The Original Lovely Rita

Dana Spiardi — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 18:42:26 +0000

Here she is: the original…the one-and-only, Ms. Rita Hayworth. Feast your eyes on the screen goddess performing “Put the Blame on Mame” from the 1946 film noir classic “Gilda.” It’s one of Hollywood’s most iconic scenes, and a top favorite of mine. And, as an added treat, you get to see the “Rita head toss” at the beginning of the clip. “Rita, are you decent?” Yes, sexy-decent. One of the things I love (and there are many) about movies of that era is that girls could be bombshells without flashing boobs and ass. As the legendary stripper Gypsy Rose Lee is rumored to have said, “Always leave them wanting more.”

The girl born Margarita Carmen Cansino came to Hollywood as a professional dancer. Columbia Studios head Harry Cohn changed her name, insisted she lighten her hair color, and made her get electrolysis to raise her hairline and broaden the appearance of her forehead. She was a natural beauty, nonetheless.

The prison film “The Shawshank Redemption” is based on Stephen King’s novella “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.” Fans of the movie will recall the scene where inmate Andy hangs a poster of Rita on the wall of his cell. If you have to spend eternity in a 4×6 concrete box, why not spend it with the Queen of the Pinup Girls while you plot your escape.

Happy birthday, Margarita Carmen Cansino, October 17, 1918 – May 14, 1987.

“Gilda” was directed by Charles Vidor and also starred Glenn Ford. The Library of Congress has preserved it in the United States National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” While Rita doesn’t sing in this clip (it’s the voice of Anita Ellis), she does sing in her own voice and plays the guitar in the scene where she reprises “Put the Blame on Mame” while sitting at the casino bar. But man! Dig this classy dame!

© Dana Spiardi, Oct 17, 2015

The Capitol Records Tower of Power

Dana Spiardi — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 05:00:54 +0000

On this date in 1949, RCA Records issued the first ever 45 rpm single. So, why am I featuring their rival, Capitol Records, in this post? Because, as we celebrate this anniversary, it gives me the perfect opportunity to show how the little vinyl disc influenced the design of one of the world’s most famous buildings – the Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood. This landmark – built to resemble a stack of records – has been featured in countless movies and TV shows filmed in and around Tinseltown, so you’re bound to have seen it.

The thirteen-story tower, located north of the famous Hollywood and Vine intersection, was designed by Welton Becket. He based the design on the graduate student drawings of 24-year-old Lou Naidorf, who served as the building’s principle architect. The tower – the world’s first circular office building – opened in 1956 and houses Capitol’s West Coast operations, as well as the recording studios and echo chambers of Capitol Studios. The blinking light atop the tower spells out the word Hollywood in Morse code, and has done so since the building’s opening.

Sales of Nat “King” Cole’s records generated a small fortune for Capitol in the 1950s. Thus, the building is nicknamed “The House That Nat Built.”

Capitol Records, founded in 1942 and acquired by British recording company EMI in 1955, issued all of The Beatles U.S. releases up through 1968. So, as you can imagine, I own many, many 45s that feature Capitol’s distinctive orange/yellow swirl on the label!

Here are some views of the world-famous building.

hollywood – The Hip Quotient

The Original Lovely Rita

The Capitol Records Tower of Power