Thursday 19 March 2020

1276) Emily Nevada Smith Frye

 Emily Nevada Smith Frye (1921 - 1985). American showgirl at Billy Rose’s Diamond Horseshoe in NY City. She also played roles in movies such as The Harvey Girls & Rhapsody in Blue.
In 1950 she married William John "Jack" Frye (1904 - 1959), co-founder and President of TWA Airlines, Vice-President of the AGFA (ANSCO) Film Corporation and director of many other corporations. The two married under one month after Jack's divorce from Helen Vanderbilt. They had a daughter, Lili Navajac Frye was born May 9, 1953.

- "The Smiths were ahead of Grandpa's car on the highway and dad can still remember her pretty red hair flowing out of the car window."  http://www.oocities.org/nas51st/Nevada-Smith.html

- "Born in Reno Nevada, this tall shapely redhead had a legion of men chasing her from coast to
coast.
https://www.sedonalegendhelenfrye.com/1950.html




1275) Juliana R. Force

Juliana R. Force (1876 – 1948). American art museum administrator and director.
Force was born Julianna Reiser, but became known as "Juliana". At the age of 35 Force married Willard Force, a dentist, then becoming known as "Juliana Rieser Force" or "Juliana Reiser Force" or "Juliana R. Force", which is sometimes shortened to "Juliana Force".
Force's first job was as the personal secretary of socialite Helen Hay (wife of Payne Whitney). At the age of 38 in 1914 she became the private secretary for Helen Hay's sister-in-law, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, a great-granddaughter of "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt and eldest surviving daughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt II.
Whitney assigned Force in 1929 to contact the Metropolitan Museum of Art to prepare a plan for a gift of Whitney's collection. Whitney's art collection gift was to be displayed in a new wing, partly financed by her. The museum turned down the gift. Whitney then displayed her work in her own studios and galleries, that were under her name. Force managed these art enterprises and then in 1930 became director of the new Whitney Museum of American Art that developed from these art studio and gallery enterprises.
Force initiated the first display of American folk art in a gallery in the United States, the "Early American Art" collection. On February 9, 1924 she began a presentation of folk art in a Whitney gallery that she administered, intending to bring folk art attractiveness closer to the level of contemporary art. Because of her passion for folk art, this initial display led to the first official public exhibition of folk art in a public showing presentation.
Force became chair of the American Art Research Council in 1942.


- "Juliana Force, the museum director, was a decisive, vibrant woman with pretty clothes and red hair...https://books.google.it/books…

- "With striking auburn hair and light green eyes, Juliana Force was a born hostess and brilliant talker..."  https://books.google.it/books…

- "Trim, auburn-haired, green-eyed, and vividly theatrical, Juliana Force had, said the art historian Lloyd Goodrich, “a personal magnetism that struck one instantly on meeting her, like a physical sensation..."  https://www.americanheritage.com/force-behind-whitney

- "The red-haired Force (her name as apt as that of a character in Pilgrim's Progress) stands, her back to the viewer, as she looks at a painting."  http://thebluelantern.blogspot.com/…/juliana-force-guy-pene…

- "Juliana Rieser, a year younger than Gertrude, had the vividly theatrical personality to match her auburn hair and green eyes."  https://books.google.it/books…




1274) Helen Varner Vanderbilt Frye

Helen Varner Vanderbilt Frye (1908–1979). American fashion designer, milliner (hat making), photographer, sculptor, portrait artist, amateur architect and rancher, with a deep love of land and horses.
She married two very prominent men: Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr. (Neil), and Jack Frye, co-founder and long-time president of Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA), and CEO of Aniline and Film Corp. Helen was said to be a pilot, and spent more time in the air with her husband Jack than most women of that time-frame (1938-1950).
After divorcing her in 1950, Jack Frye married showgirl Emily Nevada Smith.
At the end of Helen's life she managed the Frye Ranch at Sedona Arizona, which she owned and where her ashes were scattered. She is the only person to be laid to rest there.


- "... Helen brushes her auburn hair..."  https://books.google.it/books…

- "Helen was described by Los Angeles Times Fashion Editor Sylvia Weaver as an auburn-haired
blue-eyed beauty
..."  https://www.sedonalegendhelenfrye.com/1941.html




1273) Paul Ash

Paul Robert Ash (1891 — 1958). German-born American orchestra leader, composer, vaudeville personality and recording artist. He emigrated to the United States at age one.
He recorded several hit songs: "Rememb'ring" (Brunswick, 1924), with his Granada Orchestra, "My Pet" (Columbia, 1928) and "Shadows on the Swanee" (Columbia, 1933). He also penned Kay Kyser's theme "Thinking of You."

- "... some edge must come off with Paul Ash, the kingpin in this house and also a redhead."  https://books.google.it/books…

- "This publicity photograph of Paul Ash unfortunately fails to capture his vibrant red hair."   https://books.google.it/books…

- "The other music star was a red-haired, flamboyant band leader brought in from the West Coast."  https://books.google.it/books…



Wednesday 18 March 2020

1272) Hamo Thornycroft

Sir William Hamo Thornycroft (1850 – 1925). English sculptor, responsible for some of London's best-known statues. He was a keen student of classical sculpture and became one of the youngest members of the Royal Academy.
He was the leading figure in the movement known as the New Sculpture, which provided a transition between the neoclassical styles of the 19th century and its later fin-de-siècle and modernist departures.
Hamo Thornycroft belonged to the Thornycroft family of sculptors. Both of his parents, Thomas and Mary, were distinguished sculptors. In addition to his parents, Thornycroft's grandfather John Francis was also a distinguished sculptor. His brother, Sir John Isaac Thornycroft, became a successful naval engineer; their sister, Theresa, was the mother of the poet Siegfried Sassoon; Theresa and sisters Alyce and Helen Thornycroft were artists.

- "A tall, imposing figure with fiery red hair, Thornycroft sits on a stool, gazing curiously at the camera."  https://artistsathome.emorydomains.org/…/w--hamo-thornycrof… 

- "Physically, he was tall, ‘extremely powerful in frame’ with ‘curly, golden-red’ hair.https://www.npg.org.uk/…/mp04…/sir-william-hamo-thornycroft…



1271) Theresa Thornycroft

Theresa Thornycroft (1853 –1947). English sculptor and painter.
She was a member of the inventive and artistic branch of the Thornycroft family. Her father was sculptor and engineer Thomas Thornycroft (1815–1885) and her mother, sculptor Mary Francis (1814–1895). Theresa's brother Sir Hamo Thornycroft, sisters Alyce Thornycroft and Helen Thornycroft were artists, her brother Sir John Isaac Thornycroft was the founder of the Thornycroft shipbuilding company and her niece was the naval architect Blanche Thornycroft.
A gifted artist, she exhibited her paintings at the Royal Academy of Arts in London before she turned twenty-two.
She married Alfred Ezra Sassoon (1861–1895) of the Jewish Sassoon family. Because she was Anglo-Catholic, he was disinherited by the Sassoon family for marrying her. They had three sons: Michael Thornycroft Sassoon (1884–1969), Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967) and Hamo Watts Sassoon (1887–1915).


- "Theresa - short, plump, red-haired, with large ears, and nicknamed 'Trees' - studied painting under Ford Madox Brown..."  https://web.archive.org/…/b…/chapters/siegfried-sassoon.html

 - "Contemporary accounts describe her as petite, with red hair and a shy smile."  https://books.google.it/books…

1270) Paul J. "Red" Dorfman

Paul J. "Red" Dorfman (1901–1971). Head of the Chicago Waste Handler's Union and kingpin in the Chicago Outfit, who in 1959 was described by Congressional investigators "as the link between the Teamsters Union and the Chicago underworld." In 1949, Red struck a deal with Jimmy Hoffa, then head of the Teamsters Union in Michigan. According to FBI files, Red agreed to introduce Hoffa to mob figures in exchange for his son Allen's entry into the Teamsters' insurance business.
Red Dorfman had troubles with the AFL-CIO when he was caught taking funds out of the labor union's health and welfare fund, and, among other things, paying personal bills with the membership's money. Paul Dorfman was one of only two trustees on the fund. In addition, he had deposited $150,000 of health and welfare money with a bank owned by a friend, George Sax, who did not pay interest. Sax was the owner of the Saxony Motel in Miami, Florida, which was a meeting place for Hoffa, Dorfman, Robert Shulman and others when they were visiting South Florida.
He married Rose Ritman (1907–2003). His son (or stepson) Allen was portrayed by Jake Hoffman in the 2019 Martin Scorsese film The Irishman


- "Another Teamster said about Dorfman: 'He was a small, thin, red haired guy...'".  https://books.google.it/books…



1269) Jiggs Donahue

John Augustine Donahue, known as Jiggs (1879 – 1913). American Major League Baseball first baseman and catcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers / Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox and the Washington Senators between 1900 and 1909. He batted and threw left-handed.

- "... and a series of fines levied by Cominsky appeared to have little efect on the red-haired first baseman's behavior.https://books.google.it/books…




Tuesday 17 March 2020

1268) Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll

Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll (born Uinseann Ó Colla, 1908 – 1932). Irish-American mob hitman in the 1920s and early 1930s in New York City. Coll gained notoriety for the alleged accidental killing of a young child during a mob kidnap attempt.

- "With his thick mane of red hair and toothy grin, Coll seemed to enjoy his work..."  https://lists.rootsweb.com/…/ireland.rootsw…/thread/5649948/

- "... another Hell's Kitchen Irishman with a thick mane of red hair and an engaging - some would say goofy - smile."  https://books.google.it/books…



1267) Moses Montefiore

Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (1784 – 1885). British financier and banker, activist, philanthropist and Sheriff of London. Born to an Italian-Jewish family, he donated large sums of money to promote industry, business, economic development, education and health among the Jewish community in the Levant, including the founding of Mishkenot Sha'ananim in 1860, the first settlement of the New Yishuv. As President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, his correspondence with the British consul in Damascus Charles Henry Churchill in 1841–42 is seen as pivotal to the development of Proto-Zionism.

- "He had curly, reddish hair and wore formal clothes..."  https://books.google.it/books…

- "... Montefiore had fine features, fashionably curling (reddish) hair..."  https://books.google.it/books…



1266) John Moray Stuart-Young

John Moray Stuart-Young (1881–1939). English Uranian poet, memoirist, novelist and merchant trader.
He spent many years in Africa, in such diverse places as Sierra Leone, Grand Bassa in Liberia, Conakry in French Guinea and later, Onitsha on the Niger River. In Onitsha, he worked as a trader to some measure of success. He would exchange European goods for African materials such as palm-oil, ivory and rubber.
Stuart-Young published dozens of works, including books of poetry, novels, descriptions of African life and autobiographical works. His poems are closely linked to fin-de-siècle and Uranian themes, being informed by decadence, colonialism and pederasty. 

- "Between 1905 and 1939 a conspicuously tall white man with a shock of red hair, dressed in a silk shirt and white linen trousers, could be seen on the streets of Onitsha, in Eastern Nigeria."  https://www.bibliovault.org/BV.book.epl?ISBN=9780821417102



1265) Owney Madden

Owen Vincent Madden (1891 – 1965), known as Owney Madden and nicknamed "The Killer". Leading underworld figure in Manhattan, most notable for his involvement in organized crime during Prohibition. He also ran the famous Cotton Club and was a leading boxing promoter in the 1930s.
He was born in Leeds, England, and moved to New York in 1901, along with his mother and brother (his father died in 1932).

- "... her association with the notorious red-haired gangster Owney Madden..."  https://books.google.it/books…



Saturday 14 March 2020

1264) Emilio Coda

Emilio Coda (1881 - ?). Italian-born American coal miner and anarchist. He was born in the province of Novara, in Piedmont. Along with other Italian immigrants (like Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti), he was a follower of anarchist Luigi Galleani. Galleani and his group promoted radical anarchism by speeches, newsletters, labor agitation, political protests, secret meetings, and, above all, direct action. Many used bombs and other violent means to promote their political position, practices that Galleani actively encouraged but in which he apparently did not participate, except for writing the bomb-making manual La Salute è in voi!.

- "Coda was compact and strongly built, with blue eyes, reddish hair and a ruddy complexion to match. Eugene Lyons described him as a 'little red-haired anarchist who liked to talk violence'."  https://books.google.fr/books…



Friday 13 March 2020

1263) Sidney Garfield

Sidney R. Garfield (1906 – 1984). American medical doctor and a pioneer of health maintenance organizations. He co-founded the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system with businessman Henry J. Kaiser. He graduated from the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1928, which is now called the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.

- "Garfield was flashy in appearance, with a full head of flaming red hair."  https://books.google.fr/books…

- "Sid was walking around the hospital without his white coat, looking very youthful with his bright red hair and casual clothes.https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/…/when-the-poker-chips-a…

- "From his mother, Sidney Garfield inherited a shock of red hair that made him the target of taunting by neighborhood bullies to the point that he begged to color his hair.https://www.calhospital.org/…/volunteers_and_innovation_-_a…

- "His hair, cut close, was curly reddish-gold and he was deeply tanned."  https://books.google.fr/books…



1262) Lillian Hellman

Lillian Florence Hellman (1905 – 1984). American dramatist and screenwriter known for her success as a playwright on Broadway, as well as her Communist sympathies and political activism. She was blacklisted after her appearance before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) at the height of the anti-communist campaigns of 1947–1952. Although she continued to work on Broadway in the 1950s, her blacklisting by the American film industry caused a drop in her income. Many praised Hellman for refusing to answer questions by HUAC, but others believed, despite her denial, that she had belonged to the Communist Party.
As a playwright, Hellman had many successes on Broadway, including Watch on the Rhine, The Autumn Garden, Toys in the Attic, Another Part of the Forest, The Children's Hour and The Little Foxes. She adapted her semi-autobiographical play The Little Foxes into a screenplay, which starred Bette Davis and received an Academy Award nomination in 1942.
Hellman was romantically involved with fellow writer and political activist Dashiell Hammett, author of the classic detective novels The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man, who also was blacklisted for 10 years until his death in 1961. The couple never married.


- "Though she lacked conventional beauty, the shapely, auburn-haired office girl excited the interest of the editors.https://books.google.fr/books…

- "She had reddish hair, heavy features, a protrusive nose and a tough way of expressing herself."  https://books.google.fr/books…

- "Interviewers, conditioned by the toughness of her writing, were surprised to find her intensely feminine, fond of clothes and cooking, a short, attractive person with reddish hair and an aquiline nose."  https://www.nytimes.com/…/lillian-hellman-playwright-author…



Thursday 12 March 2020

1261) Jack Curran

John Joseph "Jack" Curran (1930 – 2013). American baseball and basketball coach. Curran was the head coach at Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, New York. He won more basketball and baseball games than any high school coach in the United States. He has been elected into nine different Halls of Fame.

- "Curran was a respectable gentleman with an old Irish face and a brush of fading red hair."  https://books.google.fr/books…

- ''Hero of the night was Johnny Curran, a 6-foot 3-inch red-headed right-hander..."  https://www.nytimes.com/…/father-basketball-long-into-overt…

- "But as a son of the city, I can remember him as a scrawny, big-eared red-headed sub with the good St. John’s basketball teams..."  https://www.georgevecsey.com/…/honoring-jack-curran-lifer-c…



1260) Marion Denman Frankfurter

Marion Frankfurter (née Denman, 1890 - 1975). Wife of the Austrian-American lawyer, professor, and jurist Felix Frankfurter (1882-1965), who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He became a friend and adviser of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who appointed him to fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by the death of Benjamin Cardozo.
Frankfurter and Denman married in 1919. She was a Smith College graduate and the daughter of a Congregational minister. They married after a long and difficult courtship, and against the wishes of Frankfurter's mother, who was disturbed by the prospect of her son marrying outside the Jewish faith. Frankfurter was a non-practicing Jew, and regarded religion as "an accident of birth". Frankfurter was a domineering husband and Denman suffered from frail health. She suffered frequent mental breakdowns. The couple had no children.

- "Among them was Marion Denman, Frankfurter's future wife, the daughter of a Congregational minister from Longmeadow, Massachusetts, pale and beautiful, with auburn hair and hazel eyes."  https://scholarship.law.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi…

- "Sharp-tongued, intelligent, coquettish, and a trifle vain... with her shimmering auburn hair and hazel eyes..."  https://books.google.fr/books…




Friday 6 March 2020

1259) Olive Thomas

Olive Thomas (born Oliva R. Duffy; 1894 – 1920). American silent-film actress and model.
Thomas began her career as an illustrator's model in 1914, and moved on to the Ziegfeld Follies the following year. During her time as a Ziegfeld girl, she also appeared in the more risqué show The Midnight Frolic. In 1916, she began a successful career in silent films and would appear in more than 20 features over the course of her four-year film career. That year she also married actor Jack Pickford, the younger brother of fellow silent-film star Mary Pickford.
On September 10, 1920, Thomas died in Paris five days after ingesting her husband's syphillis medication, mercury bichloride, that brought on acute nephritis. Although her death was ruled accidental, news of her hospitalization and subsequent death were the subject of speculation in the press. Thomas' death has been cited as one of the first heavily publicized Hollywood scandals.


- "... with her large blue eyes, chiseled nose, pert childlike lips and flowing auburn hair... Olive Thomas was mesmerizing on stage as well as on screen."  https://books.google.nl/books…