King Creole

August 16 fans mourned the 40th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. He was a singer, actor, and was in the army. Before he left for the army he stared in, what most people say, was is best movie, King Creole. Also staring in this movie was Carolyn Jones who plays Ronnie, Maxie's "girlfriend" who becomes attracted to Danny after he rescues her from a abusive date. Walter Matthew, who plays Maxie Fields, who is a club owner also known as "The Pig". Dolores Hart, who plays Nellie, a snack bar worker at a five-and-dime store who also falls in love with Danny. Elvis played Danny Fisher, a high school student denied his diploma because of a fight on the last day of school. Danny has to think of ways to provide for his family, his unemployed father and his sister. He considers living a life of crime up until a club owner hears him sing and offers him a job. Things look good until a rival club and his past boss Maxie wants him to come back and work for him. Maxie tries to get him back by using his "girlfriend" Ronnie's charms, and threatening him. This movie came out June 2, 1958. This is said to be one of Elvis's best works, I think it is truly an amazing movie with an excellent cast, and great music sung by the King himself.

Strength

If you are a fan or have friends who are fans of Carolyn Jones you have undoubtedly heard of how strong she was. She battled depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts, divorces, not meeting her real father, sicknesses that almost killed her, and hardest of all cancer. These are just the thing that we know. Who knows what else she battled that we don't know about. But thought all the pain she experienced emotionally and physically she still had a smile on her face she continued to do what she loved. In James Plyant's book about Carolyn Jones there is a part where she and Jane Daly were in Carolyn's dressing room on Capitol. Carolyn had lost her hair from her chemo treatments and she said to Jane "Look at this wreck of an old mess that I am! The body, I've got no hair, no makeup." After getting dressed for the show, she says "Look at this, Jane. See what wigs and makeup and wardrobe can do? You know, I look like a million dollars!" On the set of Capitol Carolyn hid her sickness not letting anybody know what was wrong with her. She did this until it was to painful for her to walk and had to use a wheelchair to move around. Carolyn was strong till the end. She is my idol because of this. I have experienced many of the things she had. She taught me that you have to stay strong and fight till the end.

Individuality

Carolyn Jones said many things about herself about her appearance. If you have seen pictures of her you have seen she is nothing below beautiful. I have the article shown below written by her entitled Perfect Beauty Is Dull. The article starts off with her stating that us who don't have it all should't worry about it and to make the most of what we do have.

She goes on to say that when she was a child she hated her large blue eyes but then credited them for her first breakthrough in movies. She says that she used to be self conscious about her crooked teeth and wanted to have them all capped but later decided not to with advice from her dentist. She also writes about her thinness, her posture, and her hair. "But I was determined that my mind would shine, that I would become a good actress, and that I would always look my best."Carolyn Jones. When she saw herself on her first screen test she writes she was surprised to see herself. "The girl on the screen had a good figure, good posture, and even looked pretty..." Carolyn Jones.

Carolyn wanted to be herself. In the last paragraph of her article I think is the most inspiring and still relevant today. "Individual is an invaluable quality. But it's built with a little pain and a lot of effort. There are many things you can do to improve yourself, but don't destroy what is unique by trying to make yourself over completely, or by trying to be a carbon copy of somebody else" Carolyn Jones. This advice should be seen by many of teenagers today trying to be like famous celebrities and destroying themselves trying to be someone who they are not. We should be who we are and not care what others think.

The Tender Trap

On August 7th, 1955 Carolyn Jones appeared alongside Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds in The Tender Trap. She played Helen the dog walker and has only a couple of scenes. She is one of many women Charlie (Frank Sinatra) is in a relationship with, that none of them know of. Charlie is a theater agent and lives the playboy life. When his friend comes to visit wanting to divorce his wife, they realize they want each others lives. Charlie and his friend both end up with the women who they want to be with. The ending scene is my favorite scene in the entire movie because I just think Carolyn is funny and adorable in this scene, really the entire movie. You can watch it with the link below.

Ending Scene Tender Trap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G8nB0_BIN4 

An Actress to Remember

Today on August 3rd, we remember a amazing actress and person who fought a long battle with colon cancer but lost. This actress is Carolyn Jones. Carolyn Jones was born April 28, 1930 in Amarillo Texas at 3:57 p.m. Carolyn grew up it severe asthma which caused her to be confined to her room most of her childhood. At a young age Carolyn knew she wanted to be a actress and was determined to make her dream come true. Her grandfather applied her to the Pasadena Playhouse which is where she wanted to study acting. She was accepted and there she would be found by a talent scout. Her first appearance in a movie was in the 1952's A Turning Point where she played a small role, her characters name was Mrs. Lillian Smith. Carolyn would go on to be in more than 2 dozen movies and an abundance of shows. She is most remembered as the ghoulish matriarch Morticia in the 1964 version of The Addams Family. She didn't want to be remembered as Morticia. Because of this I wanted to create this blog in remembrance of her and other roles she played not just Morticia. She has inspired some of her fans to become actors and actresses, others she inspired by being strong thought her life and not quitting. I hope many of her fans remember her today, and remember what an amazing person she was. "She gave joy to the world".