Actress Alice Faye and Maybelline's Tom Lyle Williams, mistaken for Jean Harlow and Howard Hughes in the 1930's

                    Times Square 1938, during the filming of 
                             "Alexander's Ragtime Band" 

Alice Faye

Tom Lyle Williams

My aunt Verona said she remembered once running into Tom Lyle and Alice Faye at a posh restaurant in 1938, right after the filming of “Alexanders Ragtime Band.” She said Tom Lyle and Alice Faye made a devastatingly handsome couple, he so tall dark and handsome, and she so petite, blond and glamorous.  “For a second,” she said, “I thought it was Howard Hughes and Jean Harlow.”

Howard Hughes

Jean Harlow

Harlow had already died, of course, but Alice Faye, was a blond bombshell that did have a Harlow aura. Verona went on to tell me that at that time Maybelline had a giant neon sign in Times Square and believed it was Alice who insisted that particular view of Times Square be shot and used in the film.  Verona was sick I didn’t tell Alice who my uncle was, and she knew Tom Lyle would  be very disappointed as well.



Excerpt taken from my book, The Maybelline Story.

Be sure to check out my new blog, Saffrons Rule at http://saffronsrule.com/

Maybelline's Adorable Alice Faye

Alice Faye  illustrated in this Ad was considered Tom Lyle's ideal Maybelline image and he kept a framed 8 by 10 photo of her on his baby grand piano for years next to a vase of long stem red roses. 

Tom Lyle and Alice Faye were very close during the filming of Alexander's Ragtime Band in 1938.

A giant neon Maybelline sign with Alice Faye's Eyes stood in the middle of Times Square and was shot in a scene for Alexander's Ragtime Band.

 

Alice advertises both Lux Soap and Lillian Russell in this ad.  An example of a studio selling their stars and making deals with other companies at the same time to promote their products.   

Alice Faye Star of 20Th Century Fox Production 

"Lillian Russell."

• Films made by Alice Faye during the 1940's.
• Lillian Russell (1940)
• Tin Pan Alley (1940)
• That Night in Rio (1941)
• The Great American Broadcast (1941)
• Week-End in Havana (1941)
• Hello, Frisco, Hello (1943)
• The Gang's All Here (1943)
• Four Jills in a Jeep (1944)
• Fallen Angel (1945)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TLosFQFtWU 

Click to see a video of Alice Faye in Alexander's Ragtime Band.

Alice Faye introduced almost twice as many 'Hit Parade' songs in her movies (23) as each of her closest competitors: Judy Garland (13), Betty Grable (12) and Doris Day (12).

 

Click here to see Alice Faye sing "You'll Never Know,"

Faye starred in the Technicolor musical Hello, Frisco, Hello. Released at the height of World War II, the film became one of Faye's personal favorites and one of her highest-grossing pictures for Fox. It was in this film that Faye sang "You'll Never Know." The song won the Academy Award for Best Song for 1943 and the sheet music for the song sold over a million copies. However, since there was a clause in her contract (as was the case with most other Fox stars) stating that she could not officially record any of her movie songs, other singers like Dick Haymes (whose version hit #1 for four weeks), Frank Sinatra, and Rosemary Clooney have been more associated with the song than Faye. However, it is still often considered Faye's signature song. That year, Faye was once again named one of the top box office draws in the world.

Read more about the beautiful, talented top box office star Alice Faye and her friendship with Tom Lyle Williams in 

The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It. 

Tom Lyle's dear friend Alice Faye has a Stay on the Walk Of Fame in Hollywood, but I don't think he'll be chosen this year.  Though Tom Lyle pioneered the Hollywood Star System, he didn't work directly in the studio like Max Factor.  Tom Lyle may not of made-up the stars for films but he helped skyrocket them to fame through placement in Maybelline ads.  Alice Faye shown in the Lux ad above is a perfect example of what Tom Lyle did for Hollywood starlets and super stars.  You must read the book to learn more of it.  Thank you for following the Maybelline Blog.  

            
           Alice Faye with her beautiful Maybelline Eyes.

Maybelline in Times Square, 1938

                       Times Square 1938, during the filming of 
                      "Alexander's Ragtime Band" 

Excerpt from The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It.  . 

     My aunt Verona said she remembered once running into Tom Lyle and Alice Faye at a posh restaurant in 1938, right after the filming of “Alexanders Ragtime Band.” She said Tom Lyle and Alice Faye made a devastatingly handsome couple, he so tall dark and handsome, and she so petite, blond and glamorous.  “For a second,” she said, “I thought it was Howard Hughes and Jean Harlow.”

     Harlow had already died, of course, but Alice Faye, was a blond bomb shell that did have a Harlow aura. Verona went on to tell me that at that time Maybelline had a giant neon sign in Times Square and believed it was Alice who insisted that particular view of Times Square be shot and used in the film.  Verona was sick I didn’t tell Alice who my uncle was, and she knew Tom Lyle would  be very disappointed as well.