Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis - Hollywood Royalty!

Comedian, Harold Lloyd and his leading Lady, on and off screen, Mildred Davis -known for having the longest  marriage in Hollywood.

Between 1919 and 1923, Lloyd and Davis made 14 films together.  She retired from Hollywood after their marriage, to raise a family.

One of the first residents of Whitley Heights, The Lloyd's remained friends with Tom Lyle Williams, also a Whitley Heights resident and automobile enthusiast.  Here is Harold and Mildred in 1924 with their new Buick.

Mildred Davis caught Tom Lyle's eye, when she appeared with Harold Lloyd, in the 1921 Silent Film, Grandma's Boy.  He was struck by her large, beautiful eyes and asked her to endorse Maybelline, shortly before her retirement.                                             

Mildred Davis endorses Maybelline in the early 1920's.

Stunning Maybelline Eyes.  Tom Lyle, used an illustration of Mildred Davis eyes inside Maybelline's, little red box.

Harold Lloyd ranks alongside Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton as one of the most popular and influential film comedians of the silent film era.  He is best known for his "Glasses Character", a resourceful, success-seeking go-getter who was perfectly in tune with 1920's.            

Lloyd's films frequently contained "thrill sequences" of extended chase scenes and daredevil physical feats, for which he is best remembered today.

Read more about sweetheart, Mildred Davis in The Maybelline Story!  Buy a signed copy from the author, Sharrie Williams at http://www.maybellinestory.com/.

Old Hollywood's sexy, power-couple, Viola Dana and Lefty Flynn, featured in The Maybelline Story..

Viola Dana was one the the first beautiful Photoplay stars to appear in a Maybelline ad.  She endorsed Lash-Brow-Ine as well as Maybelline in 1920.


Maurice "Lefty" Flynn and Viola Dana, during the height of the Silent Film era, between 1925 - 1929.

Maybelline model and Silent Film actress, Viola Dana with her husband, actor, Lefty Flynn.

Maybelline model, Viola Dana appeared in film magazines throughout the 1920's.

 Maurice Flynn became "Lefty" Flynn because he kicked the ball with his left foot, while attending Yale University  in 1910. He was expelled from Yale in 1913 after he marrying Irene Leary, a chorus girl.  They divorced 11 days later.  "Lefty,"  kept his wild-man reputation and made 40 films between 1919 and 1927. 

Often as the lead actor, and sometimes as a sports hero or daring adventurer, "Lefty's" athletic appearance and abilities made him one of Hollywood's first "Hunks."



Read more about sexy Viola Dana and "Lefty" Flynn in The Maybelline Story, and how Preston Williams, played into the mix. 

MAYBELLINE HEIR BILL WILLIAMS NEO CLASSIC 1977 CLENET .

Bill the Clenet, will be making his way to Santa Barbara, California, Oct 28, for another Concours D' Elegance.

Future Events, 

Come meet Sharrie Williams, author of The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind it.

Bill Williams Classic Clenet, number 13, Series 1, will be shown at the Santa Barbara Concours D' Elegance, Oct 28 - 30.

AZTV, Morning Scramble, 9 -10:30, Oct 26th.  Sharrie will be making auntie Frances' Chocolate Icebox desert.

Association of University Women will be hosting a Presentation of The Maybelline Story, at Laguna Beach Books on Nov. 5th at 6:00 pm.

Pick up a copy of The Maybelline Story at Barnes and Noble, also available kindle and nook, as well as Amazon and www.maybellinestory.com.

In the Kitchen with Maybelline!

Sharrie Williams, on the Morning Scramble,  AZTV, with Tonya Mock, making her auntie's favorite comfort foods.

Sharrie will be back on The Morning Scramble soon, making another one of her auntie's, favorite deserts from the Great Depression.  

Want to read more???  Check out The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynaty Behind it.  Buy a signed copy today at http://www.maybellinestory.com/.

Eva Williams Haines, put the SPARK, in SPARKLE!.

Eva Kay Williams was the youngest of the Williams clan - Always a glamour girl, with a heart for family.

16 year old Eva, poses on her Brother Tom Lyle Williams new Paige Detroit, in 1917, the year

 Lash-Brow-Ine, became  Maybelline

Eva with her husband Ches Haines, and their three children, June, Bobby and Marilyn, in 1934.

A glamor girl, Grandmother at 50, Eva holds her first grandchild, Jerry Westhouse, as a very dapper Ches, looks on.

Try Eva's Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler, a quick

and easy recipe, that can be made to feed a small family, or a large family reunion, depending on the amount of peaches you fill your pan with.  Always a favorite, serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream and get ready for rave reviews and requests for

more, more, more!!!!!

Eva and Ches seated, on the right, on their 50th Wedding Anniversary, with their big family. 

Scroll down for Eva's Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler and be sure to check in tomorrow, to watch Sharrie make      both Mabel's Date Dainty Bars and Eva's Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler, on The Morning Scramble show, here, on The Maybelline Blog. 

More recipes from the Ladies of The Maybelline Family, will be shown on AZTV this year and posted on the Blog. 

 Frances Chocolate Icebox desert is next, you won't believe how amazing this is.  

Read more about the Ladies in the Maybelline Family, in The Maybelline Story.  Signed copies available at http://www.maybellinestory.com/. and Enjoy!!!   

         

Mabel represented more than just Maybelline!

 Born in 1892, on the farm in Morganfield Kentucky, Mabel Anna Williams, represented true Love.

Baby Mabel and her Mother Susan Anna Williams.

Mabel as a young woman, in 1916, when her brother Tom Lyle made her the namesake for Maybelline.

 

Mabel and Chet in 1934. with there three children, Shirley, Tommy and baby Joyce.

  Mabel, the quintessential mother, grandmother and great grandmother, devoted her life to giving everything to her family. 

 One of my favorite stories about auntie Mabel, occurred in about 1953, when her oldest daughter Shirley and her son, Tom, returned to the nest with 6 children

between them, aging from 4, to a newborn.  Her 19 year old daughter Joyce, still lived at home, making a grand total of 13 people in a modest little home.  

                                         .                                

Shirley remembers, they had a baby assembly line with the feeding, changing and baths.  One time Mabel came into the kitchen when all the babies were crying and said it sounded like feeding time at the Lincoln Park Zoo.   

 After awhile Mabel, Chet and Joyce moved to a smaller house and left the "baby" house to the young folks.   

I'm sure during these busy day's, Mabel still found time to make her Date Dainty Bars, that served a big family, and was considered wholesome as well as delicious.

Try Mabel's Date Dainty Bars yourself and get that

Old Fashioned taste, you just can't find anymore in our fat free, sugar free world.  Experience real goodness from a desert that goes back to the turn of the century. 

Stay tuned Sat. as Sharrie makes Mabel's Date Dainty Bars, on the The Morning Scramble Show, posted here on the Maybelline Blog.  Also read more about Mabel and Maybelline, in The Maybelline Story. 

Purchase a signed copy today at  

            www.maybellinestory.com.          

Maybelline Family "Favorite Holiday Recipes"

AZTV's studio, preparing the ingredients for the show yesterday.  Stay tuned for the video to be posted soon.

                 Maybelline's namesake, Mabel Williams Hewes.

Mabel's Date Dainty Bars.

Filling:
8 oz. chopped dates
3/4 C. sugar
1 C. water
1 C. chopped nuts
Boil together the dates, water and sugar until thick. Mix in nuts. Set aside.
Crust:
1/2 lb. butter, softened
1 C. brown sugar, firmly packed
2 C. old-fashioned oats
1-1/4 C. flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Combine well. Pat 2/3 of mixture into 9" X 13" pan. Spread with filling. Sprinkle reserved mixture over top. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

                            Mabel's sister, Eva Williams Haines.

Eva's Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler.

Peal and cut into chunks, 4 cups of fresh ripe peaches, place in a deep dish.

Sift one tsp. baking powder and 3/4 cup flour.

Mix 1 cup of sugar with flour.

Add 3/4 cup of milk.

Pour mixture over the peaches.

Melt one stick of butter and pour over the peaches and mixture.

Bake at 350, for 55 minutes.

Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

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.

Maybelline Story will be in Laguna Beach Nov 5th.

Sharrie's article in the Laguna Beach Magazine, fits perfectly with it's feature on Old Hollywood movies, filmed in the tiny beach community throughout the years.

Sharrie will be at Laguna Beach Books for a presentation for The AAUW, Nov 5th , not 10th, as the article indicates.

Sharrie's upcoming events in October.

Sharrie discusses her father, Bill Williams, love for beautiful automobiles, (below,) and will  be in the Kitchen next week, making her auntie Mabel and auntie Eva's rich, delicious  deserts.

http://vimeo.com/29981530 Click here, to see Sharrie's  interview, discussing her father Bill Williams,  and his uncle Tom Lyle Williams, at the Villa Valentino.

Bill Williams 1977, Series 1, Clenet, will be shown at The Santa Barbara Concours D' Elegance Oct 28 - 30.  

Be sure to check back next for Sharrie's

 cooking segment on AZTV next week.  She will be making, Maybelline's namesake, Mabel's, Date Dainty Bars,and  Mabel's sister, Eva's, Old Fashioned, Peach Cobbler. Both to die for comfort foods, from the Great Depression. 

               Recipes will be available as well.              

Thank You for following the Maybelline Blog!

 

Maybelline Roots, in Morganfield Kentucky.

Growing up loving Gunsmoke, my first glimmer of romantic thoughts, came in the form of Marshal Dillon an Miss Kitty.

In all the research I did for The Maybelline Story, I found our family had it's own romantic past, in the late 1800,  including a country Sheriff and his pretty lady.

Both being my great-grandparents. Sheriff Thomas Jefferson Williams and his wife, Susan Anna Alvey of Morganfield Kentucky were the real deal.

Susan Anna Alvey, in 1877 only 16 years of age was considered a great beauty for the times.

Sheriff TJ, as he was called, was also the local tax collector, and fearless when it came to doing the right thing.  He lost his right eye in a fight, and often teased his grandchildren by pulling it out and handing it them.  He'd laugh as the kids screamed and ran to their mothers, but never stopped getting a big kick out out the joke.

Susan Anna Alvey Williams had 6 children with Sheriff TJ, the most famous being Tom Lyle Williams, owner of the Maybelline Company.  She died of the great flu in 1919 leaving Sheriff TJ to help with the books in the early years of Lash -Brow-Ine, and Maybelline. 

On the farm as children, my grandfather Preston and his little sister Eva, 1909. 

The 500 acre family farm and homestead was over 100 years old, by the time the Williams kids were born.  By 1916, the farm was being sold, and the family moved to Chicago, to assist Tom Lyle with his little Maybelline Company.

TJ and Anna's third grandchild, and their son, Noel James and Frances Williams second child, Annette Williams, plays with the chickens before the farm was finally sold.

The country story wore many hats in the early day's, including being the local post office, photography studio, soda fountain, and supply store. How knows it may have even acted as a saloon at one time, before Prohibition was passed in 1920.

Noel James, wife Frances, with their two girls, Helen and Annette, in Morganfield, visiting the homestead.  The family was now prospering in Chicago, as the Maybelline Company continued to grow.

Little Helen, with the chickens in Morganfield.

                   Little Annette in the chicken coop.

Sheriff TJ with my father William Preston Williams, in 1924.  Bill was his fourth grandchild.

And finally the Big Three, Sheriff Thomas Jefferson with his son, Tom Lyle Williams, and his first grandchild, Tom Lyle Williams Jr. in Chicago, 1934.

It may not have been the Old West, exactly, but I have to say I'm pretty proud of my roots in Morganfield Kentucky, and having a real-life, gun-toting Sheriff, with a pretty little wife, as my great grandparents. 

Gunsmoke, still lives on in my heart, with wonderful memories of my earliest romantic fantasies and Miss Kitty is still the prettiest lady in the Old West.

Read more about Morganfield and the early days of Maybelline in my book The Maybelline Story.