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Gigolo
A gigolo ( ) is a male escort, call boy or social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship. The term ''gigolo'' usually implies a man who adopts a lifestyle consisting of a number of such relationships serially rather than having other means of support. The gigolo is expected to provide companionship, to serve as a consistent escort with good manners and social skills, and often to serve as a dancing partner as required by the woman in exchange for the support. Many gifts, such as expensive clothing and an automobile to drive, may be lavished upon him. The relationship may include sexual services as well, and he also can be referred to as a "kept man." The word ''gigolo'' may be traced to a first usage in English as a neologism during the 1920s as a back-formation from ''gigolette'', a French word for a woman hired as a dancing partner. Both ''gigolo'' and ''gigolette'' were first recorded in French in the middle part of the 19th century, referr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gigolo (1926 Film)
''Gigolo'' is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film produced by Cecil B. DeMille and released by Producers Distributing Corporation. William K. Howard directed and Rod La Rocque and Jobyna Ralston star. The film is based on a novel, ''Gigolo'', by Edna Ferber. Prints survive of this silent feature. Cast * Rod La Rocque as Gideon Gory * Jobyna Ralston as Mary Hubbel * Louise Dresser as Julia Gory *Cyril Chadwick as Doctor Gerald Blagden * George Nichols as Pa Hubbel *Ina Anson as Dancer * Sally Rand as Tourist Girl in Paris * Eddie Borden as Gideon's Soldier Buddy (uncredited) * André Cheron as Headwaiter (uncredited) * Gino Corrado as Hotel Crillon Desk Clerk (uncredited) *Alphonse Martell as Waiter at Maxim's (uncredited) * Edward Peil Sr. as Paris Cafe Patron (uncredited) *Julian Rivero Julian Rivero (July 25, 1890 – February 24, 1976) was an American actor whose career spanned seven decades. He made his film debut in the 1923 silent melodrama, '' The Bright ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Just A Gigolo (1931 Film)
''Just a Gigolo'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code romantic comedy film released by MGM. It was directed by Jack Conway, produced by Irving Thalberg and starred William Haines, Irene Purcell, C. Aubrey Smith, and Ray Milland. It was adapted from the 1930 play of the same name, which also starred Irene Purcell in the role of Roxana 'Roxy' Hartley. The film features the song " Just a Gigolo". Plot Lord Robert Brummell, an impecunious bachelor, is ordered by his wealthy uncle Lord George Hampton to settle down with a wife. Not wishing to tie himself down to any one girl, Brummell endeavors to prove that no woman is worthy of him by pretending to be a gigolo. When he meets the beautiful, wealthy Roxana Hartley, Lord Robert becomes increasingly frustrated when she deftly resists all his techniques of seduction. But his realisation that he loves her occurs at the same time that Roxana discovers his true identity and decides to pay him back. Cast * William Haines as Lord Robert 'Bobby ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Male Prostitution
Male prostitution is a form of sex work consisting of the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male prostitutes have been far less studied than female prostitutes by researchers. Even so, male prostitution has an extensive history, including regulation through homosexuality, conceptual developments on sexuality, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic impact. In the last century, male sex work has seen various advancements such as popularizing new sexual acts, methods of exchange, and carving out a spot in cinema. Terminology The terms used for male prostitutes generally differ from those used for females. Some terms vary by clientele or method of business. Where prostitution is illegal or taboo, it is common for male prostitutes to use euphemisms which present their business as providing companionship, nude modeling or dancing, body massage, or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Conway (filmmaker)
Hugh Ryan "Jack" Conway (July 17, 1886 – October 11, 1952) was an American film director and film producer, as well as an actor of many films in the first half of the 20th century. Conway and director Edmund Goulding share the distinction of directing the most Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture-nominated films without ever being nominated for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director, with three apiece. Conway's nominated films were ''Viva Villa!'', ''A Tale of Two Cities'', and ''Libeled Lady''. Conway was one of a team of MGM contract directors, who forsook any pretense to a specific individual style in favor of working within the strictures set forth by studio management. A thoroughly competent craftsman, he delivered commercially successful entertainment, on time, and within budget. Early life and career Conway was born as Hugh Ryan Conway, on July 17, 1886, in Graceville, Minnesota, USA. Conway started out as an actor, joining a repertory theater group s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irene Purcell
Irene Mary Purcell (August 7, 1896 – July 9, 1972) was an American film and stage actress, who appeared mostly in comedies, and later married Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr., the wealthy grandson of the founder of S. C. Johnson & Son. Career She appeared opposite William Haines in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's romantic comedy film ''Just a Gigolo (1931 film), Just a Gigolo'' (1931), directed by Jack Conway (film-maker), Jack Conway and adapted from the 1930 play ''Dancing Partner'', by David Belasco. The same year, she played the lead role in Sam Wood's romantic comedy ''The Man in Possession'', adapted from H. M. Harwood's play of the same name. She was paired opposite Reginald Owen and Robert Montgomery (actor), Robert Montgomery. Purcell starred alongside Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante in the comedy ''The Passionate Plumber'' (1932), directed by Edward Sedgwick. Despite not so favorable reviews, the film was a commercial success. ''The New York Times'' wrote that Purcell "fits the mood o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Haines
Charles William Haines (January 2, 1900 – December 26, 1973) was an American actor and interior designer. Haines was discovered by a talent scout and signed with Goldwyn Pictures in 1922. His career gained momentum when he received favorable reviews for his role in '' The Midnight Express''. He was cast in the 1926 film '' Brown of Harvard'' and his performance solidified his screen persona as a wisecracking, arrogant leading man. By the end of the 1920s, Haines had appeared in a string of successful films and was a popular box-office draw. Haines' acting career was cut short by the studios in the 1930s due to his refusal to deny his homosexuality. He quit acting in 1935 and started a successful interior design business with his life partner Jimmie Shields, and his work was widely patronized by friends in Hollywood. Haines died of lung cancer in December 1973 at the age of 73. Early life Haines was born on January 2, 1900 (he claimed he was born on January 1) in Staun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evenings For Sale
''Evenings for Sale'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Stuart Walker and written by S.K. Lauren, Agnes Brand Leahy and I. A. R. Wylie. The film stars Herbert Marshall, Sari Maritza, Charlie Ruggles, Mary Boland, George Barbier and Bert Roach. The film was released on November 12, 1932, by Paramount Pictures. Plot Impoverished Count von Degenthal (Marshall) plans to commit suicide and spends his last night at a costume ball. There he meets lovely Lela Fischer (Maritza) and falls in love with her. A chance meeting with his former butler brings a job offer as a gigolo in a dance club. He dances with Jenny Kent (Boland), a wealthy American heiress, and she becomes so enamoured with him that she buys his castle, clearing all his debts. The count gives her his family's treasured ring in gratitude for her great sincerity. Lela decides to visit him, but overhears Bimpfl deceiving her into believing that this was the count's way of expressing his understanding of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Holden
William Franklin Holden (né Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film '' Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for '' The Blue Knight'' (1973). Holden starred in some of Hollywood's most popular and critically acclaimed films, including ''Sunset Boulevard'' (1950), '' Sabrina'' (1954), ''Picnic'' (1955), '' The Bridge on the River Kwai'' (1957), '' The Wild Bunch'' (1969) and '' Network'' (1976). He was named one of the " Top 10 Stars of the Year" six times (1954–1958, 1961), and appeared as 25th on the American Film Institute's list of 25 greatest male stars of Classical Hollywood cinema. Early life and education Holden was born William Franklin Beedle Jr. on April 17, 1918, in O'Fallon, Illinois, son of Mary Blanche Beedle (née Ball), a schoolteacher, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Hollywood cinema. He received seven Academy Awards (among 21 nominations), a BAFTA Award, the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or and two Golden Globe Awards. Wilder was born in Sucha Beskidzka, Austria-Hungary (the town is now in Poland). After moving to Berlin in his early adulthood, Wilder became a screenwriter. The rise of the Nazi Party and antisemitism in Germany saw him move to Paris. He then moved to Hollywood in 1934, and had a major hit when he, Charles Brackett and Walter Reisch wrote the screenplay for the Academy Award-nominated film ''Ninotchka'' (1939). Wilder established his directorial reputation and received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director with the film noir ''Double ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sunset Boulevard (film)
''Sunset Boulevard'' is a 1950 American dark comedy film noir directed by Billy Wilder and co-written by Wilder, Charles Brackett and D. M. Marshman Jr. It is named after a major street that runs through Hollywood. The film stars William Holden as Joe Gillis, a struggling screenwriter, and Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, a former silent-film star who draws him into her deranged fantasy world, where she dreams of making a triumphant return to the screen. Erich von Stroheim plays Max von Mayerling, her devoted butler, and Nancy Olson, Jack Webb, Lloyd Gough, and Fred Clark appear in supporting roles. Director Cecil B. DeMille and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper play themselves, and the film includes cameo appearances by silent-film stars Buster Keaton, H. B. Warner, and Anna Q. Nilsson. Praised by many critics when first released, ''Sunset Boulevard'' was nominated for 11 Academy Awards (including nominations in all four acting categories) and won three. It is often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for her 1950 turn in Billy Wilder's ''Sunset Boulevard (film), Sunset Boulevard'', which earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, Golden Globe Award. Swanson was born in Chicago and raised in a military family that moved from base to base. Her infatuation with Essanay Studios actor Francis X. Bushman led to her aunt taking her to tour the actor's Chicago studio. The 15-year-old Swanson was offered a brief walk-on for one film and eventually a stock-players contract, beginning her life's career in front of the cameras. Swanson left school, and was soon hired to work in California for Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios comedy shorts opposite Bobby Vernon. She was eventually recruited by Famous Players–Lasky ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlie Ruggles
Charles Sherman Ruggles (February 8, 1886 – December 23, 1970) was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the elder brother of director, producer, and silent film actor Wesley Ruggles (1889–1972). Career Ruggles was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1886. Despite training to be a doctor, Ruggles soon found himself on the stage, appearing in a stock production of ''Nathan Hale'' in 1905. In 1912, he worked in the stock company at Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco in a stage production of ''The Dawn of a Tomorrow''. At Los Angeles's Majestic Theatre, he played Private Jo Files in L. Frank Baum and Louis F. Gottschalk's musical '' The Tik-Tok Man of Oz'' in 1913. He moved to Broadway to appear in '' Help Wanted'' in 1914. His first screen role came in the silent ''Peer Gynt'' the following year. Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, Ruggles continue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
