Nuggets of Note - December 31, 2012

Mary Pickford and Her Flower

The Daily Mirror features Flowers Names After Stars

Cecil B DeMille's Christmas Card

Some great Christmas related posts:
The 1914 Christmas Truce on Today I Found Out
Origin of NORAD Tracking Santa on Mental Floss
Very cool story about the First Christmas Recording.  It's so cool to hear a family celebrating Christmas over 100 years ago
Cecile B. DeMille's Christmas Card on Confessions of a Bookplate Junkie

Dorothy Gish of MY HERO and AN UNSEEN ENEMY

Immortal Ephemera features Movie Ads from Christmas 1912


Los Angeles Morgue Files features: Norma Talmadge, Florence Lawrence

Fleischmann's Mixer's Manual

Leave it to Letterology to come up with some great Mixology for New Year's  


Part 2 on Aldo Ray is delightful on Movie Morlocks

A gorgeous 1840s Astronomy book on BiblioOdyssey


Some cool homes on Daytonian in Manhattan include: the 1926 Scientific American Building, Wm. Barnard House, 


I wish I had received even one of these Best Movie Books of 2012 on San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Marilyn Monroe FBI Document

And of course there is the recently released FBI Files about Marilyn Monroe


Deja View has some cool initial sketches of Amelia and Abigail Gabble from the Aristocats

What 100 Stars Want Most in 1956 - Aldo Ray

Aldo Ray (September 25, 1926 - March 27, 1991) is quite a character. Known for his build and gruff voice, he accidentally fell into acting. After serving in WWII as a Frogman, he was taking his brother Mario to an audition, when the director decided to hire Aldo instead. His best work was during the 1950s, but he worked up until his death in 1991 of throat cancer

Some Aldo Ray Trivia:

• Born Aldo DaRe
• Went to school at UC Berkeley
• Served in the Pacific Theater in World War II
• Aldo was married 3 times
• His best known films include: The Green Berets, Battle Cry, Miss Sadie Thompson, and Pat and Mike
• Aldo was the first choice for Montgomery Clift's Pvt. Prewitt in From Here to Eternity
• Aldo had his SAG card revoked in the 1980s for working in non-union films (the only roles he could get). It was the only way he could pay his health insurance. Kind of sad.
• Brad Pitt's character, Lt. Aldo Raine, in Inglorious Bastards (one of my all time favs) was inspired by Aldo Ray.

What were Aldo's 1956 wishes?

"Personally, I'd like to see my Alma Mater, California, go to the Rose Bowl"

Total guy answer, but refreshingly, not a PR sounding answer

"Professionally, I want to play in a western and I want to travel. Maybe I could do both. In Three Stripes in the Sun, I went to Japan. I wouldn't mind seeing the world while I worked."

"It is my personal belief that every citizen should take a much more active interest in his local and national politics."