Amazing letter from 1940 from Mary Pickford to my great grandmother Ida Mayer Cummings regarding the Jewish people, Roosevelt and his "transgressions" towards the Jews, urging support of Wendell Willkie, who was running for president that year. Pickford fundraised for the LA JHA with Ida for years.
From 1946: Rabbi Magnin & great grandmother Ida Mayer Cummings (left) & Margaret Mayer & Nathan Weisman (right) with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt addressing congregants from the bimah at the LA Jewish Home for the Aged synagogue. As far as I know, she's the only First Lady to speak from the bimah.
Haha!
I think that’s Captain Horace Brown
Great idea, thank you :)
Over the next few days I'm going to post the mystery photos in the family collection and would be grateful for your help in reposting and/or sharing whatever you know. 1st mystery pic: this appears to be a publicity photo from the silent film era and that's all I know. Over to you!
Ah, just noticed Mitzi dated the photo with Harlow as 1934 but the article featuring the same photo appears in Photoplay in January of 1935. Mitzi's trademark was her breezy style, like she was talking to her best pal.
One of my favourites in the family collection of my grandmother Mitzi Cummings with the one & only Jean Harlow for a 1935 interview for Photoplay. Mitzi's handwriting at the top of the photo: "A Study in Black and White". So true - what a contrast between the platinum Harlow and raven haired Mitzi!
One memory of dinner at their house was the General teaching me how to eat oysters, something I wouldn't eat today due to Jewish dietary laws. He likely didn't understand this and my grandparents probably felt they couldn't exactly stop America's top general at his own dinner table.
General Omar Bradley & his wife Kitty were dear friends of my grandparents, Mitzi & Sol Fielding. Story goes that Mitzi introduced Kitty to Bradley and they fell in love. I had dinner at their house and you can only imagine a kid being on their best behaviour ever in front of America's top general.
These two photos show at least 30yrs of connection between Marion Davies & my great uncle Louis B. Mayer. The 1st pic with LBM, Davies and Sid Grauman is late 1920s. The 2nd pic with Capt Horace Brown, LBM, his 2nd wife Lorena Danker and Davies isn't dated but looks like it's mid-50s.
More Marion Davies with our family, this time with a very elderly looking Louis B. Mayer. You may recall a photo I posted showing the gargoyle that Hearst gave him in 1926. These were enduring relationships spanning decades.
And to give you an idea of how enduring these events and connections were, here's great-grandma Ida again with Marion Davies, but several years after the 1941 publicity pic. Ida was a mover and a shaker. Bob Hope said she was the only woman he knew who could grab you by the lapels over the phone!
A fantastic publicity shot of Marion Davies signed to my great-grandmother Ida Mayer Cummings, "With love for a good cause" re Ida's annual charity gala for the LA Jewish Home for the Aged. The who's who in Hollywood, business, politics, civic life all attended no matter their background or religion
black and white photo showing Ida Mayer Cummings, Louis B. Mayer, Gerald Mayer and his wife cutting an anniversary cake, Margaret Mayer and two other guests.
I adore this photo showing my great-grandmother Ida with her younger siblings, Louis B. Mayer & Gerald Mayer with their wives. By this point, they were the remaining siblings from the five that fled the pogroms with their parents Sarah and Jacob Meir. Ida would outlive them all, passing away in '68.
Why do you work near LBM's office?
Omg I’d love that! Thank you 🙏🏼
And I love this from a 1972 letter from Norma Shearer to my grandmother Mitzi Cummings Fielding: “Mr. Mayer and Mr. Thalberg were much too busy trying to run the studio and make good pictures to indulge in selfish bickerings, which some have chosen to dramatize.” hollywoodessays.com/2017/09/08/n...
It’s generally a good book but of serious concern is Turan platforms authors who don’t deserve the credibility his inclusion gives them, which is particularly important in relation to the Judy Garland portion as those awful claims were debunked by Garland and later her own children.
I have lived in Australia for decades, incl in Sydney. I always get ribbing comments from Aussies abt how strong my American accent remains. I've shared a post abt the Bondi massacre that explains how I came to have that accent & its sad connection to current events. www.linkedin.com/posts/alicia...
😂❤️
Ah, I just checked and AH didn't write all of the Poirot episodes but definitely quite a few.
Check out Anthony Horowitz's body of work if you haven't already. I think you'd also love Foyle's War, the Magpie Murders, Moonflower Murders, etc. I'm working my way through it all now. Such a joy!
Many thanks!! Really hoping for an ID on this one - I feel like it's super obvious, like having a word on the tip of your tongue... but just can't name him.
It’s a truly heartbreaking missed opportunity. How my great uncle’s visionary contribution was treated was a travesty. Exactly as stated: reviling the very people they’re supposed to be celebrating.
Exactly! It’s so wonderful. I wish there were ten more like it…
Thank you very much @proggrrl.bsky.social!
I wish I could read it! I tried zooming in but can't make out the title :(
Thank you for the repost @dralant.bsky.social - much appreciated :)
Thank you very much @martyolliff.bsky.social!