The Academy Award-winning actor William Holden, born William Beedle Jr., on April 17, 1918, in O'Fallon, Illinois, began his career with 1939s "Golden Boy," per Britannica. Microphones would catch the last gurgles, and Technicolor would photograph the red, swollen tongues. For added meta-truthfulness, Wilder wanted to have that film's lead actress, Hedy Lamarr, be there too, so that DeMille could ask her to let Norma sit in her chair (you know, those behind-the-scenes chairs that have the star's name on them). Every time I go to L.A., which isn't too often, I look at these palm-bemused, once smart stucco facades, and wonder if a Norma Desmond from a later era might be hiding from the world inside them, buttressed by cable TV (AMC or TCM, no doubt), a poodle named FiFi or Sir Francis, walk-in closets full of leopard-print Capri pants that haven't fit in decades, and a world class liquor cabinet that has seen heads of state under the table on a good night. Holden had his most widely recognized role as "Commander" Shears in David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) with Alec Guinness,[25] a huge commercial success. He followed it with a romantic comedy, Dear Ruth (1947) and he was one of many cameos in Variety Girl (1947). American Film Institute On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder, by Ed Sikov, 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. The film originally opened and closed the story at the Los Angeles County Morgue. The name "Norma Desmond" was chosen from a combination of silent-film star Norma Talmadge and silent movie director William Desmond Taylor, whose still-unsolved murder is one of the great scandals of Hollywood history. Haines, whose career had ended because of his homosexual off-screen life, was too happy in his new profession as an interior decorator to want to call attention to his past as an actor. And, of course, a pool. Brenda Marshall, Holden's wife since 1941, was visiting the set when Holden and Nancy Olson had their kissing scene. "Variety" ran a front-page review, and this led to a belated release of Swanson's version in 1957 (the year of Stroheim's death). She worked closely with Gloria Swanson on Norma Desmond's wardrobe, as she figured Swanson would have had a better idea of what women of that time would have worn and what they would be wearing now. He directed classic films like Double Indemnity, Ace in the Hole, The Apartment, The Lost Weekend, Stalag 17, Witness for the Prosecution, Sabrina, and Some Like It Hot. Old whores dont fuck for fun, as the old saying goes. That's a reference to the traditional grey morning suit worn by the groom at a formal wedding. (1950) in my head, and I'd always sort of related to that character floating in . (1954). Unsurprisingly, he was largely self taught, spending countless hours with instruction manuals and newspaper clips, playing all four hands simultaneously until he became an expert. "Waxwork" Buster Keaton was in reality an excellent bridge player, always in demand at Hollywood bridge parties. When Powers returned to California, she went to his penthouse apartment in Santa Monica but couldn't get in. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film Stalag 17 (1953) and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for the television miniseries The Blue Knight (1973). Free Postage. Norma goes to visit Cecil B. DeMille, several of whose films Swanson had starred in. The interiors of Norma's decaying mansion were actually a set at Paramount Studios. They reportedly began a two-year affair, which is alleged to have ended due to Holden's alcoholism. The character of Norma Desmond is modeled on the fate of several leading actresses of the silent era. [12] Swanson later said, "Bill Holden was a man I could have fallen in love with. [4] The film was made for Columbia, which negotiated a sharing agreement with Paramount for Holden's services. Features the only Oscar-nominated performances of Erich von Stroheim and Nancy Olson. (he'd already gotten the shot he needed on the first take). William Holden, original name William Franklin Beedle, Jr., (born April 17, 1918, O'Fallon, Illinois, U.S.found dead November 16, 1981, Santa Monica, California), American film star who perfected the role of the cynic who acts heroically in spite of his scorn or pessimism. To everyone's surprise, Judy Holliday won the Best Actress Oscar in 1951 for Born Yesterday (1950), beating Gloria Swanson in this film, and Bette Davis in All About Eve (1950). The movie's line "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." The one on the Paramount studio soundstage; the one whose driveway William Holden ducks into at 10060 Sunset Blvd; and the one used for the exteriors, which is the one shown here. New York-born novelist and screenwriter Brackett was head of the Screen Actors Guild in the late 1930s, and president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1949 to 1955. Filtered cigarette packs always open at the filtered end, which meant he would've been lighting the filter otherwise. "[13] Paramount reunited him with Nancy Olson, one of his Sunset Boulevard costars, in Union Station (1950). [2] He had two younger brothers, Robert Westfield Beedle and Richard Porter Beedle. The Tragic 1981 Death Of Sunset Boulevard Star William Holden. Like most old things in L.A., the house has since been replaced by an office building. [38], Holden maintained a home in Switzerland and also spent much of his time working for wildlife conservation as a managing partner in an animal preserve in Africa. Billy Wilder wanted a fresh face for the part of Betty Schaefer. It was not particularly successful. It was a big hit, as was The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), a Korean War drama with Kelly.[20][21]. Saltar al contenido principal.com.mx. But it wasn't a bullet from the gun of an aging movie queen that tragically ended his life, but rather, a rug, per The New York Times. All I know is that she's meshuggah, that's all. He would slay, "I have no idea! "I knew he was off the wagon," she recalled in her memoir "One from the Hart." These towns were favored because they were on the way to Palm Springs where, after collecting the audience reaction cards, studio personnel would then go to relax and determine what changes should be made to the previewed films. Culture Editor Tony Sokol cut his teeth on the wire services and also wrote and produced New York CitysVampyr Theatreand the rock operaAssassiNation: We Killed JFK. Sad as this may sound, to the day he died, Holden insisted Bogart was a bastard. Garbo was once rumored to be engaged to the innovative Hollywood and Broadway director Rouben Mamoulian whose film Golden Boy (1939) made William Holden famous. Joe insists hes not a Hollywood whore, but he accepts Normas gifts, gold cigarette cases, a platinum watch, suits, shirts, and shoes that would impress Rudy. True to character, Von Stroheim refused to leave Paris to attend the Academy Awards ceremony, and declared that his nomination for best supporting actor should've been for best actor. According to Billy Wilder, it was von Stroheim's idea to use a clip from Queen Kelly (1932) in Sunset Blvd. She looks like a mannequin of a . While talking with Betty and Artie in Schwab's, Artie points out the studs in Joe's tuxedo. It also alludes to the fact that Pomona was one of three towns in California's Inland Empire region (Riverside and San Bernardino were the others) that were frequently used during Hollywood's Golden Age for testing preview audiences' reactions to unreleased films. Bogart was not especially friendly toward Hepburn, who had little Hollywood experience, while Holden's reaction was the opposite, wrote biographer Michelangelo Capua. Norma is perceived as the evil force, even if she uses a white phone while Betty is relegated to a poor black phone. After all, it's about a dethroned queen." His co-star Barbara Stanwyck, a screen. Beedle grew up in South Pasadena, California. Norma Desmond: Get out! Joe Gillis' typewriter is a portable manual Remington Rand Noiseless Model 7. Some speculated it was because he was dating an older woman at the time (actress Libby Holman, 16 years his senior) and didn't want people to think the movie was a parody of that relationship. When he appeared in the innovative Hollywood director Rouben Mamoulian's Golden Boy (1939), he was hailed as exactly that, but had seen his stock fall, largely through his problems with alcohol and a string of unmemorable films in the 1940s. April 17, 2019 6:00AM. After returning from France, she shot her last Paramount films--Stage Struck (1925), The Untamed Lady (1926) and Fine Manners (1926)--at the studio's lot in Astoria, Queens, NY. Paramount reunited Bracken and him in Young and Willing (1943). Sunset Boulevard is no has-been, though. The British author's satirical The Loved One was published in 1948, after Waugh had spent time in Hollywood observing the film industry and, of all things, the funeral industry. You see, this is my life, she promised. 12 Sep. WILLIAM HOLDEN: At some point, "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) played at The Silver Screen. He contributed to Altvariety, Chiseler, Smashpipe, and other magazines. He stayed true to his word. When Joe Gillis says, "They'll love it in Pomona," most people assume (correctly) that Pomona is intended to be representative of just about any average American town. Well, they kissed, and kissed, and kept kissing, and the crew began to snicker, and finally Marshall's voice rang out: "Cut, dammit!" We'll hear two of his visits to Suspense, beginning with the New Orleans jazz . Marlon Brando was considered, but the producers thought he was too much of an unknown as a film actor. The body was found by Henry Peavey, who took over for convicted embezzler Edward F. Sands as Taylors valet. This is absolutely true, Nancy Reagan continued consulting her astrologer long after she stopped parking at studio lots. On the basis of this film and largely due to his continuing association with director Billy Wilder, Holden would reach the zenith of his career from 1950-'57. Normand was the last person known to have seen Taylor alive and she was grilled by the Los Angeles Police Department as a result. With the help of his partners, he created the Mount Kenya Game Ranch and inspired the creation of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation. When the movie first dropped, Louis B. Mayer, the Mayer in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, told everyone who would listen that Wilder disgraced the industry that made him and fed him, and urged that he be tarred and feathered, and run out of Hollywood. Wilder, who had been feeding himself for quite some time, told Meyer to go fuck himself. William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. (1940) followed by the role of George Gibbs in the film adaptation of Our Town (1940), done for Sol Lesser at United Artists.[8]. Taylor had a British accent and the imposter sounded like he came out of Chicagos south side. [32] Also in 1974, Holden starred with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in the critically acclaimed disaster film The Towering Inferno,[33] which became a box-office smash and one of the highest-grossing films of Holden's career. Its second owner was Jean Paul Getty, who purchased it for his second wife. During the shopping excursion, Norma remarks that if Joe is not careful, he'll need a cutaway. Not long ago, he was divorced from the actress, Gloria Holden, but carried the torch after the marital rift. Charles Brackett and Wilder were just as adamant that nothing in their scripts should be changed, and nothing new added. Our friendship never waned. In later interviews, Davis admitted that she thought Swanson's work in the film was absolutely outstanding. The undertaker, who appears for a few seconds early on with the white casket for Norma's deceased pet chimp, was veteran actor Franklyn Farnum, who played extras in over 1,000 films during his lengthy but unsung career. The actor got up and tried to staunch the blood pouring from his forehead but never called 911, which might have saved his life, per the biography. For Swanson, whose career was already being threatened by the advent of talkies, Queen Kelly was another blow. She can sense the hot spot of every light and has never lost the wonderment of movies. Despite the 19 year gap in their ages, Holden and Swanson died just 2 years apart from each other- Holden in 1981 at age 63 and Swanson in 1983 at age 84. As the camera cranes up into the apartment, we can see it's the Alto Nido. Nothing else! Mary Pickford lived in seclusion, away from the public eye, while both Mae Murray and Clara Bow had well documented struggles with mental illness. When Norma visits DeMille at Paramount, he's in the midst of shooting Samson and Delilah, which really is what he was up to at the time. Warner took the part. Hola Elige tu direccin Pelculas y Series de TV. The antique car used as Norma Desmond's limousine is an 1929 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo 8A, a luxury car made in Italy, and once belonged to 1920s socialite Peggy Hopkins Joyce. The general consensus was that the two titans had canceled each other out, leaving the field clear for Holliday. The only film to be nominated for Best Actor and Actress Oscars that year. This wasn't the original opening and was filmed long after completion of filming. Marion Davies owned a famous ocean-front mansion in Santa Monica. According to Gloria Swanson's daughter, Michelle Amon, her mother stayed in character throughout the entire shoot, even speaking like Norma Desmond when she arrived home in the evening after filming. A true Hollywood horror story. A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return. The magnifying glass in Normas beauty makeover scene shows the skin of a young ingnue, not an aging crone. Sunset Boulevard (DVD, 2017) UK Region 2 release with extras. Billy Wilder's 1978 Flop Fedora is less a worthy follow up to Sunset Boulevard than a sorry footnote. Erich von Stroheim could not drive in real life. Hack screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) accidentally falls in with faded screen legend Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). William Holden returns to find that Gloria Swanson has tried to slash her wrists in 'Sunset Boulevard', directed by Billy Wilder. One of the few showy bits of camerawork in the film is near the beginning, when the corpse floating in Norma Desmond's pool is seen from underneath. Holden paid it forward, becoming Hepburns guardian angel.. The "fee" for renting the Jean Paul Getty mansion was for Paramount to build the swimming pool, which features so memorably. Because all three audiences inappropriately found the morgue scene hilarious, the film's release was delayed six months so that a new beginning could be shot. Two years later, he was praised for his Oscar-nominated leading performance in Sidney Lumet's classic Network (1976),[34] an examination of the media written by Paddy Chayefsky, playing an older version of the character type for which he had become iconic in the 1950s, only now more jaded and aware of his own mortality. Brackett was also a frequent collaborator with Billy Wilder, co-writing and producing a dozen movies with him (including The Lost Weekend) before Sunset Boulevard proved to be their last. She was nominated for the first Academy Award in the Best Actress category. This ushered in the peak years of Holden's stardom. Ballard, who used to impersonate Norma descending the stairs. Norma wound up sitting in Mr. DeMilles chair. The "Desmond mansion" was located not on Sunset Blvd. Holden was best man at the wedding of his friend Ronald Reagan to actress Nancy Davis in 1952. The car with the massive chrome grill that the repo men drive is a 1948 DeSoto Custom Club Coupe. On Joe's and Betty's night walk through the Paramount backlot, his calling the false building fronts "Washington Square" would be an accurate reference, as that neighborhood in New York was full of brownstone houses, apartments, and other turn-of-the-century architecture. But even to show a chair with her name on it, Lamarr wanted $10,000. From the right angle, the camera could shoot the reflected image in the mirror without ever going underwater itself. Their partnership ended in a professional and gentlemanly mannerthere was no airing of any dirty laundrybut it did end.. Included among the 25 films on the American Film Institute's 2005 list of AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores. He was Judy Hollidays tutor in Born Yesterday (1950) and played a war correspondent in Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955). Norma's buying Joe a fine woolen topcoat would be mostly an affectation in sunny Los Angeles. Fury of the Gods Brings Back the "Shazamily": Inside DC's New Superhero Adventure, Scream 6's Brutal NYC Trip: "You Can't Trust Anyone" This Time, Cocaine Bear Is Not Just About a Killer "Coked-Up" Bear, It's Also an "Underdog Story", How Marvel's Wastelanders Podcast Created an Exciting Story with No Visual Safety Net, Sunset Boulevard: The Original Hollywood Expose. [39][46] He dictated in his will that the Neptune Society cremate him and scatter his ashes in the Pacific Ocean. [15] Holden and Hepburn became romantically involved during the filming, unbeknownst to Wilder: "People on the set told me later that Bill and Audrey were having an affair, and everybody knew. Queen Kelly nearly ruined both of their careers after Joe Kennedy, JFKs dad who produced the film, replaced von Stroheim as director because Swanson complained about the racy material. A Western at MGM, Escape from Fort Bravo (1953) did much better, and the all-star Executive Suite (1954) was a notable success. In one week, she received 17,000 fan letters. But it originally began in the L.A. county morgue, with toe-tagged corpsesincluding Joe'sspeaking to each other (in voiceover) about how they died. Billy Wilder was a friend of the danish silent movie star Asta Nielsen, and based the Norma Desmond caracter on her. The two stars had never expressed any hostility towards each other over the failure of Cecil B. DeMille and Stroheim made many recommendations to Wilder during the making of the film, including having his character write all of Norma Desmond's fan mail, and, more importantly, to use footage from "Queen Kelly" as an excerpt from one of Desmond's great silent films. Hola, identifcate . For the first industry screening, Paramount executives invited several silent-film stars. Make-up designer Wally Westmore found that Gloria Swanson's face belied her age and wanted to make her look older. Art director John Meehan experimented until he came up with the idea to shoot the scene through a mirror at the bottom of the studio water tank. There were actually three mansions used during filming. This car has been on display at the National Automobile Museum in Turin, Italy since 1972. Location scenes at Norma Desmond's mansion were shot not on Sunset Boulevard but on Wilshire Boulevard. The name was then changed to Millman and finally to Sheldrake and was played by Fred Clark. Well, in the end, he got himself a poolonly the price turned out to be a little high, so Paramount paid to have one installed on the condition that if Mrs. Getty didnt like it, theyd remove it after filming was over. But trophies or not, Sunset Boulevard has stayed near the top of the list of great movies about moviemaking. But it could just as well have been Joes headquarters, Schwabs Drug Store, a kind of combination office, coffee clutch, and waiting room where actors and writers wait for the gravy train. X. Sands had forged Taylors name on checks and wrecked his car the summer before and left footprints on Taylors bed after a burglary. Von Stroheim didnt know how to drive, and the scene where hes driving the exotic leopard-upholstered Isotta-Fraschini was shot as the car was being towed. When Joe Gillis and Norma Desmond watch one of Norma's old silent movies, they are watching a scene from Queen Kelly (1932), starring a young Gloria Swanson. [35] Holden starred in The Earthling,[36] as a loner dying of cancer at the Australian outback and accompanying an orphan boy (Ricky Schroder). Holden's films after that time had not impressed Wilder (in the 1940s Holden's movies were decidedly mediocre). The other line, "I am big! Boulevard du crpuscule : Amazon.com.mx: Pelculas y Series de TV. He played Bogarts kid brother in Sabrina, Holdens third film with director Billy Wilder, in 1954. Sunset Boulevard mixed fiction with the realities of filmmaking. She burst into tears upon completion of the scene. was better known as the seat of the film industry in 1950, the Los Angeles film industry actually began on Sunset Blvd. Buscar Amazon.com.mx. The four films were released between August 1950 and November 1951. He received an eight-month suspended sentence for vehicular manslaughter. He rose to prominence with his role in the movie "Sunset Boulevard" (1950), which landed him his first Best Actor Oscar nomination. ", The scene of Max playing Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" at the organ might well have been an inspiration for Lurch at the harpsichord in the TV series "The Addams Family.". Perhaps one of the reasons Swanson got the job was because director George Cukor mentioned that the actress once lived in a mansion on Sunset Boulevard. She reportedly told Clift shed kill herself if he made the movie. American Beauty screenwriter Alan Ball has acknowledged that another Billy Wilder film, The Apartment (1960), influenced that screenplay. He played an older version of Joe in Sidney Lumets classic Network (1976), written by the cynical Paddy Chayefsky. It's probably just as well, since the darker, more nuanced story that eventually emerged was quite different from West's wheelhouse anyway. A version of how he obtained his stage name "Holden" is based on a statement by George Ross of Billboard: "William Holden, the lad just signed for the coveted lead in Golden Boy, used to be Bill Beadle [sic]. When Peavey heard the moans I am the ghost of William Desmond Taylor. Around this time he also appeared in 21 Hours at Munich (1976). (The book is about a failed screenwriter who works for a cemetery and lives with a forgotten silent-film star.) 10 films that began filming without a finished script, Donald Trumps Bad Romance with Hollywood Began Before Parasite, Shazam! Also, the house didn't have a pool, so Paramount paid to have one installed on the condition that if Mrs. Getty didn't like it, they'd remove it after filming was over. We had faces" was #13. Although it can get chilly by the ocean, a light jacket or sweater would be plenty. A few years later, Stephen Sondheim became interested in writing a musical version of his own, working with writer Burt Shevelove (with whom he ended up writing A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum). Sunset Boulevard is a noir film and like many of the post-World War II dark classics, it is covered with a thick sheen of cynicism. In a scene described by director Billy Wilder as one of the best he'd ever shot, the body of Joe Gillis is rolled into the morgue to join three dozen other corpses, some of whom--in voice-over--tell Gillis how they died. And gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (who appears in the movie as herself) wrote that "Billy Wilder was crazy about Evelyn Waugh's book The Loved One, and the studio wanted to buy it.". The others were Union Station (1950), Force of Arms (1951), and Submarine Command (1951). Only 950 were made from 1924 to 1931. Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor, Venice Film Festival Special Award for Ensemble Acting, Laurel Award for Top Male Dramatic Performance, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, "When Alcoholics drink themselves to death", "William Holden Dead at 63; Won Oscar for 'Stalag 17', "Barbara Stanwyck's Honorary Award: 1982 Oscars", "The Screen Strand Shows 'Invisible Stripes', "30 Days, 30 Classics Day 17: Sabrina (1954) starring Audrey Hepburn, William Holden and Humphrey Bogart", "Screen: Crosby Acts in 'Country Girl'; Film Based on Odets Drama Makes Bow", "The Screen in Review; 'Bridges at Toko-ri' Is Fine Film of War", "Han Suyin dies at 95; wrote 'Many-Splendored Thing', "13 Fascinating Facts About 'The Bridge on the River Kwai', "Columbia Earns as It Holds Coin Due Bill Holden on 10% of 'Kwai', "The Towering Inferno Movie Review (1974)", "Network Movie Review & Film Summary (1976)", "William Holden Gave His All Even "When Time Ran Out", "William Holden's Unscripted Fall From Grace", The William Holden Wildlife Education Center, "West Holden: More than just the son of William Holden", Image of William Holden and Brenda Marshall, Academy Awards, Los Angeles, 1951, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Holden&oldid=1142631715, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners, United Service Organizations entertainers, Articles with dead external links from December 2019, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using infobox person with multiple partners, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2022, TCMDb name template using numeric ID from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, episode: "William Holden/Frances Bergen Show", This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 14:28. in West Hollywood. Swanson agreed to the audition, and won the role. The investigation found that in the weeks just prior to his death, Taylor had been making some pretty delusional statements about his place in the world and some of his friends thought he had recently gone insane. The first draft of the film was a straightforward comedy about a has-been actress making a comeback, and Wilder saw Mae West in the role. . But it's also a love story, and the love keeps it from becoming simply a waxworks or a freak show. Gloria Swanson and Nancy Olson also co-starred in Airport 1975 together. [4] They had two sons, Peter and Scott. The two actors never worked together in another film. This can be deduced from the fact that when he pulls one out of the pack he turns the bottom end up to his mouth. or "Boulevard"? Gloria Swanson was paid $50,000 plus $5,000 per week for any time over schedule. It was the same technique he had used to shoot Rudolph Valentino's tango in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921). Holden was born William Franklin Beedle, Jr., on April 17, 1918, in O'Fallon, Illinois, son of Mary Blanche Beedle (ne Ball), a schoolteacher, and her husband William Franklin Beedle, an industrial chemist. producer Music by Franz Waxman Cinematography by John F. Seitz . There were three young directors who showed promise in those early days of silent film, D.W. Griffith, Cecil B. Gloria Swanson played her final descent on the staircase barefoot, as she was terrified of tripping in high heels. This film is in the Official Top 250 Narrative Feature Films on Letterboxd. "I'm not surprised that this could have happened.". This is a reference to the now-mad Norma's final possession by the character of Salome, with whom she'd been so obsessed. Some, including Holden himself and one of his close confidants, could foresee the death (per The Huntsville Item). (1950) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Billy Wilder Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Produced by Charles Brackett . Talk! Oh, and while were at it, Wilder didnt submerge any cameras to get that underwater shot. This indicates that he is smoking filterless cigarettes, which was the norm for that era until filters became the standard after the mid-'50s. preppy-3 15 March 2008. However, DeMille insisted that Lamarr be paid $25,000 for the privilege, so the idea was quickly dropped. and Crescent Heights Blvd. The forensics team rolled him over and saw he had been shot at least once in the back with a small-caliber pistol. At one point, Norma decides the time is right to send Gillis script to DeMille because is a Leo. In addition to the famous swimming pool, the studio also built sets to exactly duplicate Schwab's Drug Store in Hollywood and the Los Angeles County Morgue. William Haines turned down an offer to appear in the film but attended the Hollywood premiere with Joan Crawford. The plot element of Norma Desmond's obsession with writing a screenplay based on Salome as a vehicle for her comeback was obviously influenced by eccentric, aging actress Valeska Suratt, who had a brief film career (1915-1917) playing mostly vamp roles. Holden met French actress Capucine in the early 1960s. Previous image. Betty and Joe fall in love after they sneak off to the studio backlot by moonlight to collaborate on a screenplay. It was meant to be slightly humorous in a morbid way, but the audience at the first test screening found it flat-out hysterical, setting the wrong mood for the rest of the picture. Paramount was more than happy to be the subject of the film, and didn't ask for the studio to be disguised. You used to be in silent pictures. Both Keaton and Hopper died the same day, on February 1, 1966, at the ages of 70 and 80 respectively, both in Los Angeles. He walked into his bedroom and tripped over a throw rug and slammed his head so hard into the corner of a teak nightstand, the piece of furniture flew into the wall causing an indentation, per "William Holden."