- by Jenny
- Marlene Dietrich
“Without tenderness, a man is uninteresting.” That is so true Marlene – but the question is, how to tell the real tenderness from the fake… Well, sometimes you know for sure and tonight I shall be having Charley to dinner, a man for whom...
- by Jenny
- Margaret Sullavan
“This little box makes you candy conscious!” So said Margaret (in The Shop Around the Corner) to a rather hefty customer who didn’t like the song a particular music box played when the lid was open. Margaret’s sales patter was to suggest that every time...
- by Jenny
- James Stewart, Jimmy Stewart
“I lasted one night. They said my playing spoiled people’s appetites.” Well Gene’s appetite certainly wasn’t affected last night. He ate TWO pieces of the pie and took one home with him this morning. We christened the splendid beast the “Piewacket” after Kim Novak’s cat in...
- by Jenny
- Bing Crosby
“Where the blue of the night Meets the gold of the day, Someone waits for me.” Bing’s Turkey and Eggs sure pokes a snook at Harold Lloyd’s Eggs Dolores for a Saturday brunch. Delicious! I’ve just scoffed an enormous helping of it...
- by Jenny
- Anna May Wong
“It’s a pretty sad situation, to be rejected by the Chinese because I am too American.” Jennifer has not only posted some fabulous pictures of home movie day here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/onedollyshoe/sets/72157622488364579/ but she has also made some Anna May Wong’s Tea Cakes. These are proving to...
- by Jenny
- Lupe Velez
“I have flirt with the whole film colony. Why not? I am not serious. What harm is a little flirting? No I do not kiss many mens. But when I kiss them, they stay kissed!” Ha ha, Lupe is my inspiration today. Partly the quote, but...
- by Jenny
- Claudette Colbert
“I know what’s best for me, after all I have been in the Claudette Colbert business longer than anybody.” Oh what a lovely day it was yesterday! I was DJing with my wind-up gramophone at the Home Movie Day at the Cinema Museum and it...
- by Jenny
- Anna May Wong
“I’ve come to the conclusion that everybody should marry, including me.” Well, I’ll see if anyone ever asks me Anna…I love this picture, and I am going to measure my own hair when I get home to see if it is as long as Anna’s....
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
“A man who limits his interests, limits his life.” It warms the cockles of my heart (and believe me at the moment they need warming) to hear from test cooks who don’t know myself or Ruth, but just like the idea of being involved in our...
- by Jenny
- Lupe Velez
“The first time you buy a house you think how pretty it is and sign the check. The second time you look to see if the basement has termites. It’s the same with men.” I am loving that hat Lupe! Well, I failed in my attempt...
- by Jenny
- Bette Davis
“That’s me: an old kazoo with some sparklers.“ Ooh! A lucky shamrock charm bracelet. I want one! I’m feeling a bit like an old kazoo myself today so have cheered myself up by re-reading Rita’s verdict on the Bette salad recipe. I haven’t seen Rita in...
- by Jenny
- Maurice Chevalier
“Many a man has fallen in love with a girl in a light so dim he would not have chosen a suit by it.” Ha ha, how true. It’s true for women too, I’m only going to brightly lit nightspots from now on. And I...
- by Jenny
- Harold Lloyd
“The pain was considerable, but trivial compared with my mental state.” Hmm, yes, well my mental state has been somewhat rocked by your Eggs Mr Lloyd! Revolting they were, almost inedible! It’s a long time since we had a failure in the Silver Screen Suppers kitchen...
- by Jenny
- Ida Lupino
“Keeping a feminine approach is vital – men hate bossy females.” I’m taking a break from the unpackathon to watch Strictly and report on the gorgeous Jessica’s experience of Ida’s mousse. I’ve spent more or less all day doing the lock-up rock-up and scrabbling around in...
- by Jenny
- Diana Dors
“I was the first home-grown sex symbol, rather like Britain`s naughty seaside postcards.” Oh my stars, Diana was so LUSCIOUS. Just gorgeous. And our viewing of “Yield to the Night” proved that she could act too, given half the chance. What a humdinger of a movie....
- by Jenny
- Ann Harding
Just a quick post today as I’m off to get my fringe cut – I’ll not be taking this picture of Ann to the hairdresser though. Another feedback report from Dale’s Star Spangled Rhythm party. As she is off this weekend to turkey wrangle at...
- by Jenny
- Maurice Chevalier
“It is always the same: women bedeck themselves with jewels and furs, and men with wit and quotations.” Rosalind came to dinner last night, my first supper guest in my new home and Maurice’s crouton bedecked soup went down a storm. I had forgotten to...
- by Jenny
- Ronald Reagan
“All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” And possibly all over the world too. I suggest that we all work towards world peace by eating like the stars! I’m always intrigued when test cooks choose a persona of a...
- by Jenny
- Joan Bennett
I have found the cigarette pen that Ruthie and I had so much fun posing with in her jeep, pretending to be smokers, and also the fabulous cowboy hat ashtray she gave me. So now I really feel my dressing table is complete. When I was...
- by Jenny
- Ann Sheridan
Work colleagues were joking about my potential author’s photo for the book on Friday so it is an ideal opportunity to post this fab pic of Ann again. I really think Ruthie and I should have twin pics like this side by side. Who wouldn’t given...
- by Jenny
- Alan Ladd, Ingrid Bergman
“Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.” On a day when the subject of cosmic ordering is foremost in my mind, Ingrid’s quote is rather apt. As the first cosmic order I placed (a lovely flat – nice and...
- by Jenny
- Alan Ladd
“I just want to make pictures that are entertaining. I’ll leave the scenery chewing to someone else.“ I wonder if Alan was thinking of someone in particular… Further to yesterday’s post I’m wondering if some of Alan’s Potato Pancakes would be a suitable accompaniment to...
- by Jenny
- Veronica Lake
“You could put all the talent I had into your left eye and still not suffer from impaired vision.” Said by the woman with the best assymetrical fringe since Phil Oakey of the Human League! Well, she was first of course but you know...
- by Jenny
- Paulette Goddard
“You don’t have to be a Freud to know that the most fascinating person in the world- actors or anybody – is yourself.” ‘ave a banana! Paulette is one of those stars that we REALLY want to feature in the book but hasn’t furnished us with...
- by Jenny
- Groucho Marx, Marilyn Monroe
“From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it.” My meeting on Thursday was fabulous. I am inspired, enthused and excited about the nebulous entity that will be the book AFTER Silver...
- by Jenny
- Janet Gaynor
I love this picture of Janet – she is looking so perky! Very much not how I am feeling but I may try and channel this kind of attitude tomorrow. It’s going to be a big day. The cookie dough is in the fridge doing...
- by Jenny
- Carole Lombard
“Don’t kiss and talk about it – men don’t.” OK then Carole, I will keep schtumm. Carole looks so MODERN in this photo, so much so I am going to double check with the lovely Carla over at www.carolelombard.org just to make sure it is really...
- by Jenny
- Alan Ladd
“Time scoots along pretty fast when you grow up.” Another suitcase in another hall… I am back in the Crouch and hopefully for a while this time around. This moving around business is getting a little tiresome. At least nobody here minds me wearing...
- by Jenny
- Katharine Hepburn
“I’ll be a boy… and rough and hard!” I’d forgotten all about Katharine posing as a boy in “Sylvia Scarlett”. Maybe it would be a good double bill with Louise Brooks in “Beggars of Life” or even better, Jessie Matthews in “First a Girl” my...
- by Jenny
- Greer Garson
“I do wish I could tell you my age but it’s impossible. It keeps changing all the time.” Dorothy’s feedback on Greer’s Guac did make me laugh. Several times. Firstly there was the response to “Was the recipe easy to follow?” which was, “Yes, but avocados are...
- by Jenny
- Merle Oberon
“Without security it is difficult for a woman to look or feel beautiful.” There has been a rather subdued atmosphere this Sunday in the shadow of the power station. Partly due to a late night and partly due to a big blue over some slippery gramophones....
- by Jenny
- Gary Cooper
“Dad was a true Westerner, and I take after him.” Dang the Montana Mule sure looks good in a cowboy hat! I am craving some of Coop’s Buttermilk Griddle Cakes this Sunday morning. I was DJing last night wearing long silk gloves and every time...
- by Jenny
- Gene Kelly
“I got started dancing because I knew it was one way to meet girls” It’s a double whammy today with a tester Stateside (Jeanne) and a tester Thameside (Hedy) both trying out the “Greatest Man Sandwich in the World”. It’s quite a...
- by Jenny
- Ann Sheridan
“I used to go to Grauman`s Chinese or Pantages and sit there waiting to see my faceless body on the screen. Texas began to look awfully near and awfully good, and “Clara Lou” had a sweet sound to my ears.” I am thinking a lot about...
- by Jenny
- Claudette Colbert
“It took me years to figure out that you don’t fall into a tub of butter, you jump for it.” I’m going to the hairdresser tomorrow – I may well take this picture in and get my fringe done like Claudette’s. She is the star...
- by Jenny
- Katharine Hepburn
“Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then.” I’m hoping that LOTS of people test Katharine’s Eggplant recipe so I can populate the blog with her wonderful quotes. As I...
- by Jenny
- Judy Garland
“It’s lonely and cold on the top… lonely and cold.” It’s a real family affair this week as fresh in from my sister is a report on Judy’s Vegetable Salad. I absolutely LOVE the fact that my sis made this for the Sudbury Town Twinning BBQ!...
- by Jenny
- Josephine Baker
“Beautiful? It’s all a question of luck. I was born with good legs. As for the rest… beautiful, no. Amusing, yes.” Since my dad retired he’s been getting a dab hand in the kitchen. This began when he started an evening class called “Cooking for Men”...
- by Jenny
- Rudolph Valentino
“To generalize on women is dangerous. To specialize on them is infinitely worse.” Back from the seaside after a week of intense recipe-wrangling. My mind is reeling with all kinds of nonsense – is a frying pan the same as a skillet? What English cheese...
- by Jenny
- Tallulah Bankhead
“…all my life I’ve been terrible at remembering people’s names. Once I introduced a friend of mine as ‘Martini’. Her name was actually ‘Olive’.” Tallulah’s excuse for calling everyone “dahling” rings a bell with me. I’m getting terrible at remembering names. Which puts me in mind...
- by Jenny
- Lana Turner
“I would rather lose a good earring than be caught without make-up.” I know JUST what you mean Lana. And I would rather wear a sparkly hairpiece like this than a shower cap when taking my morning plunge. I may ask my personal milliner...
- by Jenny
- Maurice Chevalier
“If you wait for the perfect moment when all is safe and assured, it may never arrive. Mountains will not be climbed, races won, or lasting happiness achieved.” Shirley (who is 9 years old) was very excited to be at her first hen night on...
- by Jenny
- Marlene Dietrich
“It’s the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.” Oh what a find! A fabulous picture of Marlene doing what she loved best, off set – cooking. Browsing the site where I found this picture has made me WISH that I...
- by Jenny
- Ann Sheridan
“I can whistle through my fingers, bulldog a steer, light a fire with two sticks, shoot a pistol with fair accuracy, set type, and teach school . . ” Spoken like a true Texan Ann. Reminds me of the multitasking Ruthie gets up to over there...
- by Jenny
- Alan Ladd
“Being a good host offsets the deprivation and loneliness of my youth.” Aw, come over here Alan and let me give you a cuddle… Our most prolific tester so far, Dale in the TAMI office over in cowboy country threw a “Star Spangled Rhythm”...
- by Jenny
- Dorothy Dandridge
“…no producer ever knocked on my door. There just aren`t that many parts for a black actress” Much debate via emails flying between Cardiff and London about why Dorothy’s Omelet is “Emotional”. Plenty of chopping of onions it is true, but I wonder if it is...
- by Jenny
- Gracie Fields
“At Mary Ellen’s Hot Pot Party The lads & lasses all were gay and hearty” How wonderful that Una in Charlottesville, Virginia had a go at Gracie’s Lancashire Hot Pot! At the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains a traditional Lancashire recipe got a good...
- by Jenny
- Dick Powell
“The best thing about switching from being an actor to being a director is that you don’t have to shave or hold your stomach in anymore.” Had a very lazy weekend after an old skool style night on Friday with Sidney and his chums. We didn’t...
- by Jenny
- Maureen O'Sullivan
“Cheetah bit me whenever he could.” I just adore this picture of Maureen – she’s all aquiver – boom boom. Oh what fun to get feedback on the recipes, there sure are some erudite chefs out there. Marion made me laugh with her suggestion that we...
- by Jenny
- Fred MacMurray
“Strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet” the saying goes and it is so lovely that people neither Ruthie nor I have ever met are rustling up Silver Screen Suppers dishes in kitchens all over the world. So a big thankyou goes...
- by Jenny
- Carole Lombard
“You ought to see the map for my face in the Makeup Department. It looks like a landscape of the moon.” I’ve been dying to post this amazing picture of La Lombard for ages and now I get my chance. Dorothy over at the British Film...
- by Jenny
- Janet Gaynor
Veronica over in Westbourne Grove had a go at Janet’s Ice Box Cookies this week and sent me an evocative account of her mishaps. Firstly there was a misunderstanding in the late night shop where she went to buy the dates, as the shopkeeper kept...
- by Jenny
- Anna May Wong
“Every time your picture is taken, you lose a part of your soul.” All the recipe-wrangling over the last week or so is beginning to bear fruit. Our first feedback form arrived this morning fresh from the floral-bedecked marital home of the new Mr &...
- by Jenny
- Hattie McDaniel
“When I was little, my mother taught me how to use a fork and knife. The trouble is that mother forgot to teach me how to stop using them!” I know what Hattie means, I ate almost ALL of her sweetcorn pudding this evening even though...
- by Jenny
- Joan Bennett
“I don`t think much of most of the films I made, but being a movie star was something I liked very much.” The response to the call for test cooks has been enormous – how very, very exciting. I’m intrigued by the range of choices –...
- by Jenny
- Janet Gaynor
Much excitement in the Silver Screen Silver camp as I’m off to a big dinner party at the home of Gladys tonight. There will be not one, not two but three other celeb chefs there too. EEK. I am taking some Ice Box Cookies all...
- by Jenny
- Louise Brooks
Louise, you rock. My beautiful friend Ava came round for dinner tonight and we discussed the perils and pleasures of letting men into our lives, the horrors of self assessment tax returns and the chances of being struck by lightning if wearing an i-pod....
- by Jenny
- Marlene Dietrich
“I was raised almost entirely on turnips and potatoes, but I think that the turnips had more to do with the effect than the potatoes.” Marlene was not only androgynous, but asymmetrical too! I went to my lock up this morning with heavy heart...
- by Jenny
- Anna May Wong
There is a mini Vesuvius erupting in my oven. I decided to make Ruth a birthday cake using Anna May Wong’s Tea Cake recipe. I made twice the mixture and instead of making individual muffin type cakes, bunged it all in a cake tin. As...
- by Jenny
- Marion Martin
Those little Bouchees sure are a crowd pleaser! Had a lovely evening on the balcony with Ruthie, her new beau, Ava, Sidney and Edmund. My Sister of the Skillet has arrived during Britain’s heatwave. It is amusing her greatly that the Brits are huffing...
- by Jenny
- Janet Gaynor
Love that Tam O’Shanter! I made a big batch of Janet’s cookies for my Cinema Museum lecture and they were wolfed down by the lovely folk who came along. The lecture was lots of fun but I had a few technical problems. When my Greta...
- by Jenny
- Jean Harlow
“No one ever expects a great lay to pay all the bills.” A feeling of great joy today after a lovely evening with the E17 posse. They came round armed with gallons of fizzy wine in an attempt to make a dent in the...
- by Jenny
- Mae West
“Cultivate your curves…” Sure thing Mae, I will! Doesn’t Salada de Tuna sound much more fun than Tuna Salad? I was rustling some up in the kitchen just now when I heard a really, really loud plane fly past. This sometimes gives me the heeby...
- by Jenny
- Ann Sheridan
“They nicknamed me “The Oomph Girl”, and I loathe that nickname! Just being known by a nickname indicates that you`re not thought of as a true actress . . . It’s just crap!” Not sure if that’s a matching headscarf or a hood, either way it...
- by Jenny
- Jean Harlow
“Underwear makes me uncomfortable and besides my parts have to breathe.” Isn’t this just the BEST picture of Jean ever? I think Ruthie and I should pose like this for our author photos, leaning on the heads of two polar bears facing each other....
- by Jenny
- Marian Martin, Marion Martin
“Ducky Wucky” Well I knew as soon as I spotted the pics for Marion that she was a bit of a one. Love the fact that her nickname was The Blonde Menace. I am desperate to see her in Queen of Burlesque which has...
- by Jenny
- Jean Arthur
“First I played ingenues and Western heroines; then I played Western heroines and ingenues. That diet of roles became as monotonous as a diet of spinach.” I am up way past my bedtime trying to get some of Jean’s fudge to set. I just can’t see...
- by Jenny
- Hattie McDaniel
“As for those grapefruit and buttermilk diets, I’ll take roast chicken and dumplings.” I do have Hattie’s very own recipe for chicken and dumplings, but tonight it’s sweet corn pudding. It’s in the oven. As per tradition, to mourn the end of a relationship I...
- by Jenny
- Adolph Menjou, Errol Flynn, Joan Blondell, Tallulah Bankhead
“If I had to live my life again, I’d make the same mistakes, only sooner.” Last night saw extreme Silver Screen Supperage in action. Dinner al fresco which began with Tallulah’s favourite tipple the French 75. Followed by Adolph Menjou’s Spiced Venetian Cheese hors d’oevres, Errol...
- by Jenny
- Adolph Menjou
“When I realized they had me pegged as a foreign nobleman type I began to live the part, too. I bought a pair of white spats, an ascot tie and a walking stick.” I’m getting ahead of myself by preparing Adolph’s cheese a couple of...
- by Jenny
- Joan Bennett
“I don`t think much of most of the films I made, but being a movie star was something I liked very much.” I’m feeling rather low this weekend after Sidney & I decided to call it a day. Very sad. Very sad indeed. I feel an...
- by Jenny
- Jane Powell
“We need to ditch the idea that there is any value in the strong and silent man being in any way attractive. Being silent isn’t being strong, it’s being a victim.” Well Jane sure was a cutie, both in looks and attitude. Interesting theory she...
- by Jenny
- Rudolph Valentino
“Women are not in love with me but with the picture of me on the screen. I am merely the canvas on which women paint their dreams.” It helped that he was the King of the tango… Grrrr. Rudi’s Chicken was a big hit. Secret...
- by Jenny
- Anna May Wong
“I’m Anna May Wong. I come from old Hong Kong. But now I’m a Hollywood star.” It’s my first night in the new W1 abode. Night is falling over Centre Point, Big Ben and the London Eye and a batch of tea cakes are in...
- by Jenny
- Marlene Dietrich
“Careful grooming may take twenty years off a woman’s age, but you can’t fool a flight of stairs.” Oh how I wish someone would invite me to a fancy dress party so I could go looking like this… It’s true about the stairs too...
