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timeless-hollywood-classics · 4 years ago

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Priscilla Lane (born Priscilla Mullican, June 12, 1915 – April 4, 1995) was an American actress, and the youngest sibling in the Lane Sisters of singers and actresses. She is best remembered for her roles in the films The Roaring Twenties (1939) co-starring with James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart; Saboteur (1942), an Alfred Hitchcock film in which she plays the heroine, and Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), in which she portrays Cary Grant's fiancée and bride.

Priscilla Mullican was born on June 12, 1915, in Indianola, Iowa,[2] a small college town south of Des Moines. She was the youngest of five daughters of Dr. Lorenzo Mullican, DDS, and his wife, Cora Bell Hicks. Dr. Mullican had a dental practice in Indianola. The family owned a large house with 22 rooms, some of which they rented to students attending nearby Simpson College.

Priscilla and one of her sisters, Rosemary, traveled to Des Moines every weekend to study dancing with Rose Lorenz, a renowned dance teacher[3] at the time. The girls made their first professional appearance September 30, 1930, at Des Moines' Paramount Theater. Priscilla, then 15, performed on stage as part of the entertainment accompanying the release of her sister Lola's Hollywood movie Good News (1930).

After graduating from high school, Priscilla was permitted to travel to New York to visit a third sister, Leota, who was then appearing in a musical revue in Manhattan. Priscilla enrolled at the nearby Fagen School of Dramatics, and Leota paid the fee. At this time, talent agent Al Altman saw Priscilla performing in one of Fagen's school plays and invited her to screentest for MGM. She was 16 years old. Priscilla wrote to a friend in Indianola, "Leota accompanied me to a sort of theater in a New York skyscraper. Others were there being made up. One was a strange looking girl with her hair slicked back in a sort of a bun. Her name is said to be Catherine Hepburn [sic]. Not very pretty, I thought, but Mr. Altman said she has something. Margaret Sullavan, the Broadway actress, was there too!" A follow-up letter said that her test had proven unsuitable. Neither Hepburn nor Sullavan were approved, and neither received a contract from MGM at the time.

In 1932, Cora and Rosemary arrived in New York. Cora immediately went to work pushing her two young daughters into attending auditions for various prospective Broadway productions, without success. During a tryout at a music publishing office, orchestra leader and radio personality Fred Waring heard them harmonizing. He found them attractive and talented and soon signed them to a radio contract. Priscilla, who at this time adopted the surname Lane, quickly became known as the comedienne of the group. Rosemary sang the ballads, while Priscilla performed the swing numbers and wisecracked with Waring and various guests. Back in Iowa, Dr. Mullican instituted divorce proceedings against his wife on the grounds of desertion, and the divorce was granted in 1933.

Rosemary and Priscilla remained with Fred Waring for almost five years. In 1937, Waring was engaged by Warner Bros. in Hollywood to appear with his entire band in Varsity Show, a musical starring Dick Powell. Both Rosemary and Priscilla were tested and awarded feature roles in the film. Rosemary shared the romantic passages with Powell, while Priscilla played a high-spirited college girl.

Warner Bros. purchased Priscilla and Rosemary's contract from Fred Waring and signed them to seven-year pacts. Priscilla's first film after Varsity Show was Men Are Such Fools (1938), in which she starred with Wayne Morris. This was followed by Love Honor and Behave (also 1938), another light romantic comedy with Morris, who, playing her husband, spanked her 47 times in a scene for which she declined a double, and Cowboy from Brooklyn, again teaming with Dick Powell. The publicity department at the studio suggested that Priscilla and Morris be seen together around town. They liked each other and did date for a period; however, Priscilla later said it was never serious on either side.

Priscilla was next assigned the lead in Brother Rat, which had been a very successful Broadway play. Again she played opposite Wayne Morris, and among the cast were newcomers Ronald Reagan, Jane Wyman, Jane Bryan, and Eddie Albert. The film, when released in October 1938, was a big success for all the young players. At this time of professional success, the sisters were informed that Dr. Mullican had died in Iowa.

After winning her raise, Priscilla returned to work, but the films assigned to her were no better than those she had turned down. Brother Rat and a Baby (aka, Baby Be Good, 1940) was an inferior sequel and Three Cheers for the Irish (also 1940) gave her little to do.

The British Picturegoer magazine, always a supporter of the Lane Sisters, stated that all was not right with Priscilla Lane. In its June 15, 1940 issue, they wondered why "Priscilla was still knocking at the door of major stardom". They felt Warner Bros. was casting her as stooge to such actors as John Garfield and James Cagney. They went on to say Priscilla had great charm and while not a really great dramatic actress, deserved much larger and more important roles than she was getting. The same magazine, two years later on August 22, 1942, referred to their 1940 article and once again expressed disappointment at Warners' treatment of the star. They were unaware that she had already left the studio.

On April 28, 1941, she was heard on Lux Radio Theater with George Brent and Gail Patrick in Wife, Husband and Friend. At Warner Bros. she appeared opposite Ronald Reagan in a lighthearted comedy, Million Dollar Baby (1941) and as a night club singer in Blues in the Night (also 1941).

Frank Capra requested her for the lead opposite Cary Grant in Arsenic and Old Lace. The comedy film was completed in early 1942, but was not released until 1944; it was held up by contractual agreement not to distribute the film until the play's long Broadway run was over. It was Priscilla's last Warner film. Her contract was terminated by mutual agreement after five years with the studio.

She freelanced next, signing a one-picture deal with Universal Studios where she starred with Robert Cummings in Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur (1942). The director did not want either Cummings or Lane for their roles. Hitchcock felt Lane was too much the girl next door. Universal insisted that they play the leads, and when the film was released, her acting was praised while some criticism was focused on Hitchcock for reworking so much from his earlier films into this wartime spy drama.

She had commitments for two more films. The first was Silver Queen (1942) for producer Harry Sherman in which she co-starred with George Brent. She played the owner of a gambling house in 1870s San Francisco. The other film was a Jack Benny comedy, The Meanest Man in the World, released in January 1943. Lane then retired from films. For the duration of the war, she followed her husband across America as he moved from one military base to another. She was generous with her talents and often performed at camp shows.

While living in Van Nuys, she was offered and accepted the leading role in Fun on a Weekend (1947) for producer–director Andrew Stone, co-starring Eddie Bracken. When the film was released, Variety opined, "Miss Lane, who's been absent from films for some time, gives a good enough performance which should ensure her work in more pictures." However, Lane returned to domestic life. Once again she and her husband moved, this time to Studio City.

Lane accepted the offer of the lead role opposite Lawrence Tierney in a film noir, Bodyguard (1948), starring as Doris Brewster. During an interview with a Hollywood correspondent, she stated, "I didn't realize how much I miss filming until I came back. I love this work, and I hope to make many, many more pictures." Bodyguard would be her last picture. An expected contract with RKO Studios did not come to pass.

In January 1951, Cora Mullican died at the San Fernando Valley home her daughters had bought for her years earlier. Priscilla returned to show business briefly in 1958 with her own show on a local television station broadcasting from Boston. Titled The Priscilla Lane Show, she chatted and interviewed celebrities visiting the area. She enjoyed the television experience, but family demands proved too much, and she gave up after a year.

Lane dated assistant director and screenwriter Oren W. Haglund, later the production manager of eleven ABC/Warner Brothers television series of the 1950s and 1960s. Impulsively she eloped with Haglund to Yuma, Arizona, on January 14, 1939, but left him the following day. The marriage was soon annulled. In November 1941, Lane became engaged to publisher John Barry, whom she had first met in 1939. She wrote in the November issue of Photoplay about how she looked forward to their marriage and would continue her career.

In early 1942, the engagement to Barry ended after she met Joseph Howard, a young Army Air Corps lieutenant, at a dude ranch in the Mojave Desert. A native of Lawrence, Massachusetts, he had joined the Army Air Corps straight from college in 1939. He was scouting the area for likely sites for air bases and had taken a short vacation. The couple were married on May 22, 1942, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the home of the executive officer of an Army Air Force gunnery school.

At the war's end in 1945, Lane and Howard were living in New Mexico and she was pregnant with their first child. Their son, Joseph Lawrence, was born on December 31, 1945. In 1946, after Howard's discharge from the service, the couple moved back to California, where they resided in Victorville. Howard, who had a degree in engineering, became a building contractor. The family moved to Van Nuys in December 1945. Afterwards Howard and Lane moved to Studio City. Priscilla became pregnant again in 1949. On April 17, 1950, her daughter Hannah was born. By June 1951, the boom in the construction industry in New England had Lane and her family moving back to Howard's native Massachusetts. Howard left the final decision to end her career to Lane, who later declared she never regretted her choice. She fell in love with New England, and the couple settled with their children in Andover, Massachusetts. Lane was busy with her family. She gave birth to a second daughter, Judith, on August 22, 1953. The Howards' fourth and youngest child James was born December 4, 1955. During the 1952 presidential election, she, along with her sisters, all of whom were registered as Democrats, supported the campaign of Adlai Stevenson

Outside her family, Priscilla remained busy. She was devoutly religious, having converted to Roman Catholicism, as had her elder sister Lola.[5] The family attended church regularly, and she was involved with Catholic charities. She enjoyed tending her garden, and growing flowers and vegetables. She ran a Girl Scout troop and volunteered at local hospitals. In July 1972, Joe Howard retired from business, and he and Lane moved to their summer home at 7 Howards Grove in Derry, New Hampshire. Howard died suddenly on May 18, 1976, aged 60. He was still in the Air Force Reserve, which he had joined after his discharge from active duty in 1946. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Heartbroken, Priscilla remained afterward in Derry. She said, more than a year later in 1977, "I'm still trying to pull myself together after Joe's death." She busied herself with volunteer work and her garden.

Lane was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1994. She moved to a nursing home, Wingate, in Andover near her son Joe and his family. She died there at 7:30 a.m. on April 4, 1995, from lung cancer and chronic heart failure, aged 79.[2] A funeral mass was celebrated at St. Matthew's Church in Windham, New Hampshire. She was laid to rest beside her husband.

#priscilla lane #classic hollywood #classic movie stars #golden age of hollywood #old hollywood #1930s hollywood #1940s hollywood

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daveyjacobss · 5 years ago

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i’ve waited my whole life

jack kelly x davey jacobs

summary: i want to drive away with you, i want your complications too

(or: jack and davey get caught in a blizzard on the way to the jacobs’ for hanukkah)

a/n: happy hanukkah everyone!! it’s 10:26 pm here which means i officially finished this in time for the first night of hanukkah!!! hope you all enjoy this, as always - i’d love to hear your reactions :) (& yes the title is from paper rings by taylor swift and there will hopefully be a holiday themed mini series with other taylor swift lyrics and other ships)

also - the spacing/formatting of this is showing up really weird for me, so sorry if it shows up like that for you too :/

ao3 | masterlist

__________

It started snowing only a little bit before Jack and Davey left their shared apartment and got into their car. It was just a few flurries, nothing too much to worry about. At least, that's what the weather forecast had said. So they headed out with no worries on their mind, singing loudly to the songs on Jack's playlist. Jack was behind the wheel because Davey was too anxious of a driver, and Jack hadn't wanted to stress him out at all. Which he wasn't, or at least it didn't seem like it. Which was good, obviously. Even if Jack himself was maybe, possibly, more anxious than he'd ever been.

They were on their way to Davey's parents house, with the intention of spending the entire of Hanukkah there. Jack wasn't Jewish, but after so many years of knowing Davey and being welcomed into his family he was fairly familiar with their traditions. And, really, none of that should have made him anxious in the slightest - because he knew Davey's family. He loved the Jacobs, and they loved him. Davey had already made several comments about how excited Les would be to hang out with Jack (the kid practically idolized him) and he and Sarah were good friends, despite the fact that she was dating Jack's sort of ex-girlfriend. (They were fine, though. The break up was mutual, and Katherine and him were still close.) Davey's parents were happy to have him, they always had been from the minute he had befriended Davey back in high school. And he wasn't an anxious driver like Davey. Actually, driving came naturally to him, just like painting. So there was no reason for him to be so stressed.

Except he was. And maybe there was a small, minuscule, barely-there reason. For example, the fact that it had only been a week since Jack had realized that he was in love with his best friend, AKA the guy seated next to him passionately singing along to Paper Rings. Jack wanted to lean over and kiss him senseless, to hell with safe driving. He did not do that, obviously, but the thought was there, and it made him anxious.

They had been watching some Hallmark Christmas movie together on the couch when it happened. They both adored those stupid films, entertaining themselves by making comments and jokes, criticizing every action each character took. The main protagonist in the movie they'd been watching had done something particularly idiotic, and Jack made a comment about how it was dumber than that time Race and Albert has decided to test out whether their tongues would actually stick to a frozen pole. Davey has burst out laughing, spilling some the popcorn out of the bowl that had been resting on his lap. Jack looked over with a smug smile, proud of his joke, but it fell away quickly. Watching as Davey laughed, the light from the TV screen illuminating his face, took Jack's breath away. He looked so...so.... beautiful. And then that was all he could think about, just how fucking gorgeous Davey Jacobs was. Davey seemed none the wiser to Jack's heart-stopping epiphany. But Jack was suddenly hyper aware of how close they were sitting, sharing the same blanket and eating popcorn out of the same bowl, legs touching. He couldn't get himself to pay attention to the rest of the movie, his breath hitching each time Davey moved. Davey fell asleep only a little bit after the next movie started, his head falling on Jack's shoulder.

Jack wanted to run to the window, open it, and scream endlessly into the abyss of the night sky. He could not have a crush on Davey, of all people. Not after all these years of strictly platonic feelings. Except, maybe they hadn't been. The longer he sat there with Davey's head on his shoulder, the more he realized just how long he had been harboring feelings for his roommate. And, with that, came the realization that those feelings were not simply a crush.

So as Davey laughed his way through songs and the snow steadily began to pick up, Jack was extremely anxious. He didn't know how to act around Davey anymore. Try as he might, nothing he said or did felt right. Nothing felt normal. Davey could tell something was off, Jack knew he could, but he was merciful enough to leave it be. Jack joined him in singing along with a Mumford & Sons song, hoping that he didn't look as distraught as he felt. More than anything, he was terrified that Katherine and Sarah would see right through him. They would know.

They were about an hour into the drive when Jack started to grow worried about the snow. The windshield wipers were working like crazy, and they could only see so far ahead of the car. Davey, ever the sensible one, unplugged Jack's phone and switched to a radio channel announcing weather reports. The radio anchor's voice filled the car, somewhat disrupted (which Jack assumed was due to the storm they were driving through).

"No one could have predicted this blizzard!" The guy said, sounding cheerful. Davey and Jack exchanges worried glances, but kept quiet so they could keep listening. "Due to the poor visibility out on the roads, all drivers are being urged to find somewhere to park or pullover, and hopefully make it inside."

"Great," Jack quipped sarcastically, trying to sound unfazed. Davey whipped out his phone, presumably looking up places near them that they could go. Without thinking, Jack reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. The last thing he wanted was Davey having a panic attack because of the snow. Jack was a good enough driver, and it wasn't as if they were driving in the middle of nowhere - there was bound to be somewhere they could go. Davey shot him a grateful look before returning his gaze to his phone, sitting up straighter within a few seconds.

"Okay, at the next light we come to turn right. There's a diner not too far down the road and the website says they're open." Jack nodded in affirmation, slowing to a stop at the red light as he turned on his turn signal. The turn itself was bit bumpy, their tires slipping a little on the snow. Davey drew in a sharp breath and his hand shot out to grip tightly onto Jack's arm. Jack hated how his heart skipped a beat at the contact.

The diner in question came into view rather quickly, a warm yellow and red sign composed of neon lights informing them that it was called Frank's. Jack pulled into the parking lot fairly easily, parking in the closest spot to the building available. There was only two other cars in the small lot, so they assumed they wouldn't be getting too much company while they were there. They both zipped up their jackets all the way and did everything they could to cover every inch of themselves to stay protected from the cold. Davey took a deep breath and then looked over at Jack.

"Okay," he said, muffled due to the fact that the bottom of his face was tucked into the neck of his coat. "Let's do this."

They opened their respective car doors and jumped out as quick as they could, slamming the doors behind them as they made a break for the entrance to the building. They burst through doors panting with a gust of wind right behind them. A girl around their age, maybe a little older, looked up from where she stood behind the counter, drinking from a mug. She raised an eyebrow at them with a somewhat amused grin.

"Suppose you boys are looking for somewhere to escape the storm?" She asked, a slight drawl in her voice that made it sound like she had grown up in the south. Jack nodded in response, flexing his hands to try and bring some warmth into his hands. "Well, take any table you like," she instructed. "I'll go grab you some menus." She retreated through a door to what Jack assumed was the kitchen in the back. He followed Davey's lead to a booth by the windows, sliding into the seat opposite him.

"Damn," he sighed, looking out at the snow. "Guess we're gonna be late." Davey let out a very unattractive snort that Jack should not have found endearing in the slightest (except he did).

"Yeah, I'd say so," Davey smiled. The girl returned then, saving Jack from getting too lost in Davey's eyes. Now that she was out from behind the counter, heading toward their booth with menus in hand, he could see that she was wearing a yellow 50s style uniform. It was cute and, as he looked around, he realized that it matched the aesthetic of the rest of the diner as well. There was a jukebox against one of the walls and photos and posters from the 50s scattered through the place. Jack was filled with the urge to sketch it, but all of the art supplies he had brought with him were back in the car.

When the waitress reached their table she laid the menus out in front of them and Jack was able to read on her name tag that her name was Maria.

"Alright, so right now we're technically serving the lunch menu," she pointed to the middle section of Davey's menu, "but we serve breakfast all day, and if y'all want something from the dinner menu, that's fine. Not like we're getting much other business today." She shrugged with an easy smile. "Can I start you off with some drinks? Normally I'd recommend the milkshakes but, well..." she gesture out the window and Jack gave a little laugh. She smiled sweetly at him in response.

"You know what?" He asked. "I'll still take a milkshake. Black and white, please."

"And for you, doll?" She turned Davey. Jack watched as his cheeks tinted pink at the nickname and simultaneously wanted to tease him and tell Maria to back off (not that he had any right to do that, but he wanted to be the one making Davey blush).

"I'll have a Oreo milkshake, please," he spoke quietly.

"Sure thing," she grinned at the both of them. "They'll be right out."

They sat in silence for a few moments, simply enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the diner. Jack watched Davey's face as the other man gazed at the falling snow with an almost childlike wonder. He had always known that Davey was the out-of-this-world type beautiful, even from the first moment he saw him - but what he hadn't realized was that, overtime, those foreign elements of beauty had instead become familiar and comforting, giving him a new type of artistry. His eyes, once mysterious, were now read as easily as a book. He hadn't realized how long he had simply been ogling at Davey until Maria came back with their shakes in hand.

"Here ya go," she grinned, setting their glasses down in front of them. Her smile turned sheepish as they both grinned back at her. "Would y'all mind if I just hung out in the kitchen for now? My girlfriend's back there making food for us." A warm feeling bloomed in Jack's chest. No matter how old he got, he didn't think he would ever get past the joy that came with hearing someone else talk so casually about not being straight.

"It's no problem at all," Davey said at the same time as Jack opened his mouth to say "Of course."

"Thank you," Maria beamed. "If y'all need anything you have full permission to go into the kitchen." With that, she was practically skipping off.

"Well, that was nice" Davey chuckled softly. Jack focused on his milkshake so as not to find himself captivated by the way Davey's face had softened at the mention of the waitress's girlfriend.

__________

They'd been at the diner for a few hours, talking and playing games to pass the time. They hadn't seen a lot of Maria, but they had met her girlfriend, Abigail, who had greeted them with one of the biggest, friendliest smiles Jack had ever seen.

"Okay, so," Jack began. "In the future, would you rather there be flying cards or actual hoverboards like in Back to the Future?" Davey, who was laying on one of the booth seat with his head hanging upside down facing Jack laying in a booth opposite him, tilted his head with a questioning look on his face.

"Are there hoverboards in Back to the Future?" He asked. Jack took a pause to think.

"Pretty sure, yeah. 'S been a while since I've seen it."

"I don't think I've watched it since I was a kid and my parents showed it to me and Sarah."

"We're getting off topic here, Dave." Davey's cheeks went rosy in response to the nickname and Jack grinned.

"Alright, I suppose I'd want flying cars," Davey finally answered.

"Why?"

"I'd probably fall off of a hoverboard, to be honest." Jack burst out laughing at his answer, and Davey smiled at him when he did.

"Oh, you definitely would!" Jack giggled. "You'd call right on your face, oh my god!" Davey sat up to grab a napkin of the table before crumbling it up and throwing it at Jack. It hit him right on the forehead and his laughter only increased in volume, Davey joining in.

"Okay, okay," Davey heaved, still catching his breath. "In the future." Jack motioned for him to continue, still slightly laughing. "In the future, how many kids do you want?"

"Not sure I want any really, not when I'm basically already a father for all of the boys," Jack smirked. Davey smiled fondly at him.

"Don't think that's gonna work," Davey chuckled. "I've already got tons of baby name options for us." He smiled at Jack, all bright eyes and messy hair and flushed cheeks with the snowy world in the window behind him and just from looking at it Jack could tell it was so, so cold but Davey was right there and he was nothing but warmth.

Us.

Jack couldn't breath.

And Davey was still just sat there, smiling at him like he hadn't just sent Jack's heart running directly out of his chest.

"Us?" He finally managed to ask, voice barely even a whisper. Davey's smile dropped and his blush deepened, his eyes immediately leaving Jack's face in favor of staring at the wall to his right. "David," Jack tried again, voice a little bit stronger. "What did you by 'us'?" Davey glanced quickly at him before looking away again as if his life depended on it.

"I just-" He started, but his voice gave out on him slightly and he paused to breath, and then gulped in a cartoonish way that Jack would have teased him about at any other time. "Whenever I think about the future, I think about us. Together." Davey's face was red to a concerning degree and his hands were shaking and fidgeting in a way that made it clear to Jack that his anxiety was kicking in at full force. But Jack wasn't supposed to be someone that Davey got anxious around, he was supposed to be the one who kept Davey grounded, who held his hand when he needed a physical anchor and counted his breaths for him. Davey was sat there, all bright eyes and messy hair and flushed cheeks. He was beautiful and familiar and warm and he was home. And Jack was so unbelievably irreversibly in love with him.

Davey opened his mouth to start speaking again, but before he even got the chance Jack had crossed the space between their opposite booths and had practically tackled him down into the cushioned booth seat.

Kissing Davey was easy. Kissing Davey was breathtaking and warm and fuzzy and happy. Kissing Davey was all Jack had wanted to do for years, even if he hadn't known it. And Davey was kissing him back. Davey was grabbing his shoulders and his hair and pulling closer and Jack could kiss him for the rest of time and never grow tired of it. They were in the middle of a blizzard in a 50s themed diner, laying down tangled up in one of the booths, and it wasn't where Jack had pictured it happening. In all of his daydreams, he'd never pictured where they would end up - where it would happen. But when they pulled apart and they were both panting and Davey beamed up after him with a look of pure elation Jack didn't even give it a second thought before saying it.

“I'm in love with you."

Davey's smile only widened as he pulled Jack in for another kiss.

"I'm in love with you too, you dork." Jack laughed and then so did Davey and everything felt so absolutely right. They spent the rest of their time in the diner cuddled up in that booth, talking quietly with flushed cheeks and ecstatic smiles.

When the storm cleared enough for it to be safe to get back on the road, they bid Maria and Abigail a cheerful goodbye. The car ride the rest of the way to Davey's parents' house was charged with a new type of energy. They debated whether or not to tell everyone right away, given they had quite literally just gotten together, and decided against saying anything immediately - if only because they wanted to see whether Sarah or Katherine would figure it out first.

And, despite his normal anxiousness on the road, Davey held Jack's hand the whole time.

_________

taglist:

@isarants @tomanybandstolove @seriously-ceci @bens-platt @earlyjunes @broadway-trashh @interwebseriesfan24 @returnoftheborle @cozykleinman @timesarehardfornewsies @jackclyde @last-an-eon @annabethgranger123 @musi-xals @notyouraveragegryffindoor @magic-made-by-melody @i-also-miss-our-talks

@linfuckingmirandaaa @shatteringinprogress @storytellersun @psych-stereo @books-cats-sprinkles @me-andthe-sky @connor-is-my-sunshine @merediths2003 @papesfordavey @larryisinfactnotstraight @casifer-is-cute @gem-evieve @actually-lizzy @broadwayobsessedteen @majo16199 @sarkitsm @suffering-bi @tommy-braccoli @starryrevelations @woolfhrd @thesleepingandthedead @cruelnatalie @bencookisagod

#javid #jack kelly x davey jacobs #newsies #javid fic #newsies fic #bambi can kinda write

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laughingpinecone · 5 years ago

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For the fandom ask thingy, tell me all bout Coop/Albert and Harry/Albert, please!

OH DEAR. OH BOY

When I started shipping them: a few months after s2&movie, when I turned to Tumblr to look for Albert meta as a crutch for a D&D character in a campaign that never happened. Tumblr meta was persuasive! Fics also nailed what I felt was the characterization of both and found me heartily agreeing

My thoughts: they could be the best of what Blue Rose aspires to be… if not for those pesky (checks notes) defining character flaws. I can see them overcoming them if I squint, but it’s a lot of work and they haven’t even started

What makes me happy about them: the understanding between them (early s2, movie scenes etc), the complementary sense of humor, the mutual grounding. As a fanartist coming from a fandom where my OTP is shaped like two croissants, may I say the silliest thing? The way their profiles match

What makes me sad about them: really? REALLY? Let’s go with “doppelCoop used him and Coop didn’t even apologize” for a start? I can go on all night. “I hope to come back to a better timeline” is not a valid excuse for not apologizing. Conversely, I’m more and more convinced that all the characters’ metaphysical disappearances are shorthand for crushing pain that no-one else around the character truly saw. Within this framework, Coop was a hot mess (also outside of this framework but you know what I mean) and Albert was one of the very few people who could see it and didn’t do enough. Nobody did.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: I can’t see plots about saving Coop anymore. Coop saves himself or disappears not even trying… whoosh… …nope, there he goes. Uncritical “I am the FBI” moments also not welcome

Things I look for in fanfic: bittersweet moments knowing that they lost so many years. Office shenanigans back in the day feat. everyone else too! Fond exasperation at each other’s methods knowing that when all is said and done, they’re working toward the same goals

My wishlist: hahahahahaha OH BOY. Coop gets a grip! Albert resigns and also gets a grip!

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Harry!! I’m also fine with Coop not ending up with anyone, sorting himself out with Laura and that’s that on that. Albert though I wish could find someone. By which I mostly mean Harry. I haven’t considered anyone else among the canon characters (maybe there’s someone I haven’t considered, though?) but I think I accidentally made a somewhat convincing argument for Albert and fellow grump C.W. from Obduction. Also my RP Cabanela once smooched a Coop but that’s another story for another time and I can’t see it long-term anyway.

My happily ever after for them: well for one they’re in the same reality and there’s maybe no more than three of each of them around,

When I started shipping them: not long after my first love Coop/Albert! Again, thanks to fic and meta

My thoughts: it may take them the better part of 25 years to get over Coop but they’re so so so good for each other. Distance and career are capital letter Issues but maybe less so in the present time, when Harry is forcibly removed from his position and I myself am going to forcibly remove Albert from his job if no-one else will

What makes me happy about them: how they can relax around each other. They are both trustworthy to an incredible degree and they can chill. They also have different understandings of the assorted eldritch forces that surround us all and they’re both very grounded about it, which is a welcome change of pace!

What makes me sad about them: well one’s got cancer and the other one threw away his life in a wild goose chase nobody even briefed him on so there’s that

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: when the plot of the fic is about saving Coop (see above, alas) and in the end Coop is written off as quickly as possible?

Things I look for in fanfic: making the most of their time together, long phone calls, Albert disdainfully adapting to small town life and fighting to improve the community, plenty of barn animals. Ethereal whooshings but they’re solid enough to withstand them

My wishlist: not ONE whiff of a season 4 for obvious reasons. S3 ended with them both alive and a little lost and I’d like for things to stay that way, canonically

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Coop, theoretically.

My happily ever after for them: Harry in remission and Albert enjoying retirement! He makes quick friends with Doris. They shout a lot, it’s therapeutic. It’s a weirder relationship with Frank but there’s some level of mutual appreciation. Hawk finally, FINALLY gets the snarking partner he deserves. Tammy sends her love

#dye ann #tp #meme.#OH DEAR

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dark-and-twisty-01 · 5 years ago

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Anastasia, Albert mobster and murder victim (1957)

A native Italian, born Umberto Anastasio in 1903, Albert Anastasia entered the United States illegally sometime between 1917 and 1920 (reports vary). With brother Anthony ("Tough Tony") Anastasio, he soon muscled his way into labor activities on the Brooklyn docks and rose to a leadership position in the longshoreman's union. Anastasia committed his first known murder of a fellow longshoreman in the early 1920s and was sentenced to die in the electric chair at Sing Sing, but a new trial was granted on appeal and Anastasia was acquitted after four key witnesses vanished without a trace.

That pattern of eradicating witnesses became Anastasia's trademark, expressed to underworld cohorts as a simple motto: "If you ain't got no witness, you ain't got no case." In the late 1920s Anastasia aligned himself with up and coming mobsters Charles ("Lucky") Luciano and Frank Costello, soon emerging as their primary hit man in the war between Mafia bosses Joe Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano. Luciano's group first betrayed Masseria (show while dining with Luciano on April 15, 1931), and then eliminated Maranzano (killed in his office on September 10, 1931) to consolidate their rule over the New York City underworld.

Luciano's victory placed Anastasia in charge (with Mafia allet Louis Buchalter) of a Brooklyn-based hit team later nicknamed "Murder Incorporated" by sensational journalists. The same reporters dubbed Anastasia the "Lord High Executioner," while some who knew him better spoke of him (behind his back) as "The Mad Hatter." Psychotic rages notwithstanding, Anastasia served the syndicate loyally for decades, and he was duly rewarded. In 1951, with Luciano deported to Italy and Costello trapped in the spotlight of televised hearings on organized crime, Anastasia was elevated to lead his own "family," formally led by Vincent Mangano (another permanently missing person).

Anastasia survived only six years as one of the Big Apple's five Mafia bosses. With virtual absolute power in hand , he became too aggressive and erratic for the other mob leaders to trust or tolerate. On the morning of October 25, 1957, two masked gunmen entered the Park Sheraton Hotel's barbershop, where Anastasia was getting a shave, and killed him in a blaze of pistol fire. Underworld rumors named the shooters as Joseph Gallo and his brother Larry, but no suspects were ever formally identified.

Suggested motives for the Anastasia rubout are diverse. Some authors believe he was killed by a rival mob boss Vito Genovese, while others blame Anastasia's first lieutenant (and successor) Carlo Gambino. Yet another theory has both mobsters collaborating against Anastasia for mutual benefit. A fourth theory contends that Florida mobster Santos Trafficante teamed wirth Jewish gangsters Meyer Lansky and Moe Dalitz to eliminate Anastasia, after Anastasia demanded a share of their gambling interests in Cuba. Whatever the truth, it is known that a national conclave of Mafia bosses was scheduled for November 14, 1957, with an explanation for Anastasia's murder topping the agenda. (He was accused, among other things, of selling Mafia memberships to "undesirable" subjects.) New York state police raided the meeting at Apalachin amd jailed 58 mobsters on various chargers (mostly dismissed), while dozens more escaped the dragnet. The raid and attendant publicity finally forced J. Edgar Hoover's FBI to acknowledge the existence of organized crime in America.

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jack-kellys · 6 years ago

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Mutuals as

oh gosh I get to choose

okay

mutuals as percy jackson people yeet

ok percy is @suddenly-im-respecsable cause you’re both good at what you do but really big fucking messes but ends up on top of their shit mostly in the end

annabeth is gonna be @alberts-cigar just cause. i mean. so much yes all the yes

will solace goes to @spot-conlon-king-of-brooklyn since you’re just a bright ray of sunshine :)

hazel goes to @well-the-kids-do-too cause you both are adorable but secretly kinda dark

@tommy-s-s0cks is Dionysus I don’t make the rules

@night-is-my-time-of-day is nico di angelo change my mind

@bencookisagod gives me jason vibes in a good way. but you won’t get hit with a brick I promise. also we out here loving Jason grace tbh I fuckin love that dude aw man

@fameworks-quicker piper!!! so many good piper vibes we LOVE

@thomasbeingthomas for a sec I was like....shit who’s frank zhang...BUT ITS YOU ITS SO YOU YOU’RE SO FRANK AHAHA

and then there’s me, who is highkey leo valdez.

—

thanks anoooon sorry if not all of you know percy Jackson/heroes of Olympus too well but ah these are all true so deal with it

#this might be a perfect post #mutuals #fizz answers #not newsies #percy jackson #i urge yall to look up your person

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k00263287 · 4 years ago

Quote

By linking to the fungal network they can help out their neighbours by sharing nutrients and information – or sabotage unwelcome plants by spreading toxic chemicals through the network. This "wood wide web", it turns out, even has its own version of cybercrime. Around 90% of land plants are in mutually-beneficial relationships with fungi. The 19th-century German biologist Albert Bernard Frank coined the word "mycorrhiza" to describe these partnerships, in which the fungus colonises the roots of the plant. In mycorrhizal associations, plants provide fungi with food in the form of carbohydrates. In exchange, the fungi help the plants suck up water, and provide nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen, via their mycelia. Since the 1960s, it has been clear that mycorrhizae help individual plants to grow.

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141111-plants-have-a-hidden-internet

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garudabluffs · 5 years ago

Photo

How a Guy From a Montana Trailer Park Overturned 150 Years of Biology

Biology textbooks tell us that lichens are alliances between two organisms��a fungus and an alga. They are wrong.

“This kind of mutually beneficial relationship was unheard of, and required a new word. Two Germans, Albert Frank and Anton de Bary, provided the perfect one—symbiosis, from the Greek for ‘together’ and ‘living’. “ “ He has shown that largest and most species-rich group of lichens are not alliances between two organisms, as every scientist since Schwendener has claimed. Instead, they’re alliances between three. All this time, a second type of fungus has been hiding in plain view.”

READ MORE https://getpocket.com/explore/item/how-a-guy-from-a-montana-trailer-park-overturned-150-years-of-biology?utm_source=pocket-newtab

#lichen

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auskultu · 7 years ago

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8 IN G.O.P. PROPOSE PHASING OUT WAR

Neil Sheehan, The New York Times, 11 July 1967

WASHINGTON — Eight liberal Republican members of the House offered a plan today for a mutual de-escalation of the Vietnam war by the United States and North Vietnam.

The plan, developed by Representative F. Bradford Morse of Massachusetts, was presented by the Representatives at a news conference in the Cannon House Office Building this morning.

Mr. Morse contended that the plan was moderate and practical and avoided the extremes of rapid American withdrawal from Vietnam or drastic escalation of the war. He said that it offered as well an alternative to what he termed the “inflexibility" of the current policy of the Johnson Administration on Vietnam.

Democratic Criticism The presentation of the plan on the House floor this afternoon set off an exchange among a number of the approximately 20 members present. Representative Carl Albert, Democrat of Oklahoma, the House majority leader, attacked the proposal and defended the Administration policy on Vietnam. He said the plan implied that “the key to peace in Vietnam lies not in Hanoi, but in Washington.”

The implementation of the plan would begin, according to a statement released by the Republican group, with a United States initiative—a 60-day suspension of bombing raids against the uppermost fifth of North Vietnam, above the 21st parallel.

This area includes the Hanoi region but not the Haiphong and Namdinh areas, which contain major logistics complexes for the support of the war in the South.

If Hanoi then undertook a commensurate de-escalatory step within the 60-day period, the United States would suspend bombing for 60 days against the area of North Vietnam north of the 20th parallel.

If this move was in turn followed by another commensurate North Vietnamese step toward; de-escalation, bombing would be suspended north of the 19th parallel for 60 days and so on down to the 17th parallel border with South Vietnam.

Thus, in five successive steps the United States would halt its bombing campaign against all of North Vietnam in return for a series of de-escala-tory measures by Hanoi.

The representatives asserted that the equivalent de-escalatory steps by Hanoi could include the following:

The cessation of shipments to and from specific military supply depots in the southern portion of North Vietnam

The erection of barriers on and the nonuse of specific supply routes in North Vietnam !and Laos along the Ho Chi Minh trail to South Vietnam.

The cessation of all terrorist attacks in specified areas of South Vietnam.

The release of all American prisoners of war.

The Republicans said that each of the mutual de-escalatory steps should be "clearly visible to and measurable by the other side." They would be ^communicated through diplomatic or other channels.

Mutual Agreement Essential “The United States,” they also contended, ‘‘should propose the plan to the Hanoi Government through private diplomatic channels only. Any public notice or acknowledgement of its acceptance or implementation should be made only by mutual agreement.

”The eight Representatives said that "if either side violated its word at any time, the plan would end.” They said, however, that the process should have sufficient flexibility "to cause a minor violation merely to set back the timetable rather than necessarily ending the entire experiment.

“Mr. Morse said -that the staged implementation of the plan would allow each side to gain "confidence in the genuine sincerity” of the other.

"If it is successful,” he said, "a spirit of confidence might emerge. That spirit of confidence could provide a real opportunity for fruitful and honorable negotiations for a similar staged de-escalation in South Vietnam itself.”

Mr. Morse also contended that the plan was advantageous for the United States because its step-by-step implementation “minimizes the military risks” while allowing sufficient timeat every stage for diplomatic exchanges to arrange the commensurate de-escalatory steps that North Vietnam would have to take.

Throughout the early stages, until confidence in the North Vietnamese intentions had been built, the United States would retain the ability to interdict supply routes south of whatever parallel it had delineated as the southern boundary for a 60-day bombing suspension.

The Representatives rejected the extremes of a rapid American withdrawal from Vietnam or a sharp escalation of the war as impractical and unwise, and argued that current Administration policy was “unyielding and inflexible" in demanding a simultaneous concession by Hanoi for an initial United States move toward de-escalation.

Mr. Morse said he had presented the plan to Administration officials before making it public and had obtained some attention but no firm interest at the decision-making level. A White House spokesman was noncommittal about the proposals today and said that President Johnson had not analyzed them.

Although the plan received no public support from the Republican Congressional leadership, which has generally backed Administration policy, the proposals were regarded as evidence of the growing search for alternatives in Vietnam among the liberal elements of both parties.

In late June, 57 House Democrats, including Jonathan B. Bingham of New York, asked President Johnson to place the Vietnam issue before the United Nations Security Council. As far as is known, the White House has taken no action on the request.

The seven other Republican House members who presentedthe plan today were John R. Dellenback of Oregon, Marvin L. Esch of Michigan, Frank Horton of upstate New York, Charles McC. Mathias Jr. of Maryland, Charles A. Mosher of Ohio, Richard S. Schweiker of Pennsylvania and Robert T. Stafford of Vermont, Representative Ogden R. Reid, Republican of Westchester, said that he supported the plan as "new and fresh thinking” but would not "exclude States forces in the Pacific an unconditional bombing said today that the Republican pause over all of North Vietnam for a reasonable period.

#gop #republicans #congress #Vietnam war #lbj #lyndon johnson #doves #withdrawl #1967 #1960s #sixties #60s

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thewidowstanton · 6 years ago

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Archive feature 2012: Pulling Strings, Frank Mumford, marionettist

To mark the unveiling of our friend Frank Mumford’s most famous puppet – Mademoiselle Zizi, with her accompanist Fyodor – as part of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s permanent collection in London, we are posting this archive feature about him and his wife Maisie, and their amazing showbusiness lives.

By Liz Arratoon

Flicking through my aunt’s Contact the Elderly newsletter, I noticed an old photo of an extremely stylish couple holding two extraordinary puppets. They turned out to be Frank and Maisie Mumford, who, from the 1940s to 1970s, performed with their internationally acclaimed marionette troupe. Though Maisie died in 1985, Frank – now in his nineties – is living in the same tiny London mews flat they shared since 1946. He has lost none of his charm or humour and, with perfect recall, he explains: “My nearest sister, the youngest of three, was ten when I was born, so I was a loner. I grew up with Somerset Maugham and HG Wells’ books and started to create a world of my own.”

Recovering from mumps when he was six, he converted a Maynard’s sweet box into a miniature theatre and, fascinated by cinema, saved up for a Pathe Kid projector and started making films. “I cut a proscenium in the front and had curtains and cut figures out of magazines with hairpins to hold them.” But it was when his English/drama teacher gave him the American puppeteer Tony Sarg’s book, Marionettes and How to Make Them, that his life’s work took off. Originally billed as Master Mumford and His Marionettes – he played London’s Wood Green Empire at 14.

“I had a stand of puppets at the School Boys’ Exhibition at Alexandra Palace from 1933-36. I got a job at Edmonds of Wood Green in display and had a permanent puppet theatre, performing afternoon shows and special ones at Christmas to bring people in. I learnt and learnt and learnt with a captive audience. At about 15 I began to have friends who were professional sculptors, painters and musicians. When I was 16 or 17 we formed the first Puppet Productions and played all London’s small theatres.” From opera to ballet, nothing was beyond their scope.

In 1938 Maisie Tierney joined the troupe, but it disbanded at the outbreak of war in 1939. They married in July 1944, and that September Frank was taken prisoner at Arnhem. “She thought I’d gone for good,” he says. But on his release he joined the Central Pool of Artists and created the two-hour touring show Stars on Strings. After his demob in 1946, they developed a more practical two-handed act. With Frank making all the puppets, hand-carving their wooden heads, their glamorous, fast-paced act was born. “The puppets we’d been using were fine for small theatres. They were about 18” high with seven-foot strings, but to play a place like Hackney Empire, they needed to be bigger, about two feet tall. I designed a bigger head and scaled the body down and it worked.”

They played the Moss Empires’ circuit, top London nightclubs – including Edmundo Ros’ Coconut Grove – and variety shows and cabarets around the world. From the Moulin Rouge to the Casino de Paris, and from the London Palladium to the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo, the Mumfords’ speciality act was there. Before a show the puppets had to be groomed and mechanically set. Roughly nine were used in a music hall or nightclub spot but between 12 and 30 might be needed for plays. Each of their four cabaret spots lasted about 15 minutes, “depending on the applause”, but the shows ran to an hour and 45 minutes.

Ideally the puppets had to be seen from about ten or 15 feet away. The lighting had to exclude the puppeteers’ hands and had to be very powerful, but Frank says proudly: “We had theatre craft, so people didn’t look at us. They applauded the puppets.” He worked constantly on improvements and even changed his shoes to black suede, to eliminate reflections.

A typical cabaret programme would include scenes of different pairs of puppets: two hippos doing a routine, two skeletons doing another, a bullfight, with a bull and a matador, a belly dancer with a man at her feet, Javanese dancers… and then there would be the delectable Zizi, their undoubted star. Introduced in 1947, Mademoiselle Zizi – modelled on Lana Turner and Gypsy Rose Lee – was an instant success. The diminutive chanteuse was always immaculate, with dresses – one designed by Schiaparelli and lined with her trademark shocking pink – made by Frank, who also made her jewellery. Her delicately carved fingers had painted red nails. “After a show in Juans les Pins, her measurements were given in a write-up as 36, 28, 36 and she was named ‘Miss Venus of the Cote d’Azur’,” Frank remembers fondly. But she was also labelled ‘Sex Appeal on Strings’ by the Manchester Herald, and later banned for kissing men in the audience at the Birmingham Hippodrome. Such was the allure of the Mumford puppets!

Indeed, those who fell under Zizi’s spell included another glamorous couple; the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Frank cites a private party for the Duke’s birthday given by socialite Margaret Thompson Biddle in Paris as their most prestigious date. “Our agent said, ‘We’ve got a booking and we can’t send just anybody. We want someone with style’. She had a beautiful old house on the Left Bank and we did the show in the garden. Afterwards, out of the darkness, the Duke’s equerry emerged and said, ‘The Duke wants to see Zizi again’, so we had to unpack her. The Duke always looked haggard in photos but face-to-face he looked fantastic. He was about 50. Mrs Simpson appeared, too, in a Balmain dress. She wasn’t going to be left out.” The Duke rebooked them six months later for a party he gave in the same house for the Norwegian ambassador.

And at Christmas 1961 they did shows for the royal family, their friends and municipal workers in Monaco. “We arrived on le Train Bleu at 8am and were met by a chauffeur in a Mercedes saloon, which was ours for the week. They had a bijou throne room at the palace. Princess Grace hardly spoke, but Prince Rainier was absolutely easy to chat to. He was the one I had to go to for Zizi to kiss but after about ten shows he got fed up with it.” Later someone asked what Zizi thought of Princess Grace? The answer came: “Well, she’s kissed a prince but I’ve kissed kings.”

I, however, was not the first to unearth the Mumfords’ glittering past. The award-winning film maker Richard Butchins was introduced to Frank by a mutual friend, and finding that he still had all the puppets in his attic – where they’d lain lifelessly for years – and roll upon roll of archive film of their shows and TV appearances, decided to make a documentary. He hopes to finish it by September, depending on finance – the money has come via crowdfunding campaigns on indiegogo – but it hasn’t been easy. Butchins says: “All of their performances on British TV have gone because nothing was archived until the 70s. Basically, the late 40s, 50s and 60s is the part I’m particularly in love with but I’m looking for stuff from Spanish TV in the 50s, and German and Japanese TV in the 70s. I discovered about 20 minutes of film in the French national archives from the late 40s or early 50s, this beautiful black and white film, but they want an absolute fortune to use it.”

Frank describes this as a “smidgen” of their story, which he is documenting in a book, and is determined Maisie should not be forgotten. “It’s come about that it’s all about me, but Maisie contributed an enormous amount. During the bad times you get in showbusiness she was always terribly supportive. She was very beautiful and had charisma in bucketfuls. She had a wonderful personality, like sunshine. We spent 24 hours of every day together and fortunately we were very good friends.”

The renewed interest in their work has, for example, given Frank the chance to see old films he shot for the BBC for the first time. He says: “It’s fantastic, but tiring having to deal with my Beethoven effect.” His hearing may be lost but, thanks to Butchins, Frank and Maisie’s important contribution to the UK’s variety heritage never will be.

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Mademoiselle Zizi and Fyodor are on display in the Theatre and Performance Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London

Sadly, Frank died in 2014, and here’s his obituary in The Sunday Telegraph, also by Liz Arratoon

Pictures: Courtesy of the Frank Mumford Archive

This feature first appeared in The Stage in 2012

#frank mumford #Frank and Maisie Mumford #variety feature #puppets #marionettist #mademoiselle zizi #richard butchins #an attic full of puppets #victoria and albert museum #mumford puppets

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