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This Day in GINGEROLOGY


GingerTelevision...

Next GingerFilm(s) (on TCM - all times Eastern):

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Tuesday, December 25, 2018

hey y'all!

...well, lots of time has passed since my last post... and there is a decent reason behind that...

Beginning January 1, 2019, I am embarking on a new career, forming my own business! And with that, there's been quite a bit of stuff going on, with 'winding down' at my soon-to-be former employer, and getting everything in line for the new business... which is QUITE extensive... but I think it's close...

...so, what does that mean for G-ology?

Well, I hope to keep things going here, but... it may well be 'few and far between' for the next 4-6 months, until I can 'stabilize' my business...

But I'll definitely check in over on FaceBook regularly...

...as for the here and now, MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you and yours!!!

And thanks for hanging around here... 2019 will mark the tenth anniversary of Gingerology, so there will HAVE to be some stuff happening, right?

KIG, Y'all!

Hu
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Wednesday, October 31, 2018

...well, October has slipped by...

...without a GingerPost...  It's been pretty busy here at Gingerology, unfortunately with non-Gingery things... work - school for kids - minor illnesses - etc...  as usual, Time Slips Away (sounds like a good song title, no?) 

As for Halloween, which it IS...
...yeah, I STILL don't really like this film, because of... that...

I've pretty much missed the fact that there were ghost tours at the Ginger House Museum the past few weeks... if anyone out there partook, please jump over to FaceBook and clue us in... I'm kind of 'torn' regarding ghosts, as I've never seen one... but wouldn't be surprised if there were such a thing... and, if so, who knows if Ginger is actually there... heck, she didn't live there that LONG, y'all (although I am totally fascinated and in love with that house FOREVER...) ...but WAS born there, so... hey, I don;t know how any of that stuff is supposed to work, so...

..and as to Ginger, well... I'm digging all the greatness over on FaceBook... AMAZING all the new pictures and articles that are on display there... go check them out!
...like this cool one - I've seen it before, but did NOT 'have' it, for some weird reason... it reminds me of BethRose of the FindingGinger blog, who had a shot set up pretty much like this one... well, heck, here it is (hopefully she won't mind...)
...well, SOME differences, but I know she said she was inspired by Ginger!!! ...this kind of gets me thinking back to the 'salad days' of Gingerology and all the awesome folks I became acquainted with that shared the common goal of... well, finding Ginger! ...films, that is...
...and also reminds me of all the awesome folks (i.e. Gingerologists) I've gotten to know since!!!

I'm hoping to find time to do a few things on this here blog, but... alas, that time hasn't found me yet... MAYBE SOON...

Hope Y'ALL are doing fine!

Until then...

KIG!
Hu
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Thursday, September 6, 2018

...FOUR years ago...

...we were informed of the great news that Ginger's only film which was up to that time 'unaccounted for', Hat Check Girl, had not only BEEN accounted for, but had been restored, and was to be shown at the TCM Festival, as well as at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), as has been noted in the last week of "This Day in Gingerology"...
...Ginger with HCG Leading Lady, Sally Eilers...

...well... NOW WHAT? ...as in... WHEN will we see this film released on DVD??? (like I need to keep asking that question...) It's really quite vexing that the owner(s) of the film copy aren't amenable to allowing a studio (It's a Fox Film, so... guess they would be the distributor for it) to make it available for purchase to the Classic Film public... of course, there are still a handful of GingerFilms which are not commercially available (but... are 'available' nevertheless...), but overall Ginger's catalog is remarkably well represented in the DVD format, which is why it would be a great day to see HCG offered.
...Ginger with HCG 'Supporting Man', Monroe Ousley...

..now, hopefully I won't get in trouble for this, BUT... Roberta noted at GingerFest that she has a copy of HCG which was Ginger's personal copy... it may not be restored, however... guess I should have inquired further, but... just giddy to be there, y'all... with THAT, I can think of no more apropos locale to roll whatever HCG copy available than at GingerFest '19... it would be a great addition to an already awesome event! Just throwing it out there for whomever happens to read this...
...cool poster for the film...

Well, that's about all I have for this one... for now, anyway... hopefully an extensive HueyReview is in the near future for this still elusive GingerFilm!

Until that wickedawesome time,

KIG, y'all!!!
Hu
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Thursday, August 16, 2018

Ginger Stuff going on!!!

...well, there are a few things afoot for Gingerologists...

FIRST, we have the OFFICIAL opening of The Ginger House Museum in Independence on Tuesday, August 21, 2018... The City of Independence Chamber of Commerce will attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and hopefully more press on local TV...  HERE is the info:

Official Opening of the Ginger House Museum

...CONGRATS to Marge and Gene as they see their vision for the place come to fruition!  Again, I am SO glad that this whole series of events happened, as there was a time where nobody really knew who would own the house, and it was in disrepair, etc... SO awesome it will now be kept up and available for public viewing! GO CHECK IT OUT!!!  ...AAAAAND, GingerFest 2019 is already shaping up, with ballroom dancing in the mix! ...don't worry, I've already told Marge I am to be relegated to a judge, or observer, or some other non-dancing role... keep up to date on The Ginger House Museum website as well as on FaceBook!

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Another bit of Gingery news is ANOTHER GingerFilm has been released on DVD...this time it's 'Honor Among Lovers', which of course is part of the Paramount Pentateuch (i.e., first five movies Ginger appeared in, all under Paramount)! Now, as to Ginger's role in this one.... WEEEEELLLLL.... it's really not too much... she is cute in the few scenes she appears in, but mainly for comic relief in a pretty intense plot... the film in general is a pretty good early 30's drama, starring Claudette Colbert and Fredric March... worth checking out. HERE is the link for a purchase point for this one (Amazon is about the only place I could find):

Honor Among Lovers DVD

...I haven't opened up my copy yet, but from general info from other Gingerologists, the copy is a LOT better and sharper than the fuzzy one capped from the 'copy' from the 'ether', as seen above...

...the cool thing about this is there is hope that the rest of the 'Pentateuch' might follow in DVD format, now that this one has been released... ALL of them 'exist', but need cleaning up (strangely enough, the one that is the best copy 'floating around' out there of the five is Young Man of Manhattan, Ginger's FIRST 'feature film', and arguably her best role in any of the five...)

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...and in another bit of 'HueyNews' (don't worry, it is ultimately Gingery), I am moving lots of furniture around, swapping up my 'work area' (I do plan review, so I need space to unfurl blueprints, look at big-screen monitors, etc.), and with that, it may well free up some wall space for Gingery Features... NOW, of course I have 2-3 'projects' which began WAAAAY in the past, but are yet to be reality (most notably the LIFE magazine covers to be framed), but... who knows, maybe some stuff will get completed - I REALLY need a 'GingerWall' or two...

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AND... that's all I got. For now...

Until then...

KIG, Y'all!!!

Hu
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Sunday, August 5, 2018

...another Gingery Find whilst in Kansas City...

...I've read about this in a few spots - maybe under some Harlow FB sites... WHAT, you may say, are you talking about, Hu?

Well, the Monday after GingerFest, we made a short jaunt from Olathe into downtown Kansas City to an area called "Film Row". This area was where the Hollywood studios would 'hub' their films for distribution to the rest of the country... Kansas City is a natural distribution hub for the nation, so... pretty cool. The exact location is on 18th Street between Wyandotte Street and Central Street...
...ok, well, that's cool, right...

...but what's the GINGERY angle, man?

Glad you asked...

Somewhere in the not-so-distant past, someone in KC decided to pay tribute to the local folks who ended up in Hollywood...and what better way to do that than with a ...Walk of Fame!

Of course, Our Girl is included, and here it is:

...and the obligatory "with Hu" pic:

...pretty cool, eh? There are a handful of others:   Walt Disney, Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, and Robert Altman... a pretty interesting group of folks from the KC area.

HERE is the link to the area... ...and below is the building the stars are in front of (Ginger's is right past that fire hydrant... ...an homage to "It Had To Be You", perhaps?) It was a bit odd that there was no 'museum' nearby, or at least that we could surmise, which would give detailed info on these folks... the building is just a 'professional building' (i.e., offices for whatever) - kinda weird there's not a "Hall of Fame" nearby... oh well, still pretty cool.

...and Greta thought this was a cool sign, which it is for the 'theme' of the area with an old car getting toted off:

Well... that's about it...  ...neat to have another GingerySpot to check out when in Kansas City...

Hope all of y'all are doing well, and Keeping It Gingery!!!

Hu
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Wednesday, July 25, 2018

...(somewhat belated) Post-Ginger Rogers Festival Report...

...well, pretty late getting this done, but unfortunately had a lot of catching up to do at work... ...there are SOME pics from the proceedings, many of which were taken by that illustrious Gingerologist Christine McDonald, whom I deeply thank for her 'OK' to use them here - and who I will credit below with "(CM)".

...My first pic while on the way to the Saturday presentations... somewhat of a 'sneak peek' prior to the Sunday Open House...

Banner at the Truman Library... (CM)

...and for some reason, no pics were taken for any of the afternoon presentations... guess we were all so into it, just... forgot about it... however, all of the presentations were great... in order:

Tom Talbert, who was the cameraman present at the 1994 Ginger Rogers Day when Ginger last visited her birth home... Tom was sent to the event to just catch enough footage to make a 60 second or so 'report' for the local newscast... but he was 'moved' to capture the bulk of the proceedings on film, and then SAVE the film, which was a pretty haphazard process back in the day... we viewed the footage - it is on YouTube, but pretty cool to see the 'original' from the one who shot it... Kudos to Tom for saving this for posterity for all Gingerologists.

Audrey Elder, who is a local historian that gave a great overview of the 'history of the house', which is a bungalow style, popular at the turn of the century (19th to 20th)... these were affordable houses which provided owners the basic amenities needed, even for those who were just starting out and/or starting a family. Audrey also provided an interesting review of the nearby area, and Independence in general - a wealth of knowledge regarding the surroundings in which Lela and young Ginger were within.

Gene Padgitt, who, along with Marge, are the owners and curators of The Ginger House. Gene gave a detailed overview of the renovation effort, from foundation to roof, and all the work which needed to be done to get it to 'proper condition'. As a building code / construction person, I was pretty interested in this, even though my brief overview of the house even back in 2011 was enough to tell me that a LOT of work was needed... and Gene had a LOT more resources and knowledge base than I could EVER muster...great work!

Linda Lee Sutton - Doll Maker from the Rogue River Valley in Oregon, and neighbor of Ginger! Linda creates pretty awesome dolls, and has made several 'one-off' Ginger Dolls - unfortunately, like a LOT of things, she could not call them 'Ginger Rogers Dolls', so she named them 'Fancy Feet' dolls. She described her arduous process in creating these works of art, and had a few cool stories concerning Ginger as well... I know little or nothing about dolls, but... if I had to get one, this one would be pretty dang cool...

Marge Padgitt closed the 'afternoon session' with a very thorough overview of Ginger's ancestry - family tree... there were a few things I knew, but learned quite a few other things... I probably should have written them down (Barbara took immaculate notes),  but... Marge did a great job going back at least four generations, I believe... she also noted there is a 'branch' of Ginger's descendants who have family reunions somewhere in Missouri, in a pretty remote area (again, should have written down that surname... dang it). Great work by Marge!

With that, we pick up at the Evening Session, at the Auction / Banquet...

...the dresses Roberta Olden donated to the Museum. The Blue one is from the 1967 Academy Awards Presentation. The Red and White - polka dot is from the 'promo program' from the... early 60's, perhaps? (should know that...) ...and the pink one is 'just' from Ginger's collection... (CM)


...more awesome Gingerbilia from Roberta... she had a cool story for each item... I could not do justice by trying to transcribe them here, so... sorry, y'all... (CM)

...Some of the incredible items up for auction... (CM)  Christine scored the boots on the left! I believe she said (or maybe hoped) they are the same ones she had on in this pic during her stint as "Mame" in the late 60's:

...when the Auction and Banquet were completed, Keynote Speaker Roberta Olden gave an incredible overview of her time as Ginger's assistant. Obviously many great stories, some of which were a bit familiar, but Roberta delved deeper into them, which was pretty dang awesome to me... Afterwards, she fielded questions, which Barbara and I took full advantage of... I'd probably STILL be there asking questions if it were at all possible... Roberta was awesome and very gracious in her answers. Again, we all were pretty much in the 'GingerZone' when Roberta started speaking, so... alas, no documentation of that incredible proceeding... you just had to BE there...

...and thus the day's proceedings ended... onward to Sunday and the Open House Preview...

As mentioned elsewhere, NO pics were allowed within the house... Marge and Gene Padgitt noted that y'all just need to come see it 'In Person'!  So, here's a few pics outside the house prior to the 'roundtable' discussion:



...someone photo-bombed the last pic with their hand... ...but a good overview of the gathering which got 'first crack' at touring the house...

Getting to check out all the incredible renovation work which Gene, Marge and their crew did to the house really made me feel great, as I have had a 'concern' for this place since I first visited it back in 2011... ...not long thereafter, the owner contacted me with designs on selling the place, and gave me "right of first (I guess) refusal" for it... the overall asking price was 'doable' (although my wife would have probably killed me), but... as a code official, I KNEW there was a LOT of work needed on the place, else it would fall into disrepair to the point of no return... and of course I am 12+ hours away from Independence, so, would have been a HARD road to hoe for any renovation / preservation attempts...  thus, it was SOOOOOO cool when I learned of the Padgitts' purchase of the house, not only to own it, but to TOTALLY renovate it, and ultimately turn it into a museum... EXACTLY what I wanted to have happen to it, so... truly an answered prayer, y'all...

...after the viewing, everyone gathered in the front room to introduce themselves and speak to how they became Ginger fans... afterwards, Roberta gave us a lot more awesome info and stories, which again, kinda mesmerized us... well, me for sure!

We had to break up for the 'public opening' of the house, so... that was the end of the Festival... we did manage to get a few more pics, but we really should have gotten more... here are a few...
Christine, Barbara, and the Hu-ster... (CM...I think...)

Barbara and Roberta...

...AAAND, Roberta and me... pretty awesome!

Barbara and I 'carpooled' more or less during the festivities, and I drove her back to her nearby hotel, where John Murphy and three of his daughters (I believe he said he has four?) were also staying... so we got a few more pics:

John and his daughters... all the way from Canada!

Barbara, John, and Me...

...AAAAAND, a P.S.- here's an awesome donation to the museum from Christine, a VERY Gingery dress / gown from Ginger...
...this one will be on display in the house! (CM)

WISH I would have taken more pics - I never do enough of that... with that, shout-outs to Vivian Miner, Lisa Alkana, and all the other Gingerologists / Ginger Fans / Fans in general who attended... wish we could have taken a 'group pic'... and I didn't even get a pic of the Padgitts, for cryin' out loud... oh well, with that...

This WILL be an annual event, y'all... so... make plans to attend next year (here's the preliminary INFO)... ...like someone on a TV commercial says... "Don't MEET me there... BEAT me there!!!" It was a really 'cathartic' experience hanging out with fellow Gingerologists, and just talking about Ginger to folks without getting a 'glazed look' or a furrowed brow... we Gingerologists are a persevering, if not tenacious, bunch... Keep in mind the Ginger House (Rogers makes it subject to 'copyright infringement'...grrrr...) is open for viewing, beginning August 17, 2018 (there's still work to be done, but it was pretty incredible in its current state...)  Here is the info:

The Ginger House - Independence, Missouri

Also keep in mind there is still time to 'buy a brick (or two) (or fifty) to support the renovation process... just check out the info on the linked page.

Welp, that's a wrap... I think... It was a GRAND time, and the genesis of what will hopefully be an ever-expanding, bigger, better, more bodacious Festival of Gingery Greatness with each subsequent year!!!

Hope to see y'all there in 2019!!!

KIG, y'all!!!

Hu
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Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Heading out to GingerFest '18!!!

...well, Hu and the Crew are shuffling off to Independence for the First Ginger Rogers Festival!!! Hope y'all can make it in some capacity, but if not, I will most likely be posting pics on the blog / FB as they occur...
...an update from Missouri Marge for those attending... a schedule change - the Truman Library schedule on Saturday now starts at 10 A.M. - and enter through the EAST door instead of the front door... hopefully some Gingery signage will be posted to aide in the correct route...  lunch is at 11:30 and the talks begin at 12:30...  Check out the official website for the info...

It's 9:30 P.M. and I am off to bed... a 12-hour mini-van drive from the Ham to KC awaits Hu in the EARLY A.M.!

Again, hope to see y'all there - Keep It Gingery!!!

Hu
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Monday, June 25, 2018

...New GingerFilm Release on Warner Archives...

...TENDER COMRADE!!!
...for the LIFE of me, I thought this one had already been released on DVD... I guess the 'copy' I have is pretty fair quality, as usually dingy / scratchy views are the issue with 'obtained copies'... but anyway, it's great to see another Warner Brothers Archive release for Ginger, who has QUITE a few at this point... there's still some head-scratching concerning some 'non-released' WB/RKO GingerFilms such as The Tip-Off, In Person, Twenty Million Sweethearts, and Professional Sweetheart, but the Studio DVD catalog is getting in great shape overall... great kudos to the WB Archive folks!

Here's the link to the spot on the WB Archive site: Tender Comrade on WBA DVD

This is when they were referring to Ginger as the 'Chin-Up Girl', which does not seem to have 'caught on'... not a bad description of her characters of the WWII era, but... she needed something a bit more 'awesome'... hey - maybe that would be a cool contest to figure out a 'moniker phrase' for Ginger!

Well, for those who have not seen this one, it's a pretty good one... Ginger (and Lela) were a bit concerned about the 'Comrade' aspect of things upon reading the initial script, and how the house she shares with a bunch of other ladies in wartime seems to lend itself to 'socialist' ideals... she actually had some stuff taken out of the script to 'lessen' this feel... anyway, Ginger is smashingly beautiful in this one, and the overall story has ups and downs, laughs and tears... hope you can snag a copy of this one!

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Well, in related GingerNews (what other type is there?), the Ginger Rogers Festival appears to be fully set in Independence... the addition of a few GingerFilms on Friday night is pretty awesome, but... alas, it appears I have prior plans that evening with my hosts... but no doubt I will be first in line on Saturday Morning to start the proceedings!
Hope all of you can make it... I will document the event as best as I can - at least now I have a 'smartphone camera' instead of the dinosaur camera I was trying to use at the GingerCentury event... so hopefully I can capture some great Gingery stuff!!!

With that...

KIG, y'all!!!

Hu
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Saturday, June 16, 2018

...T-minus one month and counting...

...before the FIRST annual Ginger Rogers Day Festival gets underway in Independence, Missouri!!!
...Ginger visited this house several times over the years, and it obviously meant quite a bit to her, as it was obviously her 'point of entry' into this life, but it also was a reminder of her humble beginnings, and how Lela worked tirelessly to provide for her... so cool that it is still here for us to tour... Of course, the BIG shout-out goes out to Marge and Gene Padgitt, who purchased, restored, and organized this event... they are obvious Gingerologists!!! Here's the link to the site...

Ginger Rogers Festival 2018 

...should be a total BLAST for all Gingerologists who can make it... ...of course, I think we would all LOVE to be able to make this an annual occurrence, so support is a BIG deal... If you can't make it, please think of donating to the house / museum HERE
...a 'post-Ginger, Pre-Missouri Marge' pic of the house, actually taken on Ginger's 100th Birthday (a.k.a. GingerTennial)...

Hope to see y'all there... of course! I'll be the big Huey-looking guy... đŸ˜‰

Until then... Keep It Gingery, Y'all!!!

Hu
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P.S. I'm going to be on vacation this upcoming week - down to New Orleans, site of Ginger's first mistak... er, wedding... and thus I will post the 'day in Gingerology' as a 'all at one time' deal... your patience is most appreciated... KIG!!!


Saturday, May 12, 2018

Happy Day to all you Moms!!!

...We here at Gingerology are BIG on Moms, as Ginger was to her Lelee!!! So, here's some cool pics of Mother - Daughter - many are probably familiar, a few may not be...


...these are ROUGHLY in chronological order - although I will wager they are not EXACTLY in chronological order... but... anyway, some pretty awesome pics that are very timely for the day... of course, my ALL time fave Ginger/Lela pic is this one, which would make an AWESOME poster size:
Again, hope all y'all have a great day!!!

KIG, Ma!!!

Hu
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Monday, April 30, 2018

...IT'S FINALLY MAY FIRST!!!!

...that is all...

KIG!!!

Hu
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Wednesday, April 25, 2018

GingeRemembrance 2018...

...on this sorrowful day, it's good to think of the upcoming Festival in Independence, and how we will celebrate the legacy of this incredible lady who left us on this day 23 long years ago... ...which will be an avenue for keeping her memory and priceless body of work alive for us as well as for generations of Gingerologists to follow...

Hope y'all can make it in July...

KIG ~ Hu

Awards...Thanks, Y'all!!!

...I TRULY appreciate these, and the kind words regarding this blog...thanks for all the inspiration I have drawn from each of your blog sites, which are all awesome in their unique ways!!!
It is my hope that I can continue to make 'G-ology' interesting and informative regarding the 'Beautiful Science' of VKM, which is SUCH a great topic!!! ...And remember, your comments are what make Gingerology click - so keep cranking them out!

Thanks again, JW

Awarded by Gingerella on 11/18/09 AND by Sally on 01/31/10

Awarded by Gingerella on 11/18/09 AND by Sally on 01/31/10
Thanks, Gingerella and Sally!!!

Awarded by Amanda Cooper on 11/21/09

Awarded by Amanda Cooper on 11/21/09
Thanks, AC!!!

Awarded by Maggie on 02/10/10 AND by Kate Gabrielle on 02/11/10

Awarded by Maggie on 02/10/10 AND by Kate Gabrielle on 02/11/10
Thanks, Maggie and Kate Gabrielle!!!

Awarded by Camille on 03/25/11 AND by Anna on 03/29/11

Awarded by Camille on 03/25/11 AND by Anna on 03/29/11
Thanks, Camille and Anna!!!

Hometowns to Hollywood Busby Berkeley Blogathon 2018

Hometowns to Hollywood Busby Berkeley Blogathon 2018
...including the Gingerology entry of 'Gold Diggers of 1933'...