R.I.P. Sue Lloyd (7 August, 1939 – 20 October, 2011)

johannah o'donnell

Orlando artist Johannah O'Donnell's candy colour palets makes me drool, and i love the clean lines, layered backgrounds and fantastical subjects. see more of her work here.

hall of dames # 23 - tilly losch

Ottilie Ethel Leopoldine "Tilly" Losch, Countess of Carnarvon, was born in Vienna, Austria on the 15th of November, 1903. Tilly began studying ballet at the Vienna Opera as a child, later becoming an accomplished dancer and choreographer and eventually expanding her repertoire to include dramatic stage work.



Losch's stage success led to supporting roles in several Hollywood films, including The Garden of Allah (1936) with Marlene Dietrich. Tilly was best known for a composition entitled "The Hand Dance", which was featured in a short dance film by Norman Bel Geddes.




Losch was married twice, the first time to millionaire Edward James, a patron of the surrealist arts. Edward founded a ballet company specifically for Tilly which made performances in London and Paris. he would later file for divorce on the grounds that Losch had committed adultery with american hotel executive Prince Serge Obelensky, to which Losch launched a failed countersuit stating that Edward was a homosexual. at James' former estate, a permanent reminder of ms. Losch can be found woven into the carpet of his spiral staircase. as a token of his love for her, James had Tilly's wet footprints (left on the stairs after emerging from her bath) woven directly into the fibres of the rug. in the years following their divorce, Edward made a similar carpet from the footprints of his dog.



battling severe clinical depression, Tilly eventually abandoned dance entirely and spent time in a Swiss sanitarium. she married second husband Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon and began painting, first in water colours and then in oils. out of concern for her health and fear of the escalating danger of war era Europe, Herbet sent Tilly back to New York. there she had her first painting exhibition in 1944, which was well received. her work now hangs in London's Tate gallery, among others. Losch and Herbert divorced in 1947.


Tilly died of cancer in New York at the age of 72.

all the king's women # 31 - suzanna leigh

Suzanna Leigh was born on July 26, 1945 in Belgrave, England, where she later attended convent school. her first film gig was as an extra in Tom Thumb (1958), followed by a small role in Oscar Wilde (1960) with Robert Morley. in 1965, producer Hal Wallis saw some photos of Suzanna dressed as Madame Du Barry for a London costume ball which tickled his fancy, so he signed her to a contract. Leigh's first Hollywood role came in Boeing Boeing (1965), starring Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis.


Suzanna's next venture with Wallis would bring her to work with the king himself in one of my favourite of his films: Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1965). this is not one of Elvis' shining moments, to say the least, but there is a kitschy charm to this one that never fails to delight me.


the second of three king flicks filmed in Hawaii, there is little to no plot to follow as Elvis travels the country wooing wahinis and singing god-awful songs to children and dogs along the way. Suzanna plays Elvis' assistant Judy Hudson who pretends to be married to the king in order to help him ward off unwanted advances from lusty clients of their helicopter touring business :)


soon after working with Elvis, Suzanna returned to her movie career in England, appearring mostly in chillers, such as The Deadly Bees (1967) and Lust for a Vampire (1971).


in 1998, Suzanna published an autobiography entitled Paradise, Suzanna Style. [*snicker*]

say something nice

yes.

sonya kozlova

click on these photos by 18 year old Sonya Kozlova to see them larger. check out her website for more lovely images.

a bow tie affair

once again, i find myself apologizing for not having blogged in far too long - but this time i have a legitimate excuse: i've been preparing for my brother's wedding this coming saturday! he's the bow-tied brother on the right in the above photo and i'm to be the master of ceremonies at the event (*eek*). i still have much to do and the day is almost upon me, so i can't stay long. after this weekend, all comes floating back down to normal and i'll have much more time to spend here. in the meantime, enjoy your labour day weekend! xo

the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire

ever thought about what you'd take with you if your house was on fire? i figure, in a panic, my hands would be pretty full with cat and dog to carry anything else, but i've a few things in mind if i had time to prepare - mainly boxes of old journals and photographs. if you've ever wondered what other poor souls would gather in the event of such a disaster, go to theburninghouse.com (from whence came these photos), where people submit pictures of all the stuff they'd risk arm and leg for. it's interesting to see so many different representations.

argh!

k, there's something wrong with blogger right now and all my sidebar stuff is moved to the bottom of my blog. don't have time to mess around with it right now 'cause i'm at work, but you can bet i'll be toiling away at it when i get home. likely time for an overhall anyway! xo

you can't say 'Bombshell' on an airplane #11 - mari blanchard

remembering a king

an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fans gathered outside Graceland last night on the eve of the 34th anniversay of Elvis Presley's death. thousands more are expected for tonight's candle light vigil - a testimony to the breadth and endurance of his legacy. i know it may seem silly, given that Elvis died when i was but a babe in arms, but today, as on every 16th of August, i am saddened by his passing. my heart goes out to Priscilla and Lisa Marie, and to the grandchildren he would never know. his sacrifice was heavy. it is for this and for his extraordinary gifts that thousands remember and return to say thank you. [click here for crowd photos source]

summer daze

you'll have to forgive my fairweather blogging as of late. i've been enjoying the outdoors more than the computer screen, as i'm sure you can all understand. this weekend i'll be heading to a good friends cottage and i couldn't be more excited. nothing beats fresh air, trees, people i love and lots o beer n chuckles. looking forward to nights like this one...


wishing you all a marvelous weekend filled with chuckles of your own. take care of yourselves! see you next week! xo

smoother than a gentle breeze #2 - steve mcqueen