I ran into the web site for the Screen Actors Guild the other day & low and behold, a page for Bob. Not a whole lot of background, but I loved this blurb:
"A leading star at MGM -- signed in 1929 when he was 25 -- tall, debonair, recognized as one of the best-dressed men in Hollywood, "Bob" wielded considerable clout, and did not hesitate to use it. As Colliers magazine once put it: "Nobody Pushes Bob Around."
Go check out the site. I wish they had larger versions of the photos they have on the page.
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Film Friday Noir Tag
3 days ago
4 comments:
Bob even told off John Ford once for picking on the John Wayne. Ford embarrassed Wayne in front of roughly a thousand people who had crowded around to watch the shooting of a marching scene from"They Were Expendable" by yelling "Cut! Duke can't you manage a salute that at least looks as though you've been in the service?" Bob walked over to where Ford was sitting and put both his hands on the arms of Ford's chair and leaned over and said "Don't you ever speak like that to anyone again." Bob sure had guts and conviction.
one wonders why duke didn't say anything.
Makes you really think about typecasting and real-life personalities. From Wayne's characters, you'd figure he would have beat the crap out of Ford. There's some serious strength in the power of words, especially in Bob's case.
What’s even more surprising is that after Bob spoke up Ford ran off the set and cried in the men’s room. You would think the nearly 6’5” Duke would have the upper hand, but Ford had an odd control over him. He berated Duke constantly about one thing or another, and Duke put up with it. But Bob wouldn’t let Ford get away with any of that nonsense. Bob's toughness gained a lot of respect from Ford who was quite taken with him. Ford was a master director but a troubled and complex guy. After seeing They Were Expendable I have my own theories about "Pappy" and what made him tick...
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