Ava Gardner

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Without a doubt, Maureen O’Hara’s one of the most beautiful actresses ever. Absolutely stunning. The hair, the voice, the figure, the face - a place for everything and everything in its place.

I’ve said it before, and I’m bound to say it again - I wish actresses today would try to capture the magic, mystery, class, and sophistication that actresses yesterday possessed. A few, in my opinion, do (Keira Knightley, Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank, and Reese Witherspoon to name a few.) But for the most part, they’re way too blatant and brassy.

There’s just something different about Maureen O’Hara, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, and Rita Hayworth. And that something different is very attractive.

To be sure, the same can be said about actors yesterday vs. actors today! There aren’t very many Clark Galbes, John Wyanes, Cary Grants, or Clint Eastwoods walking around today.

So many girl-y boys! If John Wayne walked through Hollywood today, he wouldn’t know whether to date or punch half the actors.

Eh, too much cranberry sauce - makes me mean.

Ava Gardner is one of my all-time favorites - I guess that’s why I feature her so much. Not only was she absolutely stunning, she (like other favorites Lucille Ball, Audrey Hepburn, Rita Hayworth, James Dean, and Jimmy Stewart) had a certain magic. The sort of magic you can’t describe, but man-oh-man and woman-oh-woman, you know it when you see it!

Below are some interesting things about Lady Gardner that you may or may not have known. The beautiful pictures at the bottom of the post can be seen larger by clicking the t-nail. You’ll want to do that - the art that is Ava Gardner was meant to be enjoyed!

• Elizabeth Taylor named Ava Gardner as the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen.
• Ava was a southern beauty. She was born in 1922 in Grabtown, North Carolina.
• She was born on Christmas Eve.
• To say that she was completely uninterested in books would be an understatement. By 1945, Ava had read only two books: The Bible and Gone with the Wind. If you’re only going to read two books, The Bible should definitely be one.
• There is an Ava Gardner Museum! It’s located in Smithfield, North Carolina. I’ve gotta check that out.
• She was a fan of bullfighting, a sport she fell in love with on a trip to Spain.
• Ava once met author J.R.R. Tolkien and neither knew why the other was famous. With her lack of fascination for books, I’m not surprised.
• She was married to Frank Sinatra during a low point of his career. She often had to lend him money, just so he could buy presents for his children. He would later repay the debt, in a way, when he paid her medical expenses after her 1989 stroke.
• A statue of Ava from The Barefoot Contessa was given to Frank Sinatra as a gift. He kept it in his backyard garden well after their divorce. When he married Barbara Marx, she forced him to get rid of it.
• Ava and Lena Horne were very close friends.
• Although she referred to her hometown as Grabtown, the town’s name is actually Brogden. “Grabtown” is a nickname given to it by locals. She sometimes named Smithfield as her hometown. Smithfield is a larger town nearby “Grabtown”.
• Frank Sinatra nicknamed her “Angel”.
• Ava was a good friend of writer Ernest Hemingway, whom she called “Papa.”
• Production designer John Hawkesworth, said that Ava “could eat twice as much as anyone and drink three times as much.”
• Ava’s 3 husbands were married a total of 20 times between them!
• Mickey Rooney was her first husband.
• She was married to Artie Shaw from October 17, 1945 to October 25, 1946. Artie had 8 wives, two of which were Ava Gardner and Lana Turner.
• One of the most beautiful actresses ever…in fact one her fans will always declare as THE most beautiful actress ever…died from bronchial pneumonia in London on January 25, 1990.

I’m a firm believer that you can learn a lot about a person simply by listening to their words…or reading their quotes. Ava’s colorfulness definitely comes through her words:

I just got my newest entertainment blog up. It’s for my current favorite movie actress: Keira Knightley. She’s my present-day Ava, Audrey, Rita, and Lucy. She actually reminds me a great deal of Audrey Hepburn - the impossibly beautiful face, the talent, the way she carries herself, the tiny little frame.

Click HERE to check out the blog and HERE to see the amazing gallery of Keira pics we’ve put together. Whatta face!

Joi

Summertime, and that means it’s time for the clothes to come off! Unless you’re Cary Grant, apparently. I think the man must’ve slept in his suit. I guess there’s something to be said for leaving things to the imagination. Not much, but something.

Click on each t-nail to see a larger version. The larger pic will open in a new window…

More to come soon - along with some hot wallpapers! I’m working on a gorgeous Lana Turner one right now. What a face. She had the Keira Knightley thing going on long before Keira did.

Joi

Ava Gardner was striking, to be sure, but I still think that the most attractive thing about her was her confidence. Ava loved her some Ava and it came through in every movie, every interview, and every picture!

From what I’ve read she wasn’t quite as sweet as Rita Hayworth or as naive as Marilyn Monroe. She was Ava from her head to her toes and never tried to be anyone else. She seemed to have the attitude that anyone who didn’t accept her on her terms wasn’t worth her time. Kind of like Katharine Hepburn. Sad that when actors were strong, confident, and self-assured - they were looked at as demi-gods. But when actresses had these traits, they were….well, something all together different.

Joi

Is that amazing work or what?! The mural above is on Franklin Avenue in Los Angeles, California. There’s something in the eyes that captures both James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor. Click HERE to see more murals featuring James Dean. Marilyn Monroe’s also featured on several.

While I’m thrilled to see my guy James on so many, I’m surprised there aren’t more with my favorite gals Rita Hayworth, Audrey Hepburn, Ava Gardner and (of course) Lucille Ball. Oh well, at least James is featured heavily - and I spied Clark Gable on one, too. He’s another big favorite of mine. He’s one of the few actors from that period of time that seemed like a totally normal Joe. Little wonder he didn’t hang out off set much with Vivien Leigh - one of the most peculiar of ‘em all! Beautiful? Absolutely. Talented? Definitely. One of my favorite actresses? You betcha. But normal? Nah. Loonier than a bed bug.

There’s one of James Dean with W.C. Fields and a few others and there are two of them who I can’t identify for the life of me - and I usually know Hollywood inside out! The longer I stare at it, the further they get from me, though.

There’s a gorgeous mural from a McDonald’s in Eagle Rock, California too. Be sure to check that one out.

Oh great, now I’m McCraving a McChicken, McFries and a McDrink. I pretty much know what’s for lunch.

Joi

I haven’t got alot of time today - in fact, I think I’ll only be able to post on 3 of my 12 blogs and update 0 of my 14 websites - but, what can I say - the weather’s gorgeous and my gladiola bulbs are waiting to be planted!

I just had to make time to throw this gorgeous pic of Ava Garner your way, though. Did every feature this woman had know how to make an impression or what?!?!

Geez.

Joi

“I suffered, I really suffered, with all three of my husbands. And I tried damn hard with all three, starting each marriage certain that it was going to last until the end of my life. Yet none of them lasted more than a year or two.”

“Because I was promoted as a sort of a siren and played all those sexy broads, people made the mistake of thinking I was like that off the screen. They couldn’t have been more wrong.”

“After my screen test, the director clapped his hands gleefully and yelled: “She can’t talk! She can’t act! She’s sensational!”

“What’s the point? My face, shall we say, looks lived in.”

Unless your name is Michael and you’re my husband, check out the following great pictures of Ava Gardner. Click on each to see a larger version:

Michael, dearest, get back to ESPN.com, there’s nothing here for you.

Joi