Pin-Up Girls | Before & After

Walk up to any check out lane at a grocery store and you will be surrounded by magazine covers full of beautiful stars. Stars people look up to for their perfect complexions and perfect figures. While most of these stars really do posses these qualities... it's just never to the degree that is shown on ads and magazine covers. As most of you know, a photo is never shown to the public these days without being touched by Hollywood's Photoshop masters. 

In recent times quite a few of these naturally beautiful stars have went against 'the man' and had their non-Photoshopped photos shown to their fans. Among those who showed their original photos is one of my favorite singers... Britney Spears. Stars like Jessica Simpson and Taylor Swift have even done photo shoots without a stitch of make-up to show they are beautiful without these tools.

Which brings me to the point of this post... the 1940-1950's pin-up girls. In my downtime at work I like to browse the photography website pophoto.com. On there main page the other day was an article about how the altering of woman's bodies was around long before image editing software. The article shows many beautiful pieces of pin-up art along side their original photos. It is quite fun to see how the models were posed with a specific outcome in mind. Check them out here.

The difference between the pin-up girls and today's ads/magazine covers? The pin-up artist used their photographs to create a piece of artwork and not to alter a photo to fool the public. Now I know that no one in their right mind would compare the two (if you would then we have other issues here), but it is interesting to see how an industry took off from these master artists works.

Some of my favorite pictures of my fave blonde Marilyn Monroe are the photos she took with famed pin-up artist Earl Moran. She was still in full Norma Jeane mode and looks so care free and to be having so much fun. I also learned today Earl Moran even did paintings of my other favorite blonde Jayne Mansfield! Here are some of those pics...

Happy Birthday Babs!

I know it has been well over a month since I posted anything here on Blame Mame, but I needed to post something about one of my faves... Barbra Streisand! Today is her 70th birthday! I haven't seen many of her films, but after seeing Funny Girl on the big screen at a local theaters Classic Film showings... I was hooked for life! I listen to that soundtrack all the time! So Happy Birthday Babs! Ive also included my favorite number from Funny Girl... just in case you're interested. 

"I'd Rather Be Blue" from Funny Girl

PS. I am going to make a better effort at posting more on here... I miss it. My life has changed a lot in the last 5-6 months and honestly, I haven't seen a classic film in full since November. I feel ashamed! Hehe. Well keep an eye out for new posts to come... I also have a new website in the works. Exciting stuff! Take care y'all!

Jayne Mansfield: Gone Too Soon

When I seen that Comet Over Hollywood was holding the Gone Too Soon Blogathon in March I was intrigued because there were so many greats who's lives ended too soon. Some of my favorites like Marilyn Monroe, Jean Harlow, and Judy Garland are among those who died before the age of 50. For this blogathon I decided to write about Jayne Mansfield. Known more for her voluptuous figure and scandalous publicity stunts... many don't know about the women behind the tatas. So in this star profile, I will discuss the highlights and little known facts about Jayne.

All breasts and no brains? Not this lady!

Probably the biggest misconception about Jayne is that she was a 'dumb blonde'. This one sort of came with the territory of blonde bombshell in the 1950's. Along side Marilyn Monroe, Mamie Van Doren, and Kim Novak, Jayne's figure was what brought the film offers in... not the acting. It didn't help that Jayne realized it wasn't her 163 IQ (by her own claim) that got publicity, but rather her 40-21-35 shape, and used it to her advantage to further her film career. What is a shame is many people still do not know that Jayne was one smart cookie. A woman who spoke five different languages and was a classically trained violinist and pianist is no dumb blonde. Let's face it, anyone without brains wouldn't have been able to build a career with so little successful films and still be a household name to this day!

Award Winning Actress? You Betcha!

But it wasn't just her smarts that went under the radar... the public has never given her acting the props it deserved. Beyond the fact that she won a Theatre World Award and a Golden Globe, it would take a great actor to convince the world she was the persona she portrayed. The blonde hair, the hour glass figure, the high pitched squeal... it was all part of the character she created. All you have to do is watch The Girl Cant Help It (1956) or Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter (1957) to see what a wonderful comedian she was. Want to see her do a dramatic role? Check her out in 1957's The Wayward Bus or The Burgler. Jayne also received praise for her roles on the stage as well. She performed in successful runs of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Bus Stop, and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

Missed Roles? There were a few!

Early in her career Jayne tried her hand for the part of The Girl in the film version of The Seven Year Itch, but was unable to impress the studio heads. She was also offered the lead role opposite James Stewart and Jack Lemmon in Bell, Book, And Candle. She had to turn the role down due to being pregnant and the role was given to one of her rivals Kim Novak. In the 60's she was offered the role of Ginger on the television show Gilligan's Island, but turned it down because she felt the role was more of the same typecast she was trying to avoid. I cant even imagine how different these works would have been with Jayne in those roles... would have been interesting to see.

Career outside of Hollywood? For sure.

When her career in Hollywood slowed down, Jayne took to the Las Vegas stage for a nightclub act called The House of Love. She earned top dollar for the times and the show was such a success that 20th Century Fox Records recorded the show and released Jayne Mansfield Busts Up Last Vegas. She would eventually take her hit show on road and eventually around the world. 

As you can see there was much more to Jayne Mansfield than what meets the eye. Ive always been fascinated by her and I you learned something new about her from reading this. Her life came to a tragic end far too soon, and we lost one of our iconic Blonde Bombshells.