Tardy… tardy…. tardy.

The Marjorie Main biography that I won recently arrived last week. And it came with a little surprise… namely Children of Hollywood: Accounts of Growing Up as the Sons and Daughters of Stars. It’s been a rather pleasant introduction to Michelle Vogel’s books.

Marjorie Main: The Life And Films of Hollywood’s “Ma Kettle”

I’ve seen only a handful of her films, all MGM ones where she played a supporting role. I now want to go and see if I can find her Ma & Pa Kettle films on DVD

A few things struck me. Firstly, how prolific she was - playing role after role in films. Her performances and her roles certainly got better with age, debunking the myth that being over forty is over the hill in a youth-obsessed Hollywood. Secondly, how much of a hypocondriac she was - not quite on par with Oscar Levant or Michael Jackson, but just that little bit weird. And after reading of so many of her stars leading extravagant lives… well she was riding the bus to work every day and lived in a modest house.

I didn’t really understand too much about her unusual marriage. Like many things, that is something I’ll probably need to re-read to get my head around it.

The biggest treat of all is the filmography. All of her films are listed, and Michelle has collected lots of little facts and trivia about all of them.

Children of Hollywood: Accounts of Growing Up as the Sons and Daughters of Stars

As well as enjoying watching stars on screen, I’ve always had a curiosity to learn about connected people who weren’t. And of course this includes their children. A child doesn’t normally get to choose whether they want to be famous or not - it’s hard enough being a child let alone being the child of famous parents.

The stories were mostly nostalgic and heartwarming, sometimes they were tinged with sadness. It was interesting to see how many decided to follow their parents into showbusiness, versus those who rejected it entirely. I can’t remember which one it was… but the one that stood out for me was the girl who did a six month starlet contract at MGM, then joined the war effort in the mid-east and never returned to live in California again.
I was also pleased to see her mention Ann Miller’s tragic loss of her baby daughter. From reading many books (including Miller’s autobiography) it’s clear that was the biggest regret in her life.