TCM did a super special tonight with Robert Osborne interviewing four former child stars: Darryl Hickman, brother to Dwayne who did Dobie Gillis but who I remember best in Disney's Johnny Shiloh; Jane Withers, originally known for tormenting Shirley Temple in Bright Eyes and later "Josephine the Plumber"; Dick Moore, "Dickie" way back when and among all his credits that of the voice of Pinocchio in the Disney classic; and Margaret O'Brien, who I confess I watched this for. I love Margaret O'Brien, who despite the fact that "Tootie" in Meet Me in St. Louis makes me want to spank the little brat, is probably the old child star I'd have most wanted as a little sister. Someday I'll catch Lost Angel on TCM!

They all had interesting stories, whether sad or happy, and it was a great 80 minutes. The one obvious thing was that the women seemed to have had a more positive experience. Perhaps it was because little girls were more sheltered then while little boys were expected to be tough. They all seemed to have some amazing stories about Shirley Temple, who none of them were allowed to be friends with; she was protected like she were a piece of crystal. They couldn't even say anything to her that wasn't a line of dialog without incurring the wrath of someone.

I also got a big kick out of Margaret O'Brien talking about her numerous crying scenes (the writers always seemed to have her crying). Those were all real tears—because she wanted to cry better than June Allyson, who was the other champion "cryer" at MGM!

Labels: movies, television

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 9:35:00 PM

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