Stars & Their Hobbies ~ Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich, Astrology

"Astrology! Of course. After all, everyone knows that the moon pulls the sea away from the land, and farmers don't plant when the moon is wrong. "Why should humans escape?"- Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich was influenced by astrology. She followed her own horoscope closely (she was a Capricorn) and prepared horoscopes for her friends. Dietrich was very vocal about her belief in the legitimacy of astrology. In her book Marlee Dietrich’s ABC: Wit, Wisdom & Recipes, she denounced the skeptics who called astrology a psuedoscience and made the case that:

“the human being is not made of such different matter that it can remain untouched, uninfluenced by those same forces that exercise their power day and night on bodies far stronger than the human being.” 

Thanks to J.P. of Comet Over Hollywood  for the tip about this one!

My series Stars & Their Hobbies explores how notable actors and actresses from Hollywood history spent their free time. Click here to view a complete list of entries.

Stars & Their Hobbies ~ Steve McQueen

"Racing is the most exciting thing there is. But unlike drugs, you get high with dignity." - Steve McQueen

Becoming a professional race car driver wasn't in the cards for Steve McQueen but that didn't stop him from pursuing racing as a hobby. Over the years he spent much of the money he made from acting on high-perfomance vehicles. His love of racing transferred over to his films too including The Great Escape (1963), Thomas Crown Affair (1968), Bullitt (1968) and the quintessential racing movie Le Mans (1971). For safety reasons, insurance companies prohibited from doing many of the racing stunts in his films, much to his dismay. But when he wasn't a filming a movie, he was free to race to his heart's desire.

Here are some vehicles McQueen owned:

Motorcycles - Triump Bonneville, Husquarna 400 CR, Indian Chief, a variety of antique motorcycles that dated from the 1920s and earlier.

Sports cars - Siata 208, Lotus XI, Porsche 356 Speedster, Jaguar XK-SS, Ferrari 250 GR Lusso

Read my review of the book Steve McQueen: A Passion for Speed here.

McQueen in the Green Ford Mustang Fastback GT390 from Bullitt (1968)

 Cycle World 1964. Source

My series Stars & Their Hobbies explores how notable actors and actresses from Hollywood history spent their free time. Click here to view a complete list of entries.

Stars & Their Hobbies ~ Lana Turner

Lana Turner, Deep Sea Fishing

On wanting her next role to be worthwhile... “Otherwise I’ll go fishing.” – Lana Turner

Thanks to J.P. of Comet Over Hollywood for the tip on this one! Lana Turner had several hobbies and by far the most interesting of them was deep sea fishing. Turner picked up this hobby when she married husband #3, wealthy socialite Henry J. Topping (also known as Bob Topping).  He owned a fity-eight foot long Yacht named “Snuffy” that came fully equipped with deep sea fishing supplies. They would travel down to the Bahamas to catch Bluefin Tuna. When they eventually separated, it was said that Topping fled to Oregon to go deep sea fishing alone. I wonder if Lana Turner only dabbled in this hobby while she was married to Topping?

Turner with her husband Topping and some Bluefin Tuna they caught.  Source

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My series Stars & Their Hobbies explores how notable actors and actresses from Hollywood history spent their free time. Click here to view a complete list of entries.