Donster
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B.J. Thomas, the Grammy-winning singer who enjoyed success on the pop, country and gospel charts with such hits as "I Just Can’t Help Believing," "Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head" and "Hooked on a Feeling," has died. He was 78.
RIP B.J. Thomas.
And my favorite BJ Thomas song...
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Morning all. 54F under clear skies. We will see the skies become overcast by mid-day. Winds out of the SSE at 5-10 mph. High of 67F. Go the car loaded up early this morning and Lottie left for Pennsylvania at 7:00. She will be driving her own version of the Coca-Cola 600 all day until around 8:00 tonight. I pity the fools who get in her way!
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Pennsylvania Railroad Ad - May 1942
1940: 53,823 evacuated from Dunkirk, bringing total landed in England since May 27 to 126,606.
1940: Roosevelt asks Congress for considerable funds to strengthen the US Armed forces.
*Judith Barrett
1940: Mussolini tells Hitler he intends to enter the war.
1941: The revolt in Iraq collapses as the British near Baghdad. The Iraqi leader Rashid Ali flees in to Persia (Iran).
Judith Barrett
1942: First 1000 bomber British air raid, on Cologne, Germany.
1942: The Afrika Korps take up defensive positions in the 'Cauldron' in readiness for their attempt to punch through the Gazala line.
Judith Barrett
1942: Admiral Nimitz orders for Task Force 17 (Admiral Fletcher) consisting of the carrier Yorktown, 2 cruisers and 6 destroyers, which had been refitting at Pearl Harbor after operations in the Coral Sea, to set sail for Midway and meet Admiral Spruance there.
1943: 20 children killed when bomb hits Torquay church.
Judith Barrett
1944: The Eighth Army captures Arce, 15 miles Northwest of Cassino, en route to Rome.
1944: Allied troops begin to load in England-Force A (60,000 US troops); Force B (25,600 US reinforcements); British (75,000).
Judith Barrett
1945: A White Paper on full employment is tabled to the Australian Parliament.
Judith Barrett
*Judith Barrett was born Lucille Kelly on February 2, 1914 in Arlington, Texas, the daughter of a cattle rancher, Barrett made several appearances at The Palace Theatre, Dallas while still at school. Her first big chance came when she started in a lavish commercial film in 1928, "The Stock Exchange" opposite Bobby Vernon. In 1929 she went to Hollywood, starred in five films, and made a successful transition to "talking films". From 1928 to 1933 she was billed as "Nancy Dover", and from 1930 to 1933 she appeared in nine films, all credited. In 1933 she only appeared in one film, "Marriage Humor" opposite Harry Langdon and Vernon Dent, while doing stage work. She would not have another role until 1936, when she starred in the crime drama "Yellowstone" opposite Henry Hunter, and alongside Ralph Morgan and Alan Hale. It was the first film that she was billed as "Judith Barrett". She appeared in two films that year, and five in 1937, one of which was her first uncredited role.
From 1938 to 1940 Barrett appeared in ten films, all credited. Barrett retired from film acting following her appearance in the 1940 film "Those Were the Days!", starring William Holden and Bonita Granville.
She eventually settled in Palm Desert, California, where she was residing at the time of her death on March 10, 2000.
General Electric Ad - May 1944
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Remember those men and women who stand guard for us this holiday weekend. And never forget those who gave their lives to keep us safe and free.
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Lottie is leaving tomorrow morning (Sunday) for Pennsylvania again for three weeks. Out roaming again!
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6 hours ago, cobraj said:
Had lots of company heading up to Maine, left later and a few slow downs. Not a bad drive. Woke up to 5 deer outside the window pretty cool
Had a Red Fox in the back yard this morning. One of my neighbors has seen two hanging out together down by our wooded ravine. Probably have a den down there with some pups/kits. We see deer multiple times a week. They like to eat the seeds from my bird feeders that the birds kick out to the ground.
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Morning all. 43F under clear skies. Chilly start to the weekend. Lows more reminiscent of November are found across eastern Iowa. Sunny to partly cloudy skies can be expected with dry weather throughout Saturday. Warming up to 62F.
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Studebaker Ad - May 1944
1940: The British destroyer HMS Wakeful is hit and sunk by a torpedo from the German E-boat S30. HMS Grafton which was nearby try's to rescue the sailors from HMS Wakeful, but is itself hit by another torpedo from the same German E-boat and begins to sink. Another British destroyer, HMS Comfort moves up to help, but HMS Grafton fires on her in the mistaken belief that she is a German ship, sinking HMS Comfort. 15 other vessels are also sunk by Luftwaffe Stuka attacks near Dunkirk on this day.
1940: German 6th Army takes Lille, Ostend and Ypres in western Flander's. Luftwaffe activity increases as orders the Panzers to be switched south ready for main battle of France. 47,300 British and French troops are evacuated from Dunkirk today.
*Grace McDonald - YANK Pinup Girl - July 9, 1943
1941: During the evacuation of British troops from Crete, a Luftwaffe attack on the cruiser Orion inflicts 200 casualties and sinks British destroyers Imperial and Hereward.
1942: 'Fridericus I' is completed as the Russian pocket to the Southeast of Kharkov is finally wiped out and 214,000 Russians captured, along with 1,200 tanks and 2,000 guns destroyed. German casualties in the fighting around Kharkov amount to some 20,000.
Grace McDonald
1942: Rommel is only 25 miles from Tobruk as a massive tank battle rages in the 'Cauldron'.
1942: The Chinese are defeated by Japanese forces at Kinhwa in Chekiang province south of Shanghai.
Higgins Industries Ad - May 1944
1943: The RAF launches a major raid (719 bombers) against Wuppertal, dropping 1,900 tons of bombs and killing 2,450 civilians and claim that half of Wuppertal has been 'wiped off the map'.
1944: The U.S. escort carrier Block Island is sunk by U-549 off the Canary Islands. (MORE INFO)
Grace McDonald
1944: Using its maximum range, the US 8th Air Force attacks aircraft production plants at Marienburg and Posen in eastern Germany.
1944: The British reach 'the factory', 10 miles North of Anzio.
Grace McDonald
1944: The first U.S. armored battle of the pacific war occurs on Biak, with six tanks being involved. The Japanese manage to force the partial re-embarkation of U.S. forces.
1945: SHAEF in Paris says that there are an estimated 4.25 million displaced persons in the Anglo-American zone, of which only 1.39 million have so far been repatriated, most of these to Western Europe.
Grace McDonald
*Between 1942 and 1945 there was a pert, sweet-faced "B"-level cutie who knew how to swing with the best of them at Universal. The beautiful dancer/singer might have gone on to better things but ended her career abruptly for marriage and never looked back. Grace McDonald, who was born in New York City on June 15, 1918, struck out into the local vaudeville scene at a young age with her equally talented brother, Ray McDonald. As a brother-sister dance team similar to the Astaires, their specialty proved to be tap. The twosome made it to Broadway with the hit musical "Babes in Arms" and stole part of the show with their version of "I Wish I Were in Love Again." This gave them a one-way ticket to Hollywood, where Ray got picked up by MGM and Grace by Paramount. Her first film, "Dancing on a Dime" (1940), stumbled a bit and she didn't make another film for two years when Universal decided to sign her up.
Grace McDonald
Though her musicals were obviously hep and had lots of pep, they were pretty much assembly-line productions intended to boost the morale of a war-weary nation. The titles certainly said it all -- "Give Out, Sisters" (1942), "Behind the Eight Ball" (1942), "How's About It" (1943) and "Hat Check Honey" (1944). She also appeared frequently in vehicles designed for The Andrews Sisters. Grace was game for straight acting parts as well, playing opposite Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in the comedy "It Ain't Hay" (1943), and also appearing in the dramas "Murder in the Blue Room" (1944) and "Destiny" (1944). After making "Honeymoon Ahead" (1945), Grace fell in love with Ralph Green, a WWII Marine, and retired to be his wife. They moved to Minneapolis, which is where he was from, and had three sons. Not much was heard of her until her death of double pneumonia on October 30, 1999. Although just a sliver of a memory in the Hollywood annals, Grace was a game trooper and added a little kick to life when it was certainly needed.
Studebaker Ad - May 1945
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Keep on rollin' with one of Canada's finest bands...
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Morning all. 43F with light rain. This is about as cold as it gets for May 28th. Plan on highs only into the 40s for much of the area, which either ties or sets new record cold highs for this date. Clouds will stay thick with occasional drizzle or light rain. A Frost Advisory has been issued for tonight as lows fall well down to the 30s. High of 46F.
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Texaco Ad - May 1944
1940: French mountain troops capture the port of Narvik, forcing the German defenders (Gebirgsjäger units and crews of sunk destroyers) into the surrounding hills and towards the safety of the Swedish border and internment.
1940: Belgium formally surrenders to the Germans.
1940: The British and French reject capitulation and continue the evacuation and rearguard actions at Dunkirk.
Lynn Bari
1941: Roosevelt says Neutrality Act to be repealed.
1941: Lord Woolton announces experimental egg rationing, further restrictions on fish and milk; successful prosecutions under Food Control Orders during war now total 17,319.
1941: British and Commonwealth forces begin evacuating Crete through the port of Sphakia on the southern coast of Crete. The withdrawal is to be covered by two recently landed Commando Battalions. However the garrisons at Retimo and Heraklion will be evacuated separately.
Lynn Bari
1942: The Russian pocket Southeast of Kharkov continues to be broken in. 200 Poles are taken from Warsaw to the village of Magdalenka and shot. Among them are three women brought on stretchers from Pawiak prison hospital.
1942: Heavy fighting continues at the southern end of the Gazala line, although by now Rommel's forces are beginning to run out of fuel and his tanks are becoming scattered. In order to shorten his supply lines he decides to punch a hole through the Gazala line.
Pullman Ad - May 1944
1943: The U.S. 15th Air Force attacks Italian oil refineries at Livorno.
1944: The US 8th Air Force attacks synthetic fuel-producing plants at Leuna-Meseburg.
1945: The British Twelfth Army HQ is set up in Rangoon.
Lynn Bari
*A curvaceous, dark-haired WWII pin-up beauty (aka "The Woo Woo Girl" and "The Girl with the Million Dollar Figure"), "B" film star Lynn Bari had the requisite looks and talent but little of the lucky breaks to permeate the "A" rankings during her extensive Hollywood career. Nevertheless, some worthy performances continue to stand out for her in late-night viewings. She was second only to Betty Grable in WWII pin-up popularity according to a GI's poll taken at the time.
She was born with the elite-sounding name of Margaret Schuyler Fisher on December 18, 1913 (various sources also list 1915, 1917 and 1919!) in Roanoke, Virginia. She and her younger brother John moved with their mother to Boston following the death of their father in 1926. Her mother remarried, this time to a minister, and the family relocated once again when her stepfather was assigned a ministry in California (Institute of Religious Science in Los Angeles).
Lynn Bari
Paying her dues for years as a snappy bit-part chorine, secretary, party girl and/or glorified extra while being groomed as a starlet under contract to MGM and Fox respectively), her first released film was the MGM comedy "Meet the Baron" (1933) providing typical window dressing as a collegiate. For the next few years there was little growth at either studio, usually standing amidst others in crowd scenes and looking excited. Finally in "Lancer Spy" (1937), she received her first billing on screen in a minor part as "Miss Fenwick". Though more bit parts were to dribble in, the year 1938 proved to be her break through year. She finally gained some ground into playing the "other woman" role in glossy soaps and musicals, first giving Barbara Stanwyck some trouble in "Always Goodbye" (1938).
She enjoyed the attention she received playing disparaging society ladies, divas, villainesses and even a strong-willed prairie flowers in such films as "Pier 13" (1940), "Earthbound" (1940), "Kit Carson" (1940) and "Sun Valley Serenade" (1941), but they did little to advance her in the ranks. The very best role of her frisky career came with the grade "A" comedy "The Magnificent Dope" (1942) sharing top billing with Henry Fonda and Don Ameche. But good roles were hard to find in Lynn's case and she good-naturedly took whatever was given her. Other ripe, above-average movies (she appeared in well over 150) of this period came with "China Girl" (1942), "Hello Frisco, Hello" (1943), "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" (1944) and "Nocturne" (1946).
Lynn Bari
With diminishing offers for film parts by the 1950s, she starting leaning heavily towards stage and TV work. She continued her career until the late 60s and then retired. Her last work included the film "The Young Runaways" (1968) and TV episodes of "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E." and "The F.B.I." Divorced three times in all, husband #2 was volatile manager/producer Sidney Luft, better known as Judy Garland ex-hubby years later and the father of her only child. Her third husband was a doctor/psychiatrist and she worked as his nurse for quite some time. They divorced in 1972. Plagued by arthritis in later years, Lynn passed away from an apparent heart attack on November 20, 1989 in Santa Monica, California at the age of 76. Although she may have been labeled a "B" leading lady, she definitely was in the "A" ranks when it came to class and beauty.
TRIVIA:
Height
5' 7" (1.70 m)
While on the set of "Shock" (1946) one day, she was talking with co-star Anabel Shaw and mentioned that she was a direct descendant, on her mother's side, of Revolutionary War hero Alexander Hamilton. Shaw revealed that she was a direct descendant of Aaron Burr--the man who killed Hamilton in the famous duel.
United States Rubber Company Ad - May 1945
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17 hours ago, Fork said:
Afternoon. 59F under clear skies. Partly cloudy this afternoon.... waaait a minute. Donnie, where are you living?
USA. Iowa. City of Cedar Rapids.
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Morning all. 57F under clear skies. Today continues to look wet and very chilly for this time of the year. Plan on highs to range from the lower 50s north to upper 60s south as a system moves in from the west. This system will bring the potential for widespread rainfall with amounts over one inch in spots. Some of the storms may produce gusty wind as they move through during the morning with additional development possible this afternoon. High today of 63F.
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Mobilgas Ad - May 1943
1940: British position in Flander's worsens as King Leopold of Belgium surrenders the remnants of his Army.
1940: British sugar ration reduced from 12oz to 8oz.
1940: Japanese Premier Admiral Yonai forms 'Inner Cabinet' with ministers for Foreign Affairs, War and the Navy.
*Dolores del Río
1941: President Roosevelt declares unlimited national emergency; calls upon all Americans to resist Hitlerism.
1941: Proposal to introduce conscription in Northern Ireland finally scrapped.
1941: 400 miles west of Brest, the crippled Bismarck is relentlessly bombarded by dozens of British warships, including the battleships Rodney and King George V. After all her guns are silenced, she is sunk by torpedo's from the cruiser Dorsetshire. There are only 110 survivors out of a crew of 2,300. (Watch Music Video of Johnny Horton's 1960 Song)
Dolores del Río
1941: The convoy HX129, becomes the first to have continuous escort protection across the Atlantic.
1941: Germans paratroopers take Canea and with it the main British supply point of Suda Bay. This convinces Major General Freyberg VC, that the situation has gone against the British and that he must withdraw from Crete to save what he can.
1941: Having been reinforced by the 15th Panzer Division, Rommel retakes the Halfaya Pass on Egyptian border. The 10th Indian Division begins to advance north from Basra towards Baghdad.
Dolores del Río
1942: Luftwaffe bombers sink 5 ships of Convoy PQ-16 off the northern coast of Norway.
1942: The siege of Sevastopol rages on, becoming the only incident of a formal siege of a modern fortress being pushed through to final reduction. Sevastopol is the premier port on the Black Sea, and its defenses include three zones of trenches, pillboxes, and batteries. The strongest defenses lie in the middle zone, which includes the heights and the south bank of the Belbek River. Among these hills are "Fort Stalin" on the East and the massive western anchor of "Fort Maxim Gorki I," with its turret of twin 305 mm (12-inch) guns sweeping the length of the Belbek valley. 105,000 men defend this port. Against this the Germans and Romanians range 203,000 men and some of the most powerful siege artillery ever disposed by any army in World War II. Field Marshal Erich von Manstein aims 305 mm, 350 mm, and 420 mm howitzers at the Russians, along with two of the new, stubby "Karl" and "Thor" 600 mm mortars. Also on hand is the 800 mm (31.5-inch) "Big Dora" from Krupp, which has to be transported to position by 60 railway wagons. "Big Dora" is commanded by a major general and a colonel, protected by two flak regiments and periodically fed with a 10,500 lb. shell.
1942: Czech patriots shoot Reinhard Heydrich in the suburbs of Prague. His condition is described as critical.
Life Savers Candy Ad - May 1943
1942: The Afrika Korps, having pushed around the British defenses, move northeast. They are engaged by elements of the British 1st and 7th Armored Divisions. Many tank losses were taken by both sides, although as the battle went on the British armor became increasingly scattered. The Italian Ariete Armored Division continued to meet stiff resistance from the Free French at Bir Hacheim, while the Italian Trieste Motorized Division further north, found itself grinding through minefields under heavy fire as a result of a navigation error.
1942: Japanese Combined Fleet lifts anchor and sets sail for Midway. On the same day, Admiral Nimitz, having been for warned of the impending Japanese attack against Midway by US intelligence who were intercepting Japanese naval signals, issues orders for Task Force 16 (Admiral Spruance) with the carriers Enterprise and Hornet, plus 6 cruisers, 11 destroyers, 2 tankers and 19 submarines, to sail for Midway the next day.
Dolores del Río
1943: Jean Moulin presides over the first-ever unified meeting of the French Resistance at 48 Rue de Four in Paris, where Charles de Gaulle is unanimously recognized as the movement's leader. A month later, Moulin is betrayed and arrested by the Gestapo, dying on his way to a concentration camp in Germany.
1943: The first British 'liaison' team is dropped into Yugoslavia to join up with Tito's partisans.
Dolores del Río
1944: Start of the monsoon season bogs down operations in Burma.
1944: 12,000 U.S. troops land on Biak in the Schouten Island Group, 350 miles West of Hollandia. MacArthur says, 'this marks the strategic end of the New Guinea campaign'.
Dolores del Río
1945: Chinese troops are now 25 miles North of Foochow and take Loyaun.
1945: The U.S. Sixth Army takes Santa Fe on Luzon.
Dolores del Río
*Born María de los Dolores Asúnsolo López-Negrete on August 3, 1905 to an aristocratic family in Durango, Mexico, Dolores del Rio was the first Mexican movie star with international appeal and had a meteoric career in 1920s Hollywood (an extraordinary accomplishment for an Hispanic female on those years). In the Mexican revolution of 1916, however, the family lost everything they had and emigrated to Mexico City, where Dolores became a socialite. In 1921 she married Jaime Del Río (also known as Jaime Martínez Del Río), a wealthy Mexican, and the two became friends with Hollywood producer/director Edwin Carewe. In a somewhat unorthodox manner, for those years, the couple moved to Hollywood where they expected to launch careers in the movie business (she as an actress, he as a screenwriter). Eventually they were divorced after Dolores made her first film, "Joanna" (1925). The film was a success and Dolores was hailed as a female Rudolph Valentino. Del Rio struggled against the "Mexicali Rose" image initially pitched to her by Hollywood executives. Despite her brief appearance, Carewe arranged for much publicity for the actress. In her second film "High Steppers" (1926), del Rio took the second female credit after Mary Astor. These films were not blockbusters, but helped increase del Río's popularity. In 1926 the artist Theodore Lukits painted her portrait. Titled "A Souvenir of Seville", it depicted the actress in the dress worn for her presentation to the Spanish Court. Also featured was her pet monkey. The large painting was displayed in the Carthay Circle Theatre for the premier of "The Loves of Carmen' (1927). It was reproduced in magazine and newspaper articles in the United States and Mexico.
In late 1926, director Raoul Walsh called del Río to give her a role in "What Price Glory" (1926). With the character of Charmaine, del Río achieved her desired success. Later, she was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926 (along with fellow newcomers Joan Crawford, Fay Wray, Janet Gaynor, and Mary Astor). She came to be admired as one of the most beautiful women on screen.
After she gained fame, Carewe produced "Resurrection" (1927), which was a box office hit. In 1927, Raoul Walsh called del Río for a second version of Carmen. The first was with Theda Bara in 1917. Walsh thought del Río to be the best interpreter of all the "Hollywoods Carmen" for his authentically Latin American version, "The Loves of Carmen" (1927). With Walsh she also filmed "The Red Dance" (1928).
In 1928, Dolores replaced the actress Renée Adorée in the MGM film "The Trail of '98", directed by Clarence Brown. Her career flourished until the end of the silent era. She had successful films such as "Ramona" (1928, for which she recorded the famous song "Ramona" with RCA Victor), and "Evangeline" (1929). While del Río's career was flourishing, her marriage declined. Her husband moved to Germany, where he committed suicide from depression in 1929. With the arrival of the talkies, del Río left her working relationship with Carewe. He seemed to take revenge by filming a new version of "Resurrection" with the alleged Dolores rival, Lupe Vélez. With the support of United Artists, del Rio left Carewe and debuted in the talkies with "The Bad One" in 1930.
Dolores del Río
In 1930, she married Cedric Gibbons, one of MGM's leading art directors and production designers, whom she met at a party organized by William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies at Hearst Castle. Her presence in Hollywood of the 30's is not just limited to the world of cinema, also the high society circles. The Gibbons-Del Río house in Hollywood was a frequent meeting place from personalities like Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Errol Flynn, Lili Damita, Clark Gable and many more.
With the advent of talkies, she was relegated to exotic and unimportant roles. The Hollywood executives sought "do not talk too much at her movies", because of her Latin accent. She scored successes with "Bird of Paradise" (1932), directed by King Vidor. The film was produced by David O. Selznick that request the script to King Vidor and say: "I want Del Rio in a love story in the South Seas. I don't care the script, but in the end, Del Rio should be thrown into a volcano". The film scandalized audiences when she took a naked swim with Joel McCrea. This film was made before the Hays Code was enacted so nudity could be shown. Next she filmed "Flying Down to Rio" (1933), (the film that launched the careers of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) (1933); Madame Du Barry (1934) and Wonder Bar (1934).
Later, del Rio starred in the Busby Berkeley comedies "In Caliente" (1935) and "I Live for Love" (1935), but she refuses to participate in the film "Viva Villa!" (Fay Wray took her place). Dolores accused the film as a "Anti-Mexican movie".
In 1934, Dolores del Río was one of the victims of the "open season" of the "reds" in Hollywood. With James Cagney, Ramón Novarro and Lupe Vélez, she was accused of promoting communism in California. Twenty years later this would have consequences later in the career of the actress.
In the late thirties, del Río's career declined. With the support of Warner Bros. she made a series of police films (such as Lancer Spy in 1937 and International Settlement in 1938). But del Río's career in the later 1930s unfortunately suffered from too many exotic, two-dimensional roles designed with Hollywood's cliched ideas of ethnic minorities in mind. She was marked as "box office poison" by exhibitors, along with actresses such as Katharine Hepburn, Mae West, Marlene Dietrich and Joan Crawford.
Dolores returned to Mexico in 1942. Her Hollywood career was over, and a romance with Orson Welles--who later called her "the most exciting woman I've ever met"--caused her second divorce. Mexican director Emilio Fernández offered her the lead in his film "Flor silvestre" (1943), with a wholly unexpected result: at age 37, Dolores Del Río became the most famous movie star in her country, filming in Spanish for the first time. Her association with Fernández' team (cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa, writer Mauricio Magdaleno and actor Pedro Armendáriz) was mainly responsible for creating what has been called the Golden Era of Mexican Cinema. With such pictures as "María Candelaria" (Xochimilco) (1944), "Las abandonadas" (1945) and "Bugambilia" (1945), Del Río became the prototypical Mexican beauty in foreign countries. Her career included film, theater and television. In her last years she received accolades because of her work for orphaned children. Her last film was "The Children of Sanchez" (1978).
Starting in the 1960s, Del Río suffered severe pains in her bones. In 1978, she was diagnosed with osteomyelitis, and in 1981 she was diagnosed with Hepatitis B following an contaminated injection of vitamins. In 1982, del Río was admitted to the Medical Center of La Jolla, California, where hepatitis led to cirrhosis.
On April 11, 1983, Dolores del Río died from liver disease at the age of 77, in Newport Beach, California.
Life Savers Candy Ad - May 1944
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Morning all. 59F under clear skies. Partly cloudy this afternoon and less humid. Winds out of the NW at 10 to 15 mph. High today of 77F.
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Ethyl Corporation Ad - May 1942
1940: General Sir John Dill is appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Sir Edmund Ironside becomes C-in-C, Home defense. Empire Day in Britain is declared as a national day of prayer. Coastal towns from Great Yarmouth to Folkestone are declared evacuation areas.
1940: Operation 'Dynamo' the evacuation of British, French and Belgian troops from Dunkirk begins. Under the command of Admiral Bertram Ramsay, hundreds of naval, commercial and private vessels participate in this most desperate rescue attempt. Calais falls to the Germans as they advance towards Dunkirk after Hitler's stop order is rescinded.
1940: Following the fall of Calais and Boulogne, Dunkirk remains the only port available for the evacuation of Allied troops from the Continent. No. 11 Group, under the command of Vice-Marshal Keith Park, assigns 16 squadrons to the protection of the port. During the evacuation, a total of 32 participate, although they are rotated to provide rest periods and preserve aircraft for the inevitable defense of Britain.
*June Travis
1941: British flying boat spots the Bismarck at 10:36am. Swordfish Torpedo-bombers from the Ark Royal score hits on the Bismarck, disabling her steering gear and rendering her maneuverable. This enables British destroyers to attack after dark.
1941: The Aircraft carrier Formidable is severely damaged in the Mediterranean by Stukas.
June Travis
1942: Britain and Russia sign a treaty in London. Each county pledges itself to fight Germany until final victory and not make a separate peace. The also agreed a 20-year alliance, not to join any coalition or treaty directed against one of them, and not to interfere with the other states internal affairs.
1942: In the Barents Sea, Convoy QP-12 is on its way home to Britain with 15 ships, while Convoy PQ-16 is en-route to Murmansk with 35. Some 260 Luftwaffe aircraft, including He 111 torpedo bombers, swing in to attack, joined by U-boats, amid appalling weather. QP-12 emerges unscathed, but PQ-16 feels the teeth of a running five-day battle, losing an acceptable six ships.
1942: The battle for the Gazala line begins (Operation Theseus), as the Afrika Korps thrusts towards Tobruk with 560 tanks sweeping round the southern end of the Eighth Army's defensive positions, although the Free French forces at Bir Hacheim manage hold up this advance.
Shell Research Ad - May 1942
1943: The British Government informs churches throughout England that they may ring their bells freely. The ringing of church bells has been banned, except to warn of an invasion, since the start of the war.
1943: The Red Army begins an offensive against the German forces isolated in the Kuban bridgehead between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
June Travis
1944: Charles De Gaulle proclaims his Free French movement to be the "Provisional Government of the French Republic." Though the new government wins recognition from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Yugoslavia and Norway, Roosevelt and Churchill are furious and refuse recognition. They retaliate by excluding De Gaulle from the final planning for Operation Overlord.
1944: U.S. troops from Anzio take Cori, 22 miles inland. Mark Clark makes a decision to direct four divisions on Rome, but only one to Valmontone on Highway 6 to cut German retreat.
1944: The Japanese launch a two-pronged attack from Canton and Hankow.
June Travis
*Fetching secondary actress June Travis was signed by Warner Bros. in 1934 and made her film debut the following year, but would last only three years before leaving Hollywood forever and focusing on marriage. Born June Dorothea Grabiner on August 7, 1914, she was the daughter of Harry Grabiner who was team secretary and/or vice-president of both the Cleveland Indians and (later) Chicago White Sox. Harry would go on to be remembered for his famous diaries of his experiences.
The Chicago-born, green-eyed brunette beauty attended Parkside Grammar School and the Starrett School for Girls while growing up. Spotted by a talent agent while watching a White Sox spring training session, she moved to Los Angeles upon graduation where she studied drama at the University of California. It was not long before her sunny looks and eye-catching figure were noticed by talent scouts.
June Travis
At age 20 she signed a Warner Bros. contract and paid her dues throughout 1935 apprenticing in decorative extra parts (hat check girl, cigarette girl, party guest, gun moll). She earned her first co-starring role the following year opposite Barton MacLane in the crime programmer "Jailbreak" (1936). Other actresses of her ilk would appear from time to time in smaller roles in "A" pictures for added exposure, but such would not be the case for June. Such Hollywood escorts around town included Howard Hughes and Ronald Reagan.
Gridlocked in the "B" category for the duration of her career, some of her modest highlights would include the Perry Mason whodunnit "The Case of the Black Cat" (1936) in which she essayed the role of secretary Della Street alongside Ricardo Cortez's noted crimesolver; "Ceiling Zero" (1936), a lesser Howard Hawks film about war pilots starring Pat O'Brien and James Cagney; two slapstick movies as the love interest to comedian Joe E. Brown -- "Earthworm Tractors" (1936) and "The Gladiator" (1938); the mystery "Love Is on the Air" (1937) opposite Ronald Reagan, who was making his feature film bow here; two comic features capitalizing on radio personality Joe Penner -- "Go Chase Yourself" (1938) and "Mr. Doodle Kicks Off" (1938); and a comic strip film version of "Little Orphan Annie" (1938). Although June was top-billed in "Circus Girl" (1937) and "Over the Goal" (1937), the films came and went with little impression made. All in all, she was usually called upon to divert the proceedings and blandly back up the rugged "B" tough guys at Warners -- a roster which then included Paul Kelly, Dick Purcell, Dick Foran and Wayne Morris. After co-starring in "Federal Man-Hunt" (1938), she handed Hollywood her walking papers at age 24.
June Travis
By 1939 she had returned to Chicago and never looked back. In January of 1940 June married Chicago businessman Fred Friedlob and the couple eventually had two daughters, Cathy and June Jr., and settled in the Lincoln Park area. June Sr. filmed only twice more, playing a featured role in the Bette Davis vehicle "The Star" (1952), and, for reasons completely unknown, agreed to play a role in the bogus horror opus "Monster a-Go Go" (1965). The middle-aged June became a vibrant member of the social and theater community there. In 1968, she helped inaugurate the Joseph Jefferson Awards to honor Chicago's best in theater. She also appeared in summer stock on the East Coast, and played everything from Goneril opposite Morris Carnovsky in "King Lear" at Chicago's Goodman Theatre to an expectant middle-aged mother alongside Forrest Tucker in "Never Too Late." Other plays included "A View from the Bridge", "Life With Father" (also with Tucker); "The Pleasure of His Company" with Douglas Fairbanks Jr.; "The Philadelphia Story" with Jackie O's sister Lee Radziwill and "I Found April" starring Jeanne Crain.
Long retired, June's husband died in May 1979 after nearly 40 years of marriage. She, who has two children, Kathy and June (Jr.), never remarried but was the companion of Erwin Gruen, a master metalworker in later years. He died in 2006. June herself passed away on April 14, 2008, in a Chicago hospital of complications from a stroke she suffered weeks earlier. She was 93.
Shell Research Ad - May 1945
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Morning all. 71F under cloudy skies. A few afternoon storms. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. High of 80F.
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General Electric Ad - May 1942
1940: British Expeditionary Force surrounded on French coast.
1940: The British garrison of Calais rejects a German call for surrender.
*Carol Hughes
1940: 15 French generals relieved of their commands.
1940: Trade Union executives accept Nye Bevan's manpower mobilization plan, setting up Labour Supply Board and Production Council.
Carol Hughes
1941: Bismarck escapes the Royal Navy's pursuit and separates from the Prinz Eugen and makes her way towards Brest.
1941: German Navy Chief, Admiral Raeder warns that US convoying of British war supplies would be considered an act of war.
1941: The Germans decide to go on the offensive having now received substantial reinforcement through Maleme airfield on Crete.
Carol Hughes
1942: RAF Coastal Command refuses permission for their aircraft to take part in operation 'Millennium', which means that a shortfall of 250 aircraft is expected. However, by scraping up all the resources within Bomber Command, he manages to find the required 1000 bombers.
1942: Perth police arrest four Australians for planning to set up an 'Australia First' Nazi-style government.
Carol Hughes, Marie Wilson & June Travis
1944: The U.S. Fifth Army make first contact with troops from the Anzio beachhead. German airborne troops attack Tito's Partisan HQ at Drvar in Bosnia on Tito's 52nd birthday.
1944: German airborne troops attack Tito's Partisan HQ at Drvar in Bosnia on Tito's 52nd birthday. Tito and Churchill's son Randolph, both manage to escape in to the mountains.
1945: The U.S. Joint Chiefs complete the plan for Operation 'Olympic', which sets the date to invade the Japanese mainland as no later that the 1st November 1945.
Carol Hughes
*Carolyn Hughes was born on January 17, 1910 in Chicago, Illinois. Actress Carol Hughes was 13 years old when she married comic actor Frank Faylen (most famous for playing Dobie Gillis' dad on TV). They remained married until his death in 1985. Hughes' own film career began in 1936: while sometimes enjoying full supporting roles, e.g. Frank McHugh's nagging wife in "Three Men on a Horse" (1936), she generally made do with bits, such as the Modiste Salon salesgirl in 1939's "The Women". In 1940, Hughes replaced Jean Rogers in the role of Dale Arden in the third and last of Universal's "Flash Gordon" serials, "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars". She retired from films in the early 1950s, after playing Gil Lamb's leading lady in a series of RKO Radio 2-reelers. Carol Hughes is the mother of actress Carol Faylen, who appeared in the 1964 TV sitcom The Bing Crosby Show as Crosby's daughter Joyce. Former mother-in-law of Regis Philbin. Carol Hughes died on August 8, 1995 in Burbank, California.
Western Electric Ad - May 1943
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Morning all. 68F under cloudy skies. Still humid with an isolated shower possible this morning followed by a flareup of late afternoon and early evening storms. High of 80F.
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American Meat Institute Ad - May 1943
1940: The first British civilian bomb casualties are reported.
1940: Hitler halts Panzer drive on Dunkirk. Infantry units of XIX.Panzerkorps storm the citadel of Boulogne and take 5,000 British and French prisoners. The French fortress of Maubeuge surrenders, while 6th Army captures Ghent and Tournai in Belgium and St Omer in North-eastern France.
1940: Luftwaffe sink destroyer Wessex off Calais.
*Florence Marly
1941: War Weapon Week ends in towns and cities, with £124m collected.
1941: The German battleship Bismarck, supported by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, sinks the British battle cruiser Hood after firing only three salvoes. There are only 3 survivors out of a crew of 1,421. The Prince of Wales is also damaged and forced to break off the action.
Florence Marly
1941: Heavy German bombing of Crete. King of Greece leaves for Cairo.
1941: King George VI makes South African Premier, General Smuts a Field Marshal, the first man born in an overseas dominion to attain that rank.
1941: The Australian Prime Minister, R.G. Menzies arrives back in Australia after his trip to Britain.
Florence Marly
1942: General Stilwell arrives in Delhi after a 20-day jungle trek out of Burma.
1942: The Germans decide they've had quite enough of the partisan harassment in Russia and launch operation 'Hanover', to clear the Bryansk-Vyazma railway. For six days, 45,000 German troops, including panzer and SS-police units, search for an estimated 20,000 partisans, catching or killing many of them. In the Barvenkovo salient, General Ewald von Kleist's Panzer's start to chop up the Russian 6th and 9th Armies. Moscow admits the loss of 5,000 dead, 70,000 missing, and 300 tanks destroyed, but the Germans claim 24,000 POW's and 1,200 tanks.
Camel Cigarette Ad - May 1943
1943: 'Bomber Harris' congratulates RAF Bomber Command for passing the 100,000 ton mark in raids against Germany.
1943: The battle of the Atlantic is officially concluded as won by Allies, due to the withdrawal of virtually all U-boats from the Atlantic by Admiral Dönitz, C-in-C of the Kriegsmarine after the loss of 56 boats in April and May.
Florence Marly
1944: Prime Minister Winston Churchill takes to the floor of the House of Commons to announce that Spain will not be a target in the forthcoming Allied invasion of mainland Europe and Spain's internal affairs are no business of the Allies. He expresses the hope that a post-war Francoist Spain will be "a strong influence for the peace of the Mediterranean after the war."
1944: U.S. troops take Terracina in Italy. The retreating Germans are subjected to heavy air-attacks.
1944: It is estimated that 100,000 have been gassed at Auschwitz. Between May 16 and May 31, the SS report collecting 88 pounds of gold and white metal from the teeth of those gassed. By the end of June, 381,661 persons, which is half of the Jews in Hungary have arrived at Auschwitz.
Florence Marly
1945: The exchange of Russian POW's for U.S. and British POW's begins at pre-arranged points in Germany.
1945: Japanese paratroops drop on the US airbases on both Okinawa and Ie.
Florence Marly
*Born June 2, 1919, in Obrnice, Czechoslovakia, alluring Czech-born actress Florence Marly, of Slavic descent, initially expressed interest in becoming an opera singer. At age 18, however, she was discovered by the 33-year-old renown French director Pierre Chenal while a student of art and literature at the Sorbonne. He put her almost immediately into his film "L'alibi" (1937), and her film career was born. They married the following year and she continued to figure in many of his subsequent films including "The Lafarge Case" (1937), "Sirocco" (1938), "The Last Turn" (1939), "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1939), "The Idol" (1952)" and "Confession at Dawn" (1953)". In 1940, she managed to flee Paris prior to the Nazi occupation and spent her war years in Argentina where she appeared in a couple of films. She returned to France in the post-war years and was nominated for a Cannes Film Festival award for "Les Maudits" (1947), (The Damned) which was directed by Chenal, then decided to chance it with Hollywood and Paramount Studios in 1948 as an exotic foreign import. When not appearing in the typical intrigue and espionage movies expected of her opposite such stars as Ray Milland in "Sealed Verdict" (1948) and Humphrey Bogart in "Tokyo Joe" (1949), she entertained American troops in Korea.
Florence Marly
Branded a Communist and blacklisted in the early '50s, Florence left America but was eventually cleared and returned when it was found her name was confused with the Russian club singer Anna Marly who was on the "subversive" list. Divorced from Chenal in 1955, she married an Austrian count the following year, but their marriage, too, would not survive. By this time, her film career was practically finished, but in subsequent years she would go into another direction as a writer and composer. She died November 9, 1978 in the Los Angeles area at age 60 of a heart attack.
General Motors Ad - May 1944
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Morning all. 64F with rain. Humidity stays high, isolated showers possible yet again. High today reaching 80F.
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Studebaker Ad - May 1943
1940: Heavy fighting around Boulogne. Units of the German 6th Army cross the Scheldt river at Oudenarde in Belgium.
1940: Sir Oswald Mosley and other British fascists arrested. 76 IRA men arrested in Northern Ireland.
*Angela Greene
1941: During the evening, the cruiser HMS Suffolk sights the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen in the Denmark Straight. The Home Fleet makes ready to intercept at dawn on the 24th May.
1941: Further German attempts to land troops by sea on Crete are repulsed as heavy fighting continues around Canea.
1941: Luftwaffe sinks two more British destroyers off Crete, Kashmir and Kelly.
Angela Greene
1942: The British C-in-C of the Home Forces orders an end to 'blood-lust inculcation' in battle training.
1942: Air Marshal Harris issues his orders for operation 'Millenium'. The target is to be Hamburg, with Cologne as an alternate. The raid was to take place on the night of the 28th/29th May, or the first suitable night thereafter.
1942: The 6th Army and Kleist's Panzer's meets thereby pinching of the Russian salient Southeast of Kharkov.
Angela Greene
1943: The heaviest RAF raid of war to date is made against Dortmund, during which 2,000 tons of explosives are dropped.
1943: The British claim that 313 Axis ships have been sunk in the Mediterranean since the battle of El Alamein.
Angela Greene
1944: General Hans Cramer, the last German commander of the Afrika Korps, who was captured in May 1943, arrives in Berlin. Imprisoned in a POW camp in Wales, his deteriorating health caused him to be repatriated to Germany through the Swedish Red Cross. He was brought first from Wales to London, the route taken brought him through the south and south-west of England. He was allowed to see the massive build up of tanks, planes and ships getting ready for the D-Day invasion. What he didn't know was the exact area of England he was being driven through. He was told it was southern and eastern England and this is what he reported to his seniors in Berlin, adding emphasis to the Allied propaganda that the invasion would take place in the Calais area.
Studebaker Ad - May 1944
1944: The U.S. Fifth Army begins an offensive from the Anzio bridgehead toward Rome. Canadian troops breach the Adolf Hitler Line to the South West of Monte Cassino.
1944: Chinese forces counter-attack in central China, and also make ground along the Burma Road.
Angela Greene
1945: British troops arrest the Donitz government and the remnants of the German High Command at Flensburg.
1945: Himmler commits suicide at the British Second Army HQ on Lüneburg Heath.
1945: The heaviest air raid so far on the Japanese homeland, see USAAF bombers drop 4,500 tons of incendiaries on Tokyo. 21% of the city is now burnt out, but the firebombing continues for next four days.
Angela Greene
*Angela Greene was born Angela Catherine Williams in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of Margaret and Joseph Williams, the only girl among six brothers. She goes to the States at age 6 after being adopted by her uncle, Eddie Greene, Margaret's brother, a Flushing fireman, and his wife Catherine. She grows up in Flushing, New York. In her late teens becomes a Powers model, and in 1941 is crowned "Miss Rheingold". On the July 26th, 1941 painted by Norman Rockwell. She is rumored to have been one of Jack Kennedy's girlfriends during the early 40s. On December 7th, 1946 she marries Los Angeles realtor Stuart Warren Martin at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City. They're both 24. Martin's the son of Mrs. Richard H. Hoffman nee Strauss of 870 Park Avenue and the late Herbert S. Martin. He studied at the Lawrenceville School and Bard College and served with the 26th Infantry Division during the war.
In films from 1946, Angela Greene alternated between standard heroines and brassy good-time girls. Her co-stars included Martin and Lewis in "At War With the Army" (1950), Johnny Weissmuller in "Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land" (1951), and the "Bowery Boys in Loose in London" (1954). Active at least until 1976, she was one of Elvis Presley's amours in "Tickle Me" (1965) and essayed a supporting role in "Futureworld" (1975). On February 9th, 1978 Angela Greene dies at age 56 following a stroke in Los Angeles, California.
Oldsmobile Ad - May 1944
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I just hope both Lottie's PC and mine (5 years old), which I built both don't have a hardware failure. Like mobo or CPU. Drives and PSU's are easily replaceable and in good supply.
This Day in WWII 31 May 1940 - 1945
in Ready Room
Posted
1940: The Defense of Dunkirk continues as 68,000 allied troops are evacuated. The French defense of Lille collapses. Churchill flies to Paris for a meeting of the Supreme Allied War Council, the second time since the 10th May.
1940: Heavy Luftwaffe attacks sink two French destroyers off the beaches at Dunkirk.
1941: German bombers attack Dublin by mistake: Eire government protests, Germans later offer compensation. British civilian casualties for May announced: 5,394 killed and 5,181 injured.
1941: British forces enter Baghdad and an armistice is signed. The terms of the armistice require that all axis personnel in Iraq are to be interned and that Iraq support the British cause against the axis.
1942: Bad weather over Hamburg, means the alternate target, Cologne is selected by Bomber Command for the first 1,000 night-bomber raid of the war. 1,046 heavy bombers take off with 850 claiming to have attacked the target with 1,455 tons of explosive. The raid lasted about 75 minutes, a new departure from the past when aircraft were given much more latitude as to when they attacked the target. The raid destroys 600 acres of built-up area, kills 486 civilians and makes 59,000 people homeless. Of the participating aircraft, 40 failed to return and a further 19 crashed for one reason or another.
1942: Since the start of Operation Paukenschlag (Drum Beat) in January, the U-boats operating along the US eastern seaboard have sunk 111 vessels.
1942: The battle of the 'Cauldron' begins as Rommel attacks the fortified box in the Gazala line that is held by the 150th Brigade of the British 50th Division. The Italians attack from the west as elements of the Afrika Korps attack from the east. Meanwhile Rommel's anti-tank gunners, repulse a number of British armored counter-attacks against his position in the 'Cauldron'. However, Lieutenant General Ritchie is hampered by his inability to concentrate his armor and so is unable to relieve the 150th Brigade.
1942: A Japanese midget submarine enters Sydney Harbor.
1943: By the end of May, 41 U-boats have been sunk in the Atlantic due to greatly improved allied anti-submarine techniques and tactics (Hedgehog, greater-range patrol aircraft, better radar, more escort vessels and carriers, plus the advantage of having broken the German Navy Enigma code). "Black May" effectively marks the end of a sustained German U-boat campaign in WW2 which did come very close to starving out Britain and forcing her to make terms with Germany.
1943: The Danish resistance blows up an engine shed at Toender as sabotage mounts, despite Danish King's appeal for a halt.
1943: The U.S. 15th Air Force bombs German and Italian airfields at Foggia, destroying many aircraft on the ground.
1943: Chiang Kai-Shek claims three Japanese divisions have been surrounded on Yangtze River.
1943: Japanese end their occupation of the Aleutian Islands as the U.S. completes the capture of Attu.
1944: The Russians repel a heavy German counter attack North of Jassy, in the southern Ukraine. Stalin gives the go-ahead to Operation 'Bagration' (the Russian summer offensive) which is to destroy Army Group Centre in Byelorussia.
1945: Chiang Kai-Shek resigns the Chinese Premiership but remains as President and Generalissimo, with Dr. Soong succeeding him as premier.
1945: Osaka is totally burnt out by U.S. incendiaries.
*Today Barbara Stanwyck is remembered primarily as the matriarch of the family known as the Barkleys on the TV western "The Big Valley" (1965), wherein she played Victoria, and from the hit drama "The Colbys" (1985). But she was known to millions of other fans for her movie career, which spanned the period from 1927 until 1964, after which she appeared on television until 1986. It was a career that lasted for 59 years. She was born Ruby Catherine Stevens on July 16, 1907, in Brooklyn, New York. She went to work at the local telephone company for $14 a week, but she had the urge (a dream--that was all it was) somehow to enter show business. When not working, she pounded the pavement in search of dancing jobs. The persistence paid off. Barbara was hired as a chorus girl for the princely sum of $40 a week, much better than the wages she was getting from the phone company. She was 17, and she was going to make the most of the opportunity that had been given her.
In 1928 Barbara moved to Hollywood, where she was to start one of the most lucrative careers filmdom had ever seen. She was an extremely versatile actress who could adapt to any role. Barbara was equally at home in all genres, from melodramas, such as "Forbidden" (1932) and "Stella Dallas" (1937), to thrillers, such as "Double Indemnity" (1944), one of her best films, also starring Fred MacMurray (as you have never seen him before). She also excelled in comedies such as "Remember the Night" (1940) and "The Lady Eve" (1941). Another genre she excelled in was westerns, "Union Pacific" (1939) being one of her first and TV's "The Big Valley" (1965) (her most memorable role) being her last. In 1983, she played in the ABC hit mini-series "The Thorn Birds" (1983), which did much to keep her in the eye of the public. She turned in an outstanding performance as Mary Carson.
Barbara was considered a gem to work with for her serious but easygoing attitude on the set. She worked hard at being an actress, and she never allowed her star quality to go to her head. She was nominated for four Academy Awards, though she never won. She turned in magnificent performances for all the roles she was nominated for, but the "powers that be" always awarded the Oscar to someone else. However, in 1982 she was awarded an honorary Academy Award for "superlative creativity and unique contribution to the art of screen acting." Sadly, Barbara died of congestive heart failure, emphysema and chronic obstructive lung disease at St. John's Hospital, in Santa Monica, California, in 1990. She was 82, leaving 93 movies and a host of TV appearances as her legacy to us.