Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall was called a “fairy godmother” by a British food organization for which she has been serving as patron.
”At British Food Fortnight we call her our fairy godmother because we really would not have made the event without her,” a group spokesperson told Hello! magazine. Camilla has the daunting task of promoting British food. Good luck with that.
Camilla is seen here in 2005, wearing the magnificent Delhi Durbar Tiara, a gift to Queen Mary from the Maharani of Patiala.
She’s fun, she’s fabulous, she’s the monarch everyone’s talking about… Betty Deuce celebrates her 86th birthday today, and Her Majesty still has all the glam and giddyup of a gal half her age as she approaches her 60th year on the throne.
Betty is wearing the King George VI State Diadem crown… a mere 1,333 diamonds weighing 327.75 carats, festooned with 169 pearls along the base. Between the four crosses are the rose, thistle and shamrock; symbols of England, Scotland and Ireland. Here’s a better look at it.
Tonight, while you’re out partying, raise a glass to this fabulous queen. And Betty too.
Louise was born two months prematurely on November 8, 2003. She has the eye condition known as exotropia, often called “cross-eyed,” which can sometimes cause diplopia (double vision).
Her parents have decided against correcting her eye through surgery, saying that they don’t want to put her through unnecessary cosmetic treatments.
Louise would normally have been titled Her Royal Highness, Princess Louise of Wessex, but her parents asked that she be given only a courtesy title, hence, Lady Louise Windsor. This move was seen as part of the modernization of the royal family.
Warsaw’s own Lyda Roberti was one of the brightest vamps on the Paramount lot in the early 1930s, and she’s today’s Friday Face.
Her father and grandfather were famous clowns, and she was literally born in the circus. Her dad, “Roberti,” traveled the world as a performing clown. Lyda inherited his comic timing.
Comedian Lou Holz discovered Lyda in Vaudeville and took her to Broadway, where she became a hit in “You Said It.” Paramount signed her in 1932.
When Thelma Todd woke up dead in a garage in Malibu, Lyda replaced her in several films, teamed with Todd’s comic partner, Patsy Kelly.
She married aviator and radio announcer Bud Ernst, and he nearly crashed their plane on the way back from a quickie marriage in Yuma, Arizona. (They met in a hospital where she was recovering from an appendectomy and heart problems, and he from a car accident.)
According to Patsy Kelly, on Sunday, March 13, 1938, Roberti bent over to tie her shoes and died of a heart attack. She was only 31.
A thousand gardenias graced her coffin.
Lyda Roberti, Polish clown and fleeting superstar, is today’s Friday Face.
Here’s Lyda in 1934′s “College Rhythm.” (Watch for previous Friday Face Franklin Pangborn.)
Fun Fact: Bud Ernst went on to marry Mary Pickford’s niece, then TV spokeswoman Betty Furness, twice. On April 11, 1950, he shot himself to death in a New York hotel room at age 39.
Late bloomer and “Family Ties” star Meredith Baxter as she appeared this weekend at the Dinah Shore Weekend White Party in Palm Springs, and the late “Family Affair” star Brian Keith, who shot himself to death in 1997.
It’s a day of remembrance in Windsor, where the royals gathered to honor the memory of the Queen Mother and the late Princess Margaret. Camilla wore this oddly striped coat, which made her look like the referee at a basketball game for nuns.
Prince Chuck, looking like he’s put on a few pounds during the last few months, as usual did not touch Camilla. Following forlornly behind is Prince Harry, who has the best view of Camilla.
Betty Deuce maintained her grim expression in this lavender coat and matching bonnet. Sentimental Betty is wearing the Diamond Shell Brooch, which belonged to her late mother. Here’s a closer look from an earlier appearance…
The brooch has nearly 400 diamonds, with tassels that dangle 1-2 carat stones. This pin is probably worth about $350,000.
That’s the first Chinese American movie star, Anna May Wong, born in the Chinatown section of Los Angeles in 1905. By age 19, she was playing opposite superstar Douglas Fairbanks in “Thief of Baghdad.”
In 1926, she helped drive the first rivets into Grauman’s Chinese Theatre at the groundbreaking ceremony, although she was not asked for her hand and footprints.
Today’s Friday Face is the adorably dotty Natalie Schafer, seen here in the role of her career as the fluffy millionaire’s wife Lovey Howell (real name: Eunice Wentworth Howell) on “Gilligan’s Island.” She played the role for three years (1964-67), and for an eternity in reruns.
Natalie was born November 5, 1900 to a Jewish family in Red Bank, New Jersey, a stone’s throw from Broadway… where she made her debut in 1927′s “Trigger,” directed by none other than George Cukor. She typically played a sophisticated woman, and would continue to do so in over 80 films, beginning in 1941 with her move to Los Angeles.
She had some terribly interesting romances, including a 9-year marriage to excellent character actor Louis Calhern (above), best remembered opposite Marilyn Monroe in “The Asphalt Jungle.” All four of his marriages (Nat was his 3rd) ended in divorce.
She was engaged to character actor Charles Butterworth (above) when he was killed in a one-car accident in 1946.
Natalie had a long romance during the late 1940s and early ’50s with brilliant playwright and humorist George S. Kaufman (above), who worked with the Marx Brothers, and wrote the divine “You Can’t Take It with You” (with Moss Hart, Kitty Carlisle’s husband).
Here she is in an episode of Lucy that I love… because Lucy and Ethel are in drag, and Ricky and Fred, too. Natalie runs the charm school.
Schafer shaved 10 years off her age, and even her best friends were unaware of her real age until her death of cancer at 90, when it was revealed. She died at her 7-bedroom home on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Her ashes were scattered in the sea near San Pedro, California.
Below, one of her last public appearances at the APLA (AIDS Project Los Angeles) benefit in September of 1990. She died April 10, 1991.
By all accounts a witty and delightful woman, Natalie invested wisely in real estate, reportedly leaving the bulk of her estate to her poodle, and to co-star Dawn Wells (“Mary Ann”), who has never confirmed it.
Schafer left $2 million to the Motion Picture and Television Hospital, which named a wing for her.
For her glamour, sophistication, talent and style, Natalie Schafer is today’s Friday Face.
When you have time, here’s the 1947 film “Dishonored Lady” in which she appeared opposite the marvelous Hedy Lamarr (great scene at 48:48). She could wear a hat.
