I'm really not interested in the Hollywood scene as it is today - celebrities being 'celebrated' for their bad behaviour doesn't sit well with me. However, there are some legendary Hollywood 'stars' who were amazing in their day. In the tiny community of Grabtown, North Carolina, a star was born and her name was Ava Gardner. This past weekend on our trip through the town of Smithfield, we visited the museum dedicated to her - home to an incredible collection of original scripts, photos, movie posters, costumes and personal effects - Ava's story was a true Hollywood 'Cinderella Story".
We viewed an extremely well made film showing Ava with most of Hollywood's top male stars, including those whom she married (Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra). Here are some photos depicting her rise from little country girl to famous movie star.
Below - a watch given Ava by Frank Sinatra.
The museum has done a great display of costumes from several of Ava's films - behind glass so a little blurry here.
Note the teeny tiny waistline of this exquisite black velvet gown - Ava was definitely petite!
Below is Ava's beautiful china from her London home, along with some decorative items. She spent her last years living in London, becoming a close friend of the famous British poet, Robert Graves who actually wrote poems dedicated to her.
Sadly the days of the true Hollywood *star* seemed to have passed - they certainly were legends, both female and male, and I still think their movies were the best!
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This looks like a really nice museum. I loved seeing the costumes. She did have a tiny waistline. I love her china!!! How pretty it is.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with you that Hollywood is not what it was. I love old movies and rarely watch new ones unless they are historical costume dramas. I always say that in B&W movies, the world was more colorful! I am a huge fan of Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.
Hi:
ReplyDeleteI liked Ava best in Showboat. Heidi is laughing at me because I call you front porch girl. I have a hard time keeping her friends straight. This sounds like a neat place to visit.
Nancy
She was so beautiful-not your average blond actress.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing this but once I hit that teeny tiny waist I got distracted. Seriously, who has a waist that small. She must have had ribs removed.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful tribute to Ava Gardner. If only the actresses of this generation knew that classy is sexy too!
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with your thoughts about Hollywood today as opposed to the "old" days.
ReplyDeleteI've been to Smithfield many times but I didn't know about this museum. The next time I go home, I'll have to drive up there and visit it.
How very interesting. I love old Hollywood too. The old movies are the best.
ReplyDeleteMickey Rooney lives in my town, and Artie Shaw used to live here until he passed away. He was the speaker at my husband's graduation.
Thanks for sharing with us,
Rosemary
She was beautiful. I'll never forget her in, On the Beach..wow, what a movie.
ReplyDeleteI'm an old movie fan. There is very little to be admired in Hollywood, today!
Pat
She is a beautiful lady and I too, love the "old" hollywood. I've been to the museum ~ it's not far from where we live. Love her china!
ReplyDeleteDonna :)
Hi Mary, Maizee here. Been really busy for the last few weeks and haven't had much time to lurk around the blogging world. I was beginning to have withdrawl symp-
ReplyDeletetoms. I've been visiting my favorites to see what I've missed and opened yours today. What a nice surprise. I am absolutely addicted to the Hollywood of yesteryear with all it's uncomparable stars. And I agree with you about the mess so many of the current stars are making of their lives. Boring. Thankfully we have those classic B&W movies along with all the old musicals, both color and B&W. Luckily I get Turner Classic Movies on my cable TV. These classics are getting harder to find elsewhere. I did start taping on VHS back in the 80's so I have quite a collection. Guess I'll have to get them transferred to DVD.
I had no idea that there was even a museum like that for Ava Gardner. What wonderful memor- abelia. Your photos are great. Thanks for the wonderful tour. My mom is and was a great fan of Ava's during her heyday. Having been born four days later on the 28th of Dec 1922 I think she felt a connection to her. I'll have to show her your post. She'll definately enjoy seeing it.
Hi Mary,
ReplyDeleteI'm having a proper catch up with my blog at long last - there are oodles of holiday pics on there now - I'm sure you will recognise the Vancouver ones!
Loved catching up with your blog - all those pumpkins. The UK's pumpkin crop is late this year. And I love the piece on Ava Gardner - I'd like to visit that museum!
More soon,
Annie x
Oh my gosh! Where is Smithfield, NC! Of course we have a very famous Smithfield, VA which is very close to NC. But I never heard of an Ava Gardner museum! What a fabulous place to visit, I so enjoyed the pictures of her costumes. Thank you so much for sharing this! xo, suzy
ReplyDeleteThanks for that lovely bit of 'classy' trivia, from a era when a strong character went along with being a star. I love the china.
ReplyDeleteGreat coverage for the museum, thanks for sharing with your blog readers. They may be interested in the upcoming Ava Gardner Festival, October 9-10. For more information your readers can visit the museum website, www.avagardner.org
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