Hollywood History Goddess

On this Date 112 Years Ago Grace Mae Brown was drowned by Chester Gillette the nephew of Grace’s Employer The Gillette Skirt Company. Chester and Grace were in a sexual relationship. Grace became pregnant and Chester refused to take responsibility. He told her they were going on a trip to take her to an unwed mother’s home. He took her out on a boat where it’s believed Chester hit her over the head and threw her overboard. Her body was discovered the next day.  This story was the real life inspiration for the movie A Place In The Sun starring Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor and Shelley Winters.  Grace Mae Brown on Find a Grave The Grace Mae Brown Murder A Place In The Sun

John Gilbert (Born John Cecil Pringle)1897-1936 was a popular actor of The Silent Screen he was known as “The Great Lover” he rivaled Rudolph Valentino as a sex symbol of the Silent Screen.  His Career Started to decline near the end of the Silent Era, John had a problem with Alcohol and Interpersonal relationships throughout his short life. He also had a strained relationship with MGM Head Louis B. Meyer which lead Meyer to Sabotage Gilbert’s Speaking Voice (deliberately raising it octaves) making it sound effeminate so that he wouldn’t have a voice for sound. This stemmed from an argument when Greta Garbo stood Gilbert up at their double wedding with King Vidor and Eleanor Boardman Meyer made a crude joke about Garbo and Gilbert Punched Meyer. Boardman confirmed it happened.  Gilbert was a Lover in real life being married 4 times and having steamy affairs with Barbara LaMarr, Lila Lee, Laurette Taylor, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich (who he was engaged to at the time of his death)

Tab Hunter Born Arthur Andrew Kelm (July 11, 1931-July 8, 2018) has died 3 days shy of his 87th Birthday. His official Facebook Page posted the news but no cause of death was given. Career Tab was a popular actor in the 1950’s and 1960’s he was under contract with Warner Bros. studios. His agent was the Infamous Henry Willson who repped such Stars as Guy Madison, Robert Wagner, Rock Hudson, and Troy Donahue. Henry was gay and many of his actors he managed were also closeted gay. In 1955 Confidential Magazine was going to publish a story about Rock Hudson’s sexual orientation. Henry Willson struck a deal with the Magazine to sell out two of his less famous stars they published a story about Rory Calhoun’s Prison Record and Tab Hunter’s arrest at a gay party in Hollywood for disorderly conduct. The two stories didn’t effect either stars careers.  When Tab Hunter’s Song “Young Love” went to number one knocking Elvis off the charts Jack Warner Hit the roof because he didn’t profit from the

Possibly the Saddest story in Silent Filn History Lucille Rickson was a Child Star in the Silent Film Era whose bright light burned out at the tender age of 14 from a Disease that took many in that time in History tuberculosis.  Lucille Rickson Wikipedia Page Lucille Rickson at Find a Grave Lucille’s remains are in the same urn as her mother who died of a Massive Heart Attack just a couple weeks before Lucille died. It’s believed the stress of caring for her sick daughter is to blame for her mother’s death.  Lucille’s Brother Marshall Rickson with the help of Conrad Nagel and Rupert Hughes enrolled in College and Became a successful lawyer. His twin sons also became lawyers. He was the bright spot in this heartbreaking story.  * When Lucille was on her deathbed Paul Bern would visit her regularly and read to her. A good man. 

Virginia Rappe’  1895-1921 Silent Film Actress More Famous for the way she died and the Scandal that ensued involving Silent Film Star Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle  Here is her Wiki Page she’s buried in a modest grave at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood CA  Virginia Rappe'

Margaux Louise Hemingway (February 16, 1954 – July 1, 1996) was an American fashion model and actress. The statuesque Hemingway earned success as a supermodel in the mid-1970s appearing on the covers of Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, and TIME. She signed a million-dollar contract for Fabergé as the spokesmodel for Babe perfume. She was the granddaughter of writer Ernest Hemingway. Her later years were marred by highly publicized episodes of addiction and depression. She committed suicide by drug overdose in 1996 at the age of 42. Early Life Born Margot Louise Hemingway in Portland, Oregon, she was the daughter of Byra Louise (née Whittlesey) and Jack Hemingway (eldest son of writer Ernest Hemingway). When she learned that she was named after the wine, Château Margaux, which her parents drank on the night she was conceived, she changed the spelling from "Margot" to "Margaux" to match. She had two sisters, actress Mariel Hemingway, an