Movie Star Mystery Photo

2009_0126_mystery_photo

Los Angeles Times photo

Update: This is Mary Pickford and Cecil B. De Mille after he received an Oscar and an Irving Thalberg Award at the 1953 Academy Awards.

Update: Many Daily Mirror readers have correctly identified the people in the photo (or at least one of them). Congratulations! If I haven’t posted your answer, you’re right. (I’m delaying the correct answers to give other people a chance). Check back tomorrow for more pictures!

  2009_0127_mystery_photo

Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times

Update: From left, Charles Boyer, Danny Kaye, Y. Frank Freeman, Mary Pickford, De Mille and Bob Hope in a photo published Aug. 13, 1958. The photo was too wide for my scanner, so I cropped out Samuel Goldwyn.

1958_0813_boyer

Regular reader Arye Michael Bender wonders whether the fellow on the
left in photo No. 2 is A.C. Lyles rather than Charles Boyer. The story and photo above show Boyer was also photographed at the same event. Lyles doesn’t appear on the list of guests.

My goodness, Daily Mirror readers know their movie stars! Many folks have correctly identified one or both of our mystery guests. If your comment hasn’t been posted it’s because you’re right (I want to give other people a chance). Just for fun, here’s another picture of them, with some mystery friends.

 

2009_0128_mystery_photo

Los Angeles Times file photo

Update: From left, H.G. Stern, president of the Culver City Chamber of Commerce, De Mille, Judge Benjamin Bledsoe and Louis B. Mayer, in a photo dated June 16, 1927.

Pretty much everyone got the majority of the folks in the last picture. Special credit goes to Dewey Webb for sending me the actual clipping from ProQuest. I hope this one will be a bit more challenging.

 

2009_0129_mystery_photo

Los Angeles Times file photo

Update: This is a photo of the newly dedicated university religious center at UCLA, published March 31, 1932. From left, De Mille, Bishop Cantwell, President Sproul, Rabbi Magnin, the Rev. James B. Fox, Provosot E.C. Moore and the Rev. J. Lewis Gilles.

Everybody recognized at least two people in the previous photo. This one will be more difficult, I suspect. By now, the fellow on the left is a gimme.

 

2009_0130_mystery_photo

Los Angeles Times file photo

Update: Paulette Goddard and De Mille in "The Unconquered."

Here’s the final mystery photo. I’ll post the identities later today.

Come back next week. I’ve got an especially interesting photo.

About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times
This entry was posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo. Bookmark the permalink.

114 Responses to Movie Star Mystery Photo

  1. Claire Lockhart says:

    Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford

    Like

  2. Arye Michael Bender says:

    Is Celeste Holm? Can she come out and play?

    Like

  3. herb nichols says:

    cecil b demille

    Like

  4. herb nichols says:

    cecil b demille

    Like

  5. Kip Brown says:

    Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford?

    Like

  6. william says:

    Dimitri Tiomkin

    Like

  7. ATriana says:

    Cecil B DeMille with Hedda Hopper?

    Like

  8. C. M. Goodin says:

    Louis B. Mayer & Betty Hutton

    Like

  9. C. M. Goodin says:

    Is it Louis B. Mayer & Betty Hutton?

    Like

  10. Dewey Webb says:

    Mary Pickford & Cecil Blount DeMille

    Like

  11. StarGazer says:

    Mary Pickford and Cecil B. DeMille.
    We will never see the lilkes of these giants again!

    Like

  12. jany says:

    MARY PICKFORD?

    Like

  13. Claire Lockhart says:

    Cecil B DeMille and Mary Pickford

    Like

  14. william says:

    I will try again….Cecil B. DeMille

    Like

  15. william says:

    Ruby Keeler

    Like

  16. Randolph Man says:

    It’s Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford

    Like

  17. Gregory Moore says:

    Is it C.B. DeMille and Mary Pickford?

    Like

  18. Mary Mallory says:

    It is Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford.

    Like

  19. Allison Berntsen says:

    Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford

    Like

  20. Allison Berntsen says:

    Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford!!!!

    Like

  21. Cold in PHX says:

    Isn’t this Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford?

    Like

  22. Bree Crocetti says:

    Betty White?

    Like

  23. MichaelRyerson says:

    Cecil B. DeMille and, hmmmm, his wife Constance?

    Like

  24. Waldo Lydecker says:

    This is one of your easy ones.
    Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford.

    Like

  25. Gary hertzberg says:

    I think the guy is Cecil B. DeMille. The gal – I’m poring over IMDB for a clue on her.

    Like

  26. Angus says:

    C.B. DeMille and Mary Pickford?

    Like

  27. Richard Heft says:

    Mary Pickford hugging the third runner-up in the Cecil B. De Mille Lookalike Contest.

    Like

  28. MichaelRyerson says:

    No, on second glance I’m going to say Cecil B. DeMille and Betty Hutton, with whom he’d had a famous falling out. This would appear to be after the reconciliation.

    Like

  29. rick says:

    Fred and Ethel Mertz

    Like

  30. StarGazer says:

    Please disregard if you received my earlier email.
    My guesses are Cecil B DeMille and Mary Pickford. Great Picture
    Very truly yours, Carmen

    Like

  31. Pamela Porter says:

    Mary Pickford

    Like

  32. Lana says:

    I think it is Mary Pickford

    Like

  33. zapgun says:

    How ’bout C. B. DeMille and Constance Adams.

    Like

  34. Virginia J. says:

    Mary Pickford?

    Like

  35. Deb Morris says:

    is that Mary Pickford?

    Like

  36. Sharp Spin says:

    Cecil B DeMille and Mary Pickford

    Like

  37. Dewey Webb says:

    . . .at Oscars, March 19 1953. (Do I get extra points?)
    Love your quiz! Almost makes me look forward to getting Monday mornings . (As do of responses from some of the the more wise-assed faithful.)

    Like

  38. zabadu says:

    Mary Pickford?

    Like

  39. Dave MacDowell says:

    Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford

    Like

  40. john says:

    Dick Van Dyke & Mary Tyler Moore?
    Robert Wagner & Natalie Wood?
    Elton John & Boy George?

    Like

  41. Rinky Dink says:

    Arlene Francis? Bennett Cerf?

    Like

  42. Nancy says:

    Cecil B. DeMille with Mary Pickford

    Like

  43. Amy says:

    The man is definitely Cecil B. DeMille. It’s a bit tougher for me to decide who the woman is, but I’ll venture a guess. Miriam Hopkins?

    Like

  44. Dewey Webb says:

    Can’t tell for sure but man on left looks like Charles Boyer (sans toupee); man to Pickford’s right is Paramount exec Y. Frank Freeman.

    Like

  45. herb nichols says:

    mary pickford

    Like

  46. Arye Michael Bender says:

    Cecil B.?

    Like

  47. Arye Michael Bender says:

    Cecil B.?

    Like

  48. Gregory Moore says:

    Charles Boyer, Danny Kaye, Charles Coburn (?), Mary Pickford, C.B. DeMille and Bob Hope…..

    Like

  49. jany says:

    IS THE MAN CECIL B DEMILLE?

    Like

  50. MichaelRyerson says:

    Okay the second picture pushes me back to my original guess. Cecil B. DeMille and his wife Constance.

    Like

  51. Cold in PHX says:

    Hey, I love the second DeMille-Pickford picture with Danny Kaye, Billy Wilder, and Bob Hope. But who’s the guy at the far left? He could be many people. Ted Knight? Jack Cassidy? I remember seeing a DeMille documentary that featured one of his assistant producers, but can’t remember the name.

    Like

  52. Carol Gwenn says:

    Loved today’s photo of Cecil B. DeMille & Mary Pickford flanked by – among others – Danny Kaye & Bob Hope.

    Like

  53. Carol Gwenn says:

    Loved today’s phot of Cecil B. DeMille & Mary Pickford flanked by – among others – Danny Kaye & Bob Hope.

    Like

  54. L.A. Sandi says:

    Cecil B. De Mille and ?

    Like

  55. LC says:

    Is that Mary Pickford?

    Like

  56. ATriana says:

    ..here at extreme left I see Charles Boyer, then Danny Kaye, then of course Mr. DeMille and an eager Bob Hope!

    Like

  57. Amy says:

    I don’t see my comment, so I’m guessing I got the gentleman right. Seeing the other photo, I don’t think my guess of the lady was correct, but for extra credit, can I submit Danny Kaye as the second man from the left and Bob Hope the man on the far right? I love the blog, keep up the great work.

    Like

  58. JMS says:

    Cecil B DeMille and Lillian Gish

    Like

  59. CraigDeco says:

    Mary Pickford and Cecil B. DeMille, with Danny Kaye and Bob Hope in the second photo.

    Like

  60. CraigDeco says:

    Mary Pickford and Cecil B. DeMille, with Danny Kaye and Bob Hope in the second photo.

    Like

  61. Enna says:

    Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford.

    Like

  62. herb nichols says:

    jesse laskey and l.b.mayer

    Like

  63. Dewey Webb says:

    Definitely Louis B. Mayer, second from right
    maybe Hal Roach handing DeMille the certificate?

    Like

  64. Arye Michael Bender says:

    In the newest pic, Louis B. Mayer holding a straw hat. Amazing that he didn’t try to grab center stage.

    Like

  65. Arye Michael Bender says:

    In the newest pic, Louis B. Mayer holding a straw hat. Amazing that he didn’t try to grab center stage.

    Like

  66. Dewey Webb says:

    Sam Goldwyn? (short bald fellow to left of DeMille)

    Like

  67. LC says:

    Last photo : Samuel Goldwyn and Louis B. Mayer

    Like

  68. jany says:

    LOUIS B MAYER IS FOURTH MAN ON THE LEFT

    Like

  69. Mary Mallory says:

    The second photo is Jack Benny, Y. Frank Freeman, Mary, Cecil, Danny Kaye, and Bob Hope.
    This last photo has Louis b. Mayer.

    Like

  70. Dru Duniway says:

    Cecil B. DeMille
    Robert Montgomery
    Danny Kaye
    Bob Hope
    Louis B. Mayer

    Like

  71. Nancy says:

    L.B. Mayer is standing behind D.W. Griffiths

    Like

  72. Arye Michael Bender says:

    The third pic seems to be around 1927, the founding year of the Motiion Picture Academy. I recognize DeMille and Mayer in the foreground, as well as Samuel Goldfish smiling in the back. But I go dumb with the other faces. Was tending toward identifying the stately, white haired man near center as D.W. Griffith, but don’t think so. As I understand it, he was too serious an artist to be seen smiling.

    Like

  73. Barry O'Brien says:

    Cecil B, deMille and Mary Pickford?

    Like

  74. Cathy Jensen says:

    Samuel Goldwyn and Mary Pickford

    Like

  75. Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford

    Like

  76. Richard Heft says:

    Is Archbishop John Joseph Cantwell second from left in the bottom picture?

    Like

  77. Vivian says:

    Charles Boyer, Danny Kaye, Billy Wilder, Lana Turner, ? , Bob Hope

    Like

  78. Mary Mallory says:

    The photo of DeMille and Pickford on Monday is from the 1952 Academy Awards ceremony, where he won for “the Greatest Show on Earth”. Does the last photo have to do with DeMille’s production of “California’s Golden Beginning” in 1948?

    Like

  79. L.A. Ostermeyer says:

    Mary Pickford!

    Like

  80. Arnette Ames says:

    Cecille B. DeMille and Gloria Swanson.

    Like

  81. Robert Howe says:

    Cecil B. DeMille, and Mary Pickford
    Ceil B. DeMille, Mary Pickford, Danny Kaye and Bob Hope

    Like

  82. Mike H. says:

    They sure aren’t Paris Hilton. And for that, we are all thankful…

    Like

  83. Peter A. Rosa says:

    Cecil B. Demille & Mary Pickford

    Like

  84. Carolyn says:

    C.B. DeMille and Mary Pickford in the first, then DeMille and Pickford and Danny Kaye and Bob Hope in the second and I can remember whom else was in it.

    Like

  85. Lorna says:

    1st shot is Cecil B. Demille and Mary Pickford

    Like

  86. LB Mayer says:

    CB DeMille & Mary Pickford

    Like

  87. andy rivas says:

    Cecille B. deMille and Constance Adams

    Like

  88. Rolo Tomasi says:

    Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford

    Like

  89. Bob says:

    Looks like the person next to Bob Hope is C.B. DeMille

    Like

  90. ucrsue says:

    Danny Kaye on the left side of the picture, next to Billy Wilder. Bob Hope on the right side. I’m just guessing. Since Carson has been gone, we don’t see the older actors/directors anymore. Oh, that’s right. Most have passed. I loved Billy Wilder.

    Like

  91. The bald gentlemen in all the photos is Cecil B. DeMille and the woman in the top two photos is Mary Pickford

    Like

  92. The bald gentleman in all the photos is Cecil B. DeMille and the woman in the top 2 photos is Mary Pickford.

    Like

  93. barbara lochner says:

    I’m with C. B. Goodin. Louie B Mayer & Betty Hutton, for sure, for sure.

    Like

  94. In the third photo I believe the tall gentleman in the foreground on the left is the heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey and the gentlemen fourth from the right is Louis B. Mayer.
    That is not Billy Wilder in the second photo between Danny Kaye and Mary Pickford.

    Like

  95. In the third photo I believe the tall gentleman in the foreground on the left is the heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey and the gentlemen fourth from the right is Louis B. Mayer.
    That is not Billy Wilder in the second photo between Danny Kaye and Mary Pickford.

    Like

  96. Nancy says:

    Sam Goldwyn

    Like

  97. Karie Bible says:

    The woman in the top 2 pictures is Mary Pickford in her later years!
    I think the man is (or might be) Cecil B. DeMille.

    Like

  98. Okay, it’s Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford in the top photo. The next one is possibly Charles Boyer, Danny Kaye, don’t know who–must be a silent-era actor, likely one in many DeMille projects as he was famous for giving work in the ’30s and beyond to people who had worked for him early in his career. Then DeMille, then Bob Hope. In the next picture, I don’t recognize the man handing the certificate to DeMille, but the man holding a straw hat and wearing tortoise-shell glasses is Louis B. Mayer. In the bottom picture, the man next to DeMille is a clergyman, so I’m guessing that these are representatives of the Catholic Church visiting Hollywood during the production of DeMille’s notorious film “The Sign of the Cross,” which was touted as a religious epic but which emphasized the debauchery of ancient Rome.

    Like

  99. Sean P. says:

    C. B. Demille & Mary Pickford

    Like

  100. Nathan Benedict says:

    Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford in the first photo?

    Like

  101. Richard Keller says:

    the man in the photo with the blond lady is:
    Cecil B DeMille

    Like

  102. verbwank says:

    Cecil B DeMille is de man in 1.And de birthday man in 2.
    L.B. Mayer in 3

    Like

  103. Dee Ann Williams says:

    That is Mary Pickford

    Like

  104. Dee Ann Williams says:

    That is Mary Pickford

    Like

  105. MichaelRyerson says:

    Well, that’s Cecil B. DeMille’s younger brother, Theodore or Teddy, on the extreme left. The next fellow, the rather heavyset man with the cleric’s collar is actually Victor Horshak, noted ventriloquist and voice thrower of the period, and then comes Gaylord T. Rose haberdasher and early advocate of ladys in slacks and next to him is Garland T. ‘Fastbreak’ Moore, men’s basketball coach at Runnymead Tech, and then, of course, easily recognised Harold Nix, the oldest of the Flying Nix Brothers, whose brothers apparently failed to receive the clear instructions on wearing dark blue for the photo and can be seen just behind their older brother in light grey slacks waiting for the picture-taking to be over. Next to last, in a rare photo, we have Thornton Angell whose company, T.A. Railsystems, has just installed a short funicular railway in downtown Los Angeles which bears his name. And the gentleman on the far right is Packy Carlson the photographer. You can clearly see the exposure bulb in Mr. Carlson’s left hand as he snapped this picture. (sorry Larry, I couldn’t help myself)

    Like

  106. Dewey Webb says:

    Paulette Goddard/Unconquered

    Like

  107. herb nichols says:

    paulette goddard in photo #5

    Like

  108. Gregory Moore says:

    CB with Paulette Goddard, from the 1947 film, “Unconquered”. The 2nd female lead in that film, Virginia Campbell, is alive and very well and living in London, in her late 90’s. I had dinner with her and her husband at their Chelsea flat last year and she was delightful.

    Like

  109. MichaelRyerson says:

    Cecil B. DeMille giving Paulette Goddard a quick going over.

    Like

  110. Claire Lockhart says:

    CB and Paulette Goddard

    Like

  111. Rance Ryan says:

    Larry I believe your last photo is CB with Paulette Goddard

    Like

  112. Mary Mallory says:

    The last photo is DeMille with Paulette Goddard rehearsing a scene for THE UNCONQUERED.

    Like

  113. Arye Michael Bender says:

    The man on to the left of Danny Kaye, while identified as Charles Boyer, seems actually to be A.C. Lyles, the perpetual Paramount promoter. Boyer’s features, even without the rug, are more rounded.
    Paramount kept Lyles long on their payroll as a resident historian. He long remained a living connection to the golden days of the studio era by providing anecdotes about the major players. Almost every sentence would speak the word ‘Paramount’. While the quid pro quo was obvious, the company deserves props for preserving its history.

    Like

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