5 More of the Coolest Hollywood Friendships

Lauren Bacall and Betty Comden

Peter Sellers and Melvyn Douglas

Ruth Gordon and Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy

Dorothy Lamour and Betty Hutton

Betty Comden and Judy Holliday

#WomanEmpowermentWednesday Joan Blondell Breathed Lady Power

Stand-In (1937)

Footlight Parade (1933)

Desk Set (1957)

Lawyerman (1932)

#WomanEmpowermentWednesday Marlene Dietrich

• Gave up her German nationality and became an American citizen when Hitler asked for her to come back to Germany
• One of the four women who boxed at Sabri Mahir's boxing studio in Berlin
• With Billy Wilder and other German actors created a fund to help Jews and minorities escape Germany
• Her entire salary from "Knight Without Armor" (1937) was placed in escrow to help refugees
• Had something like an early open marriage with husband Rudolf Sieber, taking many famous male and female lovers
• Was one of the first celebrities to sell war bonds
• Performed in the USO for two years and went into Germany with Generals James M. Gavin and George S. Patton. When asked why she did this with the obvious danger so close to German lines, Marlene replied "out of decency."

#ManCrushMonday Tyrone Power in "Nightmare Alley" (1947)

Starting as a carnival barker, fame-hungry Stanton Carlisle always wanted more. From being a carnival barker wanting to know his coworker's psychic code to make more money then to a slowly climbing successful psychic and then manipulating Chicago's elite into becoming even richer, Carlisle is both an awful and yet redeemable character in wanting what he can't or won't have in being a decent person. But there's always something that poetically happens when a man tries to achieve his fortune. Tyrone Power is both gorgeously charming and amazing in this heavily textured role, but mostly gorgeous.

#ManCrushMonday #MenBeingCivilBadAssesEdition Ralph Bellamy and the Actors' Equity Association

In 1933, "that guy that looks like Ralph Bellamy" was apart of the building of the Screen Actors Guild along with supporting actors such as Grant Mitchell, Ralph Morgan, and Leon Ames. Bellamy had continued to support the rights of his fellow actors throughout his career, having also been president of the Actors' Equity Association (also known as just Equity) through the hardest years in Hollywood from 1952-1964 during the heights of McCarthyism and the Communist trials. 

"At Equity he helped create the landmark contract that established the first actors' pension fund; presided through the hideous blacklisting of the McCarthy era, fighting consistently against the often trumped up charges of Communist affiliations towards many in its membership. He also took on the merger of Actors' Equity and Chorus Equity and the unionizing of Off-Broadway itself." (WHO REMEMBERS RALPH BELLAMY? - Ron Fassler - Medium) Bellamy would receive an honorary Academy Award for his services in 1987.

Fashion Spotlight: Robert Kalloch

The eccentric and academic-looking designer started in New York creating gowns for royalty Broadway actresses and socialites including Titanic survivor Lady Duff-Gordon. It would only be a matter of time until Columbia head Harry Cohn would come calling, employing the internationally known Kalloch to elevate Columbia's status against the "big five" studios. Kalloch would deliver, creating iconic looks for Rosalind Russell, Claudette Colbert, and Greer Garson.

#WomanCrushWednesday 7 Times When Barbara Stanwyck was all the Fashion and Hair Goals

Stella Dallas (1937)

Double Indemnity (1944)

The Mad Miss Manton (1938)

Meet John Doe (1941)

Remember the Night (1940)

The Lady Eve (1941)

Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

#ManCrushMonday Claude Rains in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939)

In "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," Senator Joseph Paine is clearly an anti-hero. Already bought and paid for by his state's main newspaper chain, he still ushers the new senator Jefferson Smith into the fold never mentioning his own involvement. The drastic measures he has to take to keep himself safe only hurts the kid of an old friend. It certainly does not hurt that Rains is damned attractive as a silver fox.