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BEGUILING HOLLYWOOD

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Civil Rights Roundtable 1963

January 16, 2015 by Vickie Lester

Categories: Blogging, Books, Culture, Early Television, Entertainment, fashion, Film, Friendship, History, Hollywood, law, Life, Literature, Los Angeles, Memoir, Movies, Photography, Relationships, Story, Travel, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Writing • Tags: Burt Lancaster, Charton Heston, civil rights, civil rights roundtable, Harry Belafonte, history, I have a dream, March on Washington 1963, Marian Anderson, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King's birthday, Paul Newman, Sammy Davis Jr., Sidney Poitier

7

Vegas, where Vickie Lester was on a roll…

November 4, 2014 by Vickie Lester

Barbara Stanwyck on the set of The Lady Gambles: A couple of years ago I bumped into a cinematographer friend in Vegas. He asked me if I’d ever gambled before and I said “no” and he said “perfect” and led me over to the craps table and handed me a cup full of dice and said “just keep rolling”. So, I did. He made bets (I didn’t know how to play!) and put down chips and I kept rolling the […]

Categories: Architecture, Art, Blogging, Culture, Design, Entertainment, fashion, Fiction, Film, Friendship, History, Hollywood, Life, Los Angeles, Marriage, Memoir, Movies, Photography, Relationships, Short Stories, Story, Theater, Travel, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Vegas, Writing • Tags: baby needs a new pair of shoes, Barbara Stanwyck, beginner's luck, Cinematographer, craps table, gambling 1953 Beverly Hilton, Henry Silva, James Whitmore, lady luck, Las Vegas, luck be a lady, mob, mojo, Ocean's 11, pit boss, Richard Conte, Sammy Davis Jr., THE LADY GAMBLES, the strip, Vegas

7

The Rat Pack era at the Cocoanut Grove

September 11, 2014 by Vickie Lester

A favorite of the Rat Pack: A night in 1952: Sammy Davis Jr. recorded a live album here, and Judy Garland staged her comeback in 1958:

Categories: Architecture, Culture, Design, Entertainment, fashion, Film, History, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Movies, Photography, Travel, Uncategorized • Tags: Cocoanut Grove, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, Joey Bishop, Judy Garland, Judy Garland staged her comeback at the Cocoanut Grove, JudyGarland, Los Angeles, night club, Rat Pack, recording, Sammy Davis Jr., The Ambassador Hotel, Wilshire Blvd.

6

Hollywood speaks out on Civil Rights

January 20, 2014 by Vickie Lester

Left to right: James Baldwin, Burt Lancaster, Charlton Heston, Marlon Brando, Sammy Davis Jr., Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte

Categories: Architecture, Blogging, Books, Culture, Education, fashion, Film, Friendship, History, Hollywood, law, Life, Literature, Los Angeles, Memoir, Movies, News, Photography, Politics, Relationships, Story, Travel, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized • Tags: actor, actress, behind the scenes, Burt Lancaster, Charton Heston, civil rights, end to racism, Harry Belafonte, history, Hollywood, I have a dream, March on Washington 1963, Marian Anderson, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King's birthday, Paul Newman, Sammy Davis Jr., Sidney Poitier

3

YOUNG AT HEART – FRANK SINATRA

June 7, 2013 by Vickie Lester

I was trying to figure out the Rat Pack’s enduring appeal, for men, let’s face it, predominantly men — at first I thought it had to do with nostalgia, and then I remembered an incident from my youth. My dad (truly a father of another era) took a friend and me on trip to Vegas. Dad had business to conduct and custody of his high school daughter for the weekend. He placed us at a table center front for Frank […]

Categories: Architecture, Art, Blogging, Books, Culture, Design, Entertainment, fashion, Fiction, Film, History, Hollywood, Humor, Life, Los Angeles, Memoir, Movies, Parenting, Photography, Relationships, Story, Theater, Travel, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Vegas, Writing • Tags: actor, architecture, behind the scenes, Classic Movies, design, fashion, film, Frank Sinatra, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, history, Hollywood, humor, Los Angeles, mob, Movie Star, Movie stars, movies, Ocean's 11, Old Hollywood, on set, Oscar, photography, Rat Pack, Sammy Davis Jr., star quality, Vegas