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Born 1918 at Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, Ernest Munson went to Middlesbrough Grammar School, and when the war came he enlisted in the army, serving in Britain, North Africa and Italy.
During the Second World War I was stationed in Foggia, in Italy, and for me, a Clerical Officer in the Royal Army Corps, it seemed to be all rain, mud, and work. I did however, find time to visit the camp cinema at times, where thanks to the American Army, we were kept happy with popular films of the time.
One afternoon, the office telephone rang, and one of my army buddies informed me that if I wanted to see a visiting celebrity I was to make my way to the camp Assembly Hall, which I quickly did. The celebrity was none other than MADELEINE CARROLL, the blonde actress, who earlier in the year, had starred in the film 'MY FAVOURITE BLONDE' (the year was 1942), with comedian BOB HOPE.
With others in the regiment, I stood in awe as she entered the room, to be greeted by several army officials. She was dressed in the uniform of THE RED CROSS, and she chattered happily to different people, until it was time for her to go.
I held no rank at that time, but she did, and as she walked directly towards me, I saluted, which she returned, leaving by the door behind me. I was quite proud to have seen this popular British star of the 30s and 40s.
She appeared in films such as 'School For Scandal' (33), 'The 39 Steps' (35), and 'The Prisoner of Zenda' (37). She left the UK in 1936 to work for Twentieth Century Fox, and in 1943, became an American Citizen.
Her sister was killed in the London Blitz, and Madeleine came back to the UK to help with War Relief, and she joined UNESCO. She was married four times, once to STERLING HAYDEN, and her career spanned the years 1927 to 1949. She died in 1987.
For a brief few moments, Madeleine Carroll brought a ray of sunshine into the lives of a few new recruits.
VIOLET PRETTY --- PRETTY AS A PICTURE
Some years ago, while working in a local government office in Middlesbrough, it was my job to keep people's National Insurance cards up to date with credits.
One day a client came into the office with a pile of cards that needed to be credited. As we were reaching the end, he informed me that he was a card short, and he would call in and bring it to me the next day. The name on the card was Violet Pretty, which I noted down.
It seems that this client worked for a television company that produced a series called 'Carrol Levis Discoveries', and Violet had recently started work with them, promoting the programme.
He smiled as I asked him, 'And is she really pretty?' to which he replied, 'Yes, she certainly is!' It was not until sometime later that I discovered that Violet Pretty was in fact, none other than British actress Anne Heywood. This 1949 'Miss Great Britain' beauty queen then went on to make quite a few films, both here and abroad. Here is a resume of her career:
While 'Violet Pretty' may have been an acceptable moniker in the silent-movie days, it sounded too showbizzy to be true in the early 1950s: that's why English beauty-contest winner Violet Pretty became Anne Heywood upon entering films.
She started out in bits in programmes like Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951), then rose to leading-lady status in the mid-1950s in such audience pleasers as Doctor at Large (1957) and Upstairs and Downstairs (1959).
Remaining popular in Britain throughout the 1960s, Heywood was more or less an unknown quantity to American filmgoers, except for those art-house habitues who recalled her excellent work in the pioneering lesbian-themed drama The Fox (1968).
The producer of 1969's Midas Run hoped to make Heywood a household name in the U.S. by having her appear prominently in the film's radio and TV ads together with male lead Fred Astaire. That producer was Raymond Stross, who happened to be the husband of Anne Heywood.
Ernest Munson, Derbyshire, 2002
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