"I Predict..." — Sheilah Graham's Predictions for 1951
In the January 1951 issue of Photoplay, columnist Sheilah Graham made a series of predictions for what lay ahead. Let’s take a look back, 75 years later, to see how accurate she was!
“Will Shirley Temple marry Charles Black? Can the
Elizabeth Taylor-Nicky Hilton marriage survive? Is there a film future for Judy
Garland? How about Peter Lawford and Sharman? What goes with Lana Turner, Bette
Davis, Ingrid Bergman and Rita Hayworth? Will Jane Wyman succeed where Ginger
Rogers and Joan Crawford have failed? Are there wedding bells ringing in Farley
Granger’s future?”
ELIZABETH TAYLOR
“Only a fool would predict more than a day ahead for Elizabeth Taylor and Nicky Hilton. Okay, so I’m an idiot. But I don’t believe they’ll get a divorce in 1951. They’re in love. They want to stay married.”
WAS SHE RIGHT?
She was decidedly wrong, seven times over.
Elizabeth Taylor announced that she’d separated from Nicky in December 1950—after this issue went to print—and their divorce was granted, on grounds of mental cruelty, on January 29, 1951.
SHIRLEY TEMPLE
“Yes, I see a wedding for Shirley Temple and Charles
Black. The date may have been announced by the time you read this. But I’ll be
brave and go out on a limb. New Year’s Day? Of course you never know how a
marriage is going to be until you live with the guy. But I’ll make another
prediction about Shirley. This second mating will take.”
WAS SHE RIGHT?
Not only was she bang on that they’d be married before
readers got the magazine—the couple married on December 16, 1950—she was also
right that Shirley and Charles would stay married.
Shirley Temple Black, as she was known ever after, moved into a career in the diplomatic sphere and remained married to Charles Black until his death on August 4, 2005.
BETTE DAVIS
“Bette [Davis] has to have her man, and she has to be
married. I don’t think Gary [Merrill] will be her last husband but I predict he
will last longer than Bette’s dearest friends and enemies expect.”
WAS SHE RIGHT?
Partially. Bette and Gary were married for a decade,
divorcing in 1960, and he was Bette’s final husband.
LANA TURNER
“I predict Lana will retire from the screen. Maybe not
this year but very probably next. Lana’s on the lazy side. She likes to eat,
drink, be merry, and sleep late in the morning. When and if Bob Topping decides
to move back East, that is when Lana will write ‘Fade-Out’ to her glamorous
career. I’ll be daring and say I believe they will stay Mr. and Mrs.—at least
until I make my predictions for 1952!”
WAS SHE RIGHT?
Not by a long shot. Lana Turner and Bob Topping divorced in
1952 amidst personal turmoil, including his drinking problem. And not only did
Lana not retire, she still had some of her best performances ahead of
her.
JUDY GARLAND
“Brother how I wish I knew [what the crystal ball reveals
for Judy Garland]. The tragedy clouds are still there. So is the emotional
insecurity. So is her wonderful and great talent. The last time I saw Judy—at
the Bing Crosby radio show—she said, ‘Sheilah, I feel fine, but I don’t care if
I never make another movie.’ I do. And I know you do. I’d give anything to
predict that she will.”
WAS SHE RIGHT?
Poor Judy, never at peace. But Sheilah must’ve had some joy
when she saw 1954’s A Star is Born!
INGRID BERGMAN
“Ingrid Bergman will resume her career in 1951—if not
before. No one was fooled, not even Ingrid, when she dished out that big slice
of baloney about permanent retirement.”
WAS SHE RIGHT?
She was right that permanent retirement was never going to
last, but she was wrong about 1951 being the year Ingrid came back. She made a
few films in Italy between 1952 and 1955 before her big comeback, and Oscar
win, for Anastasia. She and Roberto Rossellini divorced in 1957.
CLAUDETTE COLBERT
Claudette Colbert told me when she was forty years old
that when she reached the ripe age of forty-five, she would retire as an
actress and make way for the younger of the emoting species. Well, Claudette
will be forty-six in 1951, but I’m predicting she will continue to act.
WAS SHE RIGHT?
Yes, and thank God! I love watching
Claudette Colbert on screen. As Sheilah wrote, “The screen would be very
barren without Claudette’s special brand of brightness.”
GLORIA SWANSON
Gloria’s performance as the old and forgotten silent film
star in Sunset Boulevard was really terrific… It makes such a good human
interest story for Gloria, the forgotten glamour queen of the silent era, to
win our greatest tribute. I can almost hear the thunder of applause as Gloria
walks off the stage clutching her golden Oscar. I also predict she will have as
many problems getting another good movie as Oscar winners Luise Rainer and
Olivia de Havilland.
WAS SHE RIGHT?
She wasn’t. Judy Holliday won Best
Actress at the Academy Awards that year. Hollywood’s guess, and mine, is that
too much vote splitting between Gloria and Bette Davis (for All About Eve)
led to Judy benefitting from the titans’ competition.
FINALLY…
Sheilah ended her article with rapid-fire predictions, so
let’s end this blog post with the same.
Sheilah predicted:
·
Roy Rogers will be a television star in 1951.
WRONG
·
Joan Fontaine will not divorce Bill Dozier—their
financial status is too complicated. TOTALLY WRONG, THEIR DIVORCE WAS
FINALIZED IN JANUARY 1951.
·
A baby for the Cary Grants. WRONG. JENNIFER
GRANT, CARY’S ONLY CHILD, WAS BORN IN 1966.
·
Clark Gable and Sylvia will not part, as the gossips
predict. THEY DIVORCED IN 1952.
· Hedy Lamarr will give up her career if she finds the wealthy husband of her dreams. SHE STOPPED ACTING IN 1958, BUT NOT BECAUSE OF A WEALTHY HUSBAND.
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