Ava on the Red Carpet

In case you don’t know, the biggest and best (in my opinion) awards show of the year, the Oscars, is today.  Of the ten films nominated, I have seen none, and I only really have a desire to see two.  So, why, you ask, is this awards show my favorite?  It’s for the fashion — I may or may not actually watch the Oscars, but I will definitely be tuned-in for the Red Carpet Special before.  Thinking about the gorgeous dresses I’ve seen on past red carpets got me thinking about what Ava wore at awards shows, movie premieres, and other important nights out on the town.  The black dress that Ava wore to the 1952 New York City premiere of The Snows of Kilimanjaro is currently on display here in the museum and we certainly have some pictures of Ava glammed up for the cameras, but in doing research for this post, I have found some gorgeous pictures of Ava in gorgeous gowns that I don’t remember seeing before.  Below are just a few of the images that I found. 

Here is Ava at the New York premiere of The Night of the Iguana on June 30, 1964.  I am definitely appreciative of outerwear and love the detail of this piece!  In the picture on the right, Ava is being interviewed by Steve Allen and his wife, Jayne Meadows.

             

Ava is seen here at the premiere of The Barefoot Contessa

     

These photographs of Ava are some of those that I am, as of yet, unsure of the event that she attended.  Please comment below if you have the answer (and please tell me how you know — I want to make sure it’s reliable information before I repeat it)!

      

Of course these are not all of the pictures, so I’ll post more periodically.  I like the dress from The Barefoot Contessa premiere — I think it’s different for Ava and the back is just gorgeous!  I think my favorite is the one Ava is wearing in the picture with Frank — I love the structure!  Which one is your favorite?  If yours is not included, share it with us!  I hope you all enjoy the fashion of the Oscars, as I’m sure I will!  I can’t wait to see what the big hits and misses are, and I hope to see someone channel our favorite Grabtown Girl!

Coming Soon: Ava Gardner Heritage Trail

The museum’s visitors often wish to know more about Ava’s life in this area.  The Museum offers maps to her gravesite, Birthplace and the Teacherage, but there is no additional historical information available at these places.  That will change soon!  The Museum hopes to unveil the Ava Gardner Heritage Trail at the 2010 Ava Gardner Festival, to be held October 8-10.  The trail will include interpretative historical markers at locations of significance in Ava’s life in North Carolina.  After the Heritage Trail markers have been installed, a Trail map will be made available to the public through both the Museum website and as a printed brochure. 

To support the Ava Gardner Heritage Trail, the Ava Gardner Museum has been awarded a $5,000 grant from The Winston-Salem Foundation.  Ava’s sister, Myra Gardner Pearce, was a long-time resident of Winston-Salem and was devoted to the community she came to call home.  Myra is actually the only Gardner family member not buried in Smithfield, choosing instead to be laid to rest with her husband’s family in Winston-Salem.

Posted in: Ava Gardner Museum, Exhibits by DocentSarah No Comments

The Tribute to Kathryn Grayson is Now On Display

On Wednesday, February 17, 2010, star of the screen and stage Kathryn Grayson passed. She was 88 years old.

Kathryn joins other stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood that have passed in recent months, including Jennifer Jones and Jean Simmons. A co-star with Ava in Showboat, Kathryn starred in several musicals, including Anchors Aweigh and Kiss Me Kate. She and Ava were lifetime friends and shared one important connection: both were from North Carolina (Kathryn was born Zelma Kathryn Hedrick in Winston-Salem, NC, although she was raised in St. Louis). Kathryn appears in several photos around the Museum in exhibits about Showboat and interviews with her are included in the film shown to visitors during the Museum tour.

Ava states in her autobiography Ava: My Story that she enjoyed filming Show Boat in large part because of her friendship with Kathryn. While Ava worked diligently on her voice for her role as Julie LaVerne, she noted that Kathryn had a wonderful, rich voice. She and Kathryn remained close friends for the remainder of Ava’s life.

In the past, the Museum has honored the passing of Ava’s colleagues and co-stars. For the month of March 2010, the Museum will display a memorial tribute to Kathryn Grayson honoring her life and career.

The Ava Gardner Museum is located in downtown Smithfield, at 325 E. Market Street and more information may be found on the museum website, www.avagardner.org or by calling 919-934-5830. The museum is open Monday-Saturday, 9am-5pm and Sunday 2pm-5pm with admission of $6.00 adults, $5.00 seniors and groups and $4.00 children.

Another Shot of the White Stuff Today

This part of North Carolina rarely sees snow but this winter it seems to have seen quite a bit, and today is no exception. 

I took this photo of the snow as the large flakes began to fall just a few minutes ago.

Couldn’t you just picture a young Ava with a big ole smile on her face, opening her screen door, jumping around in it and yelling, “Papa…Mamma…look it’s snowing?  Isn’t it delightful?”

Posted in: Misc by DocentLisa No Comments

The Ava Gardner Museum Opens Sundays Beginning March 1st

The Ava Gardner Museum, one of North Carolina’s most remarkable attractions, honors the life, loves, and legacy of one of Hollywood’s most glamorous leading ladies.

Spring is just around the corner!  Starting Monday, March 1, 2010, the Ava Gardner Museum will resume regular business hours and will be open seven days a week, Monday-Saturday, 9am-5pm and Sunday from 2pm-5pm. 

The Ava Gardner Museum is located in downtown Smithfield, at 325 E. Market Street.  More information may be found on the museum website, http://www.avagardner.orgor by calling 919-934-5830.  Admission is $6.00 adults, $5.00 seniors and groups, and $4.00 children.

Come step out in the spring time sunshine with Ava.

Posted in: Press by DocentLisa No Comments

Star of the stage and screen Kathryn Grayson dies at age 88

Yesterday, February 17, 2010, Kathryn Grayson passed.  She was 88 years old.

Kathryn joins other stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood that have passed in recent months, including Jennifer Jones and Jean Simmons.  A co-star with Ava in Showboat, Kathryn starred in several musicals, including Anchors Aweigh and Kiss Me Kate.  She and Ava were lifetime friends and shared one important connection:  both were from North Carolina (Kathryn was born Zelma Kathryn Hedrick in Winston-Salem, NC, although she was raised in St. Louis).  Kathryn appears in several photos around the Museum in exhibits about Showboat and interviews with her are included in the film we show at the beginning of the Museum tour.

The Museum is truly saddened by this loss and has plans to honor her life and career her at the Museum in the coming months.

For more information about Kathryn Grayson, here is an article from Yahoo:

Kathryn Grayson, whose beauty and lilting soprano voice brightened such popular MGM musicals of the 1940s and ’50s as “Anchors Aweigh,” “Show Boat” and “Kiss Me Kate,” has died. She was 88.

Grayson died Wednesday at her Los Angeles home, the actress’ longtime secretary and companion, Sally Sherman, told The Associated Press.

“She just went to sleep and didn’t wake up,” Sherman said Thursday.

Grayson’s youthful ambition was to sing opera, but she wasn’t able to accomplish that dream until after her movie career ended. While still a teenager, she was placed under contract at MGM at a time when the studio was assembling a stable of musical talent that would dominate the era of great musicals.

“I thought they were wasting their time and money,” Grayson recalled of her first days at the studio. “I even told (studio boss) Louis B. Mayer that. He said he knew a lot more than a 16-year-old girl who is and who isn’t good material for pictures.

“He offered a deal: I would make a screen test, and if the studio liked the test, I would shut up forever. If not, I would go.

“It was the longest test in motion picture history. They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars; it was almost a two-reeler …. The studio liked it. I told Mr. Mayer I didn’t like it. He went home with a heart attack.”

Concerned, Grayson agreed to stay, and she turned down an offer to sing “Lucia” at the Metropolitan Opera. She later learned that Mayer had two ploys to persuade recalcitrant actors: to cry or to claim a heart attack.

Like Lana Turner, Esther Williams, Donna Reed and other MGM newcomers, Grayson was given a tryout as Mickey Rooney’s sweetheart in the studio’s popular Andy Hardy film series. She played the title role in “Andy Hardy’s Private Secretary” and sang Strauss’s “Voices of Spring.” Mayer was convinced that he had a future star.

She was cast in three minor films, including a musical with Abbot and Costello, then played Gene Kelly’s girlfriend in a wartime revue that included major MGM stars, “Thousands Cheer.”

“Anchors Aweigh,” a 1945 hit with Kelly and Frank Sinatra, confirmed her star status. Her bell-like soprano made her the ideal co-star with Hollywood’s full-voiced male singers in operettas and other musicals. She made three films with Howard Keel, two with Mario Lanza, one with Gordon MacRae.

Other musicals included “Two Sisters from Boston,” “Ziegfeld Follies,” “Till the Clouds Roll By,” “That Midnight Kiss,” “The Toast of New Orleans,” “Lovely to Look At,” “The Desert Song” and “So This Is Love.”

Grayson was born Zelma Kathryn Hedrick on Feb. 9, 1922, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Her father was a building contractor and real estate agent. Because of his business, the family moved frequently, eventually settling in St. Louis. Her parents recognized her gifted voice and arranged an audition before opera star Frances Marshall. She encouraged the girl to continue her music lessons.

The family then moved to Los Angeles so Kathryn could have more professional training. She came to the attention of Mayer, who had been searching for a lovely young soprano to rival Universal’s sensational Deanna Durbin (Durbin had been under contract to MGM, but she was dropped in favor of Judy Garland).

After her movie career ended with “The Vagabond King,” Grayson remained active, finally realizing her long-held ambition to sing opera. She also starred in stage productions of “The Merry Widow,” “Rosalinda,” Naughty Marietta,” and “Camelot.” She and Howard Keel toured extensively in “Man of La Mancha” and appeared together in Las Vegas. She did concerts in Australia and appeared in a one-woman show of film clips and reminiscences.

She married and divorced MGM contract players John Shelton (1940-1946) and Johnny Johnston (1947-1951). The marriage to Johnston produced her only child, Patricia Towers.

She never wed again after her second marriage, and in a 1988 interview she said she had no intention of writing a memoir because it wouldn’t be the “kiss and tell” kind the publishers wanted.

“I’m a Pollyanna,” she confessed. “I had to stop writing because I love everybody and I was saying everyone was beautiful. I just happen to think people are pretty wonderful.”

She is survived by her daughter and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Sherman said no funeral service is planned.

The Ava Gardner Museum has been Nominated for a National Medal for Museum and Library Science

United States Congressman Bob Etheridge has nominated the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, NC for the National Medal for Museum and Library Science.  A program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Medal is the nation’s highest honor for museums and libraries that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities.

The National Medal for Museum and Library Service recognizes museums and libraries that demonstrate a core commitment to public service through innovative programs and active partnerships that address the changing needs of the communities they serve and connect people to information and ideas. Nominees will be asked how they work with other organizations within the broader community to provide exemplary programs and services, how their programs and services have an impact by addressing community issues, and how they ensure they will be able to sustain their commitments to the community. This year, for the first time, nominees will also have the opportunity to be recognized for reaching beyond our borders to advance global awareness.

Winners will be notified in October 2010.  In addition to the National Medal, which will be awarded in a ceremony held in Washington, D.C., each institution receives a $10,000 award.

I don’t think I have to tell you that this is a huge honor, so cross your fingers for us and hopefully I’ll have good news in October!

Short Circuit Film Festival is This Saturday!

The Southern Arts Federation’s third annual Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival will screen at The Clayton Center on Saturday, Feb. 6, beginning at 1 p.m.  

Although this is the third time The Clayton Center has hosted it, this is the first year the Ava Gardner Museum is partnering to help present the films.  Its a natural fit for the Museum, with our obvious connections to the film industry, to participate in Independent Film. 

The dozen films will be shown from 1:00-4:00pm (with a short intermission) and afterwards we will host a panel with local film makers Ken Peterson, Todd Tinkham, and Camden Watts.  In the past, these panels have been considered a highlight by many festival attendees since it offers a rare opportunity to actually talk to film makers about the film industry and aspects of film making (which often leads to some interesting “behind the scenes” stories). 

To keep the party rolling, after the panel, we will continue the discussion in a more relaxed atmosphere at Mulberry on Main.  Anyone interested in talking to the film makers or simply enjoying the company of other film lovers are invited (food and drink are dutch treat). 

Tickets for festival are $2.50, plus service fee. Tickets may be purchased at The Clayton Center Box Office located at 111 E. Second Street in downtown Clayton, by calling 919-553-1737, ext. 2, or online at www.theclaytoncenter.com

If you have a friend (or friends!) that would like to come along, print this flyer for Buy One, Get One Free ticket offer.

For a complete list of films and the festival schedule visit the Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival at www.southarts.org/shortfilms.

Winter Weather in Smithfield, NC

Snow and ice came through Smithfield Friday night and Saturday, making the roads dangerous but the town a Winter Wonderland!  The Museum was closed on Saturday, but open again on Monday; our first visitors just got here!

Visiting the Museum in a Limo

This isn’t much of post but thought this was too good not to share.  A group of eight visited the Museum this morning.  They were terribly excited and had lots of questions.  When they left, that was when I realized they had driven to the Museum in a LIMO!  Afterall, that’s the best way to visit the Ava Gardner Museum!