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Birthday Remembrance Isadora Duncan

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Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877 or May 27, 1878[a] – September 14, 1927) was an American and French dancer who performed to acclaim throughout Europe. Born in California, she lived in Western Europe and the Soviet Union from the age of 22 until her death at age 50, when her scarf became entangled in the wheels and axle of the car in which she was riding. Early Life Isadora Duncan was born in San Francisco, the youngest of the four children of Joseph Charles Duncan (1819–1898), a banker, mining engineer and connoisseur of the arts, and Mary Isadora Gray (1849–1922). Her brothers were Augustin Duncan and Raymond Duncan; her sister, Elizabeth Duncan, was also a dancer. Soon after Isadora's birth, her father was exposed in illegal bank dealings, and the family became extremely poor. Her parents divorced when she was an infant, and her mother moved with her family to Oakland, California, where she worked as a seamstress and piano teacher. From ages six to ten, Isa...

The Wild Life of Peggy Hopkins Joyce

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Peggy Hopkins Joyce (born Marguerite Upton; May 26, 1893 – June 12, 1957) was an American actress, artist's model and dancer. In addition to her performing career, Joyce was known for her flamboyant life, with numerous engagements, six marriages to wealthy men, subsequent divorces, a series of scandalous affairs, a collection of diamonds and furs, and a generally lavish lifestyle. Early Life Born Marguerite Upton in 1893 in Berkley, Virginia (now part of Norfolk), she was known as Peggy. Upton left home at the age of 15 with a vaudeville bicyclist. While the two were en route to Denver via train, she met millionaire Everett Archer Jr. She dumped the bicyclist and in 1910 married Archer. Archer had the marriage annulled after six months when he discovered Joyce was underage. Joyce later claimed she divorced Archer because the life of a millionaire's wife "was not at all what I thought it would be, and I was bored to death." Using the settlement money she...

Whatever Happened to the Marrying Mdivani's?

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The Mdivani's  were a Georgian family. In the West, the best known bearers of this name were the children of General Zakhari Mdivani and his wife Elizabeth. The five siblings fled to Paris after the Soviet invasion of Georgia in 1921, and became known as the "Marrying Mdivanis", as they all married into wealth and fame. The 3 Male Mdivani's were the most famous for Marrying wealthy famous women two of the women were among the biggest actresses of the time and one was The richest girl in the world. Not Too Shabby!  The Mdivani siblings were: Nina Mdivani (1901–1987), who was married to Charles Henry Huberich, a Stanford professor and lawyer, from 15 July 1925 until their divorce on 19 May 1936. On 18 August 1936 she married Denis Conan Doyle, a son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. After Denis's death on 9 March 1955, she married Anthony Harwood, a secretary to Denis Conan Doyle. Serge Mdivani (1903–1936), came to Massachusetts...

The Strange Death of Actor and Politician Albert Dekker

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Albert Dekker (born Thomas Albert Ecke Van Dekker; December 20, 1905 – May 5, 1968) was an American character actor and politician best known for his roles in Dr. Cyclops, The Killers, Kiss Me Deadly, and The Wild Bunch. He is sometimes credited as Albert Van Dekker or Albert van Dekker. Early life and career Dekker was born in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Thomas and Grace Ecke Van Dekker. He attended Richmond Hill High School, where he appeared in stage productions. He then attended Bowdoin College, where he majored in pre-med with plans to become a doctor. On the advice of a friend, he decided to pursue acting as a career instead. He made his professional acting debut with a Cincinnati stock company in 1927. Within a few months, Dekker was featured in the Broadway production of Eugene O'Neill's play Marco Millions. After a decade of theatrical appearances, Dekker transferred to Hollywood in 1937 and made his first film, 1937's The Great Garrick...

Truly Shattuck from Scandal to Stardom to Obscurity

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Truly Shattuck (July 27, 1875 – December 6, 1954) was a soubrette star of vaudeville, music halls and Broadway whose career began in tragedy and ended in relative obscurity. Early Life and Scandal  Truly Shattuck was born at San Miguel, San Luis Obispo County, California in an adobe house adjoining the historic Mission San Miguel Arcángel. Her birth name was said to be Clarice Etrulia de Burchards (or Burcharde) which has proven difficult to verify through public records. Shattuck was the surname of her stepfather, who like her birthfather, nothing here is known. Truly’s mother was Jane Shattuck. In 1893 Jane Shattuck murdered Harry Poole, her daughter's boyfriend, after he refused to commit to marriage after the couple spent the night together. Shattuck's mother was originally convicted of first degree murder, but was later released after winning a temporary insanity appeal. At the time Shattuck was a chorus girl at the Tivoli Opera House in San Francisco an...

Birthday Remembrance Silent Movie Actress Virginia Pearson

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Virginia Belle Pearson (March 7, 1886 – June 6, 1958) was an American stage and film actress. She made fifty-one films in a career which extended from 1910 until 1932. Career and Personal Life She was born on March 7, 1886 in Anchorage, Kentucky to parents Joseph F. Pearson and Mary Alice Calloway. She had one younger brother, Harvey Thompson Pearson. Virginia was also the granddaughter of Precious Martha Grable Pearson (actress Betty Grable's great aunt). Virginia worked for a brief time as an assistant in the public library in Louisville, Kentucky after completing school. She was famous in her hometown Louisville playhouse performances. Pearson trained in the tradition of the stars of the American stage, and played in stock productions in Washington, D.C. and New York City. In New York she played the heroine in Hypocrisy, a story which laid bare "the shame of society." She was promoted by William Fox of Fox Film Corporation for the same kind of strong...

Fundraiser for Funeral of Clark James Gable

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Update: Autopsy results reveal Clark passed from a accidental Fentanyl, Percocet, and Xanax overdose. This does not change how much I miss my friend Clark. May he Rest In Peace 😢 Being a Hollywood Historian I've had the Privilege of knowing some family members of stars of the silent and golden age of Hollywood History. I live 12 miles from The Birthplace of The King of Hollywood Clark Gable.  On and off for 8 years I served as a bridge between The Clark Gable Museum and The Gable Family in CA. at times it was a Thankless job dealing with Gable's only son John Clark Gable but it was always a joy talking to Gable's only Grandson Clark James Gable.  Clark James Gable Clark was always polite, friendly, down to earth. loved to Fish and Surf. He loved his family especially the women of his family. He'd do anything for his family He also was so proud of his heritage and legacy as being the only Grandson of Clark Gable.  His father John was the exact opposit...