Pics – Page 72 – I Don't Get It

Oh, To Be Rich And At Sea

Art Director Mitchell Leisen is holding the plates, but he’s also the host of this July 4th, 1952 Catalina Island outing. He invited friends Cesar Romero, Mona Freeman, Rory Calhoun, and Robert Wagner aboard his boat, Escapade.

Perhaps, like me, you cannot help but think about Robert Wagner and his suspect boat activities, but this was decades prior.

Out on the water, with Mitch at the wheel, he is joined by (among others) Susan Zanuck in the hat, Cesar Romero, and Lita Baron (Mrs. Rory Calhoun).

When Lita later divorced Rory, gossip mags said she accused him of adultery with 78 women, including Betty Grable. In his 1999 obituary, he was quoted as retorting to her charge with, “Heck, she didn’t even include half of them.”

I’m not saying he did it, but I will say he stole a revolver at 13, was sent to jail, and subsequently escaped from said jail. From there, he hot-wired cars, took them for joy rides, and robbed jewelry stores for kicks. For this, he spent three years in prison.

What about you? Have you ever spent the 4th of July on a boat?

Have you ever worn long sleeves on the 4th? I can’t imagine.

Have you ever committed adultery with 78 different partners?

The Problem With The World Is That Everyone Is A Few Drinks Behind

So said Humphrey Bogart.

We can only assume he’s doing his best to keep ahead of the world here, while Clifton Webb angles Bogey’s hat just so. Laurence Olivier, in his own straw hat, looks on.

Waiting For Chachalaca Season To Start

It’s a bird.
No, I’d never heard of it either.
Hunting season starts in November.

What Being Married To Ida Lupino Feels Like

Is it me or does actor Howard Duff look mortified by his wife, Ida Lupino? It can’t be her florist skills; they’re right on point. At this point, in 1957, they’d already been married 6 years. Ida was only 39, but the harsh make-up makes her look much older. Though they separated in 1966, they didn’t actually divorce until 1984.

But perhaps Howard’s raised brows have nothing to do with Ida. He had, in fact, been listed in Red Channels as a communist subversive in 1950, so maybe he was still miffed about that.

In her own right, Ida was quite the woman, being the only one to direct episodes of the original The Twilight Zone series, as well as the only director to have starred in the show. Thinking many roles to be “beneath her,” the British Lupino spent much of her years at Warner Bros being suspended. But Ida was strong-willed. She wrote stories and composed music, including “Aladdin’s Suite,” which was performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in 1937, two years after she’d written it while being on bedrest due to polio.

Here she is in one of your typical 1940’s “tug my own hair” pics.

Fresh as a daisy, happy as a lark. And yet by the next decade, cakey white pancake powder gave her an eerie vampire complexion.

Vampire or not, the issue seems to simply have been with Howard’s brows, perpetually in a forlorn state. Take note.

Even SMOKING, his brows fought gravity. Was that their natural state? Why, I’d wager he even SNEEZED with raised brows!

He seems perplexed as to why they both got roles on the 60s Batman series as well. While his left eye seems calm, the right is horrified!

Even in his later years, he was still vexed. What to do, what to do?

Keep Your Head Down

Solutions For Bad Hair Days

We’ve all had them. Even those currently without hair remember them. After an hour-long struggle with product and appliance, you give up and shove a hat atop your noggin. But there are other options. Like lace helmets.

Oh, sure, they’re hard to come by, although I contend that you could sew two of Granny’s doilies together for a similar effect. These three Netherlands maidens seem satisfied with theirs, which are actually thin-beaten silver or gold covered with lace. Sounds hot if under direct sunlight. And wouldn’t jealous others come snatch them off your head to sell on the black market? Perhaps lace helmets aren’t the best option.

Moving on.

Granted, this next low-ventilation choice doesn’t look particularly comfortable, but if you were a woman in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1968, you might have donned a traditional chadri like this woman. Birdcage optional. Nobody would ever know it was you, much less what your hair looked like.

Want to creep out all your friends and neighbors? It’s better than showing them split ends or uneven bangs, my friends. Take a page out of these Achill Island, Ireland residents’ handbook and stick a broom on your face.

Descendants of the “Straw Boys” who terrorized Ireland in days of yore, these two shared their fearsome disguises for the photographer. Straw is a neutral, so it goes with everything. But mercy, it is itchy!

Perhaps the best idea (and the most colorful) for those of the XX persuasion (although I can absolutely see Nick Cannon trading in his Sikh turban for this) are these Ivory Coast headwraps–and perhaps the sunglasses as well. They certainly seem happy.

The Baby So Cute, You Want To Eat It

At first glance, it’s a combination of everything most ladies crave: carbs and infants. The bakers appear tickled by the appearance of this abandoned babe. And in a sense, little Mairi Chisholm was indeed abandoned in Selkirk, Scotland in 1996. But as the National Geographic article noted, it was common for mothers to leave infants unattended as they went off on brief shopping forays, believing them to be free of danger in the small town.

No modern-day American mother should ever do such a thing. I wouldn’t have even left my baby in an infant carrier in ANOTHER room in my own house. Unless he was sleeping in his crib, he was always supervised. Never left outside alone to pick something up and choke. Never left in a pool to drown, nor a hot car to perish as happens every single year. How reprehensible to leave a baby in a car unattended, with or without air conditioning. I would never leave my purse alone in my car to run inside the 7-11, much less a child. And how much more precious is that?

But for little Mairi in small Selkirk, a town with STILL less than 6,000 people, it all worked out. Mommy got her errands done and perhaps a loaf of bread when she was done. But here is my question: what if Mairi cried? Who attended to her? Could anyone available change her diaper? Was a bottle of formula left at her feet? I can’t even imagine.

Hot Town, Squalor In The City

Waking up in a city that doesn’t sleep and finding they’re at the bottom of the heap, they still manage to find some merriment and hone their cocktail-making skills.

And the spray of a nearby fire hydrant couldn’t hurt…

Things That Don’t Pair Well With Wine: That Outfit

Long Island winery from “An American Moment” by Harris

Why am I so salty on the sabbath? Is it the 100+ heat with no chance of a cloud until mid-October? Perhaps I just can’t process why this vintner chose to put that ensemble together.

“Okay, Carol, focus, focus! The magazine is coming today, and they’re going to take some pictures, so I’ll just build my outfit, starting with shoes. These sandals are so smart! What goes with this coral shade? Ah, yes, my old artist’s smock–the one with sleeves that go past my weenus. What’s next? The plaid navy skirt that makes me look bulky despite my thin frame. Marvelous. Done.”

To be fair, salmon and navy are on trend this season. Just not in the same proportion.

In fact, my last dress purchased was a navy/salmon print. That salmon is so current. Or is it against current? 😉

Who knew you could even get SHOES in said colors?

Just perfect for the petite jogging woman who needs to add three inches of height as she pounds pavement!

Before Summers Were 110 Degrees

Those of you alive during the summers of the 1980s might recall how high-cut swimsuits were, with fabric barely meeting at the hipbone. These two young ladies seem to be enjoying the golden hour of a Rhode Island summer’s eve. Props for the two-tier gold necklace. Did she wear that into the water?

Steven Spielberg Needs A Stylist

Seated are Steven Spielberg and the young Christian Bale on the set of 1987’s Empire of the Sun.

What do you think? I prefer his Magnum P.I. look on an Indiana Jones set with buddy, George Lucas.

When Helen Was A Popular Name

In days of yore, both high school and university yearbooks included many pages of the campus’s most attractive dames. The 1933 Austin High School Comet was no exception. Let’s start with the freshman.