Epic Classic Hollywood LOVE Stories: Part I

When you think of Hollywood I am sure you don't think of lasting marriages and epic love stories. But if you look close enough and dig a little deeper you can find a nice handleful of beautiful, long lasting testimonies of love in the land of Hollywood.

Sophia Loren and Carlo Ponti

He was twenty-two years older than Sophia but you know what-who cares when its LOVE. And I mean real love. They married when she was just fifteen years old and he was thirty-seven but had that married annulled because he found out he was still legally married to his first wife. They remarried in 1966 and were happily in love until his death in 2007. Just from the photos alone I can tell Sophia adored her guy and was utterly devastated with his passing. They seem like a dedicated, traditional family. Something you don't often find in Hollywood.

Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy

Fifty-two years of marriage!!!! Do you know many people who have had that??? I loved how these two not only lived life together but worked together on such films as, Cocoon, *batteries not included, and Foxfire to name a few. They both acted since a young age and had a long and successful movie and theater careers. I know most people will remember them as being older but they both were acting since the late 1930's/early 1940's!! Look for one of their films, you will be delightfully surprised!

Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy

Although Tracy and Hepburn were never legally married it wasn't because they didn't want to be, it was simple because of Tracy's belief system about divorce. He didn't want to bring problems and troubles to his children especially so he and his wife opted to live separate lives. Along the way Tracy met and fell in love with fellow actress, Hepburn. They were together for twenty-six years. Hepburn was madly in love with Tracy and at times was even sort of a care taker for him especially when he was drinking. After the filming Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, Tracy had a heart attack and passed on. Hepburn didn't speak openly about Tracy until his wife passed on in 1983. Even though this was an unconventional love story it doesn't take away the fact that it was indeed epic!

Clarke Gable and Carole Lombard

Although Lombard and Gable's marriage was short lived due to her tragic death in 1942, it was indeed an epic love story, especially for Gable who never fully recovered from her passing. They married in 1939 while Gable was filming Gone with the Wind. It has been said that the time they spent together was the happiest in his life and gave her a great deal of stability that she lacked. They would even refer to one another as "Ma" and "Pa", you can't get any sweeter than that.

Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier

Leigh and Olivier became friends while filming "The Mask of Virtue" but by the film Fire Over England in 1937 they had become lovers. One problem though-they were both married at the time! Neither spouse signed the divorce papers so until 1940 they simply lived together secretly. They were married for twenty years, until 1960. Perhaps it might not have been the happiest marriage because of Leigh's mental illness, but there was  no doubt that they had a deep love and respect for one another. They enjoyed one another's company and loved working with each other doing theatre and film work. Even though Olivier remarried, he was at her bedside when she tragically passed on from a recurring bout with tuberculosis.

I hope you enjoyed Part One of my "Epic  Classic Hollywood LOVE Stories"!

xox