Maybelline's Glamorous Film Goddess Rita Hayworth a favorite GI Pin Up Girl.

In the 1930s, Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) was confined to leads in "B" pictures, but through much of the 1940s she became the undisputed sex goddess of Hollywood films and the hottest star at Columbia Studios.

Whether illuminating the screen with a song and dance or beaming from a magazine photo, Rita Hayworth was an unforgettable sight. Capitalizing on her inherited beauty and talent to become a legendary motion picture star, Hayworth captured the hearts of countless American servicemen during the 1940s. At her peak, she epitomized American beauty,

Every woman in the world wanted the sex appeal love goddess, Rita Hayworth exuded on camera with her bedroom eye's batting from the silver screen.  Every serviceman dreamed of coming home to a doll like the voluptuous Rita Hayworth and Tom Lyle capitalized on her selling power.

During the World War ll in America romance was portrayed in every advertisement from the beauty of Maybelline eyes to the chic sex appeal of Chesterfield cigarettes.  Young love meant morale building and that encouraged the boys fighting for their country to come home soon.

 Rita Hayworth epitomized, youth, energy, romance and hope for bright future, a better future.  She was the seductive siren who called the boy's home with a glint of promise in her beautiful Maybelline eyes.

click here to see Rita singing in her famous 1946 film, Gilda.
a black-and-white film noir directed by Charles Vidor. It stars Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth in her signature role as the ultimate femme fatale.

Read more about Maybelline and the Hollywood Star System in The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind it.

Maybelline splashed magazines with glitz and glamour, using Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford and Betty Grable in the 1940's.

Betty Grable Maybelline ad

The man who would become a cosmetics giant, Tom Lyle Williams, was a private man.....When TL launched the Maybelline Co. in 1915, mascara was deemed the “province of whores and homosexuals.”

He protected his Company and his family, by staying out of view from the public and an every intrusive press.  In the 1930's, Tom Lyle ran his empire from a distance, cloistered behind the gates of his Hollywood Villa Valentino and contracted Movie Stars to represent him in the  media.

From the earliest days of silent film, he sought Photoplay stars, like Viola Dana, Phyllis Haver, and Clara Bow.  Throughout the 1930’s “Golden Age of Hollywood,” TL splashed magazines with glitz and glamour, using Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford and Merle Oberon.  World War ll brought in the Pin-up girls, including, Bettie Grable, Elyse Knox, Hedy Lamaar, Rita Hayworth, and Lana Turner.

The 1950’s, ushered in the Girl Next Door... represented by Debby Reynolds and Grace Kelly.  When Maybelline appeared on Television in the early 1950’s, Tom Lyle decided to appeal to a more universal image and rather than promote film stars created the cool, exotic, sophisticated image..... Appealing to foreign as well as domestic markets.

     Joan Crawford – had her teeth pulled and replaced to have a more beautiful

     smile and became Maybelline’s spokesperson for years.

Merle Oberon – was in an accident that disfigured the skin on her face, yet in films she looked flawless because of pancake make up.

Betty Grable - took over for the leading song and dance actress Alice Faye and became a big star in musicals as well As one of Maybelline’s top models.

Debby Reynolds - was to be Maybelline’s leading model in the 1950’s until Tom Lyle decided to change his ad campaign from the all American Girl to a more international exotic sophisticate in his TV commercials and print magazines.

Maybelline was the sole sponsor for the Grace Kelly, Prince Rainier lll, wedding in Monaco appeal to a more universal image and rather than promote film stars created the cool, exotic, sophisticated woman who would appeal to foreign as well as domestic markets.  


Be sure to visit my new blog SAFFRONS RULE at http://saffronsrule.com/2013/08/19/today-i-was-in-a-good-mood-and-felt-real-popular/

JOAN CRAWFORD - MILDRED PIERCE - HEDY LAMARR - PAUL HESSE HOLLYWOOD - 1945 ACADEMY AWARDS

I'm very excited to show you this private letter from Maybelline ad man, Emery Shaver (Tom Lyle Williams partner for over 50 years) - written from the Villa Valentino, to his sister Elizabeth Shaver, and graciously shared with me by his nephew Floyd Shaver-Welles.  I think you'll enjoy its significant value, especially if you love Vintage Hollywood and pure Advertising genius...... 

1923, from the left, Tom Lyle Williams, Elizabeth Shaver and her brother
  Emery Shaver seated.

April 14, 1946.

Life goes on rather calmly here, as usual.  We had a slight flurry of activity here last week in working on an assignment with Hedy Lamarr for a new ad.  She is a rather temperamental woman, although much more beautiful than she appears on the screen, and it was with some difficulty that we were finally able to pin her down to an appointment with Paul Hesse, Hollywood's leading Photographer, for a color portrait, and then get her to write her promised autographed testimonial.  All this took some diplomacy, but it was finally accomplished.  And from the first black and white proofs, it would appear we are going to have perhaps the most beautiful of all  of our growing list of color ads.  Presume you saw the one we have of Joan Crawford, which is now running currently for us in most of the magazines.  It was most fortunate for us that Miss Crawford was awarded the Academy Award for the Best Actress of 1945 for her picture "Mildred Pierce," just as our ad was first appearing.  Our ad created quite a sensation in the Advertising world and has been generally admired, so now many other Motion Picture Celebrities are eager to have the enormous benefit of such beautiful color ads, and we have more offers than we care to take advantage of.  Nothing succeeds, like success, they say, and this instance proves it. Hope the Lamarr ad gets as much attention and I think it will.

Hedy Lamarr.

Joan Crawford.

The actual letter.

Merle Oberon followed in a Maybelline color ad by Paul Hesse Hollywood.

RITA HAYWORTH... DANCING WITH THE STARS...1940's..

There is NOT ONE Female in Hollywood today to compare with Rita Hayworth.  She was The Dancing Queen.

While the Palladium Ballroom, in Hollywood,  was being filled to capacity every night, during the 1940 War Years, Rita Hayworth, like every teenager of the time, was dancing her heart out to raise morale, for the boy's going overseas.

One of Maybelline's top Stars, Rita Hayworth's glamour brought teenage girls into the drugstores by the thousands, hoping to capture Rita's, Star Quality, before going dancing at night.

Dancing with the Stars, 1940's style, with

 Rita Hayworth... exuding explosive, sex appeal.

                                     Rita Hayworth Is Stayin' Alive!!!

You must watch this video, which has gotten almost one million hits.  It is the most remarkable, example of Rita Hayworth's dancing ability and the most incredible editing job on a video, I've ever seen.

Read more about Rita Hayworth, The Palladium Ballroom and Maybelline, during the 1940's, in my book,
The Maybelline Story and the Spirited
 Family Dynasty Behind It.

Rita Hayworth, Maybelline's sexiest model, ever.

During the filming of GILDA, Rita Hayworth appeared in this Maybelline ad.  She was such a big hit that her dress, her glove, her pose became an icon

She was the leading lady to the world's leading men - She danced with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly - acted with Tracy, Grant, Cagney and Cooper - she was married to Orson Welles and Aly Khan.

 Rita Hayworth was America's favorite pin-up girl - she was the folly, grandeur, romance and beauty of Hollywood in it's prime - when it dazzled not only America, but the entire world. She was the incomparable Rita Hayworth.

Rita Hayworth: Portrait of a Love Godess - by John Kobal - 1983 Biography of America's Fave Pin-Up Girl.

4 used copies available on Amazon.

Rita Hayworth, magazine covers, with Frank Sinatra singing "I've Got You Under My Skin."

Two days left to bid on Hedy Lamarr, vintage makeup bag.  Ebay

Maybelline's Love Goddess, Rita Hayworth, 1946.

Maybelline's Glamorous Super Model and film Goddess Rita Hayworth - a favorite GI Pin Up Girl.

In the 1930s, Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) was confined to leads in "B" pictures, but through much of the 1940s she became the undisputed sex goddess of Hollywood films and the hottest star at Columbia Studios.


Whether illuminating the screen with a song and dance or beaming from a magazine photo, Rita Hayworth was an unforgettable sight. Capitalizing on her inherited beauty and talent to become a legendary motion picture star, Hayworth captured the hearts of countless American servicemen during the 1940s. At her peak, she epitomized American beauty,

Every woman in the world wanted the sex appeal love goddess, Rita Hayworth exuded on camera with her bedroom eye's batting from the silver screen.  Every serviceman dreamed of coming home to a doll like the voluptuous Rita Hayworth and Tom Lyle capitalized on her selling power.  During the World War ll in America romance was portrayed in every advertisement from the beauty of Maybelline eyes to the chic sex appeal of Chesterfield cigarettes.  Young love meant morale building and that encouraged the boys fighting for their country to come home soon.  Rita Hayworth epitomised, youth, energy, romance and hope for bright future, a better future.  She was the seductive siren who called the boy's home with a glint of promise in her beautiful Maybelline eyes.

Who wouldn't want to come home to a sex goddess like glamorous, sexy, gorgeous Rita Hayworth!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q1SMBjfSjI  click here to see Rita singing in her famous 1946 film, Gilda (1946) - a black-and-white film noir directed by Charles Vidor. It stars Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth in her signature role as the ultimate femme fatale.

Read more about Maybelline and the Hollywood Star System in The Maybelline Story.  Buy your copy form Amazon for a greatly reduced price today. 

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What's in a Maybelline slogan?

Look at these eyes, what do you see.  Captivates and takes your breath away.  That's what Maybelline was all about.

Viola Dana - Beautiful Photoplay Star, 1925.  Read all about her in The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It.  Order now on Amazon.

Today when you think of Maybelline, you think of Maybelline New York's catchy slogan, "Maybe She's Born With It?  Maybe It's Maybelline?"   But over the last 95 years there have been many other wonderful slogans, with beautiful stars from stage and screen.  Here are a few: 

      
In 1917, The slogan "Maybelline, Darkens and Beautifies Eyelashes and Brows Instantly," splashed onto the pages of movie magazines for the first time with lovely Mildred Davis as Maybelline's fetching face of the decade. 

       
During the 1920's, the slogan, "Eyes That Charm" seduced women to mail order Maybelline, after being captivated by vampish silent  screen star Viola Dana.

      
In the 1930’s Maybelline ads went from black and white to beautifully colored art deco illustrations of glamorous women, inspired by actress Natalie Moorhead. They read:
-"It's Easy now to have Bewitching Eyes!" 
- "Alluring eyes may be instantly yours by the magic of Maybelline. 
- "Only genuine Maybelline can give you truly alluring eyes." 
- "Your eyes should be your most alluring feature."     

Another ad in the 30’s read "Old as ancient Egypt New as modern Paris," and had an illustration of Cleopatra on one half of the page and a modern 1930’s beauty on the other.

      
By the 1940’s Maybelline’s slogan became "Isn't She, or Isn't She," with before and after photography and, the most famous slogan for several decades,  "Quality Yet Sensibly Priced."  These ads featured full page colored, glossy photographs of Pin up girls like Betty Grable, Rita Haworth, Hedy Lamaar and Elyse Knox, bombshells of the WW11 era. 
       
By the 1950’s, TV slogans became more international and reached a new type of woman, the independent modern woman.  The catch word became "Exotic," and the new slogan became "Achieve the new Exotic eye make up with Maybelline."  Tom Lyle was the first to do "before and after" ads using the slogans:  
- "What a difference Maybelline makes." 
- "Be Fashion-wise accent your eyes with Maybelline." -Maybelline was now about fashion, being smart and accenting your beautiful eyes. "Preferred By Smart Women The World Over"
      
In 1964, Emery Shaver, the genius wordsmith who fashioned every Maybelline slogan from 1915 to 1964, died from a massive heart attack.  His last slogan for Tom Lyle's prized, Ultra Lash launched that year was, "Maybelline the most prized eye cosmetics in the world".  And never forget his famous,  "A woman's most prized possession is a man's imagination."  So, I guess the answer to "What's in a slogan?" was and still is today,  SEX APPEAL!

Thank you for following the Maybelline Vintage Docu-Blog, the most extensive, living documentary
Blog on the Internet.

King of Advertising, TL Williams

Betty Grable Maybelline ad

The man who would become a cosmetics giant, Tom Lyle Williams, was a private figure who hid from the public because when he launched the Maybelline Co., mascara was deemed the “province of whores and homosexuals.” To protect his family from scandal, and to stay out of view from the scrutiny of the press, Tom Lyle ran his empire from a distance, cloistered behind the gates of his Hollywood Hills Rudolph Valentino Villa.  He contracted movie stars to represent him in all forms of media.  From the earliest days of   silent film he sought Photoplay stars, Viola Dana, Phyllis Haver, and Clara Bow.  Throughout the 1930’s “Golden Age of Hollywood,” he splashed magazines with glamour, using Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford and Merle Oberon to represent the ideal Maybelline image.  During the World War ll era, he turned to pin up girls like Bettie Grable, Elyse Knox, Hedy Lamaar, Rita Hayworth, and Lana Turner, to inspire the boys fighting for our Country and keep Maybelline ingredients flowing.  By the 1950’s, the girl next door, represented by Debby Reynolds and Grace Kelly, appealed to the emerging young mothers and housewives. When Maybelline appeared on Television in the early 1950’s, Tom Lyle decided to appeal to a more universal image and rather than promote film stars created the cool, exotic, sophisticated woman who would appeal to foreign as well as domestic markets.

Joan Crawford – had her teeth pulled and replaced to have a more beautiful smile and became Maybelline’s spokesperson for years.

Merle Oberon – was in an accident that disfigured the skin on her face, yet in films she looked flawless because of pancake make up.

Betty Grable - took over for the leading song and dance actress Alice Faye and became a big star in musicals as well As one of Maybelline’s top models.

Debby Reynolds - was to be Maybelline’s leading model in the 1950’s until Tom Lyle decided to change his ad campaign from the all American Girl to a more international exotic sophisticate in his TV commercials and print magazines.

Maybelline was the sole sponsor for the Grace Kelly, Prince Rainier lll, wedding in Monaco appeal to a more universal image and rather than promote film stars created the cool, exotic, sophisticated woman who would appeal to foreign as well as domestic markets.