More on the great Eleanor Parker...
Eleanor looking quite ravishing in a publicity shot for MGM's rousing 1952 Technicolor production of "Scaramouche". This was the first film under her new contract at MGM and to say she makes her presence known in this picture is putting it mildy! I think few who've seen it would argue with me when I say that her feisty characterization and stunning looks stole the show hands down!
A vintage Lobby Card for "Scaramouche" I just picked up a few weeks ago. This film apparently contains the screens longest sword duel and believe me it does tend to go on! Eleanor wore very eleaborate long red-haired wigs for her character in this but she liked how she looked as a redhead so much that, other than a few exceptions, she appeared as a redhead for the rest of her career.
Yup, another autographed still!
A vintage lobby card I have for director John Sturges' excellent "Escape from Fort Bravo". Sturges of course the legendary director of "Bad Day at Black Rock", "Gunfight at O.K. Corral", "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Great Escape" among others. A great cast headed by Parker, William Holden and John Forsythe, some rousing action sequences and blazing color cinematography by Robert Surtees highlight this solid western. Eleanor once again received great critical notices for her convincing performance.
Holy crap, not another autographed still?!
and there's more where that came from....
These came into my posession today...
I did a trade with a small used furniture store around the corner from me... my nice-looking but chintzy made-in-china-out-of-particle-board-and-pine Bob's discount furniture store bedroom set that I bought new almost 8 years ago for this vintage Art Deco Waterfall dresser and a matching vanity table.
The condition is pretty good, especially considering the age. This stuff was built to last that's for sure! The veneer work is all very much intact except near the bottom (as always) where there are some chips broken away.
Not sure what actual use I have for this but it sure is cool-looking! The store owner was glad to let these go because they had been sitting in her store for over a year with no takers! My thoughts are because it wasnt a full set, not many people had use for it.
My new friends!!!!!! Now to keep my eyes open for a night table that can go with it! I have little hope to find a headboard to match as it seems there were very few if any queen-size beds made back then. I'll just have to make one myself i guess...*sigh*
Too much OT lately, but I'm hoping to do a new potty renovations update post soon and to continue my Eleanor Parker tribute as well. All this work and no fun is getting on my freakin' nerves!!!
Louise was born on this day in 1906. Here's a colored pencil portrait I did of her last year.
Now everytime I use the bathroom I HAVE to say:
More of the lovely and talented Miss Parker...
Another vintage postcard I have. In 1946 she was signed on to play the part of Mildred Rogers in Warner's remake of "Of Human Bondage" co-starring Paul Henried and Alexis Smith. Although the film as a whole can not compare to the Bette Davis version from 1934, Eleanor is quite good in the role. She even received a letter from Bette wishing her the same great success with the picture that she had in her version.
Yup, another postcard! Eleanor is sometimes called "The Woman of a Thousand Faces" because she rarely ever looked the same from picture to picture. She campaigned heavily for the role of Dominique Francon in the film version of Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead", the role eventually going to Patricia Neal of course. Ironically Eleanor looks much more like a Rand heroine than Patricia Neal does but it all worked out well regardless. My "dream cast" for a film of Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" would have Eleanor playing the role of Dagny Taggart along with Kirk Douglas as Hank Reardon, Gilbert Roland as Francisco d'Anconia, Peter O'Toole as Ragnar Danneskjold and Michael Rennie as John Galt.
"Pile out you tramps!"
In the 1950's she decided not to renew her Warner's contract and instead went over to MGM and freelanced as well. She did quite well starring in some first-rate films like "Detective Story" with Kirk Douglas, "Above and Beyond" with Robert Taylor, "Escape From Fort Bravo" with William Holden and directed by the great John Sturges and "Interrupted Melody" with Glen Ford, for which she received her 3rd and final oscar nomination.
Another autographed vintage still I've had for many years. 
Approx 10" x 16", all colored pencil on vellum surface Bristol paper. Parts of this look OK to me but I still like the pencil sketch better. I did learn a few new valuable techniques with solvents on this one so, as always, it was worth doing even if the end result isnt exactly what I was shooting for.
"Welcome to the Potty Pal!!!!"
Lots of progress at Potty Central...
All the Polyurethane is done on the main door, closet door, all the basboards and all the misc trim except for the paneling and over head counter area.
Inside the closet. I had to do it! With shelves on each side instead of spanning the entire width of the closet I can actually fit just as much stuff as before but can access ALL of it easily now.
That gloss Urethane sure puts a nice finish on!
I hung a curatin in front of the washer and dryer. Who the hell wants to look at those machines all the time! But I gotta keep the door open cuz my little kitty's potty is in there too so I thought this might look better.
How the edge trim looks, no more wallpaper edges showing! I think it adds a nice finishing touch the the corners.
A nice Heavy Duty towel rack to go with my Heavy Duty TP dispenser...life is indeed good!
I have half of the new drawer pulls installed now. This is how the old ones looked.
Here's how the new custom ones look. Meeza liiiiike it!
Here's the panel glue up for the mirror board. I coulda made it out of plywood but then the edges woulda had to be veneered which didnt appeal to me at all. Same if I used MDF. This seemed the best way to go.
The mirror board will attach to this box, which will angle it out from the wall enough to make it more user-friendly than it was when it was flat against the wall, but not get in the way of the sink like it would if it was a full 90 degrees to the floor.
Test fitting the mirror board. It's pretty damn sturdy despite the fact that it weighs about 20lbs! This is the only big step left now, but I figure another 2 weeks before it'll be done and ready to install. Btw I had to cut that out by hand, I dont have a bandsaw and I wouldnt dare use a portable jigsaw on a glue-up like that. It was fun!
