Filmland Follies

              A milestone of any actor's career is placing their handprints in the forecourt of the legendary Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The theatre was opened by Sidney Grauman in 1927 - he's the "Sid" that so many messages are inscribed to.                I love photos of stars at these events - they always seem so happy and relaxed and it makes for some great candids! So here are some of my favorites from over the years. Joan Crawford (September 14, 1929) An early recipient of Grauman's honors, Joan signed her slab with handprints, footprints, and a pun: "May this cement our friendship." Jean Harlow (September 25 and 29, 1933) Jean shot to fame in 1930 after her role in the smash hit Hell's Angels , which premiered at Grauman's. Her original slab broke in transport, so she made a second four days later - hence the two dates. Ginger Rogers (September 5, 1939) Ginger capped off an incredible deca...

              Hello, friends and enemies - here's another blogathon article! This is my entry for the 4th Broadway Bound Blogathon: Tony Edition hosted by Taking Up Room .              1953's Kiss Me Kate is an adaptation of Cole Porter's Tony-winning stage show, which in turn revolves around a show-within-a-show of Shakespeare's the Taming of the Shrew. Less confusing than it sounds, I promise! Stage Show (1948-49)                Kiss Me, Kate  the stage show is awarded a lot of firsts: it was Cole Porter's first integrated musical, meaning all of the songs and lyrics connect directly to the plot. This was the vogue at the time, and Porter wrote  Kiss Me, Kate in response to big integrated-musical hits like Oklahoma! It was the first, and only, of Cole Porter's shows to run for over 1,000 performances on Broadway. And it was the first-e...