Barbara Stanwyck

Barbara Stanwyck (nee Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 — January 20, 1990) was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong, realistic screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra. After a short but notable career as a stage actress in the late 1920s, she made 85 films in 38 years in Hollywood, before turning to television. (Source Wikipedia)

Entries in “1927: The Diary of Myles Thomas”

Opening Day: The Fire Party  (April 13, 1927)
Most of the girls there were younger than major league rookies. Ruby Stevens came in early. She was one of Texas Guinan’s girls a couple of years ago, just another great looking underaged kid hoofer until you started talking to her, then you could tell she was an “It Girl.” She’s just gotten noticed on Broadway, and now she calls herself Barbara Stanwyck, instead of Ruby Stevens. Benny and I just call her Stanwyck. Especially when she says, “Please, please call me Barbara.” We immediately answer, “Sure, Stanwyck. No problem.”
The Weekend  (April 18, 1927)
Stanwyck’s laugh was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep. And it was the first thing I heard when I woke up.
A little before 9:00 a.m., she and Steven were still out in the yard, making up new rules for croquet that involved placing filled champagne glasses inside the wickets. As far as I could tell from looking down at them, if you missed an easy shot you had to drink the glass. If you made the shot and broke a glass, you had to fill up a new one, drink it, and then fill it again for the next player. Steven was still in most of his tux and Stanwyck was being kept warm by a fur coat that Steven had lent her. Or so he thought.
Sex in the City  (May 31, 1927)
Stanwyck’s as independent as they come. Or go. And she does both. She shows up when and where she wants. And she leaves under the same conditions, often without a hello or a goodbye. It’s not rude. It’s just Stanwyck. Take it or leave it. And I’ve yet to meet anyone who has wanted to leave it.
Bowling On Long Island: "Nine Pins To Eight"  (June 6, 1927)
“Just before you came in,” she continued, “I was explaining to Harry, who thought I was from Kansas — you did guess Kansas, right, Harry? Yes, Kansas, a state with only a few bowling alleys, we both agreed — I was explaining to Harry that, actually, I was born and grew up in Brooklyn, which is basically the home of bowling! And I was telling Harry how I used to go bowling all the time when I was a little girl. I mean, gosh, Tommy,” she said winking at me, “I just love bowling!”
Each time she said the word “bowling” — like a little girl saying “Christmas!” — Frazee’s boxers lost a little bit more of their grip on his waist.
"Every Day"  (June 20, 1927)
Coney Island  (June 27, 1927)
As she tells her story to the ocean, she isn’t asking for pity. And she still isn’t asking to be comforted. She isn’t asking for anything. She never does.
As I listen, I find myself understanding for the first time that her pain is part of her magic. It explains her independence and her nighttime behaviors, her need for a different kind of freedom, something deeper than just some silly flapper’s desire to play the role of a bad girl. Offstage, Stanwyck never plays a role. She just is. Only nineteen, she’s already her own woman. Most never get there.
Whenever I’m with Stanwyck remarkable things just seem to happen. But tonight I realize that, actually, they don’t just happen. They happen because Stanwyck wants them to happen.
Sometimes it involves me. Sometimes it doesn’t. Tonight, so far, it does.
July 4th. And The Center Of The Universe.  (July 6, 1927)
“Helluva beating you boys gave them,” says Billy P.
“Yeah, almost makes me feel sorry for them.”
“Do you feel sorry for them, Tommy, at all?” asks Texas.
“Me? No. I mean, I’m friendly with a couple of guys on the Senators, especially General Crowder, and I root for those guys — individually, that is, when they play against other teams — but, hell no, I don’t feel sorry for them, not one bit. I’d like to beat them 21–1 every game.”
“I’d want to beat them 21 to nothing,” says Stanwyck.
Heat Waves and Summer Nights  (July 20, 1927)
Stanwyck Is A Star  (September 5, 1927)
I know it’s Stanwyck who is supposed to be on stage, but I keep forgetting I’m watching her. She’s made herself into a different person. At one point, Schoolboy just looks at me and says, “Where’d Stanwyck go?”
I know this sounds funny, but it’s like watching Gehrig. Lou is a completely different person in the batter’s box and on the basepaths than he is off the field. When he’s batting or running, all of his neuroses leave him, and he’s both comfortable and powerful.
And just like when I’m watching Gehrig this season, watching Stanwyck I can’t stop thinking, “Jesus, this is what greatness looks like.”
The Definition of Suicide.  (September 16, 1927)