking about his death really gives me chills. Celebrities who are everyday names in households at one point of time can also die in obscurity. I wonder how these people might feel in their bad days? The fact that Driscoll was buried without even the knowledge that he was Driscoll is a pretty unique case.
Arletty, one of my favourite stars from France, died at the age of 94 but she lived a very sad life for many decades. The public knowledge that she had relations with a German Officer during German occupation of France ruined her career and damaged her reputation forever. She had to rediscover herself but even after her rediscovering herself she led a life full of loneliness and pain.
On IMDB there was a French woman who had once met Arletty. She also told me how miserable Arletty's life was towards the end.
Who are some of the other stars who died in obscurity?
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bondfan90
Sophomore
@bondfan90
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Post by bondfan90 on Jul 17, 2018 9:52:30 GMT
Charles Hawtrey, of Carry On fame.
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Post by RiP, IMDb on Jul 17, 2018 10:08:00 GMT
Jean Arthur.
Theda Bara.
Clara Bow.
Hedy Lamarr.
Mary Pickford.
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Post by bravomailer on Jul 17, 2018 12:33:43 GMT
Charles Hawtrey, of Carry On fame. And John Lennon utters his name at the outset of "The Two of Us". Veronica Lake |
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Post by snsurone on Jul 17, 2018 13:08:58 GMT
Another child star who died forgotten was the adorable Scotty Beckett.
He had himself quite a career in the '30's, but, as most kids do, he grew up and his acting career dried up.
In his last years, he fell into unsavory company and died following a severe beating, in 1968 at the age of 40.
Sad to say, many child stars were unable to adjust to life away from the cameras, and ended up dying young, usually by their own hands.
Some examples include Rusty Hamer, Dana Plato, and Jonathan Brandeis.
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Post by wickedkittiesmom on Jul 17, 2018 13:10:03 GMT
Dana Hill, probably best known for her role as Audrey, the daughter, in National Lampoon's European Vacation.
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Post by mikef6 on Jul 17, 2018 14:36:01 GMT
On another thread about celebrity suicides, I posted this about Karl Dane.
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Post by politicidal on Jul 17, 2018 15:03:36 GMT
Alice Playten, who was best known as Darkness' henchmen Blix in LEGEND and as a noteworthy voice actress.   Died in...2011?!? I thought it was like 2006,07? |
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Post by marianne48 on Jul 17, 2018 17:56:27 GMT
In the trailer for Citizen Kane, Orson Welles introduces actress Dorothy Comingore in grand fashion: "Dorothy Comingore!--REMEMBER THAT NAME!" He, and many critics, were highly impressed by her performance as Susan Alexander Kane. Unfortunately, William Randolph Hearst also took notice of her performance, and was enraged by her portrayal of a character allegedly based on his mistress. He launched a smear campaign in his newspapers against her and engaged his loyal attack dogs Hedda Hopper and Walter Winchell to label her a subversive. She was investigated by HUAC and effectively blacklisted in Hollywood. She ended up leaving Hollywood, ruining her health with alcoholism, spending two years in a mental institution, and dying while in her fifties after living as pretty much a recluse in Connecticut with her second husband, two dogs and ten cats. Her name as a star did not have to be remembered.
As for Alice Playten, I always remember her best for her commercial in which she plays an excited bride who describes all the great meals she's going to make for her new husband--stuff like "Marshallow meatballs--Yum!!" It was for Alka-Seltzer.
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Post by politicidal on Jul 17, 2018 19:08:35 GMT
In the trailer for Citizen Kane, Orson Welles introduces actress Dorothy Comingore in grand fashion: "Dorothy Comingore!--REMEMBER THAT NAME!" He, and many critics, were highly impressed by her performance as Susan Alexander Kane. Unfortunately, William Randolph Hearst also took notice of her performance, and was enraged by her portrayal of a character allegedly based on his mistress. He launched a smear campaign in his newspapers against her and engaged his loyal attack dogs Hedda Hopper and Walter Winchell to label her a subversive. She was investigated by HUAC and effectively blacklisted in Hollywood. She ended up leaving Hollywood, ruining her health with alcoholism, spending two years in a mental institution, and dying while in her fifties after living as pretty much a recluse in Connecticut with her second husband, two dogs and ten cats. Her name as a star did not have to be remembered. That's downright despicable. |
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Post by bravomailer on Jul 17, 2018 19:27:37 GMT
Paul Muni? He was a big star in the 30s and 40s. Kinda disappeared after that and passed away in 1967.
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Post by snsurone on Jul 17, 2018 20:09:01 GMT
Jean Arthur.
Theda Bara.
Clara Bow.
Hedy Lamarr.
Mary Pickford. These ladies might have died in obscurity (and you could add Claudette Colbert, Myrna Loy, and Loretta Young to the list), but their fame endures to this day. |
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Post by them1ghtyhumph on Jul 17, 2018 20:51:28 GMT
Alice Playten, who was best known as Darkness' henchmen Blix in LEGEND and as a noteworthy voice actress. Died in...2011?!? I thought it was like 2006,07? I remember Alice from an Alka-Seltzer commercial and as a cast member of National Lampoon's Lemmings |
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Post by divtal on Jul 17, 2018 21:41:09 GMT
It depends on what you mean by "died in obscurity." Many stars pass away, well after they have retired from the screen/stage. And, I recall hearing of the deaths of most of the performers who have been mentioned, in obituaries that credited their notable achievements.
One film star, whose death was obscured by circumstance, was lovely Dorothy McGuire (Gentleman's Agreement, The Spiral Staircase, Friendly Persuasion and a host of other films). She died less than 48 hours after the Sept. 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, The Pentagon and the crash in Pennsylvania.
Understandably, all stories that were unrelated, went unreported, or overlooked. The first I heard of her passing was after the Oscar ceremony, in early 2002, when there was an outcry that she hadn't been included in the "In Memorium," segment.
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Post by Aj_June on Jul 17, 2018 22:09:10 GMT
It depends on what you mean by "died in obscurity." Many stars pass away, well after they have retired from the screen/stage. And, I recall hearing of the deaths of most of the performers who have been mentioned, in obituaries that credited their notable achievements. One film star, whose death was obscured by circumstance, was lovely Dorothy McGuire ( Gentleman's Agreement, The Spiral Staircase, Friendly Persuasion and a host of other films). She died less than 48 hours after the Sept. 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, The Pentagon and the crash in Pennsylvania. Understandably, all stories that were unrelated, went unreported, or overlooked. The first I heard of her passing was after the Oscar ceremony, in early 2002, when there was an outcry that she hadn't been included in the "In Memorium," segment. I think it is a matter of degrees. By obscurity I didn't mean a person who had retired and then become less famous with time. But by using the term obscurity I meant that a person was more or less forced to take retirement due to the fact that he or she had become increasingly irrelevant and simply was not able to be in movies because he or she was not offered roles. Another meaning that I had in mind when using the word obscurity was that a person died in circumstances in which she was not being cared for by even her family members let alone by friends and public. When Bobby Driscoll died he was thought of to be a homeless man. The people who buried him did not even know that he was Bobby Driscoll. In fact even a year after his death nobody knew that he was dead.
But my definition of the word is just one of many. So I appreciate all the answers I got in the thread and they are all relevant to this thread.. You gave an interesting example of a film star whose death was not reported because intensity of another tragedy overrode its importance in news and media.
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Post by Aj_June on Jul 17, 2018 22:19:23 GMT
Another child star who died forgotten was the adorable Scotty Beckett. He had himself quite a career in the '30's, but, as most kids do, he grew up and his acting career dried up. In his last years, he fell into unsavory company and died following a severe beating, in 1968 at the age of 40. Sad to say, many child stars were unable to adjust to life away from the cameras, and ended up dying young, usually by their own hands. Some examples include Rusty Hamer, Dana Plato, and Jonathan Brandeis. Yeah, the lives of child stars usually do not go well, snsurone. Many times these children who become famous become irrelevant because when they grow up their faces are not like you would expect of adult stars. So they hardly get any roles. What is worse is that many of these child superstars develop drugs problem or other things that make quality of their lives very despicable. |
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Post by snsurone on Jul 17, 2018 22:20:04 GMT
In the trailer for Citizen Kane, Orson Welles introduces actress Dorothy Comingore in grand fashion: "Dorothy Comingore!--REMEMBER THAT NAME!" He, and many critics, were highly impressed by her performance as Susan Alexander Kane. Unfortunately, William Randolph Hearst also took notice of her performance, and was enraged by her portrayal of a character allegedly based on his mistress. He launched a smear campaign in his newspapers against her and engaged his loyal attack dogs Hedda Hopper and Walter Winchell to label her a subversive. She was investigated by HUAC and effectively blacklisted in Hollywood. She ended up leaving Hollywood, ruining her health with alcoholism, spending two years in a mental institution, and dying while in her fifties after living as pretty much a recluse in Connecticut with her second husband, two dogs and ten cats. Her name as a star did not have to be remembered. As for Alice Playten, I always remember her best for her commercial in which she plays an excited bride who describes all the great meals she's going to make for her new husband--stuff like "Marshallow meatballs--Yum!!" It was for Alka-Seltzer. Believe it or not, back in the '70's, when that ad aired, TV Guide actually ran an article consisting of recipes for "marshmallowed meatballs", "poached oysters", and other of those crazy dishes Ms. Playten supposedly cooked. |
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Post by Doghouse6 on Jul 17, 2018 22:53:04 GMT
As for Alice Playten, I always remember her best for her commercial in which she plays an excited bride who describes all the great meals she's going to make for her new husband--stuff like "Marshallow meatballs--Yum!!" It was for Alka-Seltzer. The young husband, incidentally, is played by Terry Kiser, who's achieved some measure of film immortality as - of all things - a corpse: the title character of Weekend At Bernie's (but who is still very much alive and working). |
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Post by manfromplanetx on Jul 17, 2018 23:00:34 GMT
Hi there Aj_June An insightful book, Whatever Became Of …? by Richard Lamparski , eighth series 1982. is a fascinating nostalgic collection of interviews and profiles from the investigative author which are accompanied with then and now photos. It is a fascinating collection, a poignant recollection of big name stars who faded from the limelight, and of the well known actors who disappeared, never quite reaching the heights of stardom, but who contributed so much for our enjoyment of classic film.  |
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Jul 18, 2018 3:24:50 GMT
In the trailer for Citizen Kane, Orson Welles introduces actress Dorothy Comingore in grand fashion: "Dorothy Comingore!--REMEMBER THAT NAME!" He, and many critics, were highly impressed by her performance as Susan Alexander Kane. There is also a story that Welles said of her she would end up like the character she played in the movie--an alcoholic etc.
I thought it was the first Mrs Kane who said the movie was based on Hearst and that caused problems for Welles. But I suspect the claims about Heart's power is greatly exaggerated. It was the other publishing companies that were Biblical in their punishment of people who crossed them. There was a show Hollywood Babylon which claimed Joe Kennedy used a girl to get the old owner of Pantages theater chain to sell--but I suspect that was character assassination aimed at the Kennedys for being soft on fascism.
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