The Studio System: Who's Left?

Cafe Society
1

Every time a star like Ann Miller dies I always find myself thinking “she was about the last of the old studio stars left.” But which of the stars from the old contract system actually are left?

Off the top of my head I can only think of Mickey Rooney (who apparently will never die), Tab Hunter and Robert Wagner (both from the last days of the contract era). I’m more interested in “name” stars as opposed to (male or female) starlets who were under contract but never really went anywhere, although if there are any of them still kicking around who have interesting back stories that’d be cool.

2

Egad, there is a huge number of them still alive.

Just look at Doris Day, Elizabeth Taylor and Debbie Reynolds.

Day retired decades ago, Taylor’s career effectively disappeared a while back, but Reynolds is quite active in both TV and movies. (Both as an actress and voice over.) IMDB lists her as having a movie coming out this year.

It is just plain impossible to adequate list the number of such stars still breathing, many of whom are in fact still working.

3

Gloria Stuart, Luise Rainer, Olivia de Havilland, Lauren Bacall, Joan Fontaine, Margaret O’Brien, Jennifer Jones, Jane Wyman, Deborah Kerr, Shelley Winters, Leslie Caron, Carroll Baker, Elizabeth Taylor, Joanne Woodward, Shirley Maclaine, Doris Day, Piper Laurie, Anne Bancroft, Lee Remick, Patricia Neal, Debbie Reynolds, Angela Lansbury, Ann Blyth, Celeste Holm, Jean Simmons, Janet Leigh, Kim Novak, Vera Miles.

Mickey Rooney, Kirk Douglas, Richard Todd, Marlon Brando, Ernest Borgnine, Anthony Franciosa, Tony Curtis, Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Richard Widmark, Karl Malden, Kevin McCarthy, Peter Ustinov, Eddie Albert, Jack Palance, Don Murray, Russ Tamblyn, Robert Vaughn, Peter Falk, Charlton Heston, Robert Wagner, Tab Hunter.

4

. . . Anita Page, Fay Wray . . .

5

Lee Remick died a few years back. God, I loved her.

6

Clint Eastwood began as a contract player for Universal, after little more than a year doing bits in B-movies he was dropped. This was before the Rawhide TV years.

7

George Hamilton is another latter day studio contract creation like Hunter and Wagner who is still around.

Maureen O’Hara is still around but has been mostly retired for years.

Ben Gazarra, Henry Silva, Betty Hutton, Charlton Heston, Jane Russell, Kim Novak, Yvonne De Carlo are still around as well.

8

I heard somewhere that Jamie Lee Curtis was a very late contract player. If true, then she will probably be the last one left.