Hollywood Headline: Tallulah Bankhead Loved Men!

Photo by Vandamm, New York, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Have you ever checked out the natal horoscope of the actress who hated Hollywood, preferring stage acting to film roles, Miss Tallulah Bankhead? Born with a Sun Aquarius-Moon Scorpio personality blend on January 31, 1902 9:00 pm Huntsville, Alabama to a wealthy, political family of US senators, she's been famously quoted as saying that she went to Hollywood to hmm hmm hmm with the attractive Gary Cooper who apparently was Tallulah's idea of a dreamboat. Did they eventually hook up? Yep, they did.

However, it should be said that Gary Cooper hooked up with a plethora of ladies through the years, and the leading ladies in his many films were fair game. Born in Montana, his acting roles portraying "the strong silent type" who "delivers justice" must have made him irresistible to his paramours. Try How Gary Cooper Got into Trouble with Seducing Multiple Women for details.

As for Tallulah, her most successful film (perhaps her only celluloid success) was Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 Lifeboat (tap or click to view a clip).

There's also an informative yet brief biographical video, Tallulah Bankhead's Life Filled With Affairs and Drugs that I can recommend for the daring. Or how about a video of Tallulah guesting as the show's Mystery Celebrity on What's My Line? on February 12, 1961? She was appearing on Broadway at the time, but the photo you see, above, is from The Little Foxes, circa 1940.

Tallulah Bankhead: Her Sun Aquarius-Moon Scorpio Personality

This is an Air-Water combination of conscious-unconscious energies revealing her as charismatic, egotistical, strong-willed, intense, keenly perceptive, and ambitious woman. Acting was a good choice, for Tallulah's magnetic qualities had a hypnotic effect on other people. Her "obsessive individualism" commanded recognition along with her self-confidence, a certain haughtiness, and unbending standards. This blend believes in living life to the fullest but emotionally can tend to 'blow hot and cold' and may sometimes resort to ruthless manipulation.

Be that as it may, Tallulah was born with glamorous Neptune in sparkling Gemini conjunct Midheaven, the most visible point in a chart and a marker for The World Stage!

Now yes, she was an "all or nothing" person, but I do think that Tallulah's "Images for Integration" (conscious + unconscious: blend for best and most creative results) describe the gifted, intense actress quite well:

"A scientist dissects a scorpion with great tenderness and absolute precision...A researcher presents his findings to colleagues at a 'Science for Humanity' Conference...Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." (Sun Sign-Moon Sign, Charles and Suzi Harvey #ad.)

And naturally, that last image reminds me of Tallulah's starring role in Alfred Hitchcock's very watery film, Lifeboat!

An Astro-Tribute to the Legendary Jimmy Stewart

Stewart and Novak; Vertigo; Paramount Pictures, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Hollywood Mega-Star: The Down-To-Earth James Stewart

by Jude Cowell

One of the brightest of legendary Hollywood screen stars, James Maitland Stewart, was born May 20, 1908 at 7:15 am EST in Indiana, Pennsylvania. A view of the AA-rated natal horoscope of the popular actor known as Jimmy Stewart is available with his double-Earth Sun Taurus-Moon Capricorn personality blend suggesting a down-to-earth, practical, and creative persona. Additionally, his Sun (conscious) and Moon (unconscious) energies formed a beneficial trine (120 degrees) with one another and this accounts, at least in part, for his pleasant, onscreen aura of smoothness and reliability with seemingly few if any rough edges.

In fact, a Sun-Moon trine, if unmitigated by harsher planetary factors causing turbulence within the psyche, indicates just that - a smooth demeanor with easy adjustments to life's peaks and valleys. Perhaps this aided him during his military service as a World War II pilot, one imagines.

If you wish, check out his Wikipedia bio page for more details including a list of his many films, awards (ex: the Oscar for Best Actor in 1940 for The Philadelphia Story), and medals which even include the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded him in 1989.

Now one of Stewart's more popular films through the years has been Vertigo with cool beauty Kim Novak, pictured above with Stewart, and some serious eyebrow action going on! And as you know, the suspenseful Vertigo was directed by the inestimable Alfred Hitchcock, who was quite an intriguing character in his own right! And how curious that in the film Stewart portrays a man bothered by heights - and he having served as a WWII bomber pilot! Well, I believe it's called, acting.

So now in closing, and curated just for you, is a list of three film trailers starring Jimmy (James) Stewart, any of which you may find enjoyable!

The Philadelphia Story with heart throb Cary Grant and the very independent Katherine Hepburn; Vertigo, as noted above; and Christmas favorite It's a Wonderful Life with his supportive wife played by the lovely Donna Reed.

James Maitland Stewart May 20, 1908 - July 2, 1997; may he R.I.P.

"Good stuff!" And an Astro-Portrait of Cary Grant

Cary Grant, Suspicion {public domain}

A happy Cary Grant often exclaimed, "good stuff!," proving that a positive attitude makes all the difference.

Here is a screen crop of two of the film industry's most enduring film legends Marilyn Monroe (to be astro-profiled in a later post) and Cary Grant appearing together in Monkey Business (1952):

There are no copyright notices (Monkey Business trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Here you can view the full film: Monkey Business.

And now, let's focus on Cary. Here are 2 minutes 36 seconds of Cary Grant: A Gentleman's Gentleman (Trailer):

Source: The Orchard Movies {Public domain}

And now it's time to place the gentlemanly Mr. Grant under an astrological lens:

Astro-Notes: Cary Grant and his New Moon in Capricorn

The natal horoscope of Cary Grant reveals attractive Venus as chart-ruler since late Libra rises. Tap or click for a brief bio including his filmography details and a view of his natal chart which is rated B for Biography. Born Archibald Leach on January 18, 1904 (1:00 am UT) in Bristol, England, the yet-to-be Cary Grant had a tough beginning--some gossips said he was an illegitimate child though that isn't obvious in his natal chart for mysterious Neptune is not posited in the 4th house of Roots and Family as is often the case of unknown parentage. Baby Archie's Neptune in Cancer is in the 9th house of Philosophy, Religion, Higher Education, and Foreign Travel (denoting trips across water--his first was to NYC as a teen). Still, Neptune in Cancer, sign of mother and family shrouds his birth with a sense of loss and this suggests the death of his older sibling John, a tragedy his mother never recovered from emotionally. Baby Archie was produced in an attempt to console his parents for the loss of their first child and to 'save their marriage', a typical if misguided solution in those days. Needless to say, this put huge pressure on little Archie Leach who escaped through an early interest in a variety of entertainments which included movie-going with his Dad.

Please enlarge his natal chart for closer viewing:

Hour of Saturn; the element of Air (mental) is strong. With Sun in Saturn-ruled Capricorn (26:31) and Moon @00Aquarius (4 degrees 12 minutes past a New Moon) we find the actor with an Earth-Air personality blend denoting the skeptical intelligence of a practical idealist. Here is one with a mixture of order vs change, social yet solitary, conservative yet progressive. Earth-Air types prefer to take an extremely rational approach to matters and can bring abstract thought together with real issues to find solutions. "Applied knowledge" can be an Earth-Air descrption. (See conflicting indicators of unconscious obsessions, below.)

Now much has been written about Grant's difficult childhood (Saturn in Aquarius rules 4th house; Hour of Saturn) and his mother's overbearing nature which may be seen by his natal Moon (mother) in aloof, detached Aquarius (but just barely--if the birth time is off by much his Moon could be in status quo Capricorn). Ruled by Saturn and co-ruled by Uranus, an Aquarian Moon placement may support all or some of the prevalent theories and rumors--including the one about his mother Elsie not actually being his birth mother. However, one key clue is that Mr. Grant was not born with the Moon out-of-bounds of the earthly plane and therefore, separation or a distant relationship with his birth mother is not in evidence, at least not immediately after birth. However, her sense of isolation as she grieved over her first child is indicated. Read on...

His birth at a New Moon phase (26Cap01) shows an impulsive and spontaneous nature but under control of inhibited Capricorn's ruler, Saturn. While he was away at school his father Elias institutionalized his mother and told Archie she had died--and when dad remarried there was no room for Archie. There be deep scars here and it isn't unusual for a talented individual with such scars to strive toward fame and fortune in order to fill a deep emotional void--this Archie fellow certainly achieved the success he aimed for! Plus, a New Moon phase at birth also indicates confusion and a lifelong journey to discover who one really is. His later use of LSD (under guidance of his therapist) was a part of that journey and an attempt to make peace with the past. He eventually discovered that his mother was living and managed to have a relationship with her which must have been a relief.

Yes, there is restrictive, cold, controlling Saturn 9 degrees from his Moon and both snugged around the IC of Home and suggesting a seriously depressed mother who had lost her first child and was married to a philandering husband, Elias Leach. Mercury (young people; the thinking process) is present as well, retrograde in Capricorn (sign of the father), and affecting him psychologically so this depressive indicator adds to his emotional issues of Moon-Saturn-IC and may certainly describe his later control issues with women. And on a sad note, it is reported that Grant made at least one attempt to commit suicide after his marriage in 1934 broke up by overdosing with alcohol and sleeping pills. His enjoyment of alcohol is supported by overindulging Jupiter in Pisces, sign of negative escapism (as in, 'drink like a fish')--and Jupiter is apex planet of an opposition between Venus and Pluto (see below) which means that the planet of actors in creative Pisces is squared by both Venus (women; romance) and Pluto (manipulation, control, sex, wealth) so that dynamic tension results in all things relating to the three planets.

Perhaps he tended to overreact to every nuance in romantic relationships and probably tended to fall in love at first sight but fall out of love just as easily. Playing "Mommy" and "Daddy" may have appealed, too. How curious that onscreen he played the role of a man who was a little afraid of women (ex: Monkey Business) for that is just what his Venus-Jupiter square with its mother/anima issues reveals with the sign of Jupiter denoting how he related to others--as a compassionate, sympathetic, creative Pisces--or, as an evasive, deceitful, slippery fish? My guess is that he alternated these reactions as most people might do in similar circumstances and with similar obsessions.

(Yes, Grant is known to have had a longstanding homosexual relationship with actor Randolph Scott and others but that's beyond the scope of this portrait.)

In their gender-bending films Hollywood studios and directors made good use of Grant's comedic talents honed during his vaudeville and New York theater days. A very popular 'heart throb' for women, he was seen as non-threatening by men who enjoyed his portrayals in 'screwball comedies' where equality between the sexes was heavily and subtly promoted with humor, style, and elegance.

Now on the deeper level of obsessions, add in the powerful energies of his Jupiter-Pluto square and the plot thickens including in the financial realm. With this square the relating principle of Jupiter is blocked in some deep way by images from the Collective Unconscious (Pluto) which results in--you guessed it--control issues. Early childhood memories affect motivations in relationships and confusion over what relating is gums up the proceedings with others. This condition describes one who confuses relating and sharing with being in control and manipulating partners and he obsesses over any relationship that doesn't go his way. "Control games" and "role-playing" are used as substitutes for the genuine give-and-take a successful relationship requires and this negates the emotional security one should feel within a true partnership. Actually, an apt motto for a Jupiter-Pluto square is: "a law unto himself" which for Cary Grant is well supported by his Saturn-ruled Sun ("Daddy" the authority).

But project his handsome face on to Neptune's Silver Screen and it's a different story!

For here stars his attractive, artful, charming Venus in happy-go-lucky Sagittarius ("good stuff!") playing lead planet in a Locomotive pattern as she attracts money and beautiful possessions (2nd house) and sexy partners (Pluto in 8th house of Sexual Unions and Shared Resources)! In Astrology, a Locomotive pattern promises high-powered success and with his Venus-Pluto opposition across the 2/8 money axis, it's small wonder that Cary Grant was able to use his creative talents and sex appeal to build a very successful worldwide career in the Neptunian film industry of Hollywood even though he turned his back on the movie studio system, a maverick move that probably cost him an Oscar or two.

And although his passionate Venus-Pluto opposition aided his career it was not as beneficial for him in personal relationships. With this opposition we find the controlling mother again having a deep and profound psychological effect on her son and there may have been a particularly difficult event just prior to his 4th birthday (Venus-Pluto 3A50 = 3 years 10 months, if his birth time is reasonably accurate). In addition, Venus rules the 12th house of the Unconscious so there are shame and guilt issues involved as well (mother Elsie was on the puritanical side), issues he may never have been able to consciously recognize without benefit of therapy. Yet there is dramatic Leo on his Career Cusp (Midheaven/MC) to gloss over any sadness or feelings of inferiority by entertaining the public via glamour, sophistication, elegance, and a studied self-deprecating manner--and being highly paid for it as royal Leo would expect to be.

A wide conjunction between Venus (relationships; romance) and quirky Uranus (separation; freedom) suggests entering and ending relationships quickly though they may crackle with erotic energy while new.

As for his gender-bending, equality of the sexes film roles, Grant's 4th house Mars, planet of desire, is in detached yet friendly Aquarius conjoined with two asteroids: Lilith the glamorous woman archetype (or harlot) and Hera, the legal wife who keeps the accounts. Perhaps confused gender roles and cross-dressing for the camera are suggested by his Mars-Lilith-Hera trio.

Uranus and Neptune and his Solar Eclipse in Virgo

Though in dissociate signs in 1904, Grant was born during the Great Opposition between generational planets Uranus (science; reason) and Neptune (faith; imagination), Cary Grant's North Node @29Vir27 of public contacts (near his Pre-Natal Eclipse degree of 27Virgo in the 14 North Saros Series with themes of unexpected happenings in relationships and finances, unrequited love and despair, and confusion/delusion - Brady) is involved with the opposition through a double square: Uranus square the Nodal axis denotes nonconformist leanings that conflict with societal standards; Neptune square the Nodal axis reveals mystical tendencies, visionary pursuits (and with Urania rising--see chart), and an interest in the occult, psychism, and/or possibly Astrology. With Uranus also in opposition with powerful Pluto, we see a revolutionary soul with the capacity to unsettle the status quo of society. Putting on an apron in a screwball comedy might do it!

Well, there's my astro-portrait of Cary Grant though of course there is much more to say about this complex man. His childhood memorabilia burned during World War II which was a loss for him and is now a loss for us. He never penned his autobiography so in its place I highly recommended his daughter's revealing book about her father who retired from the film industry in 1966 in order to take care of her and who turned out to be a very good and doting father indeed!

Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant was published in 2011 and is available on Kindle or in print.

Now let's close on the topic of his shiny Leo Midheaven of Career and Public Status (which happens to conjoin America's natal North Node @6Leo!) for you may wish to check out an October 6, 1984 NYT article announcing that MGM Turns 75--Toasts Cary Grant, a ceremony during which they presented him with 'a 10-inch gold lion with diamond eyes', a symbol of the studio's roaring Leo the Lion (and the mega-bucks he made for the studio with films like Hitchcock's North by Northwest). In response, an 80-year-old self-deprecating Cary Grant "read what he called a prayer on the technical difficulties of growing old."

And I'll wager he was very amusing, wouldn't you?

~:~

Related post: Christmas Dinner with Cary Grant 1934 and then-wife Virginia Cherrill.

Rebecca (1940) directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Joan Fontaine

image: Joan Fontaine Wikimedia Commons {Public domain}

Perhaps you remember, dear reader, that actress Joan Fontaine is known for starring in the noir-ish film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on the popular novel by Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca.

Astro-Notes: Actress Joan Fontaine

View the Astro-Wiki bio of Joan Fontaine (nee, Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland, Olivia's sister, on October 22, 1917 6:00 am Tokyo, Japan) at astro.com where you'll see her Air-Earth personality blend of Sun Libra-Moon Capricorn with Airy Libra rising. Sun Lib-Moon Cap denotes one who is tasteful, tactful, courteous, pragmatic, purposeful, shrewd, diplomatic, and skillful at managing other people. This blend can be the signature of a perfectionist and a snob! A love of Art, luxury, and comfort is typical with Venus-ruled Libra, sign of balance and fairness, yet the Saturn-ruled Capricorn Moon adds quite a bit of ambition to the mix and moderates what is usually Libra laziness. Her career ambition led notably to an Academy Award in 1940 for her role in Rebecca.

Asteroid of glamour and seduction, Lilith @8Virgo is embued with goddess imagery galore while Joan's natal Venus (in one guise, Aphrodite herself) is in Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius showing an attraction to and from foreigners--a handy placement for those desiring worldwide popularity. Speaking of desire, her planet of desire, Mars, is in lusty Leo, sign of romance, drama, and acting. (Fontaine married British-American actor Brian Aherne.)

Astrologically speaking, another aid to Fontaine's rise to fame, recognition, and fortune (besides her icy beauty and talent) may be found on the Nodal Axis of public contact and destiny. For the North Node (of the publicity-seeking Moon) conjoins her natal Moon while the South Node conjoins powerful Pluto, planet of wealthy plutocrats. Together the Moon-Pluto pair indicates public relations and publicity but also a depth of feeling, a desire for passionate romance, and help from, or the influence of, powerful women (or a woman--mother is also implicated.) A Moon-Pluto opposition describes one who wants to remake others and whose aggression may cause quarrels with family members over inheritance and money issues in general.

Astro-Notes: Director Alfred Hitchcock

Genius film director Alfred Hitchcock's birth details are victims of 'Dirty Data' as well (conflicting/unverified) with multiple birth times suggested and chart rectification available. His 3:15 am GMT horoscope is often used and may be viewed at astro.com along with a brief bio. Isaac Starkman's rectified chart is also there with the primary differences being chart angles and house cusps and this, of course, shifts the natal planets into different houses (departments of life).

Yet correct birth time or not, Hitchcock remains a Sun Leo-Moon Scorpio fellow, a Fire-Water personality blend of steaminess which can cleanse or scald. Born August 13, 1899 in Leytonstone, England, his macabre side is well known and displayed by his brooding Scorpio Moon. Drama and showmanship are obvious with a shiny Leo Sun and in the Rodden version of his chart (8:15 am), 3Leo57 rises with his Career/Public Status Midheaven (MC) in Mars-ruled Aries (11:00.)

In the Starkman chart (8:01:30 pm GMT, same date/location), the Moon is later @12Sco52 with creative yet secretive Pisces rising and 23Sag at MC ruled by Jupiter the thespian. Saturn and North Node are snugged around the MC with the supernatural pair of Neptune and Pluto nestled around his IC (Home; Roots; Psychology) Therefore, Glamorous Neptune of the Silver Screen conjoins his South Node of the Moon (SN) which provided him with good intuition, an ability for avoiding the folly of the masses, and a tendency for those who intrigue to rob him of his work in some way. Bad timing and lack of popularity may have been factors in his life as well with Neptune-SN but Saturn-NN describes his long-term and successful (Saturn) contacts with the public (NN).

Alfred Hitchcock's Saturn-Neptune opposition favors artists and other creatives and is generational as is his secretive Saturn-Pluto opposition which tends to channel occult powers (the macabre! murder! mystery! noir!) into ideas that have had a long-lasting and transforming effect upon the world of film. This is, in fact, an aspect of the magician.

Astro-Notes: Author Daphne du Maurier

Now the natal horoscope of Rebecca author Daphne du Maurier is rated DD for Dirty Data (conflicting/unverified) as well yet you may wish to have a peek at her chart and bio; tap or click the 'natal chart' link to view her horoscope with its Earth-Air Sun Taurus-Moon Gemini blend with Gemini being the sign of the writer. Something of a recluse in Cornwall, England all her life, du Maurier was a very popular author in her day and most if not all her novels were adapted into film. Rebecca was published in 1938 and as you see, was transformed into a film and an Oscar win for Joan Fontaine by 1940!

Born on May 13, 1907 at 4:00 pm GMT London, England, her Sun Taurus-Moon Gemini personality blend identifies du Maurier as one who is charming, witty, persuasive, has a good head for business, and is an opportunist. Having a vivid talent for communication, her characters spring to life on the pages of her novels as well as on the Silver Screen and her far-reaching ideas continue to attract readers and viewers all these decades later.

Well, I don't know if you can take time to watch Rebecca but I hope you enjoyed my attempt to give you brief astro-portraits of three of the primary people who made the Oscar-winner a sparkling success way back in 1940!