Stars & Their Hobbies ~ Greer Garson

Greer Garson, racehorses

“All of a sudden I found myself in a race to get the sports pages in the morning.” – Greer Garson

In 1948 Greer Garson met Buddy Fogelson, a man of many trades including horse and cattle breeding. They married in 1949 and were together until Fogelson’s death in 1987. They operated Forked Lightning Ranch where they bred thoroughbred racehorses. They purchased Ack Ack, a champion thoroughbred, for $500k. Ack Ack was in many races including Withers Stakes, Hollywood Gold Cup and Arlington Classic, won several awards and was recognized as an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse.

“Ack Ack was a national treasure” – Greer Garson

It’s very clear that Garson’s love of racehorses was influenced by her husband Fogelson. She said,

“living with Buddy has broadened my life… I’ve shared the excitement of sitting up with him all night waiting for a gusher to come in answering fan mail for a horse.” (Source )

Garson enjoyed betting on races. She'd pick the horse with the longest tail and bet on it. This never proved to be an effective tactic.

Buddy Fogelson and Greer Garson receiving the 1971 Eclipse Award
for Outstanding Older Horse (Ack Ack) from Mervyn LeRoy

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 ~ Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey Bogart aboard his yacht "Santana" circa 1945.
Source: LIFE Magazine

Humphrey Bogart, Sailing

“Unless you really understand the water and understand the reason for being on it and understand the love of sailing and the feeling of quietness and solitude, you don't really belond on a boat anyway.” – Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey Bogart loved sailing especially on his beloved yacht the “Santana”. He and his wife Lauren Bacall owned and sailed the yacht from 1945 until his death in 1957. Other notable stars who owned the Santana include Eva Gabor, George Brent, Ray Milland, Dick Powell and June Allyson.  Guests on the Bogart’s yacht included Ingrid Bergman, Richard Burton, David Niven and Frank Sinatra (Source).

Sailing was an important part of Bogart’s life. He developed a passion for sailing as a child when his family would summer on Lake Canandaigua in New York. He was a member of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club and Los Angeles Yacht Club and participated in races including the San Clemente Island and Channel Islands races.

"An actor needs something to stabilize his personality, something to nail down what he really is, not what he is currently pretending to be." - Humphrey Bogart

You could say the Santana was the love of Bogart’s life, besides Lauren Bacall. Bogart had a minuature model of the Santana in his home. The boat in his film Key Largo was named the Santan. In 1947, Bogart started his own production company Santana Productions which produced films such as Knock on Any Door (1949), Tokyo Joe (1949), In a Lonely Place (1950), Sirocco (1951) and Beat the Devil (1953) among others.

There are many wonderful photos of Bogart on his yacht including a series shot by noted photographer Peter Stackpole in 1945 for LIFE magazine. Below is a home movie of Bogart and Bacall on board the Santana. Enjoy!

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 ~ Artists

Many actors and actresses from the golden age of Hollywood found solace in painting, sculpting, drawing and other art forms. It was away to express themselves creatively but in a much more private space than in front of a camera.

So far in the series I've devoted each post to one hobby and one star. In this instance, I felt I couldn't pick just one star so I decided to include as many as I could.

Frank Sinatra's art studio

Frank Sinatra at his art studio

Frank Sinatra painting

Linda Darnell and her painting, circa 1948 - Source

Linda Darnell and her sculpture - Source 

Kim Novak in front of one of her paintings

Dirk Bogarde - Source

Ginger Rogers

Ginger Rogers painting - Source

Tony Curtis - Source

Lionel Barrymore's etching of himself in the Grand Hotel

Claire Trevor

Claire Trevor's painting of Tyrone Power circa 1958
Source

UC Irvine has a Claire Trevor School of Arts!

Mae Marsh Painting, circa 1932 - Source

Thank you to Kate Gabrielle of Scathingly Brilliant, Laura of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings, Sebina and Neil for the tips. And thanks to Kate who gave me the photos for Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak!

Note: This post is a work in progress. I'll be adding more stars and their artwork so stay tuned!

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.