TCM Schedule for Thursday, March 28, 2024: Actors Freddie Bartholomew & Debbie Reynolds

[Auggie]

Freddie Bartholomew and Dolores Costello, Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)

Frederick Cecil Bartholomew (March 28, 1924 – January 23, 1992), known for his acting work as Freddie Bartholomew, was an English-American child actor. One of the most famous child actors of all time, he became very popular in 1930s Hollywood films. His most famous starring roles are in Captains Courageous (1937) and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936).

He was born in London. A precocious actor, Bartholomew was reciting and performing from age three. By age five he was a popular celebrity, the "boy wonder elocutionist", reciting poems, prose, and selections from various plays, including Shakespeare. He sang and danced as well. His first film role came by the age of six in 1930.

American filmmakers George Cukor and David O. Selznick saw him on a 1934 scouting trip to London and chose him for the young title role in their MGM film David Copperfield (1935). Bartholomew and his aunt immigrated to the United States in August 1934, and MGM gave him a seven-year contract. He became an American citizen in 1943 following World War II military service.

Despite his great success and acclaim following David Copperfield, his childhood film stardom was marred by nearly constant legal battles and payouts, which eventually took a huge toll on both his finances and his career as his long-estranged birth parents attempted to gain custody of him and his fortune. A legal battle of nearly seven years ensued, resulting in nearly all the wealth that Bartholomew amassed being spent on attorneys' and court fees, and payouts to his birth parents and two sisters.

In adulthood, after World War II service, his film career dwindled rapidly, and he switched from performing to directing and producing in the medium of television. He died of heart failure in Sarasota, Florida in January 1992, at the age of 67.

Full bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Bartholomew




Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career in films, stage, music and television spanned almost 70 years.

Reynolds was a 16-year-old student at Burbank High School in 1948 when, during a Miss Burbank beauty contest, she was "discovered" by Warner Brothers and MGM talent scouts. Both studios wanted to sign her and agreed to let a coin toss decide. Warner Brothers won, however Reynolds would move to MGM within two years when Warner ceased musical productions.

Realizing Reynolds' star potential following a supporting role in MGM's Two Weeks with Love (1950), film head Louis B Meyer, despite knowing she had no formal dance training, gave Reynolds a starring role in what became her highest-profile film, Singin' in the Rain (1952). When co-star Gene Kelly balked due to her lack of dance experience, Meyer responded with a simple, "She'll learn." Said Reynolds later on: "Gene Kelly made me a star. I was 18 and he taught me how to dance and how to work hard and be dedicated." According to the Washington Post, Fred Astaire, who happened one day to be visiting the Singin' in the Rain set, even pitched in to help Reynolds.

Reynolds was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1950 for Most Promising Newcomer with her portrayal of Helen Kane in the film Three Little Words, and in 1965, was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar in a Leading Role for The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), losing to Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins. The Academy recognized Reynold's charitable work In 2016 by honoring her with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Reynolds passed away just months later, on December 28, from a severe stroke the day after the passing of her daughter, actress and writer Carrie Fisher.

Full wikipedia bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Reynolds
Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/in-hollywoods-golden-age-no-dancer-rivaled-debbie-reynoldss-high-stepping-joy/2016/12/29/838817c4-cdf8-11e6-a87f-b917067331bb_story.html



---- DAYTIME (EDT): FREDDIE BARTHOLOMEW 100TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION ----

7:00 AM | Listen, Darling (1938)
Two children try to find a new husband for their widowed mother.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin | Cast: Judy Garland, Freddie Bartholomew, Mary Astor

8:30 AM | Lord Jeff (1938)
When a good boy goes bad, his family sends him to a naval military school.
Dir: Sam Wood | Cast: Freddie Bartholomew, Mickey Rooney, Charles Coburn

10:00 AM | David Copperfield (1935)
Charles Dickens' classic tale of an orphaned boy's fight for happiness, and the colorful characters who help and hinder him.
Dir: George Cukor | Cast: Freddie Bartholomew, W. C. Fields, Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan

12:30 PM | Anna Karenina (1935)
Anna Karenina falls in love with Count Vronsky despite her husband's refusal to grant a divorce -- both must contend with social repercussions.
Dir: Clarence Brown | Cast: Greta Garbo, Fredric March, Freddie Bartholomew

2:15 PM | Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)
An American orphan discovers he is heir to a British title.
Dir: John Cromwell | Cast: Freddie Bartholomew, Dolores Costello Barrymore, C. Aubrey Smith

4:00 PM | The Devil Is a Sissy (1936)
A British boy in New York tries to join a tenement gang.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke | Cast: Freddie Bartholomew, Jackie Cooper, Mickey Rooney

6:00 PM | Captains Courageous (1937)
A spoiled rich boy, lost at sea, is rescued by a fishing boat. Hard work and responsibility help him become a man.
Dir: Victor Fleming | Cast: Freddie Bartholomew, Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore

---- STAR OF THE MONTH: DEBBIE REYNOLDS ----

8:00 PM | The Rat Race (1960)
An aspiring musician arrives in New York in search of fame and fortune and finds romance.
Dir: Robert Mulligan | Cast: Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds, Jack Oakie

10:00 PM | Goodbye Charlie (1964) TCM PREMIERE
Womanizing Charlie, murdered by an angry husband, is reincarnated as a woman.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli | Cast: Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds, Pat Boone

12:15 AM | The Pleasure of His Company (1961)
A playboy returns home to attend his daughter's wedding and falls in love all over again with his ex-wife.
Dir: George Seaton | Cast: Fred Astaire, Debbie Reynolds, Lilli Palmer

2:30 AM | The Gazebo (1960)
A suburban couple tries to cope with a murder victim whose body refuses to stay put.
Dir: George Marshall | Cast: Glenn Ford, Debbie Reynolds, Carl Reiner

4:30 AM | It Started with a Kiss (1959)
After a whirlwind courtship, an Army officer and his wacky wife try to make their marriage work.
Dir: George Marshall | Cast: Glenn Ford, Debbie Reynolds, Eva Gabor