If they were alive today.....

...it would be the birthday of the following luminaries:

Marlon Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska, 87 years ago today.  Everything, it seems, has already been said about his greatness as an actor.  America's greatest actor ever?  That argument could quite easily be made.  If only on the basis of his two unnervingly brilliant performances in two masterpiece films, he'd rest amongst the immortals:  A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront.  Here are some rare photos of Brando that you may not have seen before, including his costume test shots for Streetcar, and a very rare surprise at the end....




 









A very rare color photo of Brando and Vivien Leigh on the set of Streetcar.



Brando, 1952






With Marilyn Monroe on the set of Desiree.
How'd you like to have been the proverbial "fly-on-the-wall" for that coupling??

With James Dean, around 1954. I believe it's also while shooting Desiree.












Getting made-up for The Godfather.

Now here's a REAL shocker--it was to me, anyway.  In putting together today's tribute, I discovered that Marlon Brando was first offered the lead role in Rebel Without a Cause--and got it, but turned it down! (Brando never explained why).  Of course, it went to James Dean and the rest is infamy.  But Brando did do a screen test for the film--apparently, this was in 1947.  It was discovered a just a few years ago and I snagged it off of Youtube for your viewing pleasure.  Guess when he turned it down, it took another 8 years for the film to get made (in 1955)...anyway, hope you enjoy it!   I love stuff like this, things that magically appear after many decades of obscurity!

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Leslie Howard would be 118.  Some might say that his emotings are a bit overly-mannered for today's tastes (me! me!).  But I don't know...he's grown on me a bit over the years. 

I always (even as a kid) thought that he was the weak link in Gone With the Wind, with his somewhat flowery recitations and...I mean, come on...atleast try for a little Southern accent there, Leslie.  I've noticed that women always rise to his defense if I've maybe said unkind words about him, so maybe it's a "chick thing".  But I've since seen him in several other things and he did have that British charm thing going.  And also, maybe my feelings have softened since learning that he died just 3 years after Gone With the Wind, when the civilian aircraft he was on was shot down by Nazis, off the coast of France.  His death has been the subject of much conjecture and even "conspiracy theories".

Sally Rand would be 107.  Hers was a job that is, er, "gone with the wind," too...she was the world's most famous "fan dancer".  Class:  Does everyone know what a fan dancer is?  Somewhat akin to a stripper, though I'm sure she'd have said, more "artistic"--which she probably was.  She became an overnight sensation at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, presenting her act with various props, such as giant bubbles, an enormous swan costume, and most famously, her artfully placed ostrich feather fans, which would mask her seemingly nude form.  She was actually arrest four times...in one single day....for indecent exposure!

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It's almost inconceivable, isn't it?  Doris Day, who's alive and well, was born on this day in Cincinnati, Ohio...in 1922.  Which makes her eighty-nine!  It seems like only yesterday that she was...oh, I don't know...like thirty-nine?  Well, a big happy birthday to a lady who made a lot of people a bit happier with her films, recordings and TV appearances.  She lives the sweet life in idyllic Carmel, California and is apparently doing just fine.  Someone sent me this card a few years ago...seems quite appropriate to post it right here:

And by the way....we just had our 2-month anniversary here at DidYouJustSeeWhatISaw?  In our first month, we had just over 1,000 visitors.  In our second month, we had over 7,000!!  It's really starting to take off around here.  Thank you, as always, for faithfully "tuning in".  Drop me a line, leave me a comment, whatever you like---I'd really like to hear your thoughts, comments, ideas, recommendations.....I'm all ears.  You can write me at howyoodoon@yahoo.com ...I'd love to hear from you!

Best always,
Gregory Moore