Tag: Tippi Hedren

Happy 91st Birthday, Arlene Dahl!

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Happy birthday to actress Arlene Dahl, who was born 91 years ago today in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Here are 10 AD Did-You-Knows:

  • Dahl is of Norwegian heritage. Her father was a Ford dealer and executive.

  • Dahl was selected as Miss Rheingold Beer of 1946. Rheingold’s annual campaign was a very popular one; more than 25 million people voted for their favorite candidate every year. Among the other actresses who were named Miss Rheingold early in their careers were Tippi Hedren, Hope Lange and Grace Kelly.

  • Dahl has been married six times. Each marriage lasted seven years or fewer, except her current one, which is at 32 years and counting. Sixth time’s the charm!

  • Dahl is a very conservative Republican.

  • Dahl is the mother of actor Lorenzo Lamas, born in 1958, while Dahl was married to Fernando Lamas. She also has a daughter, Carole Christina Holmes, and a second son, Rounseville Andreas Schaum, who was born when Dahl was 45.

  • After becoming a mother, Dahl worked primarily on television, with only occasional film appearances thereafter.

  • In 1952, Dahl began writing a syndicated beauty column. In 1954, she founded Arlene Dahl Enterprises, which marketed cosmetics and lingerie. In 1967, she dissolved the company and became a VP at an ad agency. In 1970, Dahl joined Sears Roebuck as director of beauty products. In the 1980s, Dahl wrote a syndicated astrology column and operated an astrology phone service.

  • In 1995, Dahl played the role of Lady Lucille on the popular soap opera All My Children.

  • Dahl is the author of more than two dozen books on beauty and astrology.

  • Today, Dahl and her husband, packaging designer Marc Rosen, divide their time between New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida.

    • Happy birthday, Arlene Dahl, and may you enjoy many happy returns of the day!

    Arlene Dahl

    Clap hands, here comes Charlie

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    Usually, when we have occasion to recommend a film festival or other vintage event, the proceedings are taking place in New York City, the home of Cladrite Headquarters, but our recommendation for this Friday and Saturday is directed at those in Southern California.

    We’re not the biggest of Charlie Chaplin fans—among the great silent-movie comedians, Buster Keaton stands above all others in our estimation, with Harold Lloyd coming in second. But we’ve enjoyed our share of laughs over the years, courtesy of the Little Tramp, and we certainly acknowledge and respect the key role he plays in cinematic history.

    So it’s with pleasure that we inform you that, this weekend, the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, the William S. Hart Park and Museum, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and the Los Angeles County Department of Parks & Recreation are commemmorating the 75th anniversary of Modern Times, the picture that some say marked the end of the silent era, with a two-day celebration dubbed ChaplinFest.

    The Santa Clarita Valley is a fitting site for this event, becuase it was there, on the Sierra Highway near Vasquez Rocks, that Chaplin filmed Modern Times‘ final scene. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll recall it—the Little Tramp walks off into the distance with Paulette Goddard on his arm.

    Chaplin also filmed a scene for The Pilgrim (1923) at the nearby Saugus Train Station, which has been preserved and moved to Heritage Junction park.

    ChaplinFest boasts a number of intriguing events over its two days: A screening of Robert Downey Jr.’s biopic Chaplin; a ceremony dedicating a Chaplin monument at William S. Hart Park, with special guests Tippi Hedren and Leonard Maltin; screenings of Modern Times accompanied by artifacts from the movie, including Chaplin’s “Little Tramp” overalls; a book signing withJohn Bengtson, author of Silent Traces: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Charlie Chaplin; a screening of The Pilgrim at the Heritage Junction Train Station; A rare screening of the recently discovered Keystone comedy A Thief Catcher, with Chaplin as a Keystone Cop, and much more.

    If we were within striking distance of Santa Clarita, you can bet we’d be in attendance at ChaplinFest this weekend. Since we’re not, we hope some of our SoCal readers will make it—and perhaps they’ll even send us photos of the event.