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EPISODE 47 - “Laird Cregar (Star of the Month) ” - 08/05/2024

With his sad, dark eyes, hulking frame, and aristocratic speech, actor LAIRD CREGAR often played the complex villain tortured by a sinister past or an unrequited love that turns into an obsession. No one played characters with suppressed anguish, a tortured soul, or darkness lingering beneath the surface better than he did. While he only made 16 films in a period of five years, he is unforgettable. His desire to be thin was his achilles heel that turned tragic. This week join us as we take a deep dive into the short life and career of this amazing actor. 

SHOW NOTES: 

Sources:

Laird Cregar: A Hollywood Tragedy (2017), by Gregory William Mank;

“Atlas With A Grin,” by Fredda Dudley, December 1941, Screenland magazine;

“Setbacks To Fame,” by Dorothy B.Haas, June 1942, Silver Screen magazine;

“Bold, Bad, (Bluffing) Cregar,” by Barbara Berch, January 1945, Screenland magazine;

“Ripping Tales: Laird Cregar: The Forgotten Ripper,” by Kevin G. Shimick, Fall 1991, Scarlett Street;

“Queers In History: Laird Cregar,” December 9, 2012, by Elisa Rolle, livejournal.com;

“Heavy: The Life and Films of Laird Cregar,” October 7, 2013, by Jennifer Garland, Virtual Virago;

IMDBPro.com;

Wikipedia.com;

Movies Mentioned: 

I Wake Up Screaming (1941), starring Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole Landis, and Laird Cregar;

The Lodger (1944), starring Merle Oberon and Laird Cregar;

Charley’s Aunt (1941), starring Jack Benny, Kay Francis, James Ellison, and Laird Cregar;

Rings On Her Fingers (1942), starring Gene Tierney, Henry Fonda, Laird Cregar, and Spring Byington;

Hudson Bay (1940), starring Gene Tierney, Paul Muni, Vincent Price, and Laird Cregar;

Blood and Sand (1940), starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, and Laird Cregar;

This Gun For Hire (1942), starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, and Laird Cregar;

Ten Gentlemen From West Point (1942), starring George Montgomery, Maureen O’Hara, and Laird Cregar;

The Black Swan (1942), starring Tyrone Power, Maureen O’Hara, and Laird Cregar;

Heaven Can Wait (1943), starring Gene Tierney, Don Ameche, Charles Coburn, Marjorie Main Spring Byington, and Laird Cregar;

Hello Frisco, Hello (1943), starring Alice Faye, John Payne, Lynn Bari, and Laird Cregar;

Hangover Square (1945), starring Laird Cregar, Linda Darnell, and George Sanders;

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