The goddess Fortuna spins her wheel at random. Some get lucky, some don't. Above is a photo of two starlets signing contracts with 20th Century Fox on October 25th, 1951. The one on the left that bears a more than passing resemblance to Gloria Grahame is also named Gloria, Gloria Krieger. She will enjoy no success in movies, her IMDB listing containing only one entry: An appearance on Ed Sullivan in 1955 as herself, presumably to sing a song. Presumed because she was dropped by 20th Century in 1954 and signed with Columbia Records that year as a singer. Unfortunately for her, in the age of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Judy Garland, her style is of the Jeanette MacDonald operatic variety. She quickly vanishes from sight and beyond that appearance on the Sullivan show no more information can be found on her, even on the historic archival site from which I pulled this public domain picture. Whether it be movies or music she could never get that big break.
The wheel spins in a different direction for her photo op partner, also signing with 20th Century Fox that day and already with a couple of films and several radio shows under her belt at the tender age of eighteen. The girl signing with Gloria that day is Debra Paget who will go on to make movies with everyone from Jimmy Stewart to Elvis Presley. By the late fifties her career will start to slide. Not having the on-screen charisma the studios are looking for she will be dropped by 20th Century Fox and do odd work here and there before retiring at age 32. Later she will devote her life to a newfound Christianity and work with both the Trinity Broadcasting Network and Praise the Lord of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker infamy. She lives in Houston now, near her two sisters. She was married three times and divorced three times.
Of course, without knowing what became of Miss Krieger, we can never really be sure who got the better spin of the wheel after all?
17 comments:
I don't know who get the better deal, but if Krieger was walking down the street one day, and a whole bunch of knives fell off a roof and into her head and face, then I think Paget probably came out better in the end. I mean, IF that happened. I don't actually know that it did.
Or what if in, say, 1962, two millionaires named Frank and Rodney were talking to each other and Frank said, "I'll make you a bet. If the next girl around the corner's a blonde I'll give you AND the girl 100 million dollars." Then Gloria walks around the corner and, BAM(!), she gets all that money. And then the millionaire turns out to be her soulmate too so she's totally at ease and contented and loaded with money. Then I'd have to say Gloria came out better.
Man. Fate is so crazy.
Boggles the mind.
Debra's Christianity may have been prompted by her ill-advised, one-year marriage to Budd Boetticher. This was when Budd was deep "in his cups," as it were. If I remember correctly, she had to bail him out of jail in Mexico, where he was "resting" from one of his "spells." (~ hic! ~)
I'll always remember Debra for when she bared her chubby little thighs in the hootchie mama dance in Fritz Lang's Tiger of Eschnapur.
That was her last film I believe, Lang's I mean. I've never seen it.
And apparently she and Budd separated after only 22 days. According to the bio info online I read Budd openly blamed himself and his filmmaking adventure in Mexico so I believe you remember correctly Flickhead.
Budd's autobiography, "When in Disgrace" is one of the best things he ever did. It's very expensive to buy (it had a limited print run of just a few thousand copies), but my public library borrowed a copy from another state's library system for me to read. Well worth checking out, especially the post-Randolph Scott years south of the border.
I just did a search on it (unavailable except at a very high price for a used copy) but my wife orders books for a distinguished (snotty-ass) institution and can often get otherwise impossible to get stuff. I'll see if she can find me a discounted copy. Thanks for the heads up.
Ya gotta see Paget in the Lang films. She was also in Roger Corman's Haunted Palace. I wrote about her last August.
That was her last, Haunted Palace! As for the Lang films, are they good Lang films in and of themselves, or would I just be seeing them to Paget do a jungle dance?
I used to always read about those who never got their big break, or who retired or vanished, and feel great pity. Once I started reading about the fates of many of the glamor-girls, I realized that there are worse fates than cozy domestic anonymity. Or even hitting the evangelical hustings. Debra wound up a lot better than, say, Linda Darnell.
As for the Boetticher story, I hadn't heard it! It reminds me of Michelle Phillips, who didn't want to divorce Dennis Hopper because it had been such a short time and it would be humiliating. She says her father told her she'd feel a lot more humiliated if she stuck around. Kudos to Debra for bailing before things got really bad.
The Lang films are serial-style adventures and a lot of fun, a throwback to his silent work.
Linda Darnell...not so very long ago, I saw her for the first time in Fallen Angel, and I thought she was not only gorgeous but also immensely talented. So I read up on her, and kinda wish I hadn't. What an awful story.
Once I started reading about the fates of many of the glamor-girls, I realized that there are worse fates than cozy domestic anonymity.
Campaspe, despite my increasing job uncertainty, I feel better off than pretty much every star that's ever lived. I'll not list reasons and get all mushy on everybody but despite my ambiguity with the last line in the post, I bet Gloria got the better deal. I bet she had/has a happy life where she can tell people, "Hey I was on the Ed Sullivan show once and I signed my first movie contract with Debra Paget."
Flickhead, thanks, I'll check them out now.
Bill, she's terrific in A Letter to Three Wives if you haven't seen it. What a horrible way to die.
Jonathan, I don't know if you saw this>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1154667/Film-bosses-buy-poverty-stricken-Slumdog-Millionaire-children-new-homes.html story on Slumdog Millionaire.
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