#guildhall school of music and drama

[donutsaredelicious]

Currently obsessed with these two and am consuming all media around them…

[eloiseishere]

I wonder if this kid knows she’s about to pursue a career in acting…

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

María Félix (Doña Barbara, La Mujer sin Alma, Rio Escondido, La Cucaracha)—Maria Felix is still possibly the most well-known Mexican film actress. She turned down multiple-roles in Hollywood and a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer in order to take roles in Mexico, France, and Argentine throughout the 1940s, 50s, 60s. She was so famous and so respected as a dramatic actress that she inspired painters, novelists and poets in their own art--she was painted by Diego Rivera, Jose Orozco, Bridget Tichenor. The novelist Carlos Fuentes used her as inspiration for his protagonist in Zona Sagrada. She inspired an entire collection by Hermes. In the late 1960s Cartier made her a custom collection of reptile themed jewels. She considered herself to be powerful challenger of morality and femininity in Mexico & worldwide--she routinely played powerful women in roles with challenging moral choices and free sexuality. But even still, years after he death, she is celebrated with Google Doodles, and appearances in the movie Coco, and holidays for the anniversary of her death.

Maureen O’Hara (The Parent Trap, The Quiet Man)—They called her the Queen of Technicolor. That right there should help introduce people to the fiery, wonderful, stunning Maureen O’Hara. She was from Ireland, born in 1920, and started in theater at the age of ten. At 15, she was winning drama awards, including one for her performance as Portia in the Merchant of Venice. At 16, she was the youngest pupil to graduate from the Guildhall School of Music. By 18, she transitioned to film, starting off with a bang alongside Charles Laughton in Hitchcock’s Jamaica Inn, and proceeded to work steadily up through the early 1970s. She was in adventures and comedies and romances, spent a lot of time in westerns giving merry hell to John Wayne (and less merry hell to the indomitable John Ford — she held her own even when he was verbally abusive and demeaning to her). She was in The Quiet Man, which was the first American-made film entirely filmed in a foreign country. She helped make American Christmas what it is with Miracle on 34th Street. She played a lineup of headstrong, forthright women second only, perhaps, to Katharine Hepburn. She was married three times, lived for a while with a boyfriend in Mexico, sued for custody of her daughter in the 1950s, AND sued a magazine for libel in the same era. After mostly retiring from acting, she edited a magazine. She eventually sold the magazine to spend more time with her grandson, but even then ran a ladies fashion store. She was an outspoken, brilliant, passionate lady, with amazing red hair, a career to envy, and — well — that face!

This is round 2 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut]

María Félix:

She's Thee Hot Vintage Movie Woman of México. She's absolutely gorgeous and always looks like she's about to step on you. you WILL be thankful if she does.

"María Félix is a woman -- such a woman -- with the audacity to defy the ideas machos have constructed of what a woman should be. She's free like the wind, she disperses the clouds, or illuminates them with the lightning flash of her gaze." - Octavio Paz

María Félix is one of the most iconic actresses of the Golden Era of Mexican Cinema. La Doña, as she was lovingly nicknamed, only had one son, and when her first marriage ended in divorce her ex-husband stole her only child, so she vowed that one day she’d be more influential than her ex and she’d get her son back. AND SHE DID! María Félix rejected a Hollywood acting role to start her acting career in Mexico on her own terms with El Peñón de las Ánimas (The Rock of Souls) starring alongside actor, and future third husband, Jorge Negrete. She quickly rose to incredible heights both in Mexico and abroad, later on rejecting a Hollywood starring role (Duel in the Sun) as she was already committed to the movie Enamorada at the planned filming time. Of this snubbing she said, quote: “I will never regret saying no to Hollywood, because my career in Europe was focused in [high] quality cinema. [My] india* roles are made in my country, and [my] queen roles are abroad.” (Translator notes: here the “india” role means interpreting a lower-class Mexican woman, usually thought of indigenous/native/mixed descent —which she had interpreted and reinvented throughout her acting career in Mexico— and what abroad was typically considered the Mexican woman stereotype, with the braids, long simple skirts, and sandals. This also references the expectation of her possibly helping Hollywood in perpetuating this stereotype for American audiences that lack the cultural and historical contexts of this type of role which would undermine her own efforts against this type of Mexican stereotypes while working in Europe) She was considered one of the most beautiful women in the world of her time by international magazines like Life, París Match, and Esquire, and was a muse to a vast number of songwriters (including her second husband Agustin Lara,), artists, designers, and writers. Muralist Diego Rivera described her as “a monstrously perfect being. She’s an exemplary being that drives all other human beings to put as much effort as possible to be like her”. Playwriter Jean Cocteau, who worked with her in the Spanish film La Corona Negra (The Black Crown) said the following about her, “María, that woman is so beautiful it hurts”. Haute Couture houses like Dior, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Hérmes, among others, designed and dressed her throughout her life. She died on her birthday, April 8, 2002, at 88 years old, in Mexico City. She was celebrated by a parade from her home to the Fine Arts Palace in the the city’s Historic Downtown, where a multitude of people paid tribute to her. Her filmography includes 47 movies from 1942 until 1970, and only two television acting roles in 1970. She has 2 music albums, one recorded with her second husband, Agustín Lara, in 1964 titled La Voz de María y la inspiración de Agustín «The voice of María and the inspiration of Augustín», and her solo album Enamorada «In Love» in 1998. Her bespoke Cartier jewelry is exhibited alongside Elizabeth Taylor’s, Grace Kelly’s and Gloria Swanson’s. In 2018, Film Director Martin Scorsese presented a restored and remastered version of her film Enamorada in the Cannes Classics section of the Cannes Festival and Google dedicated a doodle for her 104th birthday. On august 2023 Barbie added her doll to the Tribute Collection.

Maureen O'Hara:

I thought she was one of the most beautiful women in the world when I was a kid and I have yet to really change my mind. Always loved her temper and her red hair. Plus she was kind of a MILF in The Parent Trap

Haughty, red hair, hot.

I would have to give up my passport if I didn't submit Maureen O'Hara but also have you seen her? Not only did she look like that (she was called the Queen of Technicolor, though she wasn't a big fan of that sobriquet), she was also very funny and tough as nails. She faced off against Walt Disney in a contract dispute and the legend goes that when someone mentioned her at his deathbed, he sat up and said 'That bitch!'. Her comment on that story is "At least he didn't think of me and say, 'That wimp'." She struggled to get serious roles for a time, saying ""Hollywood would never allow my talent to triumph over my face," so she plays the sexy princess/pirate/harem girl in a LOT of early movies that she referred to as "Tits and Sand" films, she being the tits in question. She also turned down so many leading men and studio bosses (Errol Flynn and Howard Hughes are among her rejects) that there were rumours spread that she was a lesbian. Many egos were battered it seems. I'm including the infamous Lady Godiva scene in the photo propaganda for the sheer Moment of it [link] . It was a bit of a flop critically, but it was one of Clint Eastwood's first film appearances and she said he told her later that he was very glad of the money at the time.

She was a very proud Irish woman and when she went for her American citizenship they insisted on referring to her as British (the timeline of Irish independence is a bit wibbly wobbly, we won't get into it here). She refused to accept American citizenship under that condition and argued her way through every level of US immigration she could find, supposedly saying "I'm not responsible for your antiquated records here in Washington", until a judge finally gave up and said "Give her what she wants, just get her out of here". This made her the first ever person seeking US citizenship to be proclaimed Irish on the record!

The hair. The accent. The figure. The acting chops. The perfection.

[educatingmerlin]

David Durham played Gwen and Elyan's father, Tom the Blacksmith, in two episodes in Merlin season one.

Durham studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama as a violinist. He is also a singer and specializes in classical baritone, and has performed many times in the opera.

His most recent project was an acting role in Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Amongst Thieves.

[the-elvenprince]

Orlando Bloom attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. It was there, in 1998, that he fell three stories from a rooftop terrace and broke his back. Despite fears that he would be permanently paralyzed, he quickly recovered and returned to the stage.

As fate would have it, seated in the audience one night in 1999 was a director named Peter Jackson. After the show, he met with Orlando and asked him to audition for his new set of movies. Two days before graduating from Guildhall, Orlando was cast in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, spending 18 months in New Zealand bringing to life the character of Legolas, a part which made him a household name.

"Legolas doesn't speak a lot - he prefers to let his actions speak for him. Legolas' moves are smooth and elegant, like a cat. You know how cats can jump and land steadily on their paws? That's what I'm trying to do. There's a strength in that, but it's very balletic. It's also bloody hard to do without falling over!"

Bloom made archery a very popular sport in the United Kingdom. Many youngsters saw him with a bow in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and decided to join archery schools. Bloom spent two months learning how to fire a bow. However, Legolas' arrows in the final battle in "Fellowship of the Ring" (2001) are computer generated. It would have been physically impossible for even the most gifted archer to fire off so many arrows so quickly.

"(Viggo Mortensen) used to call me 'elf boy,' and I'd call him 'filthy human.' As an elf, I never got a scratch on me, never got dirty. And Vig would come out with blood and sweat all over him. And he'd say to me, 'Oh, go manicure your nails.'"

"We have these digs at each other. Viggo will go on about elves and how they're always doing their nails and brushing their long, blonde hair, and being all prissy. And I just say,'Well, at least I'm going to live forever! Got that? LIVE FOREVER!'" (IMDb)

Happy Birthday Landy 🥳

[ca-suffit]

https://www.tumblr.com/ca-suffit/759917664545243136/im-not-anon-so-i-can-send-you-this-but-if-you?source=share

This is very true. People often praise British actors for being trained or having a theatre background but the big drama schools have a connections monopoly and are also notoriously racist and anti working class. It is very hard to be successful in the upper echelons of acting in the UK and not have been to drama school, and even if you do as a poc you'll still start way at the bottom once you graduate Vs your white peers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52968493

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/jun/06/drama-schools-accused-of-hypocrisy-over-anti-racism-statements

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/guildhall-drama-school-racism-report-b2393229.html this one is from just last year.

(post link)

thank u sm for sharing more info!!

[brian-in-finance]

Beyond filming and cast, there's nothing about The Cut. I may venture a guess that until a studio buys the rights and distribution, we won't get much else. It certainly looks like an independent venture and will be classified as such. It will be interesting to learn when and where it will premiere. I trust that if Cait chose the project it's another good choice and look forward to it. Thoughts?

Thanks for the message, Anon. 😃

Yes, little information about the film is available, including a release date, but sometimes less is more. 😉

I think there’s a lot to look forward to. How could you go wrong with Orlando Bloom, Caitríona Balfe, John Turtuuro, Clare Dunne, Sean Ellis… This Instagram post is fresh ⬇️

Instagram

Who is Jeff Bowler?

His company is one of the film’s three production companies:

1. Wonderfilm is an award winning (Emmy, Oscar and Peoples Choice) global media company with offices in Hollywood, New York City, Boston and London.

Wonderfilm focuses on the finance, production and sales of high-quality feature films and episodic television that offer international appeal through the Company's commitment to elevated storytelling.

Wonderfilm Media Jeff Bowler

2. With the human spirit at the core of our work, Amazing Owl is an L.A. based production company specializing in conscious and evolving stories that examine, and seek to elevate, the human condition. Founded in 2020 by Orlando Bloom and currently partnered in a first-look deal with Amazon Studios, our active projects in feature films, television, and docuseries, span across the U.S. and U.K. alike.

Amazing Owl Orlando Bloom

3. Established in 2010, Tea Shop is a film production company based in London and Los Angeles. We love unique genre stories from brilliant filmmakers.

Tea Shop Productions Leonora Darby

I look forward to hearing about premiere and cinema release dates, and also to any opportunities Caitríona may have to promote the film. 2024 is a busy year for her, with two films in the can and a directorial debut in a Season 8 Outlander episode. Can’t wait to see all three productions. 🍿🍿🍿

Twitter

Remember… I trained for three years at drama school to be an actor - not a celebrity. — Orlando Bloom

Orlando Bloom graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1999.

[sersh]

LAUREN MAYBERRY Photographed by Dave Benett attending the Patrick McDowell x Guildhall School of Music & Drama AW24 Show at London Fashion Week, February 17th 2024

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday to one of Scotland’s favourite actors Ewan McGregor.

Ewan Gordon McGregor was born March 31, 1971 in Perth and brought up in Crieff, a small town nearby, he studied at ‘Morrison’s Academy’ and joined the ‘Perth Repertory Theater’, going on to study drama at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he studied alongside Alistair McGowan and Daniel Craig.

Ewan achieved worldwide critical acclaim with his role in the film Trainspotting in 1996. In 1998, McGregor landed the largest role of his career when he signed on as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

His on-screen charisma and his dapper-good-looks gathered a cult following around the world and also got him noticed for challenging roles in non-commercial, inventive films like ‘Down With Love’ and ‘Moulin Rouge!’. Apart from acting for films, he is also a theatre artist and has appeared in a number of theatrical productions including, ‘Little Malcolm and His Struggles against the Eunuchs’, ‘Guys and Dolls’ and ‘Othello’.

His acting capabilities earned him the respect of his contemporaries and even though his choices of roles were a little different from his counterparts, he was lauded for his confidence in being able to pull them off. He is a keen motorcyclist and has partaken in a number of motorcycle marathons.

So far in his career Ewan has 36 wins & 77 nominations total in recognition of his work. McGregor was ranked number 36 on Empire magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list in 1997.In a 2004 poll for the BBC, he was named the fourth most influential person in British culture.IndieWire named McGregor one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.

His latest films include, Mother Couch and Bleeding Love last year, he is currently starring in the period drama TV mini-series, A Gentleman in Moscow which has been described as his best performance in some years, he has several other projects on the go according to IMDB.

[justforbooks]

The actor Michael Jayston, who has died aged 88, was a distinguished performer on stage and screen. The roles that made his name were as the doomed Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in Franklin Schaffner’s sumptuous account of the last days of the Romanovs in Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), and as Alec Guinness’s intelligence minder in John Le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy on television in 1979. He never made a song and dance about himself and perhaps as a consequence was not launched in Hollywood, as were many of his contemporaries.

Before these two parts, he had already played a key role in The Power Game on television and Henry Ireton, Cromwell’s son-in-law, in Ken Hughes’s fine Cromwell (1969), with Richard Harris in the title role and Guinness as King Charles I. And this followed five years with the Royal Shakespeare Company including a trip to Broadway in Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming, in which he replaced Michael Bryant as Teddy, the brother who returns to the US and leaves his wife in London to “take care of” his father and siblings.

Jayston, who was not flamboyantly good-looking but clearly and solidly attractive, with a steely, no-nonsense, demeanour and a steady, piercing gaze, could “do” the Pinter menace as well as anyone, and that cast – who also made the 1973 movie directed by Peter Hall – included Pinter’s then wife, Vivien Merchant, as well as Paul Rogers and Ian Holm.

Jayston had found a replacement family in the theatre. Born Michael James in Nottingham, he was the only child of Myfanwy (nee Llewelyn) and Vincent; his father died of pneumonia, following a serious accident on the rugby field, when Michael was one, and his mother died when he was a barely a teenager. He was then brought up by his grandmother and an uncle, and found himself involved in amateur theatre while doing national service in the army; he directed a production of The Happiest Days of Your Life.

He continued in amateur theatre while working for two years as a trainee accountant for the National Coal Board and in Nottingham fish market, before winning a scholarship, aged 23, to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he was five years older than everyone else on his course. He played in rep in Bangor, Northern Ireland, and at the Salisbury Playhouse before joining the Bristol Old Vic for two seasons in 1963.

At the RSC from 1965, he enjoyed good roles – Oswald in Ghosts, Bertram in All’s Well That Ends Well, Laertes to David Warner’s Hamlet – and was Demetrius in Hall’s film of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1968), with Warner as Lysander in a romantic foursome with Diana Rigg and Helen Mirren.

But his RSC associate status did not translate itself into the stardom of, say, Alan Howard, Warner, Judi Dench, Ian Richardson and others at the time. He was never fazed or underrated in this company, but his career proceeded in a somewhat nebulous fashion, and Nicholas and Alexandra, for all its success and ballyhoo, did not bring him offers from the US.

Instead, he played Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1972), a so-so British musical film version with music and lyrics by John Barry and Don Black, with Michael Crawford as the White Rabbit and Peter Sellers the March Hare. In 1979 he was a colonel in Zulu Dawn, a historically explanatory prequel to the earlier smash hit Zulu.

As an actor he seemed not to be a glory-hunter. Instead, in the 1980s, he turned in stylish and well-received leading performances in Noël Coward’s Private Lives, at the Duchess, opposite Maria Aitken (1980); as Captain von Trapp in the first major London revival of The Sound of Music at the Apollo Victoria in 1981, opposite Petula Clark; and, best of all, as Mirabell, often a thankless role, in William Gaskill’s superb 1984 revival, at Chichester and the Haymarket, of The Way of the World, by William Congreve, opposite Maggie Smith as Millamant.

Nor was he averse to taking over the leading roles in plays such as Peter Shaffer’s Equus (1973) or Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa (1992), roles first occupied in London by Alec McCowen. He rejoined the National Theatre – he had been Gratiano with Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright in The Merchant of Venice directed by Jonathan Miller in 1974 – to play a delightful Home Counties Ratty in the return of Alan Bennett’s blissful, Edwardian The Wind in the Willows in 1994.

On television, he was a favourite side-kick of David Jason in 13 episodes of David Nobbs’s A Bit of a Do (1989) – as the solicitor Neville Badger in a series of social functions and parties across West Yorkshire – and in four episodes of The Darling Buds of May (1992) as Ernest Bristow, the brewery owner. He appeared again with Jason in a 1996 episode of Only Fools and Horses.

He figured for the first time on fan sites when he appeared in the 1986 Doctor Who season The Trial of a Time Lord as Valeyard, the prosecuting counsel. In the new millennium he passed through both EastEnders and Coronation Street before bolstering the most lurid storyline of all in Emmerdale (2007-08): he was Donald de Souza, an unpleasant old cove who fell out with his family and invited his disaffected wife to push him off a cliff on the moors in his wheelchair, but died later of a heart attack.

By now living on the south coast, Jayston gravitated easily towards Chichester as a crusty old colonel – married to Wendy Craig – in Coward’s engaging early play Easy Virtue, in 1999, and, three years later, in 2002, as a hectored husband, called Hector, to Patricia Routledge’s dotty duchess in Timberlake Wertenbaker’s translation of Jean Anouilh’s Léocadia under the title Wild Orchids.

And then, in 2007, he exuded a tough spirituality as a confessor to David Suchet’s pragmatic pope-maker in The Last Confession, an old-fashioned but gripping Vatican thriller of financial and political finagling told in flashback. Roger Crane’s play transferred from Chichester to the Haymarket and toured abroad with a fine panoply of senior British actors, Jayston included.

After another collaboration with Jason, and Warner, in the television movie Albert’s Memorial (2009), a touching tale of old war-time buddies making sure one of them is buried on the German soil where first they met, and a theatre tour in Ronald Harwood’s musicians-in-retirement Quartet in 2010 with Susannah York, Gwen Taylor and Timothy West, he made occasional television appearances in Midsomer Murders, Doctors and Casualty. Last year he provided an introduction to a re-run of Tinker Tailor on BBC Four. He seemed always to be busy, available for all seasons.

As a keen cricketer (he also played darts and chess), Jayston was a member of the MCC and the Lord’s Taverners. After moving to Brighton, he became a member of Sussex county cricket club and played for Rottingdean, where he was also president.

His first two marriages – to the actor Lynn Farleigh in 1965 and the glass engraver Heather Sneddon in 1970 – ended in divorce. From his second marriage he had two sons, Tom and Ben, and a daughter, Li-an. In 1979 he married Ann Smithson, a nurse, and they had a son, Richard, and daughter, Katie.

🔔 Michael Jayston (Michael James), actor, born 29 October 1935; died 5 February 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[maggie-flanigan-studio]

NYC Acting Dreams: How Drama School Can Ignite Your Career

The bright lights of Broadway, the electrifying energy of off-Broadway productions, and the captivating allure of television and film – New York City pulsates with the energy of aspiring actors chasing their dreams. But amidst the hustle and bustle, how do you turn that raw passion into captivating performances?  The answer lies within the dedicated walls of a drama school, where talent meets training, and dreams take flight. Here at Maggie Flanigan Studio, a premier drama school in the heart of NYC, we understand the transformative power of drama school in igniting the careers of tomorrow's stars.

From Hopeful to Headliner: The Power of Drama School

Drama school is more than just memorizing lines and taking center stage. It's a dedicated space where raw talent meets seasoned instructors, rigorous training intertwines with supportive environments, and the initial spark of passion ignites into a burning desire for excellence.  Within a drama school, aspiring actors develop the technical skills, emotional intelligence, and collaborative spirit that define a successful career in the competitive world of acting.

Unlocking Your Potential with the Meisner Technique

At Maggie Flanigan Studio, we empower our students with a comprehensive curriculum rooted in the renowned Meisner Technique. This powerful approach emphasizes truthful and grounded performances, fostering a deep understanding of character and scene. Through a series of progressive exercises and workshops, students learn to connect with scene partners on a deeper level, tap into their emotional wellspring, and bring authenticity to every role they play.

A Flexible Learning Environment in the Heart of NYC

Balancing the demands of acting school with the whirlwind of New York City can be daunting. That's why Maggie Flanigan Studio offers a flexible schedule to accommodate aspiring actors with busy lives.  Our extensive class offerings run from Tuesday to Monday (9 AM to 10 PM), allowing you to pursue your acting dreams  without sacrificing other commitments.

A Supportive Community: Your NYC Acting Family

Drama school offers an experience that transcends the classroom walls. Maggie Flanigan Studio fosters a supportive community where students can learn from and collaborate with their peers. Whether you're honing your craft through scene work or brainstorming approaches to a character, this collaborative environment fosters a sense of camaraderie and shared passion for the art of acting.

Ready to Ignite Your NYC Acting Journey?

If you're an aspiring actor with a burning desire to captivate audiences on the stages of New York City, a drama school can be the catalyst for your success.  Maggie Flanigan Studio provides the tools, training, and supportive environment you need to transform your talent into captivating performances. Contact us today and let us help you ignite your career in the heart of NYC!

[chvrch-of-mayberry]

Lauren at: Patrick McDowell X Guildhall School Of Music & Drama AW24 Fashion Show

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Eva Dahlbeck (Smiles of a Summer Night, A Lesson in Love, Kastrullresan)— Beautiful, formidable, funny. Ingmar Bergman called her a "battleship of femininity" and cast her in several of his comedies. It's a joy to see her pulling all the strings in Smiles of a Summer Night while her two boyfriends make utter fools of themselves.

Maureen O’Hara (The Parent Trap, The Quiet Man)—They called her the Queen of Technicolor. That right there should help introduce people to the fiery, wonderful, stunning Maureen O’Hara. She was from Ireland, born in 1920, and started in theater at the age of ten. At 15, she was winning drama awards, including one for her performance as Portia in the Merchant of Venice. At 16, she was the youngest pupil to graduate from the Guildhall School of Music. By 18, she transitioned to film, starting off with a bang alongside Charles Laughton in Hitchcock’s Jamaica Inn, and proceeded to work steadily up through the early 1970s. She was in adventures and comedies and romances, spent a lot of time in westerns giving merry hell to John Wayne (and less merry hell to the indomitable John Ford — she held her own even when he was verbally abusive and demeaning to her). She was in The Quiet Man, which was the first American-made film entirely filmed in a foreign country. She helped make American Christmas what it is with Miracle on 34th Street. She played a lineup of headstrong, forthright women second only, perhaps, to Katharine Hepburn. She was married three times, lived for a while with a boyfriend in Mexico, sued for custody of her daughter in the 1950s, AND sued a magazine for libel in the same era. After mostly retiring from acting, she edited a magazine. She eventually sold the magazine to spend more time with her grandson, but even then ran a ladies fashion store. She was an outspoken, brilliant, passionate lady, with amazing red hair, a career to envy, and — well — that face!

This is round 1 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut]

Eva Dahlbeck:

Maureen O'Hara:

I thought she was one of the most beautiful women in the world when I was a kid and I have yet to really change my mind. Always loved her temper and her red hair. Plus she was kind of a MILF in The Parent Trap

Haughty, red hair, hot.

The hair. The accent. The figure. The acting chops. The perfection.

I would have to give up my passport if I didn't submit Maureen O'Hara but also have you seen her? Not only did she look like that (she was called the Queen of Technicolor, though she wasn't a big fan of that sobriquet), she was also very funny and tough as nails. She faced off against Walt Disney in a contract dispute and the legend goes that when someone mentioned her at his deathbed, he sat up and said 'That bitch!'. Her comment on that story is "At least he didn't think of me and say, 'That wimp'." She struggled to get serious roles for a time, saying ""Hollywood would never allow my talent to triumph over my face," so she plays the sexy princess/pirate/harem girl in a LOT of early movies that she referred to as "Tits and Sand" films, she being the tits in question. She also turned down so many leading men and studio bosses (Errol Flynn and Howard Hughes are among her rejects) that there were rumours spread that she was a lesbian. Many egos were battered it seems. I'm including the infamous Lady Godiva scene in the photo propaganda for the sheer Moment of it [link] . It was a bit of a flop critically, but it was one of Clint Eastwood's first film appearances and she said he told her later that he was very glad of the money at the time. She was a very proud Irish woman and when she went for her American citizenship they insisted on referring to her as British (the timeline of Irish independence is a bit wibbly wobbly, we won't get into it here). She refused to accept American citizenship under that condition and argued her way through every level of US immigration she could find, supposedly saying "I'm not responsible for your antiquated records here in Washington", until a judge finally gave up and said "Give her what she wants, just get her out of here". This made her the first ever person seeking US citizenship to be proclaimed Irish on the record! And while we don't embrace the leprechaun imagery quite so enthusiastically today, her dressing her dog up in a little shamrock hat is too cute for you all to miss so I'm including that in the photo propaganda.

*Marge Simpson voice*: I just think she's neat 🤷‍♀️

[otrotap]

Lauren Mayberry at Patrick McDowell X Guildhall School Of Music & Drama AW24 Fashion Show.

[aspenrockymountainhigh]

Orlando Bloom attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. It was there, in 1998, that he fell three stories from a rooftop terrace and broke his back. Despite fears that he would be permanently paralyzed, he quickly recovered and returned to the stage.

As fate would have it, seated in the audience one night in 1999 was a director named Peter Jackson. After the show, he met with Orlando and asked him to audition for his new set of movies. Two days before graduating from Guildhall, Orlando was cast in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, spending 18 months in New Zealand bringing to life the character of Legolas, a part which made him a household name.

"Legolas doesn't speak a lot - he prefers to let his actions speak for him. Legolas' moves are smooth and elegant, like a cat. You know how cats can jump and land steadily on their paws? That's what I'm trying to do. There's a strength in that, but it's very balletic. It's also bloody hard to do without falling over!"

Bloom made archery a very popular sport in the United Kingdom. Many youngsters saw him with a bow in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and decided to join archery schools. Bloom spent two months learning how to fire a bow. However, Legolas' arrows in the final battle in "Fellowship of the Ring" (2001) are computer generated. It would have been physically impossible for even the most gifted archer to fire off so many arrows so quickly.

"(Viggo Mortensen) used to call me 'elf boy,' and I'd call him 'filthy human.' As an elf, I never got a scratch on me, never got dirty. And Vig would come out with blood and sweat all over him. And he'd say to me, 'Oh, go manicure your nails.'"

"We have these digs at each other. Viggo will go on about elves and how they're always doing their nails and brushing their long, blonde hair, and being all prissy. And I just say,'Well, at least I'm going to live forever! Got that? LIVE FOREVER!'" (IMDb)

[georgefairbrother]

Remembering British actress and comedienne, Patsy Rowlands, who passed away January 22nd, 2005, aged 74.

Having won a scholarship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, her career spanned more than fifty years. She appeared in nine Carry On films, including the most profitable of all, Carry on Loving, and left an impressive body of work in British television and on stage, in comedy, musicals and quality drama.

She created an enduring comic persona of a slightly desperate, middle-aged single woman on the make, generally working as a secretary or housekeeper, or as in the Please Sir movie, a fellow teacher at Fenn Street in love with Mr Hedges (John Alderton).

She starred opposite Thora Hird in a sitcom based on the Salvation Army, Hallelujah (1983-84), appeared in The Bill, and in 1992 had a memorable cameo as Spudgun's mum, Mrs Potato, in the Rik Mayall/ Ade Edmondson comedy Bottom.

Her final screen credit was for a dramatic role in the family saga, The Cazalets (2001).

She had a great moment with Kenneth Williams in Carry on at Your Convenience (1971). After the WC Boggs and Son works outing, Mr Boggs himself (Kenneth Williams) finds himself unclothed and in the bed of his secretary, Miss Withering. She was given possibly one of the great Carry On lines;

"Don't worry, I know what a man looks like, you know...and you're not all that much different..."