These Old Hollywood stars have (in some cases tragically) never been seen old. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for classic Hollywood celebrities that are known for silver screen achievements of their youth.
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00:00 "Listen, if you wanna go somewhere, I don't mind being alone."
00:04 "Do I look like I wanna leave?"
00:06 Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for classic Hollywood
00:10 celebrities known for the silver screen achievements of their youth, whether due to
00:14 early retirement or tragic circumstances.
00:17 "Tina, get my engagement book."
00:20 "Well, it's around here somewhere."
00:25 Number 10. Greta Garbo
00:28 There are actors, and there are movie stars. And then, there's Greta Garbo.
00:33 "There's a mystery in you. Is there not in every human being?"
00:38 She's widely, and rightfully, renowned today as one of old Hollywood's finest
00:43 thespians, and perhaps it's this esteemed reputation that influenced Garbo's
00:48 decision to retire from the profession at a young age. Garbo was famously fond of
00:53 her privacy, and fought for a proper life away from the spotlight throughout her
00:57 illustrious career.
00:58 "You get a sense we're being watched?"
01:00 "Watched? We're being devoured."
01:02 "Should we deprive these charming people of their appetizers?"
01:04 "That would be cruel."
01:06 "Let's be cruel."
01:08 The actor wowed audiences throughout the 1930s, but bristled at the often rigid
01:13 Hollywood system, and entered retirement around the '40s. Today, Greta Garbo's fierce
01:19 independent streak serves as an inspiration for many other actors who want to do their
01:24 own work, on their own terms.
01:26 "In Vietnam, they would have greeted you with flowers."
01:28 "Don't make an issue of my womanhood. We're here for work, all of us. Let's not waste any time."
01:33 9. Theda Bara
01:35 The world of silent film can be a treasure trove of forgotten stars and hidden gem
01:40 performances. However, Theda Bara was something special, a unique actor whose
01:45 generational beauty stood out on the silver screen.
01:48 "She was the first star who really made a career out of being bad. She knew what she
01:55 was doing, she had talent, she had stick-to-itiveness, and she was smart enough to play the game."
02:02 Bara endures today as one of the silent film era's most recognizable faces, and is often
02:07 remembered for her seductive performances and mysterious personality. Here was a died-in-the-wall
02:13 star that never even worked into the talkie era of moving pictures, yet we're still discussing
02:19 her work a century later.
02:21 "Vamping became a verb, and vamp an adjective."
02:25 Theda Bara married the director Charles Braben in 1921, and retired from acting soon after.
02:31 But her cinematic impact will never be forgotten.
02:35 "She wove her magic and cast her spell on a simpler era. But in a room darkened by veiled
02:41 lights on a flickering screen, we can still find our way back to the danger and the pleasure
02:46 of her company."
02:47 8. Clara Bow
02:49 Speaking of silent film era beauties, Clara Bow is another name that comes up again and
02:54 again when referring to legitimate stars from this period in Hollywood history.
02:59 "You looked awfully pretty up there, but you look even prettier close to."
03:04 "Say boy, you work fast. You must knock the town girls dead around here."
03:09 The camera, quite frankly, loved looking at Clara Bow, and her visage became somewhat
03:15 synonymous with old-school black-and-white Hollywood glamour. Bow, unlike Theda Bara,
03:20 enjoyed a career that transitioned with the advent of sound in moviemaking, garnering
03:25 critical acclaim and rapturous fandom all over the world.
03:29 "Now the Springer, whose colourful escapades in Chicago during the past two years have
03:33 earned her the title Dynamite, will formally bow to society this evening."
03:38 Bow also yearned for stability and tradition in her personal life, and retired from acting
03:43 in the early 1930s after marrying fellow thespian Rex Bell in 1931. But she'll always go down
03:50 as one of Hollywood's ultimate "it girls."
03:53 "Mysterious. Limitless. Beautiful. And so coolingly warm."
04:01 "That and broccoli."
04:04 7. Natalie Wood
04:06 The sad truth about many actors on this list is how tragedy interfered into what could
04:10 have, and probably should have been, long and fruitful careers.
04:15 "And it's so easy. Why is it easy now?"
04:20 Natalie Wood was an actor whose work on the silver screen just seemed to be getting better
04:25 and better. She had a charming screen presence with grace and spirit to spare. Yet Wood was
04:31 only 43 when she drowned under mysterious circumstances in 1981.
04:37 "Wagner has always said he believes Natalie tried to climb into a dinghy, fell into the
04:42 water, and accidentally drowned. Lana is skeptical."
04:47 The media still speculates today as to exactly what happened on the night of November 29th.
04:52 What we do know is that Natalie Wood shined in films like Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice,
04:58 Rebel Without a Cause, and West Side Story, and that her legacy will forever remain linked
05:04 with this impressive body of work.
05:06 "I feel... I feel so moved. So full of love."
05:12 6. Peter Lawford
05:14 He's probably best remembered today as a member of Frank Sinatra's infamous Rat Pack, but
05:19 this doesn't define Peter Lawford's brightly shining Hollywood star.
05:23 "Why don't you become an ambassador? You could be a big man in some foreign country."
05:26 "No, make that a little foreign country. We don't want a big enemy."
05:29 Lawford rose to fame early with roles in films like the 1949 adaptation of Little Women,
05:35 but it was his bad boy behavior that eventually made him even more famous.
05:40 He appeared in the original Ocean's Eleven, but was perhaps even more known for his familial
05:45 association with the Kennedy family.
05:48 "Stories about President John F. Kennedy's appetite for women, an appetite that Lawford
05:53 himself helped feed by providing a playground for the president and his mistresses here
05:58 at Lawford's Santa Monica Beach home."
06:00 By the 1970s, Lawford's acting would become more sporadic. He had a falling out with Frank
06:05 Sinatra, married multiple times, and tragically passed away in 1984 from cardiac arrest, and
06:11 liver and kidney failure due to years of substance use disorder.
06:16 "That's amazing, because the captain said he was going to serve Margot. Just for that,
06:21 I'll have to bust him to corporal."
06:23 5. Jane Mansfield
06:25 The 1950s were a helicium decade for larger-than-life bombshells who enjoyed international acclaim
06:32 and admiration.
06:33 "Oh, so the beautiful lady's a performer, eh?"
06:36 "Ask my agent."
06:38 "Oh, what do you do? Sing? Dance?"
06:42 "Ask my agent."
06:44 Jane Mansfield was certifiably one of the most dynamic and striking of these stars,
06:49 an explosive personality whose charm and beauty practically leapt off the silver screen.
06:55 She was the mother of future star Maurice Gahagate, and entered the record books as
07:01 the first actress to perform a modern nude scene after the induction of the Hayes Production
07:07 Code with 1963's Promises, Promises.
07:11 "Mandy, you look gorgeous."
07:14 "Oh, honey."
07:16 Mansfield also fraternised with the Church of Satan, and by all accounts led an existence
07:22 that was full of indulgent excesses and joie de vivre.
07:26 However, this brightly burning star was the tragic victim of a fatal automobile accident
07:31 in the early morning of June 29th, 1967, and her life was sadly cut short at only 34 years old.
07:39 "Sometimes I think of all kinds of terrible things."
07:42 4. Sharon Tate
07:44 It's one of the most infamous Hollywood crimes of all time, the details of which have
07:49 been poured over for decades.
07:51 Sharon had a few friends over to keep her company in her husband's absence.
07:55 Shortly after midnight, members of the Manson family entered the home and brutally murdered
08:01 everyone inside.
08:02 Ultimately, what truly matters isn't Sharon Tate's awful death, but the joy she brought
08:07 to fans and family over the course of a life that was all too short.
08:11 With a marvelous knack for self-aware comedy that was put to great use in her final film,
08:16 The Wrecking Crew, we're not sure Tate ever truly got to showcase her progression as an actress.
08:21 "She happens to be with British intelligence."
08:23 "I get it, you're trying to get rid of me."
08:25 "And an extremely efficient one too. As a matter of fact, I've established an observation
08:29 post above Cantini Chateau."
08:31 She knew her worth as a Hollywood beauty, yet seemed intent upon parlaying this reputation
08:37 into parts that showcased more of her other talents.
08:40 Sharon Tate was funny, warm, and yes, beautiful, but her legacy on film was also full of grace.
08:48 "Beautiful, isn't it?"
08:50 "Very beautiful."
08:52 Number 3, Jean Harlow
08:54 Jean Harlow's film career in Hollywood didn't even last a decade, yet her legacy lives on
08:59 today as a personality that's forever linked with old-school glamour.
09:03 "What do you do?"
09:05 "What do you do?"
09:06 Harlow was a pre-code bombshell who wowed audiences with her beauty and charm, a screen
09:12 siren that transcended moving pictures to become a brand that stood alone.
09:17 Unfortunately, Harlow wouldn't live to see her 30s, or even her late 20s.
09:22 "What did Dr. Talbot say? What time's he coming?"
09:27 She passed away from what was said to be kidney failure while filming Saratoga in 1937.
09:33 The shoot was controversial, as the doctor on set failed to properly diagnose Harlow.
09:39 Her condition quickly deteriorated on that set, and she ultimately passed away after
09:43 falling into a coma the previous night.
09:46 "Is it serious?"
09:47 "Well, he'd be better off without it."
09:49 "Tell father I'll take the next boat home."
09:51 Number 2, Marilyn Monroe
09:54 What can we say about Marilyn Monroe that hasn't already been said?
09:58 "I'll tell you this though, I wouldn't know how to say goodbye to you, Rosin."
10:03 It's impossible to know what would've and could've happened with Monroe's career
10:07 had this blonde bombshell not passed away so early on in her life.
10:11 Conspiracies continue to swirl around the circumstances of her death, whether it was
10:15 self-inflicted, or who else, if anyone, was responsible.
10:20 "You mean Bureau people?"
10:21 "Yeah."
10:22 "Are you aware how long afterwards they came on the scene?"
10:24 "Immediate. Before anybody even realised what happened."
10:27 "It had to be an obstruction from someone."
10:31 "I got fired."
10:32 What's ultimately more important is what the icon Marilyn Monroe means to so many people.
10:37 Monroe just mattered, and she still matters so many decades later, not only to those who
10:44 grew up with her movies, but also to those who continue to be inspired by her legacy today.
10:50 "I wanna be loved by you, just you. Nobody else but you."
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11:13 Number 1. James Dean
11:16 "We're not gonna be lonely anymore. Ever. Ever. Not you or me."
11:24 James Dean will remain young forever, a cinematic legacy that will probably always be linked
11:30 with one film, Rebel Without a Cause. There's a good reason for this too. It's a generational
11:36 performance from generational talent.
11:38 "You're tearing me apart!"
11:41 "What?"
11:42 "You, you say one thing, he says another, and everybody changes back again!"
11:47 Dean spoke to a disenfranchised and disaffected youth. He spoke truth to the power of parents
11:53 who weren't willing to listen, and he inspired many young people to question authority and
11:57 the status quo. It may seem like hyperbole to infer this from a single performance, but
12:03 the pathos and electricity of Dean was truly palpable in Rebel Without a Cause. A tragic
12:08 car accident may have robbed the world of James Dean in 1955, but his spirit will never
12:14 truly leave us.
12:15 "Boy, this is gonna be one terrific day, so you better live it up. Cause, uh, tomorrow
12:22 you'll be nothing."
12:23 Is there any actor you wish you could have seen do one more movie? Let us know in the
12:28 comments.
12:29 "I like you."
12:30 "Do you?"
12:31 "It wouldn't take much for me to get sloppily sentimental."
12:34 "It wouldn't take much for me to let you."
12:40 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo. And be sure
12:44 to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
12:47 "I like you."
12:48 "Do you?"
12:49 "It wouldn't take much for me to get sloppily sentimental."
12:50 "It wouldn't take much for me to let you."
12:51 "It wouldn't take much for me to let you."
12:52 "It wouldn't take much for me to let you."
12:53 "It wouldn't take much for me to let you."
12:54 "It wouldn't take much for me to let you."
12:55 "It wouldn't take much for me to let you."
12:56 "It wouldn't take much for me to let you."
12:57 "It wouldn't take much for me to let you."
12:58 "It wouldn't take much for me to let you."