Stars of the Golden Age: An Old Hollywood Podcast

George Burns: Together with his soul mate, Gracie Allen, George Burns provided the world with decades of laughs. He entertained audiences from the age of 7 to 100. The best years of his life and career were spent alongside his comedy partner and wife, Gracie. Their brand of humor and chemistry was beloved by everyone who heard or saw them. They worked their way up the vaudeville circuit, they did radio, they did television, and they did movies. This is a story of strength, endurance, determination, positivity, humor, and most of all... love.

BONUS CONTENT: https://patreon.com/StarsoftheGoldenAgePodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

MERCH STORE: Stars of the Golden Age Podcast Merch Store | Spreadshop

Episode Sources: All My Best Friends by George Burns; Gracie: A Love Story by George Burns; A Conversation with George Burns from1989; The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast of George Burns from 1978; an article from The University of Arizona titled George Burns and Gracie Allen: Vaudeville’s Greatest Comic Duo by David Soren; IMDB

Image Source: IMDB

Thelma Todd (Part Two:)

She was one half of one of the funniest comedy duos of the early 1930s and the positive energy behind Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Cafe. She was beautiful, unique, funny, and kind. But she endured unimaginable tragedy in her life, too. Please visit PART ONE before indulging in this episode, where you will hear about her early life, her road to stardom, her film career, and her romances. In this episode, you will hear about her life as a proud restauranteur, her tragic death, and the circumstances and theories surrounding it. And, of course, the legacy she left behind.

SUPPORT THE SHOW & Receive Bonus Content: https://patreon.com/StarsoftheGoldenAgePodcast

MERCH STORE: Stars of the Golden Age Podcast Merch Store | Spreadshop

Episode Sources: A book titled The Ice Cream Blonde: The Whirlwind Life and Mysterious Death of Screwball Thelma Todd by Michelle Morgan; a book titled Testimony of a Death: Thelma Todd: Mystery, Media, and Myth in 1935 Los Angeles by Marshall Croddy and Patrick Jenning; an article from the New York Times from December 18, 1935; an article from PBS by Hadley Meares from October 8, 2014; Dawe’s Kakaput Store on Ebay; IMDB

Image Source: IMDB

Thelma Todd (Part One:)

She was one half of one of the funniest comedy duos of the early 1930s. She was beautiful, unique, funny, and kind. But she endured unimaginable tragedy in her life, too. In this episode, you will hear about her early life, her road to stardom, her film career, and her romances. In part two, you will hear about her life as a proud restauranteur, her tragic death, and the circumstances and theories surrounding it. And, of course, the legacy she left behind.

SUPPORT THE SHOW & Receive Bonus Content: https://patreon.com/StarsoftheGoldenAgePodcast

MERCH STORE: Stars of the Golden Age Podcast Merch Store | Spreadshop

Episode Sources: My primary source for this episode was the book The Ice Cream Blonde: The Whirlwind Life and Mysterious Death of Screwball Thelma Todd by Michelle Morgan; an article from PBS by Hadley Meares from October 8, 2014; IMDB

Image Source: IMDB

Boris Karloff: The original Monster of Frankenstein! He departed from the path his family wanted for his life and set forth into the world of acting. But it wouldn't be until he was in his 40s when he saw success and fame. He never lost faith in his dreams, and as a result he went down as one of the most iconic horror stars of all time.

SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/StarsoftheGoldenAgePodcast

Episode Sources: A book titled Boris Karloff: The Biography by Brian Schell; a documentary titled Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster by Thomas Hamilton and Ron MacCloskey; an article on the Monsters of Makeup website by Luke Munson from November 12, 2020 at monstersofmakeup.com; IMDB

Image Source: IMDB

https://www.podpage.com/stars-of-the-golden-age/

Bea Arthur: She built a very successful theater career and transitioned to television in the 1970s and 1980s, starring in two of the most popular shows of those decades... Maude and The Golden Girls. Her talent was strong and her heart was big, and that showed in her generous advocacy work.

BONUS CONTENT: https://patreon.com/StarsoftheGoldenAgePodcast

Episode Sources: Lifetime Intimate Portrait of Bea Arthur from 2002; an article from the Reserve & National Guard Magazine by Kari Williams from 2021; an article from Biography by Sara Kettler from March 16, 2020; an article from the New York Post by Barbara Hoffman from January 28, 2002

Image Source: IMDB/Wikipedia

Theda Bara: Part Two

Please listen to Part One before listening to this episode. In this episode, you will hear about the second half of Theda Bara's silent film career and what her life held after it was over, including the legacy she left behind.

BONUS CONTENT: https://patreon.com/StarsoftheGoldenAgePodcast

Episode Source: A book titled Vamp: The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara by Eve Golden

Image Source: IMDB; Vamp by Eve Golden

Theda Bara: One of the biggest stars of the silent film era... until she wasn't. In this episode, you will hear about her childhood, the chase to her dreams, her overnight fame, and the careful image the studio curated for her.

SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://patreon.com/StarsoftheGoldenAgePodcast

Episode Sources: A book titled Vamp: The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara by Eve Golden; rottentomatoes.com; IMDB

Image Source: IMDB; Vamp by Eve Golden

This is a special crossover episode with The Wanted Files Podcast. Two shows come together to discuss the life and mystery of Marilyn Monroe. Erin brings you through Marilyn's early life, rise to stardom, struggles, and her last days. A.C. talks about the events of the day of her death and the theories surrounding her death.

You can expect a deeper dive of Marilyn's Life from Stars of the Golden Age sometime in the future.

Episode Sources: A book titled Marilyn Monroe: A Life from Beginning to End (Hourly History Series;) a Netflix documentary titled The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes; IMDB

James Cagney: A kid from a large poor family in turn-of-the century New York City who made it to the big time in Hollywood. In his time there, he continually stood up to the studio and made sure he was being compensated fairly for what he was providing for them. And then he did the same for others. Listen to his story now!

PATREON: https://patreon.com/StarsoftheGoldenAgePodcast

Episode Sources: A book titled American Legends: The Life of James Cagney by Charles River Editors; sagaftra.org; an article from Martha’s Vineyard Magazine by Karla Araujo; IMDB

Image Source: IMDB

RITA HAYWORTH: The Love Goddess... The stunning femme fatale. She was raised in a world of dance and made it big as a huge Hollywood movie star. But she was stripped of choice, love, peace, and her Spanish heritage. Most people probably thought she had it all... but Rita Hayworth never felt she had the simplest things she wanted.

RAINN: https://rainn.org/

National Domestic Abuse Hotline: https://www.thehotline.org/

Alzheimer's Association: https://www.alz.org/

PATREON Bonus Content: https://patreon.com/StarsoftheGoldenAgePodcast

Episode Sources: A book titled American Legends: The Life of Rita Hayworth by Charles River Editors; a book titled Rita Hayworth: Legacy of a Leading Lady; a TCM documentary titled Rita; a Vanity Fair article by Hadley Hall Meares from September 23, 2020; the US Naval Institute; IMDB

Image Source: IMDB