Born Today May 1: Leila Hyams

1905-1977

Born in New York City into a vaudeville family on May Day, she was named after her performing mother--who was also a successful dramatic stage actress.  Both of her parents went on to appear in films in their own right, often together, ironically continuing to work in film after their daughter had retired from the profession.  As is the case with children born into the vaudeville life, "little Leila" appeared as a child on stage with her parents. When older, as a teenager, she began a modeling career; appearing in series of widely published newspaper advertisements, which got the attention of Hollywood.  She appeared in her first film, Sandra, in 1924 at the age of 19.  Although her appearances in silent film number well into double digits, it was her work in early talkies of the 1930's that she is most remembered for.  Her most famous role came in Tod Browning's 1932 controversial horror drama Freaks, as the wise-cracking Venus.  As with most actors born into vaudeville childhood stage appearances, she was easily a hit in sound film; the first film to have any sort of sound that she appeared in came in 1928 with the partial silent Land of the Silver Fox, a Rin Tin Tin feature. He first fully mono sound film came with her very next film appearance, also in 1928, in Alias Jimmy Valentine, starring Lionel Barrymore. After appearing in more than 50 films, fully 21 of which are from the 1920's, she decided to retire from acting in 1936; however she remained in the Hollywood circle until death from a heart attack in 1977 at the age of 72 in Bel Air. She was cremated and her ashes scattered.  

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Born Today February 16: Chester Morris

1901-1970

Born John Chester Brooks Morris to acting parents:  his father a Broadway actor and his mother a successful comedian, in New York City.  As a child, he became very interested in magic tricks, and was a self-taught top amateur magician by adulthood.  He began his acting career at the age of 15. After dropping out of school; he went straight to Broadway; acting opposite of Lionel Barrymore in The Copperhead.  He made his film debut the following year in An Amateur Orphan, which starred Gladys Leslie (the film is now considered lost). Though he appeared in 3 more films between the years 1919 and 1925; his film acting career did not actually take off until the year 1929--having spent his time in the 1920's on the stage.  When he did return to films, his acting was immediately noticed.  His performance in the early all talking Alibi (1929) earned him a nomination for an Academy Award in the the Best Actor category.  His next film, Fast Life, also an all talking film, is also, unfortunately lost.  In all, the four films that he made in in 1929 was early talkies, though Woman Trap, had a silent version.  He had become so popular in film as such a fast pace, he even appeared in the Hollywood extravaganza The Show of Shows; representing both Broadway and Hollywood at the same time. Because of this, he appears in not one, but two skits in the musical.  By the mid 1930's, his Hollywood star began to fade and he found himself accepting lead roles in B-pictures.  He wound up in the serial part of "Boston Blackie" and made several films in that role; even playing the role on the radio in the 1940's.  During World War II, he performed numerous magical skits to entertain troops at USO shows.  The 1950's found him making television appearances on a steady and regular basis, with his first appearance coming as a magician in 1950 on a show called Cameo.  He even made it into one 1950's cult horror film, playing a mad doctor who had magical powers of transformative hypnosis.  He went on acting in television right up until the time of his death.  His last role was "Pop Weaver" in The Great White Hope in 1970, starring James Earl Jones (the film was released after his death).  Before filming began, he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer.  After filming wrapped, he joined a stage production of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial in New Hope, Penn.  On the 11th of September, when he didn't show up for a luncheon date with the producer of the play, Lee R. Yopp; Yopp went to his hotel room, only to find the actor dead on of the floor from a overdose of barbiturates.  His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered over a river in Germany.

As Dr. Carlo Lombardi in The She-Creature (1956)

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Born Today September 12: Dickie Moore (RIP!)

1925-2015

This is a sad one for me!!  Mr. Moore only passed away this past Monday in Wilton, Conn. and the age of 89; and today would have been his 90th birthday (crying a bit while writing this).  I would have loved nothing more than to wish him a very happy 90th! Though reports of cause of death have been dementia, so I'm not sure it would have been so happy.  Born John Richard Moore, Jr. exactly 90 years ago today in Los Angeles, he like, Wally Albright (also born in 1925) was an early credited child actor and also a member of the Our Gang Little Rascals.  His first acting credit came in 1927 when he was not just two years of age.  Past his teens, he has only one (that I can find) moving picture acting credit in his twenties and then he quit acting, though his pursuits in life where not far from the theatrical world.  He even appeared on Broadway before his acting retirement.  He served in WWII and wrote for stars and stripes, a skill that would become helpful later in life when he found transitioning from child actor to adult acting basically unbearable (something that so many child actors can attest to--just ask Macaulay Culkin).  He became a active in the actors union in the New York area and founded a successful public relations firm called Dick Moore and Associates to represent actors.  It is still in business and it was their president that announced his death this week.  He became known as an inside man in the entertainment biz and (I'm jealous) reportedly had his own booth at famed New York restaurant Sardis.  He is also known for writing an important book on child actors of his era entitled Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (But Don't Have Sex or Take The Car) published in 1984, in which he recounted his own difficulties as a child actor at the time and interviewed several contemporary child actors for the book, one of the most memorable reportedly with Shirley Temple (as a point of trivia, Temple received her first on screen kiss form Moore).  He also interviewed actress   Jane Powell, herself born in 1929, for the book; it was their first meeting, but not their last.  The two were married in 1988 and she is now his widow.  Condolences go out to his family--he had one son, who has children--associates and friends.  It is also with great sadness that I report and that another Our Gang star Jean Darling passed away Friday week ago--Sept. 4, at the ripe old age of 93 in Germany.  Condolences to her friends and family as well.  May the both be at peace. [Added note here, Internet Movie Database has his date of death wrong, for anyone looking up the movies from links here.  Hopefully it will be corrected.]

Moore and Powell--Happy Couple

His Silent Era Work:

The Beloved Rogue (1927) (a John Barrymore film)

Object: Alimony (1928) (Roscoe Karns starred in this)

Blue Skies (1929) (partial silent, soundtrack and sound effects by MovieTone)

Madame X (1929) (early talkie, sound by Western Electric.  Lionel Barrymore directed)

The Bells (1926)--In 9 Parts

A silent horror with Lionel Barrymore and Boris Karloff, based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe.