Latest news with #Gilda
Daily Record
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
BBC Antiques Roadshow expert warns about diamond bracelet once owned by Hollywood star
On Sunday's Antiques Roadshow, expert Geoffrey Munn was left open-mouthed when a guest revealed a dazzling diamond bracelet was once owned by Hollywood icon Rita Hayworth. Antiques Roadshow enthusiasts were recently delighted as an expert disclosed a "crucial" tidbit regarding a guest's diamond bracelet. Indicating its potential for a dramatic increase in value at the idyllic setting of Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire. Jewellery expert Geoffrey Munn stumbled upon a stunning diamond bracelet that boasted a connection to the glitz of Hollywood. As he lauded the sparkling accessory, Munn joked: "Diamonds sparkling in the sunshine here, this is almost Hollywood sunshine, isn't it?". The owner's response alluded to its illustrious history: "It is indeed and that is exactly where this was bought." She divulged its cinematic heritage, stating: "It was bought in Hollywood Boulevard and the lady who had the antique and jewellery store would only open on Saturdays." To elaborate on the friendship as reported by the Mirror, she added: "We were introduced to her; I knew her until she died for about 24 years, and we actually used to stay with them in Miami. It's always handy to have a jeweller as a friend." The owner also mentioned her financial reasoning: "And I had inheritance so I thought I would put it into something tangible and also pretty and also probably a better investment than the bank." Munn amusingly retorted to the tale: "Your best friend, a girl's best friend, all these cliches are tumbling out onto the table!", enthused by the narrative. As they continued to discuss the bracelet's backstory, it was revealed that the item had been purchased for $23,000, which was around £13,500 at the time. However, it was the casual revelation of the bracelet's previous celebrity owner that truly stole the show: "But in fact it had belonged to Rita Hayworth", inspiring Munn to respond with delighted surprise: "Oh how marvellous! That's very good to know." The guest shared that the sumptuous bracelet was a present to Rita Hayworth, celebrated for her roles in 'Gilda' and 'The Lady From Shanghai', from her third spouse Aly Khan, who's father previously served as President of the Assembly of the League of Nations. In admiration, the guest spoke about the luminary: "She [Hayworth] was an amazing star and a real Hollywood A-lister. She acted alongside the crème de la crème of Hollywood at the time, such as Glenn Ford, Frank Sinatra, Orson Welles." The expert, Munn, recognised the ongoing adoration for the late actress, saying: "She was much adored and much loved." Reflecting upon the item, she commented: "But this is 1940s, American, fabulous Hollywood glitz." The current custodian, diligent in their research, has still not managed to find photographic evidence of Hayworth wearing the exquisite piece. Eagerly, Munn proposed: "Well I will send you home to look for those photographs and maybe even her will would be interesting too, wouldn't it? "And you must engage in a bit of open cast archaeology here, because establishing the provenance of these items is utterly pivotal. "Because they're heirlooms, their talismans, and when you can associate them with somebody famous, someone utterly glamorous in lifestyle and in looks, then this adds hugely to your investment in some regard but it's not only an investment because you love it, don't you?". While discussing the bracelet's value, the expert confessed he hadn't crunched the numbers for a precise valuation, but the guest hazarded a guess that it boasted roughly 54 carats worth of diamonds. Intrigue peaked during the appraisal as he said: "Well I'm not going to base my valuation on any of that sort of thing, because the idea of breaking this down -", which prompted her to whisper in horror: "It's sacrilege." Then came the moment of anticipation with his valuation: "But maybe if you go home and do your Rita Hayworth thing, find a photograph of her wearing it under the most spectacular circumstances with somebody famous, well then £80,000." The owner couldn't conceal her astonishment mixed with elation at such a remarkable estimate, bursting out: "That's good! That was really quite a buy!" Munn went on to hypothesise: "But if we can't find that and never do, then it's not so much fun. It might only be a mere £45,000." Even the prospect of the valuation dipping dramatically didn't dampen the owner's spirits, who jubilantly replied: "It's still good! It's still lovely! I'm delighted!".
LeMonde
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- LeMonde
In Argentina, 'The Eternaut' series rekindles search for babies stolen during the dictatorship
In the middle of summer, it starts snowing in Buenos Aires. The snowfall causes the sudden death of residents who venture outside unprotected. A greater menace lurks. To face it, protagonist Juan Salvo and his friends band together. The six-episode science fiction series The Eternaut (directed by Bruno Stagnaro, released in April on Netflix) was highly anticipated in Argentina, its country of origin. The cast features the iconic Ricardo Darin and Carla Peterson, with ambitious production values, special effects, and apocalyptic scenes. Although designed for an international audience, the series is filled with distinctly Argentine elements. In addition to the omnipresent Buenos Aires, there is an explicit reference to the Falklands War (1982) and the country's great popular singers – folk music by Mercedes Sosa, cumbia by Gilda and tango by Carlos Gardel, among others. While the series is set in the present day, it also takes the country back to the era of military dictatorship (1976-1983). Above all, it has reignited a search that has lasted for more than four decades: the search for stolen babies. The Eternaut was originally a cult comic book by author Héctor Germán Oesterheld, illustrated by Francisco Solano López, published between 1957 and 1959, and then again in 1976 for the second part.
New European
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New European
The nuclear history of the bikini
It's a relic from the time when the atom bomb was considered a symbol of modernity and progress. The device had recently brought the second world war to an end and the nuclear technology on which it was based now promised a cheap and effective source of energy. Many people headed to Nevada test sites to witness the awesome power of the A-Bomb. The atomic age was born and it would deeply influence culture, design and fashion. There's a remarkable image on display at 'Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style', a new exhibition at the Design Museum in London. It features a showgirl named Linda Lawson reclining by the pool at the Sand's Hotel in Las Vegas beaming at the camera. She has a large cotton wool mushroom cloud attached to her head and has just been crowned Miss Cue, in honour of the upcoming Nevada atomic bomb test. 'You've got this moment where atomic power feels quite like a positive,' Amber Butchart, curator of the Splash exhibition, told me, 'It's this thing that the good guys have. Obviously, that then changes as the Cold War develops.' America had revealed the destructive threat of the bomb in 1945, with the destruction of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. But news that the Soviet Union was also developing a nuclear weapon made the US determined to maintain its nuclear pre-eminence. On July 1, 1946, a nuclear device nicknamed 'Gilda' after the recent Rita Hayworth movie, detonated in a remote coral reef in the Marshall Islands called the Bikini Atoll. A few days later, a companion bomb, Helen of Bikini, was detonated in the same area. As a temporary precaution the local inhabitants had been evacuated, assured that the experiments taking place were of vital historical importance. But the evacuation was not temporary. The Bikini atoll is still uninhabited. These nuclear devices, and other even more powerful bombs subsequently tested there, created far higher levels of radioactive residue than was estimated, the devices detonated underwater sending up vast columns of radioactive sea spray. In private, the tests were considered a failure. Russian observers, invited to watch America's mighty new capability, were apparently unimpressed by what they saw. The first bomb, on July 1, was dropped around 600m off target and missed its aim point by such a wide margin that many of the ships anchored in the lagoon went unsunk. But this was not how it was reported. Headlines around the world marvelled at the might of the bomb and the possibilities it held. And, as Linda Lawson showed, it would have an enduring effect on one surprising area in particular: swimwear. One man who took particular interest in the news coming from the Marshall Island was a former civil engineer called Louis Réard. He had inherited his mother's Paris-based lingerie business just as the Second World War had begun and by the end of hostilities, he was looking for a way to reinvigorate his business. Another Frenchman, Jacques Heim, was a distinguished fashion designer who started out in the family fur firm. He'd moved into haute couture during the 1930s and had established a well-regarded fashion house that bore his name. As he was Jewish, he was forced into hiding and became active with the French Resistance. In the 1930s, Heim had dabbled with swimwear, creating a ruffled, two-piece garment that he dubbed the Atome, which was a reference to its atomically small size rather than the power of nuclear weapons (they had yet to be invented). But Heim was ahead of his time – very few people would ever dare to wear such a scandalously skimpy outfit. By after the war, and with atoms suddenly on everyone's lips, he was ready to try and rebuild his business. In June 1946, Heim re-released the Atome at his swimwear outlet in Cannes. To publicise the event, he flew a plane over the beaches of the Côte d'Azur, trailing a banner with the thrilling announcement: 'The Smallest Swimsuit in the World'. Louis Réard also had a new fashion innovation. He'd devised his own item of swimwear, a two-piece, but a two-piece with a difference. For the first time – scandalously – the wearer's navel was revealed. 'Even in periods such as the 1920s when hemlines rose, the navel itself was still not bared,' Amber Butchart says. 'So, it almost becomes symbolic of nudity itself.' Réard's creation consisted of just four triangles of material with a total size of 193 square centimetres. To reinforce the newsworthy nature of his design, the swimsuit's material had a newsprint motif. Emblazoned on the fabric, alongside other newsworthy words, was the name: 'Bikini'. Just a few days after Heim's launch, Réard's new bikini swimsuit was unveiled in Paris at the popular Piscine Molitor swimming pool where a beauty pageant was taking place. After the contestants paraded in their more modest swimwear and a winner was crowned (winning the Réard Cup), a 19-year-old dancer from the Casino de Paris named Micheline Bernardini was sent out in Réard's creation. Bernadini carried a box, the size of a match box, claiming the bikini would easily fit inside. It was a sensation. Réard's bikini knocked its nuclear namesake off the front pages. It's claimed that the International Herald Tribune alone reported nine stories about Mademoiselle Bernardini and her scandalous, navel-revealing outfit. A version of this original bikini can be currently seen at the Splash exhibition alongside other iconic swimwear including Tom Daley's Speedos and Pamela Anderson's Baywatch one-piece. 'The one that we've got on display is still very, very small and wouldn't have been worn by huge amounts of women,' Butchart says. 'But it definitely had an influence on the future of swimwear.' Réard, hearing of Heim's innovations, headed south with the intention of launching his bikini on the rich and influential Côte d'Azur beachgoers. Like his rival, he engineered his own aerial advertising. His cheeky banner read: 'Smaller than the smallest swimsuit in the world.' With that, the bikini wars had begun. Réard patented his creation and became quite litigious if he felt anyone had copied his design or was using the name 'Bikini' without consent. He enjoyed sparring with the press, releasing inflammatory statements such as his claim that a true bikini could easily fit through a wedding ring. He also released a new newsprint edition of the swimsuit every year. But despite all this press, customers favoured Heim's more modest designs, rather than Réard's more revealing offering. Worse, the Catholic Church frowned upon all this bellybutton brandishing, which led to the bikini being banned in Italy, Spain and Portugal. The shock was not confined to Europe: the American Sears catalogue once airbrushed out the navel of a model who wore a two-piece suit. 'It caught on at different times in different places,' Butchart says. 'It took a lot longer in America where there's more prudishness. It was kind of staggered in terms of how quickly it became acceptable.' It wasn't until 1952 that Brigitte Bardot helped to popularise the garment, starring in Manina, the Girl in the Bikini. Underage at the time, Bardot's father sued the production who had promised him they would not exploit his daughter's body for profit. He lost the case. As the fifties drifted into the more permissive sixties, the bikini became de rigueur. Despite Réard's design initially being less popular with beachgoers, and despite its nuclear origins, the bikini name stuck. Réard went on to run his own Paris swimwear shop for the next 40 years. Heim, perhaps stung by the bikini wars, moved away from swimwear and headed further upmarket, clothing the likes of Sophia Loren and Madame Charles De Gaulle. 'What I find really interesting about this rivalry,' Butchart told me, 'is how something so huge and destructive and geopolitical can have this outlet in swimwear. Swimwear designed by men of course, for women.' And while the bikini grew more ubiquitous, its connection to nuclear testing faded from public consciousness, just as the early optimism of the atomic age was morphing into fear. A few weeks after the bikini's launch, John Hersey's Hiroshima was printed in the New Yorker, a book-long essay describing the devastation of that city, and that put a human face on the horrors of a nuclear attack. The Cold War was a time of simmering threat and paranoia. The campy B-movies featuring atomically mutated giant ants or crabs, turned into the dread of films such as Fail Safe and Dr Strangelove. That sense of nuclear threat has never gone away. Bathing beauties wearing mushroom clouds are inconceivable now, with figures such as Putin and Trump in power. But the bikini, this bizarre remnant of the atomic age, still reigns supreme. It's perhaps one of the few reminders of a time when the energy of the atom was considered miraculous and optimistic. But you still aren't allowed to swim in the waters around the Bikini Atoll. It's still too dangerous.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Martin Short reflects on romance with Gilda Radner
Martin Short has reflected on his early romance with former SNL co-star, Gilda Radner. The Only Murders in the Building star opened up about his youthful relationship with the late comedian during an interview with Amy Poehler, describing the first time they met when he was 22. "Every girl wanted to be her best friend and every guy wanted to go out with her. I remember she came up to the first rehearsal and said, 'Hi, Marty. I'm so happy to be here.' She had her finger on her forehead. I said, 'OK, good.' She pulled (away) and she had a big pimple," Martin, 74, told Amy on her Good Hang podcast. "She was just so original. The size of her purse, the fullness of her hair, and you know, I fell for her madly." He added the couple went on to break up and reconcile "every couple of years", and were repeatedly drawn back to one another over their shared parental bereavements. "In fact, I'll tell you exactly what is very interesting," Martin said. "Gilda had, you know, emotional ups and downs. And I had just gone through a period where my parents had died, and my mother had died, and all she wanted to do was live. And she was the happiest person in the world." Gilda died, aged 42, of ovarian cancer in 1989. Martin is currently reportedly dating his Only Murders co-star, Meryl Streep, however neither has confirmed the rumours.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'I'm not a wealth hoarding boomer - my grandchildren want for nothing'
Money from boomers is propping up the next generation, rather than being hoarded, according to pensioner Gilda Smith. She and her husband David own their Ayrshire home outright and have lived there for the last four decades - a dream that is out of reach for nearly half of young people today. The latest government statistics show median household wealth is five times higher for the baby boomer generation, now aged in their 60s and 70s, than younger millennials. The economic imbalance has caused some tension between the generations that MPs sought to address earlier this week with a report warning against ageism, including the stereotype of "wealth-hoarding boomers". However, Gilda says her children and grandchildren "want for nothing" and enjoy gadgets and holidays abroad, in contrast with her own austere upbringing, while spending time and money on a stereotypical cruise would be her "worst nightmare". MPs criticise 'wealth-hoarding' boomers stereotype 'Our winter fuel payment goes into the holiday kitty' Starmer wants to act tough to fix long-term problems - but is he avoiding the trickiest? The gran-of-four explained that one of the first essays she wrote was debating the statement 'Poverty, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder' and says "that's exactly right". "It's all about perspective," she said. "Some people may perceive my husband and I as being pretty well off because we have got a car each. "We're comfortable - we can pay the bills and we can help out my son if necessary -but we're not extremely well off and we both live on our pension." Those pensions are not huge, she says, particularly as her husband David was "almost forced into early retirement" aged 51 years old from his civil engineering role. Gilda says David was the victim of ageism and was targeted along with a group of colleagues also aged over 50 because the company wanted younger and cheaper workers "at the expense of experience". The couple have lived frugally, worked "very, very hard" and saved up to afford their current home, she says, "unlike some younger people nowadays who are wanting too much, too soon". Gilda and David moved into a small flat when they married in 1974 and their daughter Linda was born a few years later, followed by their son Graeme. The pair went on their first holiday seven years later, followed by a second holiday in 1996, when they bought a second-hand caravan to travel around Scotland. This is in stark contrast to Gilda's own childhood, where any school holidays were spent working on the family dairy farm, and "we brought ourselves up, really". Now she can't imagine fulfilling the boomer stereotype of going on multiple holiday cruises per year, with more than half of cruises populated by over-60s. "Going on a cruise would be my worst nightmare, no thank you," she said. "I went to the Isle of Man on a catamaran and I was seasick twice." She also started getting "funny pains on my arm" on the catamaran, that turned out to be the first signs of a heart attack, so she is "not a fan of boats". Gilda is also not a fan of how hard her children are having to work to stay financially afloat, and with her son Graeme being a self-employed garage owner, "from time to time we have to help him out". She said: "My son is such a kind-hearted soul and people take advantage. "I hate to think how much money I've given him - it will be in the thousands - to keep the bills paid." Her daughter Linda works as a maths teacher "so financially she's very astute" but Gilda says she still worries about her safety and her health. "I worry about her safety - the other day she was trying to split up two girls going at each other with a chair - and she's working much harder than the teachers that I had, because there are so few teachers now," she said. "If someone calls in sick, there is no cover and the other teachers just have to take more children into their classes." Gilda is a firm believer that relationships are about more than money, and having lost her mother as a teenager and with a difficult relationship with her father, she lavishes time and attention on her grandchildren. "My own grandchildren want for nothing, with their own phones and gadgets and loads of Lego," she said. "They don't know what it is not to have." Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to read top political analysis, gain insight from across the UK and stay up to speed with the big moments. It'll be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
