The April Fools

The April Fools (1969) is as typical a glossy 1960's production as you can get: Catherine Deneuve at her most ethereal; old workhorses Charles Boyer and Myrna Loy adding a bit of nostalgia; chic, of-the-moment fashions by Don Feld (he who also wardrobed Ann-Margret in Viva Las Vegas); and a dreamy theme song by Burt Bacharach. What's not to love?

Younger Than Springtime...

...and twice as exciting!

April Love

The burning question: who was the inspiration for April O'Day, Hollywood Starlet and her distinctive white bubble-do?

Something Rotten in Denmark

Former 1960's pop princess Sandie Shaw as Ophelia, in a 1974 production of Shakespeare's Hamlet. We'll be honest: it's been a while since we've read Hamlet, or seen a production of it, but we don't recall a scene like this at all.

Compare and Contrast

The Doctor Is Out

We admit it: in the original Doctor McDreamy Wars of the early 1960's, we would have picked swarthy, intense Vince "Ben Casey" Edwards over clean-cut, wholesome Richard "Dr. Kildare" Chamberlain. However, Dr. Dick certainly had his well-scrubbed, boyish charm, and we must concede that he carried off an angora sweater exceedingly well:


Both Chamberlain and Edwards parlayed their massive television fame into brief singing careers; on that playing field, we give the edge to Chamberlain. Edwards was an extremely competent, Sinatra-style crooner; Chamberlain's quaky baritone, quite frankly, was more distinctive in its disarming cheesiness.




We also must credit Chamberlain with remarkable longevity; unlike many TV heartthrobs, whose shelf life is exceedingly short, Chamberlain gracefully moved into musical theater (most notably the revival of My Fair Lady) as well as films; and in 1983, he scored a huge triumph with Barbara Stanwyck in the epic mini-series, The Thorn Birds. Most recently, of course, Chamberlain confirmed and fulfilled many a fantasy when he came out in his autobiography, Shattered Love. What's up, Doc, indeed.

RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN
March 31, 1934

You Read About it on Fabulon...

...now watch it here. Sweet Ecstasy (aka Sweet Violence), starring Elke Sommer, "a girl who doesn't separate the men from the boys -- she teases and she loves 'em all!"

Smooth Operator

One of our favorites: the heart-stoppingly handsome John Gavin. Often dismissed as cardboard or wooden, we think he's underrated; good-looking as he was, we're sure Kubrick and Hitchcock wouldn't have cast him in Spartacus or Psycho (both 1960) if they didn't think he could bring something to the table besides an utterly fabulous chest. Although, frankly, that would be enough for us.



Equally at home in the glossy environs of Imitation of Life (1959) and Back Street (1961) as he was on the dusty trails of his Western TV series, Destry (1964), Gavin also proved he could ably spoof his square-jawed matinee idol image in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) -- unlike Hitch or Kubrick, we think it's a fairly safe bet that Ross Hunter, who cast Gavin in five films (including the three mentioned above) was undoubtedly smitten.

JOHN GAVIN'S QUINTET OF ROSS HUNTER PRODUCTIONS, FROM TOP: IMITATION OF LIFE (1959) WITH LANA TURNER; MIDNIGHT LACE (1960) WITH DORIS DAY; TAMMY TELL ME TRUE (1961) WITH SANDRA DEE; BACK STREET (1961) WITH SUSAN HAYWARD; THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE (1967) WITH JULIE ANDREWS

Gavin's career faltered after Millie; he famously lost the role of James Bond when Sean Connery was lured back for Diamonds are Forever (1971). He turned his attention to the stage, appearing in, among other productions, Michael Bennett's See Saw (1973). Gavin replaced the original male lead, Ken Howard, in the original Broadway production with future Knots Landing star Michele Lee, and then toured the country with the show, opposite Lucie Arnaz.

After two terms as President of the Screen Actors' Guild, and a string of guest spots on such obligatory 1970's fare as The Love Boat and Fantasy Island, Gavin withdrew from entertainment and became the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico during the Reagan administration; he is currently retired, and, judging by the most recent photo below, looking just dandy.

We love the hat and the knit tie.

Fashion is Fleeting...

...but Lesbians are Forever.

And Speaking of Leotards...

Drug addiction, divorce, suicide attempts, bankruptcy, foreclosure... even with all the bad news Willie Aames has had to bear recently, he at least can rest easy that he no longer has to wear outfits like this anymore:

Unless, of course, the producers of his new reality show insist upon it.

It's a Look

A pink cashmere cardigan,

over a lipstick red leotard,

worn with white plastic wedges.

Try it today, won't you?

Corinne Calvet

She seems like our kinda gal.

It's Sunday!!!

Rest up, dolls.

Before and After

We find Early Herbie to be nerdy-cute. We desperately would like to know which record executive greenlighted the Shady Pines Shaft Push Push album cover concept, and what exactly he was on.

Beat It

Mean Dirty Pirate's brilliant Teen Beat post got us thinking about 70's teen idols; frankly, most of them were just too damn skinny and girly for our sturdier tastes: we mean, Shaun Cassidy was sweet and all, and looked as if he'd give you great tips for keeping your hair well-conditioned and bouncy, but we wouldn't want to bounce it, if y'know what we mean. Every now and then, however, a slightly sexier, more dangerous specimen found their way into the pages of Teen Beat, Tiger Beat, 16, and their ilk. Donny Osmond and Tony DeFranco would probably bring flowers and then help your mom clean up after dinner; Greg Evigan looks as if he would be bring pot, and Brett Hudson would probably feel your mom up after dinner. Vive la différence!

Ebony Fashion Fair