It's a Wonderful Life

Did you know that the Christmas film classic It's a Wonderful Life wasn't thought to be that wonderful upon its initial release? Who hasn't seen this wonderful film at Christmastime and felt teary-eyed and warm all over?  Great movie, right? Well that's not what the critics initially thought. Check out the story below from Wikipedia:

It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy comedy-drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet The Greatest Gift, which Philip Van Doren Stern wrote in 1939 and published privately in 1945.

The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man who has given up his dreams in order to help others, and whose imminent suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers). Clarence shows George all the lives he has touched, and how different life in his community of Bedford Falls would be if he had never been born.

Despite initially performing poorly at the box office because of stiff competition at the time of its release, the film has become regarded as a classic, and is a staple of Christmas television around the world. The film is considered one of the most loved films in American cinema, and has become traditional viewing during the Christmas season. Theatrically, the film's break-even point was $6.3 million, approximately twice the production cost, a figure it never came close to achieving in its initial release. An appraisal in 2006 reported: "Although it was not the complete box office failure that today everyone believes ... it was initially a major disappointment and confirmed, at least to the studios, that Capra was no longer capable of turning out the populist features that made his films the must-see, money-making events they once were."

It's a Wonderful Life is now considered one of the greatest films ever made. It was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and has been recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American films ever made, placing number 11 on its initial 1998 greatest movie list, number 20 on its revised 2007 greatest movie list, and placing number one on its list of the most inspirational American films of all time.Capra revealed that this was his personal favorite among the films he directed, and that he screened it for his family every Christmas season.

I'm looking forward to seeing it soon! How about you? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Lawmen: Bass Reeves

Hubby and I just discovered a new series called Lawmen Bass Reeves on Paramount+. This is a wonderful series based on the life of the legendary Bass Reeves.

Just who is Bass Reeves? He's the inspiration for The Lone Ranger and also known as the Odysseus of cowboys and the James Bond of U.S. Marshalls. So who was Bass Reeves? He's the First Black Deputy U.S. Marshall West of the Mississippi! Here's more from the Bass Reeves website:

Bass Reeves was a lawman for a total of 32 years with over 3,000 felon arrests and killed 14 outlaws in the line of duty, all without ever being shot himself. Bass had to overcome, prejudice, betrayal, and some of the worst criminals in Oklahoma, the most dangerous district in the country.

Born a slave in 1830’s Texas, Bass was owned by Colonel Reeves, who taught him to shoot, ride, and hunt, but would not let him learn to read. Bass grew to be a strong, physically impressive, and determined man who ran away at the age of 20 to be free. Pursued by slave hunters, he narrowly escaped into the Indian Territory where Creek Indian Warriors accepted him into their tribe. Bass learned to speak Creek, Cherokee and Seminole. It is believed that Bass fought in the Indian Territory during the Civil War with the Union Indian brigades.

The Indian Territory, at this time, was a cesspool of violence. In 1875 President Ulysses S. Grant named Congressman Isaac Parker, Federal Judge at Fort Smith, with the mandate to “save Oklahoma”. The “Hanging Judge”, as he was soon to be known, brought in 200 deputy marshals to calm the growing chaos throughout the West. The Indian Territory, later to include the Oklahoma Territory, in 1890, was the most dangerous area for federal peace officers in the Old West. More than 120 lost their lives before Oklahoma became a state in 1907.

​One of the first of the deputies hired by Judge Parker's court was former slave from Texas, Bass Reeves. Bass was known as an expert with pistol and rifle, stood about 6 feet 2 inches, weighed 180 pounds, and was said to have superhuman strength. Being a former slave, Bass was illiterate. He would memorize his warrants and writs. In the thirty–two years of serving the people of the Oklahoma Territory it is said he never arrested the wrong person due to the fact he couldn't read. 

Bass had a reputation throughout the territory for his ability to catch outlaws that other deputies couldn't. He was known to work in disguise in order to get information and affect the arrest of fugitives he wanted to capture. Bass is said to have arrested more than 3,000 people and killed 14 outlaws, all without sustaining a single gun wound. Bass escaped numerous assassination attempts on his life, he was the most feared deputy U.S. marshal to work the Indian Territory.

At the age of 67, Bass Reeves retired from federal service at Oklahoma statehood in 1907. As an African-American, Bass was unable to continue in his position as deputy marshal under the new state laws. He was hired as a city policeman in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he served for about two years until his death in 1910, at age 71, from Bright’s disease.

For more information, check out the Bass Reeves website. Had you ever heard of Bass Reeves? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

An Interview with Author James Zeruk, Jr.

I recently found out that author/researcher James Zeruk passed away back in 2021. This was such sad news. I had no idea he was no longer with us. I was eagerly awaiting his next biography, Kid with the Cowlick, about Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer. I'm not sure if someone else will finish this project, but an image of a cover is below.

After the completion of Peg Entwistle and the Hollywood Sign Suicide, James graciously agreed to an interview with me! He was a delight, so generous with his time, and so funny. I know he is sorely missed by family, friends, and fans, of which I am one. 

I love old movies and I enjoy research, so I was in my element when I got the chance to interview James Zeruk! Today I'm reposting my interview with him from January of 2014. If you enjoy film history, you'll enjoy Peg Entwistle and the Hollywood Sign Suicide. And if you are not familiar with the work of James Zeruk, I hope you'll find this interview fascinating and will be encouraged to read his book! 

If you missed this post the back in 2014, I hope you'll enjoy reading it now as much as I enjoyed writing it then.

The short life of actress Peg Entwistle is fascinating, intriguing and tragic.  However, her complete story has never been told until now, thanks to author and professional researcher James Zeruk, Jr.  His new book, Peg Entwistle and the Hollywood Sign Suicide, is now available at Amazon and all major retailers.

Back in September of 2013 I did a post on Peg Entwistle, and it was at that time that I learned about James’s book.  So, as a film buff and old movie fanatic, I am absolutely thrilled to have James Zeruk, Jr. here as a guest!

James Zeruk with Peg's brother, Milton Entwistle

1.      James, thanks so much for joining me. I recently read your book and could not put it down! Please tell us about it.

I’m honored, Maria! Thanks so much for reading it! Well, this is the first full-length biography of Peg Entwistle. She’s been written about in many books and articles since her death in 1932, but no one ever tackled a complete book about her until now. It is a traditional biography covering her childhood, career, and public and private life. I also greatly detail her more important stage productions and her only film, Thirteen Women. And there are some very lovely photos of her which had never been published.

2.      Peg’s story has become a passion of yours, so share with us how you first became familiar with her.

I was writing a quirky novel called Hollyweird and thought it might be fun to have my protagonist cornered at the Hollywood Sign—actually on the H—by killers. But I needed a spectacular rescue. I vaguely recalled there had been an actress who jumped to her death from the Sign, and that her “ghost” haunted it. I thought it might be fun to have this ghost help my hero, so a Googling I did go. I didn’t even know her name! I just typed “Hollywood sign suicide,” and up popped Peg in thousands of items. I was smitten immediately by her quiet beauty and Mona Lisa smile. I read everything I could on her and was deeply moved by her sad and gruesome exit. But I was also suspicious of everything I read … too many contradictions shadowed her, and I never for a minute believed that an actress of the prestigious New York Theater Guild would have killed herself simply because RKO had deleted a few scenes from her only film. I decided then and there to investigate her every move.  

Peg in New York City

3.      You spent seven years researching this book.  What was the most challenging part of that research?

Well, first of all, I had no clue what I was doing! I had never written or researched a book! So, there’s that—the inexperience. Walking into the Special Collections libraries at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and UCLA for the first time was somewhat intimidating, too. On my first day at the Margaret Herrick Library at AMPAS I recognized several authors sitting at Edith Head’s table, pouring over files containing wonderful documents … I spotted one holding a letter of Marilyn Monroe’s, another one had what looked like an ancient diary of Mary Pickford’s. I had found a new calling and, just to seal the deal, made sure to get scolded for picking up and “posing” with one of the Edith Head Oscars displayed in the reading room!  

But the biggest challenge by far was that there was nothing of real substance about Peg. All the books and articles that mentioned her only parroted each other and the databases regarding Broadway listed just ten plays. So, I had to actually begin by scanning reel after reel after reel of newspapers on microfilm. That took up most of everyday for the first two years.

But that was really mostly to get her career timeline in order, there was still the hugest mountain of all—her private life. Where had she lived as a child? What schools had she attended? Who were her friends? Was her family interesting? I was able to locate her surviving brother, Milton, and he and his daughter—and then later a cousin who was with Peg the day she died—loaned me many items, including letters, diaries, legal documents and photos. They told me stories about Peg and her family. In time, most of the holes to Peg’s story were filled, but it was a very tedious, very slow process.

4.      Amazing—you must have an incredible amount of patience.  I love film history, and the first time I ever read about Peg was in Kenneth Anger’s Hollywood Babylon.  He identifies a photo of a topless young woman as Peg, and suggests that as a down on her luck starlet, she committed suicide. From the look of that picture, I’m sure I’m not the only reader who assumed Peg had to pose that way in order to pay the rent.  You reveal in your book that that photo is not Peg, and that, as a successful and sought after stage actress, she’d hardly be considered down on her luck.  How does it feel to know that you’ve vindicated her honor?

That Babylon pic really bothers the Entwistle family. Honestly, her story is interesting enough without having to stoop to tabloid level. The photo is clearly not Peg. I don’t know who the woman is, but her facial features are as different from Peg’s as Joan Crawford’s are from Broderick Crawford’s! To his credit, Anger’s sequel Hollywood Babylon II does have a real photo of Peg, but the damage to her reputation had been done.

It feels rather satisfying to be a kind of chivalrous gent for Peg. I see her as a sister.    

With dad, Robert, and step-mom, Lauretta Ross Entwistle

5.      As I read the book, I could tell you felt that close to her.  You had the full cooperation of Peg’s family while writing her biography.  If they’d said no to your request for help, how differently do you think your book would have turned out?

Oh, there would be no book without the family’s cooperation. The most I would have been able to do would have been the website, and perhaps some lengthy articles written about her career. To be sure, it worked both ways: her family knew very little about her career, so they were as far away from a book as I was until we met. I am really honored to know them. They were completely open—well, mostly! I did have to kinda pry the abortion letter from Milt’s daughter, Lauretta. She wasn’t hiding it from me—she was hiding it from her father! I find that rather sweet and indicative of how Peg was raised. But clearly, there just would not have been a biography about Peg without the family’s help. Ha! I just remembered that Milton had a twinkle in his eye when he once said to me, “Jim, you know my sister better than we do!”  He’s right.

6.      Agreed! Being a researcher is similar to being a detective.  Tell us some of the resources you used in piecing together Peg’s life.

Oh, I used many. There are of course the archives at AMPAS, UCLA, and USC.  Several databases and newspaper archives—both on microfilm and pay services, such as the Boston Globe’s. Google has an excellent and mostly overlooked newspaper archive similar to the Los Angeles Public Library’s. Those were of great help because they contain the papers of small cities and one-horse towns. And that was really helpful for finding stops during Peg’s tours. I found her in places I had never heard of!

I read lots of books, too. Histories of theater, biographies, memoirs of Peg’s costars, and the like. Bette Davis’s The Lonely Walk Home goes into great detail about Peg and her influence into Bette’s decision to become an actress. Most people who had been quoting Bette’s thoughts about Peg had been for the most part using Charlotte Chandler’s book, but I used Bette’s direct quotes and interviews in periodicals and documentaries and TV shows. My bibliography even lists the TV shows This is Your Life and Jeopardy! Two places I least expected to find Peg Entwistle.

There were other shows and playbill collections, too. Other authors and experts of theatrical history were kind and always replied to me. I really did have a lot of help and resources.

Peg with Laurette Taylor in "Alice Sit by the Fire"

7.      There’s so much information out there.  The key is knowing where to look and who to talk to! I write historical fiction, and as a former reference librarian, I enjoy doing research. However, there are lots of writers who hate it! As a professional researcher, can you provide some tips to make finding information easier?

Well, first of all, if a writer is not “in love” with their subject they will soon become bored and irritated with research--they really should move on to something else. What I do first is dive into the obvious. See, Peg was first and foremost a stage actress, so it made sense to first research all the theatrical sections of periodicals such as the New York Times, or Time magazine. She made just one film, so spending too much time scouring Photoplay and Screen World would not have been very economical.

If a writer has a university or college nearby, I suggest they use the libraries or campus computers to access the database known as Proquest. Proquest can be bought with a subscription, but it is completely free on every campus in the United States. You would be amazed at how fast and easy and by how much information will come to you! The Internet databases for researchers of most every genre of writing are getting better every day. Heck, one can almost trust Wikipedia now!

If you need interviews as part of research, one should always send a copy of one of their books along with a polite note requesting the interview. It will help to send them a card during holidays. But patience is key … people have lives and sometimes just cannot immediately drop everything to satisfy our curiosities.

When saving your discoveries, use a system of collation that is easy for you. I was doing research for an author who is writing the first real Veronica Lake biography. I had one folder called “FILMS,” in which there were sub folders for each year she was active on screen. Inside each of those year folders was yet another folder containing a specific film. Inside that one was all the research and notes to that film. And be sure to name your individual bits and pieces with the date, page numbers, sections, headline and byline and author’s name. You will need those details for your book or article’s end notes.

8.      Very helpful information. Now, would you share with us some books and documentaries on which you’ve done research?

Sure! I did Peg Entwistle-related research for Eve Golden’s anthologies, Golden Images, and Bride of Golden Images, and, according to her, did one third of all the research for her latest book John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars. I also consulted and previewed for the University Press of Kentucky Jeffery Spivak’s Buzz (the definitive Busby Berkeley bio), Henry Zecher’s William Gillette biography, and the aforementioned Veronica Lake project and wrote articles for Classic Images Magazine. I consulted French journalist Juliette Michaud for her Peg articles in Cine Live!, which is a Paris-published magazine very similar to our Rolling Stone.

I was Hope Anderson’s researcher on her film Under the Hollywood Sign, and consulted Dan Bliss for his coming documentary about the history of the Hollywood Sign. Bliss is the person who bought the original Sign and then sold it to artist Bill Mack, who paints movie star portraits on the sheet metal panels. I contributed research for Adrian Sear, a London-based writer doing a coffee table book about the Sign.  

Gosh, let me see … Oh, I researched for other authors for a number of books, including a Helen Kane (The original Betty Boop.), and recently got involved with Meredith Ponedel and her Aunt Dottie’s memoir About Face. Dorothy Ponedel was the first woman to join the Make-up Artists Union. She was Judy Garland’s best friend. The memoir is amazing! I’m really excited about that. It really will be loads of fun! I also worked on the memoir of actor and dancer Christopher Riordan, who was discovered by Fred Astaire and became Barrie Chase’s dance partner to replace Astaire. That book will be a coffee table. Riordan and Ponedel are writing their respective memoirs, I’m just consulting and editing. And most recently have been working with a writer from the Wall Street Journal for a story about Peg’s pop culture influence.   

Peg, second from left, in her last play, "Tommy"

9.      I am in awe! As a first time author, how did you feel when prolific film and theater biographer Eve Golden contacted you and eventually took you “under her wing”?  She wrote the foreword in your book and mentions that she’d originally wanted to steal the project from you! Yet she goes on to say that while emailing back and forth with you, she found you “smart, funny and friendly.”  And after reading some of what you’d written she saw that it was “really, really good.”

Honestly, I was very intimidated! I was working with Hope Anderson on her film, and when I got that first e-mail from Eve my heart sank. I knew that I would have no chance to outgun her! She really shook me up! She wanted my research and for me to consult her along the project’s way. But I wasn’t ready to give Peg away so easily. I offered Eve co-authorship, but she refused. She said she is too bossy. But we became quick friends and I consider her my dear friend and trusty mentor. She edited the first draft for me, too.

Eve was patient with me and is one of the funniest people I know. Once, when I was considering writing Peg’s book in a sort of noir style, I sent her a sample. It was something like, “Hollywood Homicide Detective Stephens pushed his snub-nose .38 more snug in his shoulder holster and toed out a Lucky Strike as he looked down at the beautiful, dead blonde. He exhaled a dragon’s breath of smoke and looked up at the giant flashing Hollywoodland sign. “Hollywoodland,” he muttered to no one. “The land of crushed dreams ...” He looked down at the young woman’s corpse. “… and broken bodies.”

So, I did a page I thought would make Elmore Leonard proud and sent it to Eve (who is Jewish), and less than five minutes later she replied, “If you tart Peg’s book up like an issue of Police Gazette, I will hunt you down and beat you like a Hitler piñata!” I love that woman!  

10.  Hilarious! I love the title and cover art of your book, but I understand that you had an idea for a different title.  Would you tell us about that?

Yes, the original title was Hollywood Sign Girl: The Truth about Peg Entwistle and Hollywood’s Most Haunting Suicide. McFarland Publishers were having none of it! They didn’t like my cover idea either, which was a very lovely but forlorn Peg looking down and to her right. I Photoshopped her outstretched arms on top of the Hollywoodland Sign and had a great night shot of the Los Angeles basin taken from above the Sign.

But there is a clause in my contract that says McFarland reserves the right to title the book and create the cover art. I fell in love with their cover but it took me a while to get used to the new title.

11.  I imagine that was like someone else naming your baby. I loved the entire book, but as a native of Cincinnati, one of the things I enjoyed most was learning of Peg’s connection to my city!  Anyone who knows about Peg Entwistle is always surprised to find that her gravesite is here in Ohio.  If you do any touring around the country, will Cincinnati be one of your stops?

Oh, thanks! I am pleased you liked it! Of course I plan on going to visit her grave one day soon; maybe see if I can find the family home of her Aunt Jane and stepmom, Lauretta. Yes, it’s always fun to discover a close, personal connection as the one you describe. When Peg was touring with William Gillette in the Sherlock Holmes revival, I found them performing at a theater in Hartford, my hometown. It is the same theater in which I had seen my very first Equity production. I was 12!  It was the comedy Born Yesterday.

Hollywood publicity still

12.  Very cool! Tell us about some exciting things that have happened as a result of writing this book.

Well, I have been making lots of new friends like you from around the world! … mostly, I’m meeting authors, but I also just met a lovely French singer named Camille Saillant, who sings a touching ballad called “Peg est mon nom” (Peg Is My Name). I don’t speak a word of French, but wept the first time I heard it. Camille tells me she had never heard of Peg but when the song’s writer, Benoit Clerc, handed her the sheet, she wept too. Camille sings this song at the end of every show she performs.

I am getting calls from screenwriters and playwrights, and the former choreographer for Tommy Tune contacted me regarding a possible musical production for Broadway. Now that would be a kick! When the Wall Street Journal called and took me to dinner I was, as Eve Golden might say, plotzing! Peg’s biography gives me some validation, a measure of respectability in the field. It won’t break sales records, but it is a fine piece of resume, I must admit.

Moreover, this debut book has been opening a number of doors to other projects, including my current one.

13.  Wow—all too exciting! So, what is your current project?

I’m writing the first-ever biography of Carl Switzer, the actor most remembered as “Alfalfa” of Our Gang (Little Rascals) fame. As with Peg, this is a story that doesn’t end well. Carl’s niece, Judy Hancock, is giving me her complete trust and cooperation, which is wonderful! Her father was Harold Switzer, Carl’s brother whom you see playing the guitars and such as Alfalfa sings. Harold is featured greatly in the book, and was a tragedy unto himself and others. There is a lot of darkness. Lots of family secrets that Judy is giving me. I’m excited to do this book. It just sort of fell into my lap, but I’m glad it did. The working title is Kid with the Cowlick: The Biography of Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer.

James, I appreciate you telling us about your new book and also sharing such great insight on the research process.  I am a shameless fan and eagerly await Kid with the Cowlick! To find out more about James’s latest release, Peg Entwistle and the Hollywood Sign Suicide, visit him at www.hollywoodsigngirl.com. James, thanks again for the interview!

Thank you, doll! It was fun. Best to you and success in all you do!

Open Access to the White House

Starting this week, my aim is to be back to blogging regularly--I hope! Today I'd like to share a very interesting fact I learned many years ago when I read Destiny of the Republic, a meticulously researched account of the shooting and eventual death of President James A. Garfield by Candice Millard.

You may think that the reason the Secret Service was created was to protect the president of the United States. However, that is incorrect. According to Wikipedia:

With a reported one third of the currency in circulation being counterfeit at the time, Abraham Lincoln established a commission to make recommendations to remedy the problem. The Secret Service was later established on July 5, 1865, in Washington, D.C., to suppress counterfeit currency. Chief William P. Wood was sworn in by Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCulloch. It was commissioned in Washington, D.C. as the "Secret Service Division" of the Department of the Treasury with the mission of suppressing counterfeiting. At the time, the only other federal law enforcement agencies were the United States Customs Service, the United States Park Police, the U.S. Post Office Department's Office of Instructions and Mail Depredations (now known as the United States Postal Inspection Service), and the United States Marshals Service. The Marshals did not have the manpower to investigate all crime under federal jurisdiction, so the Secret Service began investigating a wide range of crimes from murder to bank robbery to illegal gambling.

After the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901, Congress informally requested that the Secret Service provide presidential protection. A year later, the Secret Service assumed full-time responsibility for presidential protection.

But before that, anyone could just walk into the white House. Check out this article from the Washington Post, "People Used to be Able to Walk into the White House. Legally," by Katie Zezima:

...once upon a time it was possible for just about anyone to stroll into the president's home during an open house and partake in the free-flowing booze. Like that time people nibbled on a 1,400 pound block of cheese and ground the crumbs into the upholstery. Seriously.

Let's take a look at White House access through the years:

The White House opened in 1800. John Adams was the first president to live inside the mansion. But it was Thomas Jefferson who saw the White House as the "people's house" and opened it to the public. He built a stone wall around part of the mansion's perimeter, but it was to corral livestock that grazed on the lawn, not people.

For decades, people were allowed to stroll the White House grounds during the day and enter the mansion. Jefferson, who was instrumental in ensuring the White House was a house for and of the people, not a grand mansion, started the practice. He put taxidermied bears on the lawn and displayed artifacts from the Lewis and Clark exhibition, said William Bushong, Chief Historian for the White House Historical Association.

"In the time of Jefferson you could go walking up, look at the artifacts from the Lewis and Clark exhibition," Bushong said.

Jefferson and subsequent presidents, along with their wives, would greet visitors in the East Room around lunchtime. People were not allowed in during the morning, when the president was sleeping, or while he was out of town. People were, however, allowed to have essentially unfettered access to the White House grounds.

Jefferson also started the practice of inviting people back to the White House for a post-inauguration open house. Things got a bit out of control in 1829, when thousands of people descended on the mansion after Andrew Jackson was sworn into office. People swarmed into the mansion and crushes of people attempted to greet Jackson, many standing on furniture to catch a glimpse.

At the end of his presidency, Jackson opened up the White House to the public so they could help him eat a 1,400 pound block of cheese he was given as a gift years earlier. Pieces of cheese fell on the White House carpet and guests ground them into the upholstery with their shoes. The White House smelled like cheese for the next year, Bushong said.

James Fenimore Cooper wrote about a man who visited the White House during the presidency of James Monroe. “I have known a cartman leave his horse in the street and go into a reception room to shake hands with the President," he wrote.

Wow! How times have changed. Could you imagine doing that today? For the complete article, click here. And I highly recommend Destiny of the Republic! If you love history, you'll love that book! 

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Why Rotting Teeth Were Once a Sign of Wealth

Nowadays, teeth whitening is all the rage, but check out this article from Grunge.com to find out why blackened teeth were once desired instead!

The consumption of sugar has been a ubiquitous part of life for centuries, with modern countries importing record amounts of it. In ancient India (the origin of sugar cultivation), Greece, and Rome, sugar was treated as a medicine for various ailments (via Czarnikow). They did not know the consequences of a sugar-laden diet, however, as honey and lead were typically their sweeteners of choice (via Smithsonian Magazine). Even as sugar cane cultivation and culinary use spread from India to China, the Middle East, and Europe, it remained an expensive additive and its rare use was indicative of wealth. 

European discovery of the Americas changed this, as the Caribbean environment was perfect for massive sugar cane plantations (which was, in turn, a driving force for Native and African enslavement). As sugar production increased dramatically, so too did its demand from Europe's wealthy. Now it was not only one's ability to buy sugar that was a symbol of status but how much one could buy. Where the Romans (unknowingly) exchanged lead-poisoning for good dental health, 16th century England, in particular, would take sugar in the opposite direction with a disgusting method of displaying wealth (via CNN). 

Prior to the introduction of sugar, people in the British Isles had fairly comprehensive oral hygiene methods, including chewing seeds, using toothpaste, and making use of mouthwash (via Slate). For the most part, this was still the case for the lower classes by the time of the House of Tudor. For the elite, however, societal expectation would lead to such progress being thrown out the window. According to ZME Science, Queen Elizabeth I's desire for sugar and her ability to purchase large quantities of it led to her teeth becoming black and cavity-ridden. 

Not wanting to be seen as unable to afford such a sugary diet, many of England's upper classes did all they could to induce a similar appearance. One product, a sugar-based toothpaste, would be the bane of modern dentists as Tudor aristocracy even used it to further their oral decay (via Tudorsynasty.com). Throughout the era, these darkened smiles became as meaningful as expensive jewelry or clothes before eventually falling out of popularity. Given this and other dangerous sources of vanity, like the Queen's lead-based makeup, it actually paid health-wise to not be rich in Tudor England.

I learned about this when I started using a product to promote gum health. Had you ever heard about this? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

The Sad Life of Audrey Munson

I'm a history buff and I love research, so whenever I read something interesting in a novel that's based on fact, I enjoy looking it up so I can read more.

Today I'm recycling a post from a few years back that I wrote after learning about Audrey Munson. She's mentioned in Linda Fairstein's Hell Gate, a novel filled with all kinds of New York City history and trivia.

The tragic life of this model and silent screen actress intrigued me, so I had to do a little research on my own to satisfy my curiosity.

Audrey Munson (June 8, 1891 – February 20, 1996) rose to fame prior to World War I.  She was  known as "Miss Manhattan," "the Exposition Girl," and "American Venus." She was the model or inspiration for more than 15 statues in New York City.

Ms. Munson, who posed nude and clothed, was eventually involved in a scandal. While Munson lived in a rooming house, the married owner of the house fell in love with her.  To be with Munson, he killed his wife.  Munson was never interested in this man, who was eventually convicted of murder, but the scandal ruined her career.

Munson began suffering from schizophrenia, and at age 39 was committed to a mental institution.  She remained there for the rest of her life, dying at age 104.

As many monuments and statues that Audrey Munson posed for, it's ironic that she herself is buried in an unmarked grave.

Do you have some interesting trivia you'd like to share that you've found in fiction?

The Big Country: A Western for Everyone

I've been dealing with an elderly parent over the last few months and finding the proper place for her care has been a challenge. Yet all has finally worked out and I couldn't be happier with the facility I found to meet my mother's assisted living needs and her memory care issues. After getting her settled, my husband and I went on vacation to Utah to see Bryce Canyon and Escalante National Monument. What breathtaking scenery! God's exterior design is magnificent and unbelievable! While vacationing, we passed by numerous cattle ranches that reminded me of the movie The Big Country, which I absolutely love! I told my husband about the plot with cattle and a fight for water rights, and he actually wanted to see it. He's not a fan of old movies like I am, but last week we watched The Big Country together on Amazon Prime where it's available for free. He enjoyed it, and so did I for about the seventeenth time! But I can  appreciate it even more now because of all the canyon scenery I've had a chance to experience for myself.

With my mother taken care of, I believe I can finally get back to writing, blogging, and podcasting! So in honor of The Big Country and my vacation, I'm reposting an article I wrote from November 26, 2012. Enjoy!

I'm not a fan of westerns, however, one of my favorite movies of all time is The Big Country, starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford, and Chuck Connors.

This is a great film, with an amazing cast and an unforgettably awesome musical score!  I fell in love with this motion picture when I was in middle school--back in the days of the CBS late night movie.  Anybody out there remember those, or am I the only one?

I enjoyed The Big Country so much, that as an adult I purchased it on video--as you can tell, that was quite a few years ago.  I haven't gotten around to ordering it on DVD yet.

The setting of the story helped to inspire part of my upcoming novel, Masquerade: Book Two of the Unchained Trilogy.  Masquerade is not a western, but the hero and heroine of part one, Escape, eventually end up in California where they raise their family on a huge ranch.

The Big Country actually takes place in Texas (though filmed in California), as an easterner, the honorable Jim McKay (Gregory Peck), moves there to be with his fiance, Pat Terrill (Carroll Baker), whose family owns an enormous ranch.  In Masquerade, a New Yorker ventures to California in search of answers.

Although the plots aren't similar, (The Big Country focuses on two clans fighting over water rights, while Masquerade revolves around the revelation of true identities), I love the feel of the West portrayed in The Big Country.  Watching it inspired my writing, and Chuck Connors's bad guy, Buck Hannassey, inspired one of my characters.  And yes, I admit, I re-crafted a little of his dialogue for one of my scenes!

My kids love Chuck Connors in reruns of the Rifleman television show, but they'll probably hate him after watching The Big Country--he plays such an excellent dirt-bag. They'll hate Burl Ives too, the jovial grandfatherly folksinger of "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Frosty the Snowman."  He plays Connors's father, a senior dirt-bag, and he did it so well, he won a best supporting actor Oscar!

Here's a great article at the Bijou Blog for some fun behind the scenes facts!

If you haven't seen The Big Country, it's worth watching--even if you don't like westerns!  It's actually based on the serialized magazine novel Ambush at Blanco Canyon by Donald Hamilton.

Do you like westerns? Have you ever seen The Big Country?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week! 

Stagecoach Mary Fields

Talk about inspiration for a great character, look no further than Stagecoach Mary Fields! She has certainly inspired me to create a rather vibrant character in a future novel based on her extremely unconventional lifestyle. If you've never heard of her, take a look at what The National Postal Museum says:

Standing six feet tall and powerful, many bandits learned to stay clear of Stagecoach Mary in the American Old West. Stagecoach Mary Fields carried a gun, smoked, drank and had a wicked temper. Mary was the first African American woman to carry mail on a Star Route for the United States Post Office Department.

Mary Fields was born into slavery in either 1832 or 1833; her exact birthday is unknown. Mary's birthplace and other details about her early childhood are also unknown. What is known is that she worked for the Warner family in West Virginia in the years leading up to the Civil War. Mary was emancipated in 1863 or shortly after the Civil War; she then moved from West Virginia and went up the Mississippi River where she worked on steamboats.

Mary ended up in Ohio, specifically Toledo. There, Mary began working at Ursuline Convent of the Sacred Heart. There is debate over how and why Mary ended up working at the convent. Yet, what is known is that Mary’s gruff style was not something that fit into the serene calm that was the convent.

During her time at the convent, Mary washed laundry, bought supplies, managed the kitchen, and grew and maintained the garden and grounds. Mary was known to lose her temper and was quick to yell at anyone who stepped on the grass after she had cut it.

It is unclear why Mary left Toledo. Many sources think that she moved to take care of an ill friend. Mother Amadeus Dunne, who had been Mother Superior in Toledo before moving West, had fallen ill. Mary and Mother Amadeus were known friends. Some records date their friendship all the way back to the Warren family in West Virginia, though this claim is not substantiated.


Once she arrived West, Mary got to work. Mary mainly worked for Saint Peter's Mission near Cascade, Montana where she did many of the jobs she had done before in Toledo. This mission was run by Ursuline nuns and was where Mother Amadeus Dunne resided. Mary performed maintenance and repair work. She also gardened and did the laundry. One major thing that Mary was also in charge of was the locating and delivery of supplies needed for the mission. Yet Mary had no official contract with the mission and nuns; thus, she was free to come and go as she pleased, taking additional work outside the mission.

Mary was unfortunately dismissed from the mission. This was due in part to her crass behavior, unruly temper and penchant for drinking and smoking in saloons with men. The final straw appears to involve an argument in which Mary and another mission janitor, a male, got into a fight and were agitated to the point that both drew guns. While neither ever fired their gun, this incident was enough to make the Bishop of the area demand for the nuns to relieve her duties.

Mary moved to neighboring Cascade, Montana, where she tried but failed to open one or more eateries. They were said to have failed due to her giving nature of allowing folks who could not pay to eat for free. Mary also reportedly set up a laundry shop and did other odd jobs to make money. It is around this time that Mary’s drinking, gun toting, and smoking become well known to the townspeople of Cascade.

In 1895, in her early sixties, Mary obtained a contract by the United States Post Office Department to be a Star Route Carrier. A Star Route Carrier was an independent contractor who used a stagecoach to deliver the mail in the harsh weather of northern Montana. Mary was the first African American woman and the second woman to receive a Star Route contract from the United States Post Office Department. This contract was secured with the help of the Ursuline nuns. The nuns wished to look out for Mary as they felt connected with her. This was because they did not wish to see her go as the nuns heavily relied on Mary for work done around the mission.

Mary built a reputation of being fearless while working as a mail carrier. Mary’s job was not only to deliver the mail but to also protect the mail from bandits, thieves, wolves and the weather as well. Mary gained her nickname “Stagecoach Mary” due to her use of a stagecoach as a method of transportation to deliver the mail. Mary was also known for the guns she carried. During the time that Mary was delivering the mail, she was known to carry both a rifle and a revolver.
Mary spent eight years delivering the mail as a Star Route Carrier. During this time, Mary became beloved by the locals of Cascade, Montana for her fearlessness and generosity, as well as for her kindness to children. Mary retired from being a Star Route Carrier in the early 20th century. After her retirement, Mary settled into life in Cascade, Montana.

For the rest of the story, click here.

Had you ever heard of Stagecoach Mary Fields? Thanks for visiting and have a great week! 

Originally published 6/21/21