Hello Body House Members;
So far, 2025 has started off with a bang, hasn’t it?
My bet is it’s going to continue to be a doozy!
Speaking of doozies, this month’s featured classic movie star is a crackerjack!
In this March issue we have the sexy, quirky beauty of GLORIA GRAHAME.
Gloria Grahame was a stand out in the Golden Age in many ways. She was certainly beautiful, but also had a very sexy vibe, as well as, a somewhat outre demeanor.
Gloria Grahame was one of Hollywood’s most captivating actresses, known for her sultry voice, striking beauty, and magnetic screen presence.
She was a queen of film noir and drama during the 1940s and 1950 becoming one of the era’s most memorable stars.
However, it’s Grahame’s personal life that over shadowed her film career in the end.
She was married four times had numerous affairs.
Standing 5’6, Grahame had a great screen presence. With her sensual outre beauty, she often played ladies of the evening or the town floozy. A perfect example of this, was her role as Violet in It’s A Wonderful Life (1946).
Additionally, it was clear Grahame really enjoyed men.
She once said about being a leading lady, “It wasn’t the way I looked at a man, it was the thought behind it.”
I appreciate her sentiment.
The Scandal…
There was one event that created such a huge controversy that it led to the decline of her career and sparked a bitter custody battle with her former husbands. Of which she had four total.
It was Grahame’s 4th and last marriage to Anthony Ray that was her longest and most successful union. It lasted 14 years. He was 23 years old and she was 37.
However…
Anthony Ray was the son of her second husband, Nicholas Ray, whom she married in 1960.
You read that right. Gloria Grahame married her former stepson.
It was the longest lasting of all her four marriages.
This relationship caused a HUGE scandal in Hollywood that led to both her career down slide and a bitter child custody battle with one of her former husbands, Cy Howard.
Scroll down for more info on Gloria Grahame, her top movies, her husbands and children and photo gallery.
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Stay Sensual, Dyann Bridges – Publisher
FAST FACTS ABOUT GLORIA GRAHAME
- Born in Los Angeles, California, as Gloria Penelope Hallward.
- Grahame was the daughter of Reginald Michael Bloxam Hallward (known as Michael Hallward), an English architect, and Jean MacDougall, a Scottish actress and acting coach.
- Her mother, Jean’s stage name was Jean Grahame (which was her mother’s maiden name).
- Grahame is a descendant of royalty. King Edward III is a distant relative through her father’s side.
- She was ambitious enough to quit Hollywood High School just before she graduated to join a touring show called “Good Night Ladies”.
- Soon after Grahame appeared in a couple of Broadway plays, where she was spotted by MGM Studios chief Louis B. Mayer in 1944. He was impressed enough to offer her a contract with MGM at $250 a week.
- Grahame had a strange obsession with her upper lip which she said wasn’t ‘full’ enough. As a consequence, she began having minor surgeries on it to plump it up. She even resorted to stuffing toilet paper across her gums to make her upper lip look fuller. There were several kissing scenes where the paper came out of her mouth after she and her co-star parted. Hmm.
GLORIA GRAHAME’S TOP MOVIES
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
In this amazing movie (which my mom watched every Christmas Day without fail for many years), the lovely Gloria Grahame plays the slightly slutty, small town girl with a heart of gold, Violet.
George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) is kind to her and helps her out of a jam. We then see Violet go on with her life in a positive way. That is, only because George was there.
We see how awful it gets for Violet when the George’s guardian angel shows him what life in Bedford Falls would be like if he had never been born.
Unfortunately, this movie is so popular it’s not easily found online for free. So, I’ve included the opening scene I found on Youtube below. I’d highly recommend watching the full movie if you haven’t already.
Have a look below…
IN A LONELY PLACE (1950)
In In A Lonely Place Gloria stars along side of Humphrey Bogart.
This is an directed film as well. It’s a good one and well worth a watch.
Once again, this is a difficult movie to find online for free. I’ve included the first scene I found on youtube below.
Have a look…
THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (1952)
Gloria Grahame is at her fiery, passionate best along side the equally fiery and passionate Kirk Douglas in The Bad and The Beautiful.
She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for this role too.
Again, I’ve had include just a scene as I can’t easily find a full version. Old movies are becoming more popular to watch these days. Small wonder. 🙂
Have a peek behind the curtain….
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GLORIA GRAHAME’S LOVE LIFE
Gloria Grahame had 4 marriages and 4 children with 3 of those husbands.
HUSBANDS
1 Stanley Clements (August 29, 1945 – June 1, 1948) (divorced)
2. Nicholas Ray (June 1, 1948 – August 14, 1952) (divorced, 1 child)
3. Cy Howard (August 15, 1954 – October 31, 1957) (divorced, 1 child)
4. Anthony Ray (May 13, 1960 – May 4, 1974) (divorced, 2 children)
1. Stanley Clements: The First Marriage
Gloria Grahame’s first husband, Stanley Clements, was an actor and singer. He was best known for his roles in B-movies and as a member of the “East Side Kids,” a popular film series in the 1940s.
They married in 1947, but their relationship was short-lived, and they divorced in 1952.
While Clements’ career never reached the same heights as Grahame’s, his marriage to the celebrated actress remains part of the complicated fabric of her personal life.
Clements had a much quieter career in Hollywood, mainly known for his supporting roles in various films, especially within the crime and comedy genres.
PICTURE OF GLORIA GRAHAME AND STANLEY CLEMENTS BELOW…
2. Nicholas Ray: The Second Marriage
Grahame’s second marriage was to acclaimed director Nicholas Ray, best known for his work on Rebel Without a Cause (1955).
Their marriage began in 1952, but it would be one of the most controversial relationships in Grahame’s life.
According to Nicholas Ray, he allegedly caught Grahame in bed with his eldest son by his first marriage, who was only 13-years-old at the time.
His name was Tony and he later became Grahame’s 4th husband.
Grahame denied ever having been in Tony’s bed at that age. Sadly, the rumor stuck.
However, Grahame’s last long term relationship and biographer, Peter Turner, disputed the accusation, saying the story of Tony being underage when Grahame began a sexual relationship with him is “fiction”.
GLORIA AND NICHOLAS BELOW…
3. Cy Howard: The Third Marriage
Cy Howard was an American television writer and producer, best known for his work in the early years of television.
He married actress Gloria Grahame in 1961, making him her third husband.
Howard was a successful figure in the entertainment industry, but his marriage to Grahame was short-lived, ending in divorce in 1964.
While Howard’s career in television flourished, his personal life, including his marriage to Grahame, was often overshadowed by the actress’s own tumultuous relationships and career.
GLORIA AND CY BELOW…
4. Tony Ray: The Fourth & Last Marriage (Her Former Stepson)
This was a major turning point in her life. The relationship shocked the industry and led to Grahame’s decline in favor with the big studios.
The affair and subsequent marriage were widely seen as scandalous.
As a result, Grahame found herself ostracized by many of her peers and fans alike.
Peter Turner: Gloria Grahame’s Last Significant Relationship Before She Passed
By 1978, she was a fading Hollywood star of 54.
He was a 26-year-old Liverpudlian, just starting to make his way as an actor.
Despite the nearly 30 years between them, Gloria Grahame and Peter Turner fell in love, their affair ending with her death three years later.
Peter and Gloria below…
**Grahame died at the age of 57 from breast cancer. She had taken a flight from Liverpool where she was with Peter Turner to return to her eldest children in New York. She died hours after she arrived.**
Read more about Gloria Grahame’s death and lift in this NY Post article…
Quotes By GLORIA GRAHAME
- “It wasn’t the way I looked at a man, it was the thought behind it.” – GLORIA GRAHAME
- “You go through life in a series of peaks and valleys.” – GLORIA GRAHAME
- “There’s always a race against time. I don’t think for one moment that life gets better. How can it? One’s body starts to fall apart.” – GLORIA GRAHAME
- “I don’t think I ever understood Hollywood. Whatever they told me to do, I did. I went to the studio in the morning, stayed on the set all day, then went home, and ate my dinner, and studied my part, and went to sleep.” – GLORIA GRAHAME
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