Geoffrey D. Henry, Ph.D.

This is a great place to start, but I must also plug @mediahistorydl. They've digitized millions of pages of classical Hollywood + broadcasting ephemera. I've been using it for over a decade, and every historian I know counts it as an essential resource. mediahistoryproject.org/

It's ahistorical to suggest that studio era stardom was ever accessible to the average Joe. Sure, there were many stars from working class backgrounds, but equally, many others came from privilege. For every Crawford, Gable and Stanwyck there was a Bogart, Harlow and Barrymore.

Contrary to some of the tweets I'm seeing on my timeline, there's no right or wrong way to discover classical Hollywood. We were all new fans at one time or another, and if someone's entry point is a biopic or their favorite pop star, that's great!

Years later, Ball paid tribute to Carole in the “Lucy Goes to a Hollywood Premiere” episode of THE LUCY SHOW. Her character shows her neighbor, Mrs. Foley, a magazine with Carole on the cover and exclaims “Wasn’t she beautiful? I was just crazy about her.”

Of course, the most famous anecdote from her book concerns I LOVE LUCY. Allegedly, Carole appeared in Ball’s dream and encouraged her to pursue the television series.

Carole was Lucille Ball’s good friend and mentor, and her influence on Ball’s performance style and physical comedy is evident. In her memoir, LOVE LUCY, Ball warmly reflects on their friendship and mentions how she often thought about Carole when faced with a tough decision.

Virginia Grey died on this day in 2004. She was feisty, hard-working, and independent, and she forged her Hollywood career on her own terms. I'm honored to have spent the last several years researching and writing about Virginia for her (IMO long overdue) first ever biography.