Born On This Day- July 7th... George Cukor

I just am crazy for the scene in one of my favorite films- Gods & Monsters: director James Whale brings his hot gardener stud to a party at George Cukor's home, with Princess Margaret as a honored guest. So well filmed & telling, director Bill Condon claims he shot the budget wad on that scene, but it was worth it.

George Cukor's private life was well known in Hollywood. His Sunday afternoon pool parties were legendary in gay circles, having been described at lurid detail by some of the party guests, including writer John Rechy. His home, decorated by actor-turned interior designer William Haines, was the spot for Hollywood homosexuals to gather. The close knit group included Haines & his partner Jimmie Shields, Alan Ladd, Somerset Maugham, James Vincent, screenwriter Rowland Leigh, costume designers Orry-Kelly & Robert Le Maire, & actors John Darrow, Robert Walker, Anderson Lawler, Robert Seiter & Tom Douglas. Frank Horn- secretary to Cary Grant, was a frequent guest. Cukor & his sophisticated & artistic friends socialized with their boyfriends- often hustlers, rough trade, actor wannabes, or ambitious artists & writers who saw his parties as way into the exclusive Hollywood life.

My favorite anecdote: Hunky, young Forrest Tucker, who was straight, would show up at Cukor's Sunday afternoon parties & swim naked in the pool for the viewing pleasure of Cukor's famous gay guests: W. Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward, Cecil Beaton & other assorted influential gays in the art, literature, & movies. Tucker realized these men were important contacts & was one of many up & coming young studs who were willing to make a naked appearance for the sake of their careers. Among them was handsome, hunk, hairy Aldo Ray, whom Cukor seemed to like well enough to cast him in Pat & Mike& The Marrying Kind with Judy Holliday.

Cukor's personal reputation has suffered somewhat from these anecdotes. Rechy: “Cukor was a catty, sometimes cruel queen who was as gifted at separating his private & public personas as he was at making films.” Yet among his close friends, those important enough to him to have his home filled with their photographs: Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Joan Crawford, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Lauren Bacall & Humphrey Bogart, Claudette Colbert, Marlene Dietrich, Laurence Olivier & Vivien Leigh, Stanley Holloway, Judy Garland, Gene Tierney, Noël Coward, Cole Porter, James Whale, Edith Head, Norma Shearer, Irving Thalberg, Sinclair Lewis, Theodore Dreiser, Aldous Huxley, Ferenc Molnár, Christopher Isherwood & Don Bachardy, & close friend Somerset Maugham.

As a semi-closeted gay artist in Hollywood, one of Cukor's constant themes was how to reconcile a double life, an outsider or artist always at war with his or her own demons & the limits imposed by relationships & society. In other films, there is the meeting of 2 sides. For Cukor this seemed to represent true happiness. In Holiday (1938), Cary Grant rejects his rich, stuffy fiancée in favor of her spinster sister, played by Katharine Hepburn. who turns out to be a dreamer like himself.

Cukor is often given the title. “women’s director”, but he was the 1st to show Cary Grant as a romantic comedian in Sylvia Scarlett, & he launched the careers of Jack Lemmon, Aldo Ray, Tom Ewell & Anthony Perkins as well as Katharine Hepburn & Angela Lansbury. He directed W. C. Fields, Lew Ayres, Spencer Tracy & James Mason to performances that should have won Oscars, & James Stewart, Ronald Colman & Rex Harrison to performances that did. Plus: Max Carey in What Price Hollywood?, John Barrymore in Dinner at Eight, Cary Grant in Holiday& The Philadelphia Story, Ronald Colman in A Double Life, Spencer Tracy in Adam's Rib, & Laurence Olivier in Love Among The Ruins. All these actors discovered new dimensions to their screen personalities under Cukor's smart, shrewd & sympathetic direction.

Among his most personal films: Little Women, The Marrying Kind, Pat & Mike& A Star Is Born. None of them is glossy, & none of them started as theatre.

Cukor usually filmed from the viewpoint of his female main character. This is evident in his Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy romantic comedy Pat & Mike & as it is in more obviously female-centered stories such as Little Women, & Gaslight . His concentration on strong women, along with Clark Gable's "ick factor"over Cukor's homosexuality, were the reasons for the director's firing from Gone With the Wind byproducer David O. Selznick.

All of his life Cukor fought an inferiority complex based on his ugliness, weight & life in an anti-Semitic America. His biggest secret was his active homosexuality. Among the major directors of the golden years of Hollywood, only he & James Whale were, more or less, basically openly gay. He died in 1983, 2 years after his last film- Rich & Famous. Cukor is buried in an unmarked grave at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery.

My favorite Cukor Film: Philadelphia Story. My Favorite Cukor moment: Cary Grant's speech on kindness to haughty Katherine Hepburn as haughty Tracy Lord.

What is your favorite Cukor moment? I really want to know.

Style Icon Cary Grant

“I Think That Making Love Is The Best Form Of Exercise”

This man knew how to wear a sweater

This man knew what to wear at the beach

How to wear a suit 101

He can even pull off submarine casual chic... not many chances to see Grant bare chested. I think he pulls it off.

Born On This Day- January 18th... Archibald Leach

My favorite era of Cary Grant, handsome & middle-aged.

You know this, of course. Cary Grant was born Archibald Leach in Bristol, England. He remains the embodiment of “movie star”. He has always been a favorite, if not THE favorite male star at Post Apocalyptic Bohemia.

"In my earlier career I patterned myself on a combination of Englishmen: Rex Harrison, Noel Coward, & Jack Buchanan, who impressed me as a character actor. He always looked so natural. I tried to copy men I thought were sophisticated & well dressed like Douglas Fairbanks or Cole Porter.”

"I cultivated raising one eyebrow & tried to imitate those who put their hands in their pockets with a certain amount of ease & nonchalance. But at times, when I put my hand in my trouser pocket with what I imagined was great elegance, I couldn't get the blinking thing out again because it dripped from nervous perspiration!"

"I guess to a certain extent I did eventually become the characters I was playing. I played at someone I wanted be until I became that person. Or he became me."

These are fascinating statements. He was box office gold for decades, & the Cary Grant persona was a consciously created phenomenon. He did it. The studios didn't do it, the marketing people didn't do it, Grant didn't even have an agent! The fact that he seemed so easy & commanding onscreen is just one of the many miracles of Cary Grant. It is even more startling to see him be awkward & sport a Cockney accent when in his early roles, before he hit the right spot with The Awful Truth. Later in life, he expressed mild annoyance when Mae West would give herself the credit for "discovering" him. She had, indeed, pulled him out of the crowd to be the eye-candy in She Done Him Wrong, & then in I'm No Angel.

Grant was allegedly involved with costume designer Orry-Kelly when he first moved to Manhattan, & he lived with Randolph Scott for more than 12 years. Grant & Scott seemed to have been deeply, madly in love, & alleged eyewitness accounts of their physical affection have been published many times. Arthur Laurents: " Grant told me he threw pebbles at my window one night but was luckless. I was out for the night". Alexander D'Arcy, who appeared with Grant in The Awful Truth: "Grant & Scott lived together as a gay couple. I think Cary knew that people were saying things about him. I don't think he tried to hide it." The pair were frequently each other's dates to parties & premieres.

The Husband & I hada photograph of Cary Grant & Randolph Scott, on their pool’s diving board, in a frame for a long time. Their relationship fascinated us. Ironically Cary Grant & Randolph Scott began their relationship while filming the movie Hot Saturday in 1932 & moved in together shortly after. Press reports during the first 2 years described the actors’ shared celebrity home & domestic life using phrases like: “Hollywood’s twosome” & “the happy couple.” The innuendos provided details about the actors’ personal lives which thrilled fans, making the actors appear to be a couple of men sharing more than a home. They named their house- Bachelor Hall.

The pair continued their domestic relationship even after Grant’s marriage to Virginia Cherrill in early 1934. Reporters noted, “The Grants & Randolph Scott have moved, all 3, but not apart.” Indeed, this choice for living arrangements appeared pre-planned. An item from 2 weeks prior to Grant’s marriage observed that Scott would not seek any permanent quarters until he heard from Grant. Innuendos continued later that year. Shortly after Grant’s divorce from Cherrill, an article proclaimed that Randolph Scott had moved back in with Grant. This article was titled- A Woman Is Only a Woman, suggested that the 2 men forged a home life with each another & that they probably had no room for a woman. These press items associated the actors’ home with a forbidden sexuality, turning the place into an exotic experience.

The Paramount publicity department shot over 30 photographs of Grant & Scott within different rooms of their Santa Monica beach house. The studio focus of these pictures was on the stars’ personalities, bachelorhoods, & use of the house. The caption stamped on the back of each photograph highlighted that the actors were Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors who shared quarters, but lived independent lives.

The actors’ living arrangement lasted until early 1942 when they moved apart for the remainder of their lives. Grant married 5 times. He died, on stage, at 82 in Davenport, Iowa while rehearsing his one-man show.

Is it telling that among Cary Grants films, we find these titles: I'm No Angel, Born To Be Bad, Kiss & Make Up, The Awful Truth, In Name Only, Suspicion, The Talk Of The Town, People Will Talk?

My favorite Cary Grant movie? Hmmm... I think I would have to go with North By Northwest.

Lend Me a Crooner

In the pantheon of great American male pop singers, there's an unfortunate tendency to place them into only two designations: Sinata, and Everybody Else. The temptation is understandable: when Sinatra exploded onto the scene in the 1940's, his contemporaries, and his immediate successors in the early 1950's, all covered the same kind of romantic ballad repertoire; all possessed clean cut good looks; and almost all were Italian-American.

Young man with a song: Vic Damone, 1947

Today's birthday celebrant is Vic Damone, born Vito Rocco Farinola, the skinny Brooklyn boy who went from Paramount Theater usher to singing sensation almost overnight (discovered by another Sinatra competitor, Perry [formerly Pierino] Como). He seemingly shadowed Sinatra even more closely than the rest; twice in his career, Damone was signed by Sinatra's former record labels in a bid to replace their golden gander -- in 1956, by Columbia, after Sinatra had defected to Capitol; then in 1961, it was Capitol who came calling, after Sinatra jumped ship to begin his own imprint, Reprise. And when Sinatra had a row with Louis B. Mayer and was fired from MGM in 1951, guess who was signed to a movie contract?


But it would be wrong to dismiss Vic Damone as a mere Sinatra clone. For one thing, the sheer beauty of his voice is dazzling: more classically trained than Sinatra's; prettier and more supple than Tony Bennett's; more muscular than Jack Jones'. And for another, in his relatively brief film career, Damone demonstrated a natural, easy charm in front of the camera, as well as a more traditionally handsome face and form than his idol.


Unfortunately, none of Damone's films for MGM were particularly memorable. He made his debut in Rich, Young and Pretty (1951) -- the title referring, incidentally, to Metro's resident operatic chirper, Jane Powell, not Damone! Although he made a positive impression, especially with the female audience, the film itself was no more than a charming diversion.

Vic Damone (top) with Wendell Corey, Jane Powell and Fernando Lamas in Rich, Young and Pretty (1951, MGM)

A stint in the Army placed Damone's career on hold briefly; upon his return, he was quickly cast in four musicals: Athena (1954), Deep in My Heart (1954), Hit the Deck (1955), and Kismet (1955), all but the last with Powell.

Deep in My Heart (1954, MGM)

Hit the Deck (1955, MGM)

Vic Damone and Jane Powell on the set of Athena (1954, MGM)

All were resounding failures, and such participants as Damone, Powell, Howard Keel, Ann Miller and Dolores Gray found themselves unceremoniously dropped from MGM's roster of stars. Damone's musical fortunes, however, continued to shine brightly: since his meteoric debut in 1947, Damone had notched up an impressive run of Top 10 hits, and in 1956, he scored one of his biggest, a cover of "On the Street Where You Live" from My Fair Lady. The following year, Damone could be heard crooning the lachrymose title song to An Affair to Remember (1957) starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, and scored yet another major hit.


Almost overnight, however, the hit records dried up, as rock and roll swept the country. Damone's personal life was in shambles, as well: he had married Italian-born starlet Pier Angeli in an unexpected 1954 ceremony -- surprising everyone, including Angeli's lover, James Dean, who, according to urban legend, sat outside of the church during the wedding, weeping astride his motorcycle.

Vic Damone and Pier Angeli marry, November 24, 1954

When the Damone/Angeli marriage ended in 1958, it was amid ugly accusations of gambling, infidelity, alcohol abuse and wife beating. The publicity didn't help Damone's public image, which was already tainted by what many perceived as cockiness and brazen egoism. He was dropped by his press agents, blasted by his own manager as a "S.O.B.," and was in and out of courtrooms as he and Angeli waged a bitter custody battle over their son, Perry; at one point, Angeli actually had Damone arrested for kidnapping when he violated a visitation order.

Perry Damone, Pier Angeli and Vic Damone (with second wife, Judy Rawlins) following a custody hearing, 1965

Redeeming Damone's image somewhat was the surprise success of a 1962 summer replacement series called The Lively Ones, which Damone hosted, aided by two comely sidekicks, Joan Stanley and Shirley Yelm. Showcasing an impressive array of jazz talent, ranging from Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald to Dave Brubeck and Shelley Manne, the program was clearly aimed at a sophisticated, adult audience, and Damone was praised for his hosting skills, as well as his musical abilities. It was considered such a hit, Capitol quickly issued a "tie-in" album by Damone to cash in on the show's success.


The Lively Ones returned for the summer of 1963, this time with Quinn O'Hara and Gloria Neill supporting Damone. And, once again, Capitol decided to "capitol"-ize on its popularity by titling one of Damone's albums after it: The Liveliest captured Damone's slick nightclub act at New York's famed Basin Street East -- and, in a nod to the show's sponsor, Damone, O'Hara and Neill were prominently photographed with a gleaming new Ford Galaxie 500.


Strangely, despite his obvious appeal and talent, Damone never had a regular series of his own, although he hosted several other summer replacements, starting back in 1957 with, appropriately enough, The Vic Damone Show; and, in the summer of 1967, The Dean Martin Summer Show with Broadway vet Carol Lawrence and Dino's daughter, Gail Martin.

Vic Damone with Carol Lawerence and Gail Martin, The Dean Martin Summer Show (1967)

Although Elvis, and then the Beatles, spelled the death knell for the crooners on the charts, Damone and his contemporaries retained a steady, popular presence throughout the 1960's, thanks to television and nightclub work. Things started to bottom out in the 1970's, however; Damone declared bankruptcy in 1971, and that same year, his ex-wife, Pier Angeli, died at age 39 from a drug overdose. Three years later, his second wife, Judy Rawlings, committed suicide in the same manner.

L-R: Twin sister Marisa Pavan, son Perry Damone, mother Enrica Pierangeli, drama coach Helen Sorrell, and ex-husband Vic Damone arrive at Pier Angeli's funeral, September 13, 1971

Damone paid of his debts by touring constantly, particularly the lucrative Las Vegas circuit, and enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in the 1980's, particularly when he married fourth wife Diahann Carroll, who was just coming off of the height of her Dynasty fame. The two performed a well-received act together, but would eventually divorce in 1996. Despite their nearly 10 year union, the breakup was not a pleasant one, with Carroll later revealing some harrowing details about what she described as his demeaning behavior towards her, and Damone suggesting that Carroll's hard-as-nails ambition and show business drive were at odds with what was by then his more laid-back lifestyle.

Vic Damone and Diahann Carroll, 1990

Since 1998, Damone has been married to fifth wife Rena, and seems content to have left his tumultuous past behind in favor of a relaxed family life. He has aged well and gracefully, and although he's been effectively retired since 2001, friends and family report that his gorgeous pipes are still in fine shape -- he simply would rather play golf and spend time with his six grandchildren than make the concert hall rounds again. In his best recordings, and in the glimpses of potential shown in his MGM films, Damone steps out from behind Sinatra's shadow to leave a lovely legacy of song.

VIC DAMONE
June 12, 1928

Sneakin' Up on You

Sterling Hayden and Scott Brady in Johnny Guitar (1954, Republic)

Randolph Scott and Cary Grant at their home, 1933

Sal Mineo and Don Johnson in the stage production of Fortune and Men's Eyes (1969)

Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter, 1956

And So it Goes

with Laurence Olivier in Rebecca (Selznick International, 1940)

with Cary Grant in Suspicion (1941, RKO)

with Tyrone Power in This Above All (1942, 20th Century Fox)

with Charles Boyer in The Constant Nymph (1943, Warner Bros.)

with Louis Jourdan in Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948, Universal)

with Gavin MacLeod in The Love Boat (1981)

What Is Your Personal Favorite Tear Jerker?

"Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories."

Deborah Kerr in An Affair To Remember



“I Think That Making Love Is The Best Form Of Exercise” Cary Grant

My Top 10 Favorite Cary Grant Films:
•Bringing Up Baby (1938)
•His Girl Friday (1940)
•The Awful Truth (1937)
•Notorious (1946)
•Arsenic & Old Lace (1940)
•Charade (1963)
•The Philadelphia Story (1940)
•North By Northwest (1959)
•Topper (1937)
•The Bishop's Wife (1947)



Because his performanc­es seemed so effortless & because the debonair, dashing "Cary Grant" persona he created seemed so believable­, I think his talent has been underrated­. I particular­ly love NOTORIOUS. A great favorite of the Husband is THE AWFUL TRUTH, & the team of Grant & Irene Dunne is scintillat­ing, & the Husband cries whenever he catches an another of his favorites, the heartbreak­ing & heartwarmi­ng PENNY SERENADE, again with the fabulous Irene Dunne. ARSENIC & OLD LACE, HIS GIRL FRIDAY, NORTH BY NORTHWEST.­..what a wonderful legacy he left. I don't think he made a misstep as an actor. What is your favorite Cary Grant performance?

Born On This Day- January 18th... Film Icon Cary Grant

My favorite era of Cary Grant, handsome & middle-aged.

Cary Grant was born Archibald Leach in Bristol, England. He remains the embodiment of “movie star”. He has always been a favorite, if not THE favorite, of the Husband & mine.


"In my earlier career I patterned myself on a combination of Englishmen—Rex Harrison, Noel Coward, & Jack Buchanan, who impressed me as a character actor. He always looked so natural. I tried to copy men I thought were sophisticated & well dressed like Douglas Fairbanks or Cole Porter.”


"I cultivated raising one eyebrow & tried to imitate those who put their hands in their pockets with a certain amount of ease & nonchalance. But at times, when I put my hand in my trouser pocket with what I imagined was great elegance, I couldn't get the blinking thing out again because it dripped from nervous perspiration!"


"I guess to a certain extent I did eventually become the characters I was playing. I played at someone I wanted be until I became that person. Or he became me."


These are fascinating statements. He was box office gold for decades, & the Cary Grant persona was a consciously created phenomenon. He did it. The studios didn't do it, the marketing people didn't do it, Grant didn't even have an agent! The fact that he seemed so easy & commanding onscreen is just one of the many miracles of Cary Grant. It is even more startling to see him be awkward & sport a Cockney accent when in his early roles, before he hit the right spot with The Awful Truth. Later in life, he expressed mild annoyance when Mae West would give herself the credit for "discovering" him. She had, indeed, pulled him out of the crowd to be the eye-candy in She Done Him Wrong, & then in I'm No Angel.

Grant was allegedly involved with costume designer Orry-Kelly when he first moved to Manhattan, & he lived with Randolph Scott for more than 12 years. Grant & Scott  seemed to have been deeply, madly in love, & alleged eyewitness accounts of their physical affection have been published many times. Arthur Laurents: " Grant told me he threw pebbles at my window one night but was luckless. I was out for the night". Alexander D'Arcy, who appeared with Grant in The Awful Truth: "Grant & Scott lived together as a gay couple. I think Cary knew that people were saying things about him. I don't think he tried to hide it." The 2 men were frequently each other's dates to parties & premieres.

The Husband & I had the photograph above of Cary Grant & Randolph Scott, on their pool’s diving board, in a frame for a long time. Their relationship fascinated us. Ironically Cary Grant & Randolph Scott began their relationship while filming the movie Hot Saturday in 1932 & moved in together shortly after. Press reports during the first 2 years described the actors’ shared celebrity home & domestic life using phrases like: “Hollywood’s twosome” & “the happy couple.” The innuendos provided details about the actors’ personal lives which thrilled fans, making the actors appear to be a couple of men sharing more than a home. They named their house- Bachelor Hall.

The pair continued their domestic relationship even after Grant’s marriage to Virginia Cherrill in early 1934. Reporters noted, “The Grants & Randolph Scott have moved, all 3, but not apart.” Indeed, this choice for living arrangements appeared pre-planned. An item from 2 weeks prior to Grant’s marriage observed that Scott would not seek any permanent quarters until he heard from Grant. Innuendos continued later that year. Shortly after Grant’s divorce from Cherrill, an article proclaimed that Randolph Scott had moved back in with Grant. This article was titled- A Woman Is Only a Woman, suggested that the 2 men forged a home life with each another & that they probably had no room for a woman. These press items associated the actors’ home with a forbidden sexuality, turning the place into an exotic experience.

The Paramount publicity department shot over 30 photographs of Grant & Scott within different rooms of their Santa Monica beach house. The studio focus of these pictures was on the stars’ personalities, bachelorhoods, & use of the house. The caption stamped on the back of each photograph highlighted that the actors were 2 of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors who shared quarters, but lived independent lives.

The actors’ living arrangement lasted until early 1942 when they moved apart for the remainder of their lives. Grant married 5 times. He died, on stage, at 82 in Davenport, Iowa while rehearsing his one-man show.

Is it telling that among Cary Grants films, we find these titles: I'm No Angel, Born To Be Bad, Kiss & Make Up, The Awful Truth, In Name Only, Suspicion, The Talk Of The Town, People Will Talk?

That Old Black Magic

"A tough, swaggering little slut." - Louise Brooks on Shirley Temple

In all fairness, if we could bag Rory, Guy and Cary, we'd be swaggering, too;
and definitely acting like a slut.

Born On This Day- January 18th... Film Icon Archibald Leach

Cary Grant was born Archibald Leach in Bristol, England. He remains the embodiment of “movie star”. He has always been a favorite, if not THE favorite, of the Husband & mine.

 "To play yourself—your true self—is the hardest thing in the world. Watch people at a party. They're playing themselves…but nine out of ten times the image they adopt for themselves is the wrong one."




"In my earlier career I patterned myself on a combination of Englishmen—Rex Harrison, Noel Coward, & Jack Buchanan, who impressed me as a character actor. He always looked so natural. I tried to copy men I thought were sophisticated & well dressed like Douglas Fairbanks or Cole Porter.”




"I cultivated raising one eyebrow and tried to imitate those who put their hands in their pockets with a certain amount of ease and nonchalance. But at times, when I put my hand in my trouser pocket with what I imagined was great elegance, I couldn't get the blinking thing out again because it dripped from nervous perspiration!"




"I guess to a certain extent I did eventually become the characters I was playing. I played at someone I wanted be until I became that person. Or he became me."


These are fascinating statements. He was box office gold for decades, & the Cary Grant persona was a consciously created phenomenon. He did it. The studios didn't do it, the marketing people didn't do it, Grant didn't even have an agent! The fact that he seemed so easy & commanding onscreen is just one of the many miracles of Cary Grant. It is even more startling to see him be awkward & sport a think Cockney accent when in his early roles, before he hit the right spot with The Awful Truth. Later in life, he expressed mild annoyance when Mae West would give herself the credit for "discovering" him. She had, indeed, pulled him out of the crowd to be the eye-candy in first She Done Him Wrong, then in I'm No Angel.

Grant was allegedly involved with costume designer Orry-Kelly when he first moved to Manhattan, & lived with Randolph Scott for twelve years. Richard Blackwell wrote that Grant and Scott were "deeply, madly in love",& alleged eyewitness accounts of their physical affection have been published. Arthur Laurents: " Grant told me he threw pebbles at my window one night but was luckless. I was out for the night". Alexander D'Arcy, who appeared with Grant in The Awful Truth, said he knew that he & Scott "lived together as a gay couple", adding: "I think Cary knew that people were saying things about him. I don't think he tried to hide it.The 2 men frequently accompanied each other to parties & premieres.

The Husband & I had the photo of Cary Grant & Randolph Scott on their pool’s diving board in a frame for a long time. Their relationship fascinated us. Ironically Cary Grant & Randolph Scott began their relationship while filming the movie Hot Saturday in 1932 & moved in together shortly after. Press reports during the first two years described the actors’ shared celebrity home & domestic using phrases like: “Hollywood’s twosome” & “the happy couple.” The innuendos provided details about the two actors’ personal lives which thrilled fans, making the actors appear to be 2 men sharing more than a home. The named their house- Bachelor Hall.

The pair continued their domestic relationship even after Grant’s marriage to Virginia Cherrill in early 1934. Reporters noted, “The Grants & Randolph Scott have moved, all three, but not apart.” Indeed, this choice for living arrangements appeared preplanned. An item from 2 weeks prior to Grant’s marriage observed that Scott would not seek any permanent quarters until he heard from Grant. Innuendos continued later that year. Shortly after Grant’s divorce from Cherrill, an article proclaimed that Randolph Scott had moved back in with Grant. This article’s title- A Woman Is Only a Woman, suggested that the 2 men formed a home life with each another that they probably could not have with a woman. These items associated the actors’ home with a forbidden sexuality, turning the place into an exotic experience.


The Paramount publicity department shot over 30 photographs of Grant & Scott within different rooms of their Santa Monica beach house. The studio focused of these pictures was on the stars’ personalities, bachelorhoods, & use of the house. The caption stamped on the back of each photograph highlighted that the actors were 2 of filmland’s most eligible bachelors who shared quarters but lived independent lives.

The actors’ living arrangement lasted until early 1942 when they moved apart for the remainder of their lives. Grant married 5 times. He died, on stage, at 82 in Davenport, Iowa while rehearsing his one-man show.

Is it telling that among Cary Grants films, we find these titles: I'm No Angel, Born To Be Bad, Kiss & Make Up, The Awful Truth, In Name Only, Suspicion, The Talk Of The Town, People Will Talk?