DID YOU KNOW...?

Julie Andrews starred on Broadway as Eliza Doolittle in the original My Fair Lady but when they made the movie the studio passed over Julie Andrews  in favor of Audrey Hepburn because they did not think that Julie Andrews had a big enough name. That year Julie Andrews won the Academy Award for Mary Poppins! – Go figure.

Julie Andrews also starred on Broadway as the Original Guinevere in Camelot and the movie role went to Vanessa Redgrave! The singing in both movies had to be dubbed because the actresses could not sing the songs themselves.

Vivian Leigh was the last major cast member to be cast in Gone With The Wind. The movie was already in production when she was cast. The Burning of Atlanta was the first scene shot. They burned down the whole back lot to make room to build the set for Tara. Vivien Leigh was brought to the event and introduced to the director then. (Scarlet in the “burning of Atlanta” was played by a stunt “man”. The same gentleman also took the famous fall down the stairs for Miss Leigh later in the movie). The only problem with Vivien Leigh was her eyes were blue so a yellow light had to be placed under the camera for close-up shots to turn them to Scarlett’s  famous green ones. (No contact lenses in 1938)

The casting for Scarlet was a year long event many amateurs and many major actresses were tested for the role including Joan Crawford and Bette Davis.

The Hoop Skirt was a symbol of “The circle in which a lady was protected “. In Victorian England (1837- 1901) even the legs of a piano were covered by “shawls” because they were considered too “provocative”.

Pirates: Pirates have been around as long as there has been sea travel. At times in history they were often respected and some were of noble birth. Pirates were instrumental in the defeating of the Spanish Armada by the English (1558).

Many pirates wore their “booty” on there backs; many times to ransom themselves or their ships out of a tricky situation. Next to silver and gold, fabrics were one of the most prized plunder of pirates. That is why pirates are many times seen in bits of rich fabrics (in vests and sashes mostly) added to their otherwise mundane outfits. They also wore a lot of jewelry at times for the same reasons. Buttons were also many times made of precious metals and studded with pearls and jewels.

Woman were considered “Bad Luck” on a pirate ships (they distracted the men); However, there were many famous and powerful female pirates check them out at www.deadmentellnotales.com

Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz but had to be replaced because he was allergic to the make-up (lead poisoning?) so he was replaced by Jack Haley. The original choice for Dorothy was Shirley Temple but she was unavailable (thank Goodness). Another mishap on the set was that Margaret Hamilton (The Witch) was badly burned in the filming of her first entrance and had to be filmed around for 4 weeks.

MORE TO COME...!