SOME MORE RECENTLY UNEARTHED BITS & PIECES ABOUT CROTON NOTABLES: PATRICIA BENOIT, PETER STRAUSS, HELENE SARDEAU, GEORGE BIDDLE and GLORIA SWANSON

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton -- our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools -- in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

SOME MORE RECENTLY UNEARTHED BITS & PIECES ABOUT CROTON NOTABLES: PATRICIA BENOIT, PETER STRAUSS, HELENE SARDEAU, GEORGE BIDDLE and GLORIA SWANSON---click on the photos and links.

First up, a 1958 article on the late Patricia Benoit, of Mrs. Peepers television fame--and her post-pregnancy return to acting--with a comparison to Lucille Ball's baby and Little Ricky!  For those who don't know, Benoit lived in the village from 1961 to 1981. Read more here. 

Next up, Croton's Peter Strauss in the 1971 Italian production, MAN OF LEGEND A.K.A. SARGEANT KLEMS.  

REVIEW: Bad boy Peter Strauss stars in this surprisingly excellent Italian war-action movie. Filled with heroes and adventure immediately reminiscent of a 1930s, Man of Legend turns out to be one of the most entertaining adventure flicks to ever grace my TV screen.  During World War I, a German soldier (Peter Strauss) takes the identity of a dead German soldier - Otto Josef Klems - in order to avoid being shot for desertion.  READ AND SEE MORE  HERE.

Next up, a poor quality microfiche photo 1956 copy--but still readable--about Croton husband and wife artists, George Biddle and Helene Sardeau--and the first "commercial art gallery" in Northern Westchester at 345 S. Riverside Ave.

Read more about sculptress Sardeau here.  And George Biddle here.

And finally Croton's own Gloria Swanson in the 1919 silent film, Male and Female, directed by Cecil B. DeMille.

And yes. that was a real lion. Swanson would confess in later years, that she was terrified---but still went through with it...because that's what a real actress did...

For those who don't know, Male and Female starred Gloria Swanson and Thomas Meighan. Its main themes are gender relations and social class. The film is based on the J. M. Barrie play The Admirable Crichton. 

public domain, wikipedia

The film centers on the relationship between Lady Mary Loam (Swanson), a British aristocrat, and her butler, Crichton (Meighan). Crichton fancies a romance with Mary, but she disdains him because of his lower social class. When the two and some others are shipwrecked on a deserted island, they are left to fend for themselves in a state of nature. You can read more about the film here---it's also available on DVD.

SEE THE LAST EDITION OF MORE RECENTLY UNEARTHED BITS & PIECES ABOUT CROTON NOTABLES: KATHLEEN BELLER, GLORIA SWANSON, HAROLD GRAY, and OSCAR BRAND at https://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2018/10/some-more-recently-unearthed-bits.html

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