Peter Lawford.

Peter Lawford(7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984). He was a member of the "Rat Pack", and brother-in-law to President John F. Kennedy. In the late 1930s through the 1950s) he was very popular and starred in many films.

Once he signed with MGM, his mother, Lady Lawford, wanted the studio head Louis B. Mayer, to hire her as her son's personal assistant. Mayer, did not agree to her terms. Lady Lawford, said her son needed to be "supervised." When Lawford learned of his mother's actions their relationship was never the same.

Lawford's, first movie role was at age seven in the film, Poor Old Bill (1930). Eight years later, he made his Hollywood debut in, Lord Jeff. His first major movie role was, A Yank At Eton (1942), where he played a snobbish bully with Mickey Rooney. Lawford, also made uncredited appearances as an RAF pilot in, Mrs. Miniver (1942) and as a sailor in Sherlock Holmes, Faces Death (1943). In the film, The White Cliffs Of Dover (1944),  he played a young soldier in World War II. MGM gave him another important role in, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945). Lawford also performed in, Son of Lassie (1945).

With Clark Gable and James Stewart, off to fight in the war, Lawford, was the most popular romantic lead on the MGM lot. Two of his films opened within days of each other: Cluny Brown (1946) and Two Sisters From Boston (1946). He also made his first comedy that same year, My Brother Talks To Horses (1947). He performed with Frank Sinatra for the first time in the musical, It Happened in Brooklyn (1947). Lawford, admitted that the most terrifying experience of his career was, the musical number he performed in the film, Good News (1947).

Please click here to view Good News review.



Lawford was given other important roles in MGM films over the next few years, including:

On an Island with You (1948). It is one of my favorite movies. Williams and Lawford are wonderful together and so are Ricardo Montalban and Cyd Charisse. Especially, during their beautiful dance numbers. If you love happy and romantic musicals you'll love this movie. And don't forget.. we get to see Esther doing what she does best in beautiful water performances.

The story begins when Ricardo Montez, who is playing the part of a Navy man in love with a Polynesian woman, played by his fiancee, Rosalind. They hired Lawrence a Navy Lieutenant, as technical adviser, to help the director on the film's authenticity. During the filming of one of Rosalind and Ricardo's love scenes, Larry interrupts the shooting to take the opportunity to kiss Rosalind .

That evening, at the Royal Aloha hotel, the cast and crew attend a nightclub show performed by Xavier Cugat and his orchestra. Larry, finds another opportunity to get close to Rosalind, and asks her to dance. She refuses thinking that he is too forward.

The next day, Larry is to circle the set once in an airplane with Rosalind on board, but he flies the plane to the tropical island where they first met. Larry wants one dance with her before he returns her to the set. Rosalind, says she will kiss him to prove that she has no feelings for him, but the kiss shows that she is an attracted to Larry. When Larry and Rosalind return to the airplane, they find that the wheels and other parts have been stolen by the islanders. The two set out to find the natives village, but become separated. Will they be rescued before the natives have them for dinner? (wink/wink). I love the dance numbers with Ricardo Montalban and Cyd Charisse.

Easter Parade (1948), Don Hewes and Nadine Hale are a dancing team, but she wants a career on her own. So he chooses, Hannah Brown, as a new partner. It is not long before Florence Ziegfeld, is interested in the new team, but... Nadine Hale, dances in the Ziegfeld Follies, so Don refuses. Don, is in now in love with Hannah, but, plans t keep it strictly business for now. Hannah, still believes that he is in love with Nadine, when he dances with her in a Night Club Show.

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Little Women (1949). Meg, Josephine, Amy and Beth, all live with their mother, while their father serves with the Union army during the Civil War. Meg, is thought of as the second mother to the girls, while "Jo", the tomboy, takes on the role of man of the house. Amy, dreams of the good things in life, and Beth, the youngest and frailest of the four, loves to play the piano. A beautiful film of four young girls coming into womanhood.

It Should Happen to You (1954). Gladys Glover, has just lost her modelling job when she meets filmmaker Pete Sheppard shooting a documentary in Central Park. For Pete it's love at first sight, but Gladys has her mind on making a name for herself. Before she knows it,her name is plastered over town. Suddenly, all of New York, is clamoring for Gladys Glover, without knowing why and playboy Evan Adams III, is making a play for Gladys, that even Pete knows will be hard to beat.

Please click here to read: It Should Happen To You, movie review.

The casino film, Ocean’s Eleven (1960) was a project Lawford first brought to Sinatra's attention. It became the first film to feature all of the "Rat Pack" members Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop and Lawford.

Lawford's later films include: The Longest Day (1962), and a role as a United States Senator in, Advise and Consent (1962). In 1961, Lawford and his manager Milt Ebbins formed Chrislaw Productions, which was named after his son Christopher Lawford and produced the 1963 action film, Johnny Cool, starring Henry Silva and Elizabeth Montgomery. He would go on to produce the 1965 Patty Duke film Billie, and his two films with fellow Rat Pack member Sammy Davis, Jr.: Salt and Pepper and One More Time.

He performed in, They Only Kill Their Masters (1972). Lawford's, last role was as Montague Chippendale in the comedy, Where's Parsifal (1983).

Personal Quote:

Explaining his disillusionment with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he made his first films." Metro was really a star-builder, no doubt about that. You were wrapped in cotton wool. ... I was encouraged to emulate Robert Taylor, who came to the studio every day of his life in a pinstripe suit and pressed shirt with a pin through the collar. They were very high on pins through the collar".

It Should Happen to You (1954).

It Should Happen to You (1954) . Romantic/comedy. Cast: Judy Holliday, the first screen appearance of Jack Lemmon. Other cast members: Michael O'Shea, Vaughn Taylor, Connie Gilchrist, Walter Klavun, Whit Bissell, Constance Bennett, Ilka Chase, Wendy Barrie and Melville Cooper. The film was directed by George Cukor and filmed on location in New York City. Screenwriter Garson Kanin originally intended the script as a vehicle for Danny Kaye, but Kanin's wife, Ruth Gordon, suggested casting Judy Holliday instead. The title was initially, A Name for Herself.

Lemmon had a meeting with studio boss Harry Cohn, who feared that critics might use jokes about the name "Lemmon". He wanted Lemmon to change his name to "Lennon." Lemmon said that if he did that people might confuse his name with "Lenin" and associate his name with Communism, a very real concern in the 1950s. He decided to keep the name Lemmon and went on to become a Hollywood legend.

Small time filmmaker Pete Sheppard, meets Gladys Glover, in New York City's Central Park, while filming her feeding peanuts to the pigeons. Gladys shares with him that she has just been fired from her modeling job and now wonders how she can make a name for herself. Pete tells her that, " she is the only one who can make her dreams come true". Later, while walking barefoot in Columbus Circle, Gladys sees a huge billboard for rent, she envisions her name written there and decides to rent it for the three-months. Several days after Gladys has her name painted on the billboard, businessman Evan Adams III, tells his advertising firm, that his soap company usually rents the billboard for the spring season and wants Gladys to give it up. Gladys meets with Evan and the agency representatives, but refuses their money and an additional five hundred dollars. Back at her apartment, Gladys learns that Pete has just moved into her building. She asks him to visit Columbus Circle to see her bill board.

She eventually makes a deal with the advertising company to have her name posted on 10 billboards posted throughout city. Suddenly, all of New York is curious about who Gladys Glover is. Evan Adams III also has eyes for Gladys.



Fun Fact:
The background music playing during the scene when Peter Lawford is trying to romance Judy Holliday is also used during several scenes in the film, From Here to Eternity (1953) .

I loved the on screen chemistry between Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon. This film maybe my favorite Judy Holliday performance. Is this the first time someone became famous for doing nothing??

Judy Holliday (June 21, 1921 – June 7, 1965). Kanin, together with George Cukor, Spencer Tracy, and Katharine Hepburn, wanted to promote Holliday by offering her a part in the film, Adam's Rib(1949). She got rave reviews and Cohn offered her the chance to repeat her role for the film version of Born Yesterday. She won the first Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and at the 23rd Academy Awards, Holliday won the Academy Award for Best Actress, over Gloria Swanson, nominated for Sunset Boulevard, Eleanor Parker, for Caged, and Bette Davis and Anne Baxter, both for All About Eve.

In 1954, she starred with a new young star Jack Lemmon in the popular comedy It Should Happen to You, and again (in 1954), in Phffft!.

She was best known for her ability to shift her mood quickly from comic to serious is one. George Cukor said that she had "in common with the great comedians...that depth of emotion, that unexpectedly touching emotion, that thing which would unexpectedly touch your heart."
Please click here to view past Judy Holliday reviews.

List of Judy Holliday Films :

1944 Greenwich Village
1949 Adam's Rib
1950 Born Yesterday
1952 The Marrying Kind
1954 It Should Happen to You Gladys Glover
1954 Phffft!
1956 The Solid Gold Cadillac
1957 Full of Life
1960 Bells Are Ringing

Yet Another Marilyn Monroe Murder Conspiracy Theory

A newly-released FBI file suggests that conspiracy theories about the apparent suicide of Marilyn Monroe may not have been wrong.

The most famous beauty in the world may have been tricked into killing herself by a plot hatched by staff and friends, with the full knowledge of Robert Kennedy, her alleged lover. The secret FBI file, discovered by Australian film director Philippe Mora, suggests that the star was induced to take an overdose in the belief that she would be ‘discovered’ and saved

In reality, according to the document, she was left to die by her staff and so-called friends such as Peter Lawford, the husband of Kennedy’s sister. Monroe was found on her bed, face down, with a lethal amount of Seconal in her system. Since then conspiracy theorists have been convinced that her death was not just a simple suicide,
Her name has been romantically linked with both Robert Kennedy and the then US President, John F Kennedy.

According to the report, on the night Monroe died Robert Kennedy called Lawford from San Francisco and asked if she was dead yet. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, yesterday, Mr Mora found the file in a mass of classified documents released under the freedom of information legislation. The file is headed ‘Robert F Kennedy and was assembled by a former special agent whose name had been deleted.

Dated 19th October 1964, the file contains a report claiming Monroe was the victim of a conspiracy and was given the means with which to fake the suicide attempt. Those involved were Lawford, Monroe’s psychiatrist Ralph Greenson, her press agent Pat Newcomb and her housekeeper Eunice Murray.

The motive seems to have been to prevent Monroe from going public about her affair with Robert Kennedy after she realized he would never divorce his wife and marry her. Kennedy had also reneged on his promise, made after she was sacked by 20th Century Fox for unreliability, to get her reinstated. Monroe was found dead early on 5 August 1962 by Murray. According to the report, the following day Newcomb and Lawford were flown to the Hyannisport Kennedy compound.

FBI File Links Kennedy to Monroe's Death

For four decades there have been rumours that Marilyn Monroe's death was not a simple suicide. Now a Los Angeles-based Australian writer and director, Philippe Mora, has uncovered an FBI document that throws up a chilling new scenario.

BOBBY KENNEDY'S affair with the screen idol Marilyn Monroe has been documented, but a secret FBI file suggests the late US attorney-general was aware of - and perhaps even a participant in - a plan "to induce" her suicide.

The detailed three-page report implicates the Hollywood actor Peter Lawford, Monroe's psychiatrist, staff and her publicist in the plot.

The allegations suggest the 36-year-old actress, who had a history of staging attention-seeking suicide attempts, was deliberately given the means to fake another suicide on August 4, 1962. But this time, it is suggested, she was allowed to die as she sought help.

The document, hidden among thousands of pages released under freedom-of-information laws last October, was received by the FBI on October 19, 1964 - two years after her death - and titled simply "ROBERT F KENNEDY".

It was compiled by an unnamed former special agent working for the then Democrat governor of California, Pat Brown, and forwarded to Washington by Curtis Lynum, then head of the San Francisco FBI. Despite a disclaimer that it could not be sourced or authenticated, it was considered important enough to immediately circulate to the FBI's five most senior officers, including director J. Edgar Hoover's right-hand man, Clyde Tolson.

The report was in effect buried for decades as a classified document, and even the released version contains censored sections. Never before mentioned despite thousands of articles, books and documentaries about her death, it details aspects of Kennedy's on-and-off affair with the movie star, including sex parties and a lesbian dalliance, as well as her emotional departure from 20th Century Fox and descent into depression.

Critically, it raises an alleged conspiracy, apparently overseen by Lawford, for Monroe to unwittingly commit suicide with the drug Seconal, a barbiturate used to treat insomnia and relieve anxiety. The document gives no precise reason why she would be killed but hints it may be linked to her threats to make public her affair with Kennedy, as other conspiracy theories have previously claimed. It states in part: "Peter Lawford, [censored words blacked out] knew from Marilyn's friends that she often made suicide attempts and that she was inclined to fake a suicide attempt in order to arouse sympathy.

"Lawford is reported as having made 'special arrangements' with Marilyn's psychiatrist, Dr Ralph Greenson, from Beverley Hills. The psychiatrist was treating Marilyn for emotional problems and getting her off the use of barbiturates. On her last visit to him he prescribed Seconal tablets and gave her a prescription for 60 of them, which was unusual in quantity especially since he saw her frequently. On the date of her death … her housekeeper put the bottle of pills on the night table. It is reported that the housekeeper and Marilyn's personal secretary and press agent, Pat Newcomb, were co-operating in the plan to induce suicide."

It goes on to say that on the same day, Kennedy had booked out of the Beverley Hills Hotel and flown to San Francisco where he booked into the St Charles Hotel, owned by a friend. "Robert Kennedy made a telephone call from St Charles Hotel, San Francisco, to Peter Lawford to find out if Marilyn was dead yet."

Lawford called and spoke to Monroe "then checked again later to make sure she did not answer". The document claims the housekeeper, Eunice Murray, who had been hired by the actress on the advice of Dr Greenson, then called the psychiatrist.

"Marilyn expected to have her stomach pumped out and get sympathy for her suicide attempt. The psychiatrist left word for Marilyn to take a drive in the fresh air but did not come to see her until after she was known to be dead."

Officially, the actress was found by Murray in the early hours of August 5, naked on her bed lying on top of her telephone. The others are now dead, too.

The FBI report says Kennedy had promised Monroe he would divorce his wife and marry her, but the actress eventually realised he had no intention of doing so. About this time, he had told her not to worry about 20th Century Fox cancelling her contract - "he would take care of everything". When nothing happened, she called him at work and they had "unpleasant words. She was reported to have threatened to make public their affair."

Hoover, keeper of America's secrets, was obsessed with the private life of celebrities, particularly those with leftist leanings. The files show the FBI tracked Monroe from the Cold War mid-1950s to her death in 1962, but particularly after she met and married the playwright Arthur Miller, who was being watched as a possible communist.