Maybelline Queen! Evelyn Williams - Oh What Price Glory!

 There was no one in the Maybelline family more invincible than Evelyn Williams...at least that's what she wanted us all to believe.

My grandmother Evelyn with my father William Preston Williams at Dundee Military School, Chicago, 1934 -1935

With the same voratious appetite Evelyn had for succeeding in all areas of her life, including playing the violin, mastering the stage as a ballerina and finally securing a position within the Maybelline family, she focused on her only child William Preston Williams Jr. (Bill.)  

Evelyn wasn't your ordinary sweet homemaker, though she did love her son as ferociously as a mother Lion loves her cub, however her main objective was to instill a mindset for survival in the boy and that meant creating an indisputable bond between Bill and his uncle Tom Lyle Williams. 

She succeeded, though not  without making herself unpopular with the rest of the Williams family.  Evelyn fought on the battlefield of life in her persuit to win at all costs and today I realize my remarkable grandmother, the original auntie Mame, was two generations ahead of her time. 

A tiny 5' 2" powerhouse with boundless energy,   Machavellian mental machinations and the ability to outsmart the smartest of wild cats, she had one desire.  To place her clan at the top of the heap no matter what the price -and Evelyn paid the highest price of all... with her life! 

Read more about Evelyn Williams incredible story and her ability to get what she wanted - while growing even more beautiful and glamorus as she aged in

The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It.  

Nana was a diva in every respect and not only expected but demanded I follow in her footsteps. I wonder if she'd be pleased today with the fact I've dedicated my life to her memory and the family she loved so much. 

Lido Isle Women's Club in Newport Beach Welcomes Author Sharrie Williams and The Maybelline Story

It was old home week for me last night as I headed over the bridge onto Lido Isle to give my Maybelline Story Presentation to a group of ladies who live on the island. My family moved to Lido Isle in 1968, from Culver City, soon after the Maybelline Company sold. 

 

The beautiful club is on the bay, with a view of the boats and sunset. I remember many luncheons here with my Nana when she too moved onto the Island a few houses down the street from us..

The Lido Isle Women's Club was established in 1933. The Island itself was man made in the late 1920. Very few people lived in Newport Beach at that time. Today it is one of the most sought after real estate properties on the Gold Coast of California.

This is the view from the window of this elegant Women's club.  Our family's home was a few blocks down the street with the same view. So you can imagine how excited I was to return to my old world.

The Ladies of the club were delighted to see my 45 minute power point presentaion and take a walk themselves down memory lane. They had so many personal memories of being teenagers and buying their first tube of Ultra Lash in the 1960s.

The Maybelline Company was generous enough to donate a box of Maybelline mascaras to me for  the event, and every lady received one when they registered at the door.  They were delighted.

The Maybelline Story spans 100 years this year, and I pointed out how it was the Flapper's in the 1920's that brought Maybelline to the top of it's game. Many lady's remembered their grandmother's having the little red box of Maybelline with the black cake of mascara and brush inside.

The Maybeline Story is beloved by all women around the world, but for this group once it unfolded at the Villa Valentino, in the Hollywood Hills, the ladies really could relate to the glamour of the era.

Fashion and Maybelline have gone hand and hand since they met in 1915, but it wasn't until Coco Chenille made it fashionable to be glamorous, fashionable and independent in the 1930's that Maybelline became a household word.  

 

As you can see I was utterly dazzled to tell my story to a group of women who loved it as much as I do. Maybelline isn't just a corporate name or product it is part of the American culture and has been there inspiring women to be the best they can be. Maybe she's born with it, or maybe ii's Maybelline

California here we come!!

The Gold Coast, from Newport Beach, to Laguna Beach, and San Clemente, is where The Maybelline Story lands, in the Summer of 1935.

My father, Bill Williams, in San Clemente, with his father, Preston and his cousins Bill and Arivis Stroh,

Bill Stroh, Bill Williams, Evelyn Williams and Arvis Stroh.  The Stroh's, were Evelyn's sister Verona's family.

Bill Williams and Bill Stroh.  Both became Car Guys, one collected them and one was a race car driver for Porsche.  I will be posting that story in the future.

To learn the whole scoop, you have to read The Maybelline Story!!

My cooking segment today was a great success and I will be posting the show, as will as the recipe's, this week, so stay tuned and learn how to make Mabel's Dainty Date Bars and Eva's Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler. 

Billy the Kid discovers California in 1935.

After traveling from Chicago, across country to California, and finally seeing, Sunshine, Palm Trees and Tom Lyle's Villa Valentino, there was no turning back.

Preston and Bill,

                                               Preston and Evelyn.

A dream come true for Billy the Kid, a real horse and space to ride at his aunt and uncle's ranch in California.

All this was a first for my dad, but nothing was more life changing then seeing the California coastline and swimming in the deep blue ocean, in San Clemente, with his cousins Bill and Arvis Stroh.

Stay tuned, more to come tomorrow.

 Also, I will be making Mabel, and Eva's. old fashioned deserts tomorrow, on Arizona TV, and posting the show on the blog this week with the recipes.

Debbie Reynolds ushers Maybelline into the 1950's

Maybelline embraces 1950 with the fresh young face of Debbie Reynolds.

Arnold Anderson, Debbie Reynolds, Tom Lyle and Sparky at TL's home in Bel Air California, 1950.     

Debbie Reynolds was signed at the age of 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) gave her a small, but significant part in the 1950 movie Three Little Words, then signed her to a seven year contract. In her next film, Two Weeks with Love, she had a hit with the song "Aba Daba Honeymoon". However, it was her first leading role, in Singing in the Rain (1952), that set her on the path to fame. By the mid 1950s, she was a major star.

Tom Lyle and Arnold Anderson, Maybelline's in house artist and photographer, did the photo shoot for MGM's newest starlet, Debbie Reynolds, when she appeared in Three Little Words.   The next year Tom Lyle focused on Television and sought a more sophisticated face to represent Maybelline.

Click here to see 18 year old Debbie Reynolds in her first film, Three Little Women, 1950.

Click to see Debbie Reynolds sing Tammy, 1957.


Mali African Print reversible Tama-bag and wrap skirt on the way.  It will be worth the wait, hold on.

Proceeds from the sale of Bags and skirts as well as a portion of the Maybelline Story will go to the nonprofit organization in Mali, Instruments 4 Africa, check it out on the right hand side of the blog.

Maybelline family honors Noel A. for his duty in the Navy - 1945.

In Memory of Noel Allen Williams for his service to his Country during WW11.

Born and raised in Chicago, the son of Maybelline Vice President Noel J. Williams, Noel A. Williams grew up in a sheltered world of comfort, stability and opportunity.  He and my father, Bill Williams were close first-cousins their entire life and when Bill moved to California with his mother Evelyn in 1936 to be near Tom Lyle, it was just a matter of time before Noel A. would follow.

Noel joined the Navy, left Chicago and headed to Southern California where he was stationed in San Diego, close enough to visit his uncle Tom Lyle at the Villa Valentino and Bill of Course.

Noel A. at the Villa Valentino with his uncle Tom Lyle Williams and TL's private Secretary Dorothy Mullander.

Here is a picture of my father Bill in civilian clothes on the left standing next to Dorothy Mullander, Maybelline's executive secretary with Noel A. in his Navy uniform at Tom Lyle's Villa Valentino in the Hollywood Hills.

Noel J. visits California to say goodbye to his 18 year old son before he ships overseas.  Dad looks forward to Noel A. returning home safely, going College and taking a position in the Maybelline Company. 

"Not so fast dad," as Noel A. has other plans which might include a girl he's leaving behind and maybe moving to California.  But for now status-quo is the word.

The girl he leaves behind is his 17 year old childhood sweetheart, Jean Kilroy. 

While Noel A. is overseas his uncle Tom Lyle creates this beautiful Maybelline advertisement targeting young women like Jean who are waiting for their men to return.  Noel A. does return home but not before being wounded by shrapnel on his thigh.  He was one of the lucky ones. 





Noel A. Williams 1925 -1994.

If you'd like to know more about Noel A. and why he gave

 up an opportunity to take over his father's position

in the Maybelline Company - for a life in California - pick up your copy of The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It and walk through the 20Th Century with the family who put the first

 eye beautifier on the market in 1915 to 1967. 

Thank you for following The Maybelline Blog and be sure to tell your friends!!!       

PS: Noel Allen Willliams is Chuck, Nancy and Jim Williams father.                                                                                                          

Maybelline Summer-Daze, 1922 - 2011

As summer approaches I can't help but think of those lazy crazy daze gone by when the Maybelline family got together in Chicago or California and made a few unforgettable memories - Here is a picture gallery of some my favorite summer pictures.

The Beach Boys 2011.

Click these links to hear some of our favorite Summer songs while you enjoy the pictures.
Frank Sinatra, A Summer Wind.
The Beach Boys, California Girls.
Beach Boys Surfin USA

My dad Bill Williams at  Lake Zurich, Chicago, 1925

The Maybelline Cousins in 1934 left to right, Bobby Williams-Haines, Dick Williams, Tommy Williams-Hewes, Marilyn Williams-Haines, Shirley Williams-Hewes, June Williams-Haines, Noel A. Williams, Bill Williams, Annette Williams, Helen Williams, Tom Lyle Williams Jr., Joyce Williams-Hewes in Tom Jr's arms.

Ches Haines with my grandfather Preston Williams on the fender. Lake Zurich, Chicago, 1922

Ches Haines and Preston Williams on Lake Zurich, Chicago, 1922

Tom Lyle Williams, at cabin on Lake Michigan, 1937.

Tom Lyle Williams with Sparkie at the cabin on Lake Michigan, 1937.

Tom Lyle Williams at his Villa Valentino, Hollywood Hills, 1940.

Tom Lyle Williams with his sister Eva Williams-Haines, Chet Hewes, his sister Mabel Williams Hewes, and Ches Haines, California 1938.

Evelyn Williams, my grandmother, with her brother in law Tom Lyle Williams, her son, (my dad,) Bill Williams and my mother Pauline Mac Donald Williams at the Villa Valentino in Hollywood Hills, 1942.

My grandmother, Evelyn Williams, West Los Angeles, California, 1938.

My mother Pauline Mac Donald-Williams, in West LA, California, 1944, 20 years of age.

My sister Donna Williams, California, Summer of Love, 1967 at 18 years old.

My Sister Billee Williams (in front,) 21 years old, with Jerry Marks at Zaca Lake in Santa Barbara, 1976.

Family Reunion, Virginia 1990, John Gary, Gloria Williams (my stepmother) Jackie Haines, Marilyn Williams-Haines-Gary, my father Bill Williams and Bob Williams-Haines. Cousins.

Sharrie and Donna Williams  at Crystal Cove in
 Laguna Beach, 2008.

My brother William Preston Williams lll, with my daughter Georgia in Palm Springs California, 1984.

Here I am (left)  with my friend and founder of Instruments for Africa, Tama Walley,
  Laguna Beach, 2008.

Cousin Chuck Williams with his sister Nancy Williams- Fesler and her husband EJ Fessler in
 Santa Barbara, 2006.

Part of the Maybelline Family at 1990 reunion.


Don't forget to buy your copy of The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind it from this      website for $14.00 Thank you for following my blog and stay tuned for more fun Maybelline posts tomorrow.