Robert Clark  was Executive Director  of Associated British at that time

At this time these film stars as below were under contract to Associated British

Top Row  Left to Right:  Stephen Murray,  Joan Dowling and Laurence Harvey

Middle Row: Richard Todd,   Patricia Plunkett and Michael Dennison

Bottom Row: Joan Hopkins,  Derek Farr and Beatrice Campbell

At the time of this picture, Associated British were just completing the filming of  ‘The Hasty Heart’

This man may not be a favourite of mine but you have to admire the way he went from such a low start in life to become the major film star he has been.

Film Actor Kirk Douglas was born on 9th December 1916 so he is 102 and a bit years old.

His parents were very poor Jewish immigrants from Chavusy, located in present day Belarus. Kirk was a very keen student and athlete. He was fond of acting and at a very young age realised that getting a scholarship for acting would be the road to salvation from his poor and wretched condition.

He had enough talent to get enrolled at the ‘American Academy of Dramatic Arts’ which opened the door to fame and riches.

He describes his early life in New York. His father, who had been a horse trader in Russia, got himself a horse and a small wagon, and became a ragman, buying old rags, pieces of metal, and junk. … Even in the poorest section of town, where all the families were struggling, the ragman was on the lowest rung on the ladder. He had five sisters. He then got into acting and the rest is history. I have to say, he is not one of my favourites but reading the above, you have to have some admiration for him, someone who is able to rise from such humble beginnings to achieve what he did.

The poverty for his family then would be on a scale not imaginable today. In his 1988 autobiography, The Ragman’s Son, Douglas notes the hardships that he, along with six sisters and his parents, endured during their early years in Amsterdam, New York:

My father, who had been a horse trader in Russia, got himself a horse and a small wagon, and became a ragman, buying old rags, pieces of metal, and junk for pennies, nickels, and dimes. … Even on Eagle Street, in the poorest section of town, where all the families were struggling, the ragman was on the lowest rung on the ladder. And I was the ragman’s son.

Growing up, Douglas sold snacks to mill workers to earn enough to buy milk and bread to help his family. Later, he delivered newspapers and during his youth worked at more than forty different jobs before getting a job acting.

BELOW – In his acting career and in one of my favourite Westerns – Gunfight at the OK Corral playing Doc Holliday with Burt Lancaster as Wyatt Earp.

Below – with Burt Lancaster

BBC TV – well that is all there was at the time  – covered Wimbledon in 1952.  This is quite topical because of course we start the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament today.

This Poster is actually the front cover of the magazine ‘TV News’  of June 1953 which shows the scene at Wimbledon as HRH The Duchess of Windsor presented the Women’s Singles Trophy to a young Maureen Connolly after she had defeated the famous Louise Brough the previous year 1952. 

It also adds ‘ Viewers will be anxious to see whether the scene will be repeated this year’  ( 1953)   In fact it Maureen Connolly did win in 1953 but this time she was against Doris Hart- although  she again defeated Lousie Brough in the final in 1954 but Louise Brough won the title in 1955 – not against Maureen.

We can link the sport of tennis to film land with pictures as below :-

ABOVE: Terry-Thomas – ‘School For Scoundrels’ 1960

ABOVE: Farley Granger from  ‘Strangers On A Train’ .   This was part of the storyline as Farley Granger’s character was a Professional Tennis Player.

Katharine Hepburn – Just a leisurely game

Patricia Roc had a sister Barbara who was married to the legendary Tennis Player Fred Perry