Interviews with Classic Hollywood: Part 1

For about 12 years, I ran a fairly successful website called The Midnight Palace. It began as a way for me to reach into the ether and see if anyone else shared my affinity for classic Hollywood. The internet wasn’t yet the mad collective of vintage sites it would eventually become, and for the most part, there were only a handful of people trying to keep black and white history alive in cyberspace. I reviewed films from the earliest silents up until, and including, the early 1960s. But more than that, I featured books/biographies, wrote articles highlighting different stars, and interviewed classic actors/actresses and their family members.

Before long, those interviews became the thing that attracted people to my website. And it wasn’t just fans of the era; I was contacted by Warner Bros., Paramount, and other home video labels wanting me to promote their releases to my audience. Warner Bros. in particular was a heavy hitter in the DVD market. They were releasing “signature collections” left and right; the first package I received from them contained their new Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Stewart boxsets. It seemed like, somehow, the Golden Age was more popular than ever, and that I was a substantial part of its resurgence.

The first notable interview I conducted was with Joan Crawford’s grandson, Casey LaLonde. Surprisingly, we only lived about 25 minutes from each other, and agreed to meet for dinner before the interview. It was hard for me to gauge how Casey might respond to questions about Mommie Dearest, or to the allegations that Joan was a terrible mother, especially when his mother had a completely different and much more favorable opinion of her. But for as nervous as I may have been, I found him down to earth and very amicable. We remain friends to this day.

When I eventually interviewed Audrey Hepburn’s son, Sean Ferrer, I not only marveled at his ability to humanize his legendary mother, but felt humbled by his recollections about how she never quite understood her own fame. She was self-conscious and shy, innocent and empathetic, quite the opposite of the chic icon that history remembers. Granted, she was an icon, she was a fashionplate, but in her mind, she was still the malnourished little girl who became a survivor and wanted to help others. I also count Sean among my close friends; I named my daughter after his mom.

Perhaps one of the most tense interviews I conducted was with Lana Turner’s daughter, Cheryl Crane. A beautiful coffee table book on Lana had recently been released, and Cheryl was granting a limited number of interviews as part of their promotional efforts. I had worked with the publisher on some of their previous titles, so I was lucky enough to get one of the slots. Cheryl was a lovely, warm person, and more than willing to talk about her famous mom. But I knew at some point I was going to ask about the infamous murder of her mother’s boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato; and although I cleared it with her beforehand, I could feel my nerves overpowering my concentration. When the time came, I tried to be as delicate as possible. Granted, I had read her book, Detour, in which she not only details the murder, but the aftermath. Somehow this felt different. I didn’t want to put her on the spot. You can listen to my full interview with Cheryl below.

Aside from the family members of notable stars, I spent a lot of time interviewing the stars themselves. One of them was Beverly Roberts. In the 30s, she had been a bit player at Warners and told me a charming story about how she kept driving onto the lot, then off of the lot, then on, then off, just because she was so thrilled. When we spoke, Beverly was in her 90s and lived all the way down in Laguna Niguel, CA. I was living in LA at the time and made arrangements to take her to lunch. We spent the day together, and after I drove her home, she told me stories about all of her old co-stars, including Humphrey Bogart, Al Jolson, and Errol Flynn. She was so excited that someone remembered her. Beverly passed away in 2009.

Doris Eaton Travis was one of my favorite people to interview. She was the last living Ziegfeld girl, and when we spoke, she was 105 years old. Doris had that incredible ability to remember the teens and 20s as though they happened last week, despite her short term memory being less than stellar. I loved hearing about her earliest years going to see theatre plays with her mother and sisters; I could still feel the anticipation she felt as she manuevered her way into a new showbiz career. Doris shared her recollections of Florenz Ziegfeld, as well as Henry Ford and Babe Ruth. The latter was especially fascinating to me since I’ve always been a Babe Ruth fan. She was kind enough to sign a photo for me. Doris passed away the following year in 2010.

Another favorite interviewee of mine was Monica Lewis. She was one of a kind. Monica was known primarily for her beautiful singing voice, but also appeared in quite a few films and television shows, including The Strip, Affair with a Stranger, Earthquake, and Airport ’77. Many people would have recognized her as the longtime voice of Chiquita Banana. She was affectionately known as “America’s Singing Sweetheart,” and it was easy to understand why. Her voice aside, Monica was so friendly and full of spunk. Please take some time to listen to our interview below. Monica passed away in 2015.

It would take hours to highlight everyone I was fortunate enough to interview, but I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about a handful of them. I learned something amazing from each of my interviewees, and most became friends of mine. I miss many of them who have passed. Here is my list of interviews. If you are intestested in hearing about any of them that I did not cover here, feel free to reach out to me through the comments!

Classic Stars

Anne Jeffreys (1923-2017)
Barbara Lawrence (1930-2013)
Beverly Roberts (1914-2009)
Cara Williams (1925-2021)
Doris Eaton Travis (1904-2010)
Elke Sommer
Ernest Borgnine (1917-2012)
Gloria Jean (1926-2018)
James Best (1926-2015)
Karolyn Grimes
Keith Thibodeaux
Mamie Van Doren
Marsha Hunt
Monica Lewis (1922-2015)
Noel Neill (1920-2016)
Robert Dix (1935-2018)
Robert Osborne (1932-2017)
Robert Vaughn (1932-2016)

Classic Star Family Members

Bill Marx (Harpo Marx’s son)
Casey LaLonde (Joan Crawford’s grandson)
Cheryl Crane (Lana Turner’s daughter)
Chris Costello (Lou Costello’s daughter)
Melissa Galt (Anne Baxter’s daughter)
Norman Powell (Joan Blondell and Dick Powell’s son)
Ron Chaney (Lon Chaney’s great-grandson)
Sara Karloff (Boris Karloff’s daughter)
Sean Hepburn Ferrer (Audrey Hepburn’s son)
Tim & Mike Tierney (Lawrence Tierney’s nephews) 

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