Frances Williams - Grande Dame, in the Maybelline family.

When Tom Lyle asked Noel and Frances, if they'd postpone their Wedding for one year and give him the $500 saved for their big occasion, It was Frances who made the final call. 

Second from the left, Frances and her girlfriends were excited about the upcoming Wedding plans, when she got a letter from her fiance with the big question.  Tom Lyle needs the money I've saved for our wedding, what should we do?  When Frances tried her future brother-in- law's product, she agreed to wait another year.

The Bride a Groom not only received the $500 back, exactly one year later, Tom Lyle gave them a new car for a wedding gift and made Noel, Vice President of the Maybelline Company in 1917.

A year and a half later, Baby Helen, was born with a secure childhood waiting for her, because her mother  waited a little bit longer to start her married life.

Neppy, Helen, Noel J., Dick, Frances, Noel A., 1936.

Four children later, Frances became the matriarch of her family and the Grande Dame, in Maybelline hierarchy. Standing as a pillar in the foundation of an Empire she helped launch. 

Try Frances' - Chocolate Icebox Dessert, aka, Bavarian Chocolate, Gourmet Chocolate Lover's Dream and taste her stamp of excellence. Check favorite recepies tab.

Check in this weekend as Bill's Clenet begins his trek up the Southern California Coastline, to Santa Barbara, for his big appearance at the Santa Barbara Concours D' Elegance.

Frances - the Bride who helped launch an Empire!

Frances... the Bride, who postponed her Wedding for a year, so her fiance's brother, might have a chance at starting a little company, called Maybelline.

Eva, Frances, (the Bride,) Tom Lyle,  Noel James, (the Groom, in the shadows,) Bennie and my grandfather, Preston - Chicago, 1917, soon after Maybelline was launched.

Try Frances', homemade, rich, decedent, dark-chocolate extravaganza!  So modestly called...

                  Chocolate Icebox Dessert!



3 – 8 oz packages of Bakers German sweet chocolate


3 eggs


1 pint whipping cream


1 ¼ Tbsp. Vanilla


3 Tbsp. Powdered sugar


2 boxes of Social Tea Biscuits


Melt chocolate in double boiler.


Separate eggs, beat yolks with sugar,


Beat egg whites and add-


Add vanilla.


Add ½ pint whipped cream, (save ½ pint for topping.)


Line loaf pan with cookies.


Add layer of chocolate mixture.


Continue layering cookies and chocolate mixture, ending with chocolate.


Store in refrigerator and slice and serve with whipped cream.


Today I made an, out of this world, deep dark chocolate, delightful dessert and my audience couldn't get enough.  I hope you make this recipe, as it will surely become a special-occasion, family favorite.


OH!  By the way, if you want to know about the Bride, who waited a year, for the sake of Maybelline, read The Maybelline Story soon.

Check in next week, and watch Sharrie make her auntie Frances', Chocolate Icebox Dessert on The Morning Scramble - AZTV. 

Tom Lyle Williams, MAYBELLINE'S Golden Rule!

Tom Lyle Williams, shared his Pot of Gold, at the end of the Rainbow, with everyone in his life.

Click picture to enlarge.

This picture of Tom Lyle with his niece, Neppy Williams-Corbett and his nephew, Noel A. Williams wife, Jean, was taken in Tom Lyle's home in Bel Air in 1968, right after the Maybelline company was sold to Plough Inc.  Notice the 24K gold plated beams between the plate glass window. 

Here is a story about Tom Lyle's generosity, given to me by his great niece and Mabel and Chet's granddaughter, Linda Hughes.
 
When Maybelline was sold, each employee was given $1,000 for each year they worked for the company. Even those who hadn't been there a full year got $1,000. Tom Lyle's secretary Dorothy (aka Ducky) ended up with  $35,000 as did another secretary called Jimmie.  Jimmie called Mabel, to ask her to relay to TL how grateful she was that she could retire after she got her $30,000 check. At the time my parents had a bookstore and a former employee came in and told them he was bowled over to receive $8,000.  ( Dorothy also received one million dollars from her percentage in stock as well.)
   
Read more about Tom Lyle Williams, a secret American Icon and the great things he accomplished during his lifetime, in The Maybelline Story.
 
A cute story about Emery Shaver, Tom Lyle's lifetime partner of 50 years, given to me be his niece, Joyce Dennehy, (Mabel and Chet's, daughter.)
 
When my family drove from Chicago, to California, to visit Uncle Lyle, when we were kids:  One day it was rainy and my brother Tom was grumbling a bit about having nothing to do. He said to Emery, "don't you have an indoor swimming pool?"   Emery's response was "no but I have an ingrown toenail."

I will be making Frances' Chocolate Icebox Desert tomorrow on The Morning Scramble, with Tonya Mock, on AZTV.  Check into the Maybelline Blog Sat for the video.  

Bill the Clenet will be making his way to the Santa Barbara Concours D' Elegance Sat. and will be shown on Sunday at the Polo Fields. Watch for video's of his adventure.

The Gilded Lily, behind Maybelline doors.

Tom Lyle avoided a public life, but in private, everything was fit for a King.

A simple country boy from Morganfield Kentucky, Tom Lyle clung to his roots, but, had them Gilded!  Why Not!!

Notice the passerby doing a double take at the flashy car and the man in the Lama skin coat.  Tom Lyle finally moved to Hollywood, where he no longer stood out, during the Depression.

Maybelline colors - Red and Gold.

Tony Williams, (Preston's son,) with Bobby
and Ches Haines.

As a little boy, Bobby Hains,  (Eva and Ches Haines, son and Tom Lyle's nephew,) remembers his uncle Lyle. 

"Dad brought me into uncle Lyle's, office at the Maybelline building to show me the 24K, Gold Leaf wall, that had just been finished."

The story goes:  Tom Lyle thought the plain mahogany paneling behind his ornate, hand carved mahogany desk, with it's red leather executive chair, looked too plain.  He complained about it to his brother Noel, who took the intuitive and called in a craftsman to cover it with 24K Gold Leaf.  When Tom Lyle returned from California, he walked into his office and was thrilled that his office looked like a showplace.  After all Maybelline colors were red and gold?

Bob also remembers when The Villa Valentino was taken in eminent domain, for the Hollywood freeway and Tom Lyle bought the lot at the top of Bel Air, to build his steel and glass estate. 

The story goes.  Emery told Tom Lyle to go to Hawaii, while the home was being finished, because it was too stressful on TL to work, and deal with contractors.  When he returned, rested and tan, Emery couldn't wait to show him the finished product.  Tom Lyle took one look at the steel beams, between the panes of plate glass, and wrinkled his nose.  "it looks terrible" he said, "I can't  live with it."  Emery was perplexed and didn't know what to do.  Tom Lyle knew exactly what to do.  He had them plated in 24K Gold.

Bob's favorite memory of his uncle took place in Chicago, when he was 15 and just got a learner's permit. 

The story goes:  Tom Lyle pulled up in front of the Haines home in a new cream colored Packard Convertible, while Bobby was sitting on the porch.  He ran down the steps, amped with excitement, only to be stunned when Tom Lyle, handed him  the key's and said "why not take it for a spin around the block."  Eva and Ches ran out and tried to stop the joy-ride, but uncle Lyle insisted Bob to have the thrill of his life.  He did and still remembers it today, at almost 80 years of age.

Read more about Tom Lyle and his love of beauty in any form, in The Maybelline Story.

Stay tuned for In The Kitchen with Maybelline this week when Sharrie makes Frances' Chocolate Icebox Desert on AZTV.  Also Bill's Clenet will be on the way to Santa Barbara's Concours D' Elegance next Friday, so check in for all the excitement.

Automobile designer Alain Clenet's version of a 1934 Packard Convertible.

It's no wonder Maybelline founder Tom Lyle Williams nephew, Bill Williams, loved his 1977 Clenet Series 1, # 13 out of 250.
 

The nostalgic features reminded him of his childhood in the 1930's, growing up surrounded by his uncle's beautiful custom-designed, Packard's.

Tom Lyle's 1940 Packard Victoria, at the Villa Valentino, where Bill spent his youth.  All of Tom Lyle's Packard's were custom made. One was famous for having gold plated chrome. 

Bill with his uncle Tom Lyle Williams, 1934.

 The 1934 Packard offered a line of semi-custom cars that were usually built in numbers of at least five. The 11th series cars were distinguished from all other models by their raked back, “vee” windshields, extra long hoods, extra wide cowls, and their extra tall radiators.

These were unique to only this model year.

11 year old Bill Williams, was with his uncle, Tom Lyle, at the 1934 Chicago's World Fair, when this car was shown.  Tom Lyle ordered the car and had it delivered to the Maybelline Building, where the key's were handed to him.  A picture of the delivery is documented in Packard's private journals.

Imagine how this super long, super ornate automobile, must have looked to a young boy.  So it's no wonder, that when Alain Clenet, produced his series 1 convertible in 1977, Bill was one of the first to purchase it for, $80,000 - with custom etched windows and his initials etched in the door. 

Bill's Clenet will be shown at the Santa Barbara Concours D' Elegance, next weekend.  Hope so see some of you there.  

Alain Clenet will also be in attendance. 

Watch for Sharrie next week on The Morning Scramble, making, Mrs. Noel J. Williams, "auntie Frances"

 to die for, Chocolate Extravaganza. 

 Show will be posted on the Maybelline Blog as well.

Clenet preservati​on discussion​. Steve Kouracos and Sharrie Williams discuss the preservati​on restoratio​n of her father Bill Williams Clenet. Come meet Steve next weekend at the Santa Barbara Concours.

Sharrie and Gene never gave up on their dreams.

I married a brilliant young attorney, Gene Dorney, in the early 1970's and for 20 years we balanced marriage with trying to make our personal dreams come true.

When we were kids, Gene dreamed of being a Record Producer - discovering young talent and guiding their careers - while I hoped to become an actress, producer, and writer.  We never gave up on our dreams.

Having dreams kept us young and excited about the future.  In time Gene, formed his own band, The Rounders, and I began to write The Maybelline Story.

The Rounders, played together for over 35 years, before Gene started, The Gene Dorney Band.

A talented musician, Gene played the Base Guitar, Sax, Clarinet, and had a distinctive singing voice.

You can find The Gene Dorney Band, still Rocking, in Newport Beach.  

William Haines and Jimmy Shields - the happiest marriage in Hollywood.

William Haines and Jimmy Shields, openly flaunted their relationship in Hollywood for almost 50 years.

Jimmy Shields, on the left, husband of actor/decorator, William Haines, second on left. Joan Crawford, (in the middle,) and the two men maintained a lifelong friendship, and Joan called them "the happiest married couple in Hollywood." Haines and Shields were together 47 years.

William Haines' career was cut short by MGM Studios due to his refusal to deny his homosexuality. Haines never returned to film and instead started a successful interior design business with his life

partner Jimmy Shields.

Harlow in Hollywood, authors Mark Vieira and Darrell Rooney (middle); Cafe Trocadero 1935: Edith Gwynne Wilkerson (wife of Trocadero owner Billy Wilkerson), Jean Harlow, William Powell, William Haines' lover Jimmy Shields (standing), Anderson Lawler, unidentified man (standing), William Haines, Edith's sister Marge (bottom)

Billy Haines.

Billy Haines, fell in love with his stand-in, Jimmy Shields, and they moved in together in 1923, a move that destroyed his acting career.

                       Billy Haines and Clair Windsor.

 Although the Hollywood system at the time put pressure on gay actors to provide an 'acceptable' public image by marrying, Haines turned down an offer of marriage from Joan Crawford who was then still hoping to be a rising star. In 1930 Haines and Jimmy Shields bought an antique shop and developed their interest in interior design by giving free advice to their Hollywood customers and friends.

Jimmy Shields, committed suicide a few months after William Haines, death after almost 50 years together.

Joan Crawford, a close friend of Tom Lyle Williams and Emery Shaver, as well as William Haines and Jimmy Shields, introduced the two couples.  Tom Lyle opened an antique store in Beverly Hills, for Emery, where he could meet celebrities, outside the Villa Valentino.  Tom Lyle, preferred a secluded life inside the Villa.  Haines and Shields had a hand in decorating The Villa Valentino, after it's remodel in the late 1930's. 

William Haines and Joan Crawford - Spring Fever, Real life besties William Haines and Joan Crawford share a cute scene in 1927's "Spring Fever".

William Haines, Hollywood's First Openly Gay Star, talks about his 45 year relationship with Jimmy Shields

Read more about William Haines and Jimmy Shields friendship with Tom Lyle and Emery, in The Maybelline Story. 

Betty Grable and Harry James - Hollywood's Dream Duo.

Betty Grable and Harry James. 

Star Quality that personified Hollywood's Swing-Era!

Betty Grable, "The Queen of the Hollywood musical,"  married Bandleader, Harry James, in 1943.  A popular GI slogan during the war became ‘I want a girl just like the girl that married Harry James’

  

20th Century-Fox, who had her under contract, insured her legs with Lloyds of London for a million dollars.

In 1947 the US Treasury Department noted that she was the highest paid star in America earning $300,000 a year.                                                                                                                                            

Betty Grable appeared in Maybelline advertisements throughout the War Years.  Not only to promote her latest musical, but to endorse War Bonds.  She was one of Tom Lyle's favorite Stars - introduced to him by his long time friend Alice Faye.

Harry James was an instrumentalist of the Swing Era, employing a bravura playing style that made his trumpet work identifiable.

Garble eventually gave up Hollywood, to spend more time at the couples, San Fernando Ranch, and raised two daughters, as well as Thoroughbred horses.

The Charismatic couple was often spotted at Santa Anita, or Del Mar racetrack, sitting in their private box. They were known as "the nicest people you'd ever want to meet," never refusing autographs to admiring fans. 

Grable and James owned several thoroughbred racehorses that won races such as the California Breeders' Champion Stakes (1951) and the San Vicente Stakes (1954). He was also a founding investor in the Atlantic City Race Course.

Harry James and Betty Grable - I Can't Begin To Tell You - released in 1945

Read more about Betty Grable, Alice Faye and Tom Lyle Williams friendship, in The Maybelline Story.  

Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard, Hollywood Scandal.

       Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard
                       1936 film, "Smile."

Paulette Goddard wanted a career,

         Charlie Chaplin wanted a wife.

Of all his wives, Paulette Goddard, had the most successful film career and was remembered for her work, than being Mrs. Charles Chaplin.

During the time Paulette lived with Chaplin in his Beverly Hills home. Their marital status was a source of controversy and speculation. During most of their time together, both refused to comment on the matter.

Paulette, was in the running for Scarlet O'Hara, in 'Gone With the Wind',  however, questions over her marital status with Chaplin in an era of moral clauses, may have cost her the role.

Paulette Goddard's eyes were seen in several Maybelline ads during the 1940's, her busiest years as an actress, with Charlie Chaplin, who made her a star.

 Like so many actresses during the years of the Hollywood Star System, Paulette Goddard was seen in Maybelline ads, to boost her career and establish her image with the purity of, The Good Housekeeping

 Seal of Approval. 

 Charlie Chaplin was the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I.  Chaplin used mime, slapstick and other visual comedy routines, and was most famous for his role as The Little Tramp.

Charlie and Paulette are the most popular post on the Maybelline Blog.

Tom Lyle Williams, owner of the Maybelline Company, adored Paulette Goddard.

Tom Lyle Williams doing a pretend Maybelline Radio Show.  If you listen carefully in the very beginning, you will hear him say hello, to Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard.

Read more about Maybelline, The Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval and the Hollywood Star System in The Maybelline Story.