MOVIE STAR MARRIAGES THAT LASTED

[diane]

I was just thinking about how many older stars stayed married
forever.
Stuart Erwin and June Collyer.
She was a beautiful leading lady of films who retired in 1934.
She married Stuart Erwin (who usually played bumbling country
guys) in 1932 and they were married until Erwin died in 1967
- June died 3 months after.
Joel McCrea and Frances Dee.
Joel was very versatile but more at home in westerns. Frances
was again a beautiful actress who played Meg in "Little Women"
(1933). She also joined her husband in westerns. They were
married in 1933 until 1990 when he died.
Rod La Rocque and Vilma Banky.
He was a leading man of the silents - Vilma was Hungarian born
but had a dazzling Hollywood career in the 20s with leads in
"The Son of the Sheik" and "The Eagle".
They were married in 1927 and the wedding was the most
lavish of the year. Many reporters thought it was a publicity stunt
cooked up by Louis B. Mayer but they remained married until
1969 with the death of LaRocque.
Does anyone know of more ? I know Clara Bow married Rex Bell
(a western actor) in 1931. He helped her a lot when she had
her troubles in the early 30s and I know that they were married
for many years but I don't know whether the marriage was a
happy one.

[Roger Thornhill]

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were married in 1958. They are due to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary on January 29th 2008.

[tinyhippy]

Roger, you beat me to it. I love Paul Newman, and his wife is such a lovely lady. They're perfect for each other.

Another one - James Cagney and his wife Frances ("Bill") were married for 63 years until he died in 1986.

James Stewart and his wife Gloria were married for 44 years until her death in 1994.

[tclion]

Those are some cool stats and quite instering..

[Midge]

Great topic, Diane! The Rod LaRocque-Vilma Banky marriage was expected to last about five minutes. Instead, it endured for a lifetime. As for Rex Bell and Clara Bow, I believe her lifetime battle with mental illness made the marriage difficult. The couple had two sons, but because of Bow's frequent stays in sanitariums, she was often separated from them. Rex and Clara were married from 1931 until his death in 1962. She died three years later.

Some other long marriages I can think of:

Charlton and Lydia Heston married since 1944. They've been together for an astounding 63 years.

Lloyd and Dorothy Bridges were married from 1938 until 1998, when he died of natural causes.

Gary and Veronica ("Rocky") Cooper were married from 1933 until his death from cancer in 1961. (She was also known by her stage name, Sandra Shaw.) Their marriage endured despite Cooper's notorious fling with actress Patricia Neal.

Kirk and Anne Douglas have been married since 1954.

Robert and Rosemarie Stack were married from 1956 until his death from a heart attack in 2003.

Gregory and Veronique Peck were married from 1955 until his death from pneumonia in 2003.

Charles Boyer and Pat Paterson were married from 1934 until her death from cancer in 1978. Contrary to his image as a great lover, Boyer was utterly devoted to his one and only wife. Two days after his wife died, Boyer ended his own life with an overdose of barbiturates.

[Larry's 66 Diner]

It is so interesting to know that there are Hollywood couples, who actually endure a life-long marriage. :thumbsup:

And it is sad to hear about the way Charles Boyer died.

[Roger Thornhill]

admin said:

It is so interesting to know that there are Hollywood couples, who actually endure a life-long marriage.

With "endure" being the operative word.

[Midge]

I detect a slight note of cynicism there, Jeff. Wasn't it Groucho Marx who said of the institution of marriage, "Who wants to live in an institution?"

[Roger Thornhill]

midge said:

I detect a slight note of cynicism there, Jeff. Wasn't it Groucho Marx who said of the institution of marriage, "Who wants to live in an institution?"

If you only detected a slight note of cynicism then it's possible that your cynic-ometer needs adjusting.

[Midge]

rogerthornhill said:

If you only detected a slight note of cynicism then it's possible that your cynic-ometer needs adjusting.

I'll see to it right away!

[Larry's 66 Diner]

:uhuh: :devilish:

[tclion]

Hey Midge need a screwdriver ??

[Midge]

tclion said:

Hey Midge need a screwdriver ??

TC, I need a lot more than that!

[tclion]

midge said:

tclion said:

Hey Midge need a screwdriver ??

TC, I need a lot more than that!

Ok Ok then how bout a hammer.... By the way don't you think a hammer and a screw driver would make a good marriage???

[Midge]

tclion said:

[\
Ok Ok then how bout a hammer.... By the way don't you think a hammer and a screw driver would make a good marriage???

Oh, yes, a very romantic one, too!
"What do you want to do tonight, honey?"
"Oh, I don't know, why don't we install some cabinets?"

[Beanka]

This is so interesting.I'm learning new stuff everyday.

[annavandenhazel]

Don't know why I didn't see this before, but here are some long-time celebrity marriages I know of. I don't have accurate info about dates or previous marriages, except for the first entry:.

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (they were both married before)

Bob and Dolores Hope

Bing and Katherine Crosby

I'm not sure about Allan Ludden and Betty White, but I thought they were married for a long time.

[Midge]

annavandenhazel said:

I'm not sure about Allan Ludden and Betty White, but I thought they were married for a long time.

Allen Ludden and Betty White met when she was a contestant on his game show, Password. He was a widower with three children and she was twice-divorced. The couple was married nearly 18 years, from 1963 to his death in 1981. It may not have been the longest show business marriage, but it was one of the happiest.

[diane]

That was so nice to read about what a happy marriage Charles Boyer and Pat Paterson
had even though the end was sad. Two more I've found:-
Norman Foster and Sally Blane 1937 - 1976 (when he died).
He was in a few pre-coders including "Young Man of Manhattan" (1930) - Ginger Rogers
feature film debut and "Gentlemen of the Press" (1929) - Kay Francis' second movie.
Sally Blane was the gorgeous sister of Loretta Young and appeared in more than 70 movies.
Ricardo Montalban married Georgiana Young, another sister of Loretta, who appeared in "The
Story of Alexander Grahame Bell" (1939) - they married in 1944 till present (it says in IMDB).

[precoder]

When Alice Faye married Phil Harris in May 1941, it was to last the rest of their lives. They had two lovely daughters, Alice born in 1942 and Phyllis born in 1944. They had a wonderfully successful and cheerful radio career together on NBC "The Fitch/Rexall Bandwagon Show" later called "The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show" and they stayed active on the air until 1954. Phil passed away in August 1995 ...



Radio Mirror Magazine from February 1949 ...



Happy family time with phonograph records. If anyone is interested, I can scan the article and post it ...

[Midge]

Benji, those photos were awesome! I would very much like to see the full article.
On their radio show, "Alice" and "Phyllis" were played by child actresses, so I'm not sure if the little girls pictured in the photos are actually their daughters.

[precoder]

The children pictured on the magazine are indeed the couples daughters Alice and Phyllis. The actresses who portrayed them on the radio shows were Jeanine Roos and Anne Whitfield ...

Okay, here's the article ... I sure hope you can read this okay. It seems photobucket has size limitations and reduces the frames smaller than I had sized them. So let's see how this goes ...







OoPs ... Yeah I knew it ... You might need your specks ...

[Midge]

Thanks, Benji! I was able to read the article with no problem. And yes, I needed my "specs," but I then I always do!

This article gives a different version of Alice and Phil's courtship than the one I'd always heard. They were neighbors, and they each had a Doberman. One day the dogs got into a fight. Phil called insisted that Alice ought to keep her dog penned. Alice shot back that if Phil's dog couldn't take it, then maybe he should keep his dog penned. He admired her spunk, and the rest is history.

[precoder]

I'm terribly relieved to know you were able to read it Midge. I started to get worried ...

There isn't a crummy word about the two of them anywhere in the thing. They were mutually perfect for each other from the start. Well, once they got past the ham and eggs anyway. But they obviously really loved one another and had a great deal of respect for each other all the way. It's such a perfect match, it's almost sickening. Even allowing their children to pursue a show business career if they so desired is amazing commentary especially considering what Alice went through towards the end of her movie career ...

It's a good 'transitional' article though. The period in Alice Faye's life often left unaddressed and leaving people perhaps wondering what became of her after 1945 ...

[Midge]

Most fan magazine articles were ghostwritten by publicists, so you won't read a bad word about anyone in them. You won't read here that Phil and Alice's two weddings happened because the first one in Mexico wasn't valid. Phil's divorce from his former wife was not yet final. The couple was forced to live apart to avoid negative publicity. The second wedding had to be arranged as quickly as possible as Alice was expecting a child.

Hollywood gossip columnists gave the match long odds because the two seemed like such a mismatch. Yet Phil and Alice were devoted to each other and their marriage endured. It wasn't quite the picture postcard ideal that is portrayed in this article. For example, they had few interests in common and didn't spend a lot of time together. They even had separate houses. Phil was an extrovert, a man's man who liked hunting, golf and fishing. Alice was an introvert who liked to spend time alone. Her interests were fashion and jewelry and trips to the spa. Alice's daughter said that one of her favorite pastimes was to spend an afternoon rearranging the closets. The separate wing that was built for their daughters was because Alice and Phil didn't want their children underfoot all the time; they were in the care of nannies and later sent off to boarding school.

Though they often led separate lives, the bond between Phil and Alice was so deep that when she lost him in 1995 after 54 years of marriage, Alice seemed to lose her will to live. Her whole life had revolved around him, and she felt lost. Her health declined rapidly. Alice died of cancer in 1998, less than three years after her husband.

[precoder]

Good post Midge ... A lot of info there I didn't know probably because, yes, as you've said the fan magazine articles placed strong emphasis on feel good imagery with that very specific slant. I didn't know that about their invalid marriage and separate homes. That is very interesting ...

Thank you for the insight ...

[diane]

I liked the pictures (I haven't had time to read the article yet.) Alice Faye seemed to be
just as pretty "natural" as she was with make up.
Here are two more:-
Diana Lewis and William Powell knew each other for only a couple of weeks before eloping
in 1940. They stayed married until his death 1984. She was born in 1919 and he was born
in 1892. Her most "famous" role was as Debutante in "Andy Hardy Meets Debutante" (1940).
Buster Keaton (born 1895) married Eleanor Norris (born 1918) in 1940 until his death in 1966.
She had a bit part in the movie "Bathing Beauty" (1944).

[tclion]

Love thoes old pics they really bring back some memories...

[Midge]

diane said:

I liked the pictures (I haven't had time to read the article yet.) Alice Faye seemed to be
just as pretty "natural" as she was with make up.

In private life, Alice didn't like to wear makeup. I guess she was rebelling against all those years the studio tried to make her into a bleached-blonde Jean Harlow clone.

[diane]

Another couple
Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon 1930 - 1971.