Early this year, Funfare published excerpts from the book Hollywood Trivia (Over 300 Curious Lists From Tinseltown) by Aubrey Malone which was given to me as a Christmas gift by Dr. Willie Ong (who writes a health column for this paper’s Life Section every Tuesday) and his wife, Dr. Liza Ong. The readers’ reaction: “Highly-interesting and totally informative.”
They’re asking for more, so here’s Part 2 of that “showbiz na showbiz” piece, still from Willie and Liza’s book-gift:
• FOREVER YOUNG (10 stars who died before their time)
1. Sal Mineo (photo) — Stabbed to death in an alleyway in 1976 for an unknown motive — no money was taken from his wallet. He was 37.
2. Vivien Leigh — Died at 54 of tuberculosis.
3. Veronica Lake —- Died, also at 54, of hepatitis.
4. Jeff Chandler — Got blood poisoning after surgery for a slipped disc and died in the hospital at age 43. (Note: Chandler sustained a slipped disc while shooting a movie in the Philippines. He was scheduled for surgery at a Philippine hospital and opted to have it in the States. The patient who took his place survived and is now into his late 70s.)
5. Jean Harlow — Died at 26 of complications from a bladder infection. (She refused medical attention because it conflicted with her Christian Science beliefs.)
6. George Reeves — Was found dead in his bedroom in June 1959, after being shot in the head. Controversy still surrounds the circumstances, and many people did not believe that he committed suicide but that he was murdered. He was 45.
7. Rudolph Valentino — When he passed away in 1926 of complications following a gastric ulcer and a ruptured appendix, several women committed suicide at the loss of their love god at the tender age of 31.
8. Lupe Velez — The so-called Mexican Spitfire tried to end her turbulent life at 36 in 1934 by overdosing on sleeping pills. She underestimated the dosage, however, and, feeling violently sick, made a dash for the bathroom. On the way, she slipped and was flung head first into the toilet bowl and drowned.
9. Elvis Presley (photo) — Died in his toilet at Graceland at 42. The autopsy showed more than a dozen different chemical substances in his body.
10. Wallace Reid — Died in a sanatorium at 30 after an all-too-short life spent largely trying to kick a drug habit.
• DIAL “C” FOR CAMEO (10 famous Alfred Hitchcock [photo] cameos from his own movies)
1. Blackmail (1929) — Swats a little boy with a newspaper while riding on the subway.
2. The Lady Vanishes (1938) — Smoking a cigaret at Victoria Station (in London).
3. Rebecca (1940) — Waiting outside a telephone booth which George Sanders is using.
4. Lifeboat (1944) — Appears in a newspaper ad for an obesity corset.
5. Strangers on a Train (1951) — Boarding a train carrying a double bass.
6. Rear Window (1954) — Winds up a clock in the screenwriter’s apartment.
7. North by Northwest (1959) — Running for a bus, only for the doors to close in his face.
8. Psycho (1960) — Standing in the street wearing a cowboy hat.
9. Birds (1963) — Walks past Tippi Hedren in the street with two dogs.
10. Torn Curtain (1966) — Nursing a baby (that wets itself) in a hotel lobby.
• LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! (10 memorable opening lines of movies)
1. “Most of what follows is true.” (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969, photo).
2. “And so they lived happily ever after. Or did they?” (The Palm Beach Story, 1942).
3. “For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not, no explanation is possible.” (The Song of Bernadette, 1943).
4. “This picture is dedicated to all the beautiful women in the world who have shot their husbands full of holes.” (Roxie Hart, 1942).
5. “Hey, boy, what you doin’ with my momma’s car?” (Bonnie and Clyde, 1967)
6. “What can you say about a 25-year-old girl who died?” (Love Story, 1970).
7. “On November 1, 1959, the population of New York City was 8,042,783.” (The Apartment, 1960).
8. “Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again.” (Rebecca, 1940).
9. “Yes, this is Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California.” (Sunset Boulevard, 1950).
10. “I believe in America.” (The Godfather, 1972, photo).
• A LINE TO REMEMBER (15 trademark lines from classic movies)
1. “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” (Robert Duval in Apocalypse Now, 1979).
2. “We rob banks.” (Warren Beatty in Bonnie and Clyde, 1967).
3. “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” (Al Johnson in The Jazz Singer, 1927).
4. “You talkin’ to me?” (Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver, 1977).
5. “I’ll be back.” (Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, 1984).
6. “I coulda bin a contender.” (Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, 1954).
7. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” (Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind, 1939).
8. “Go ahead, punk. Make my day.” (Clint Eastwood in Sudden Impact, 1983, photo).
9. “Phone home.” (E.T. in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, 1982).
10. “I am big. It’s the picture that got small.” (Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard, 1950).
11. “Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me, aren’t you?” (Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate, 1967).
12. “Take your stinking paws off me you dirty ape.” (Charlton Heston in The Planet of the Apes, 1967).
13. “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.” (Tom Hanks in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969).
14. “Who are these guys?” (Paul Newman referring to his mysterious pursuers in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969).
15. “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.” (Bette Davis in All About Eve, 1950, photo).
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(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com)