Mary Hardy

Loud, Rude and Strangely Likeable

Mary Hardy with co-worker, Graham Kennedy.
 Image from "The  Age" newspaper.

Eccentric, vibrant and a tad acerbic, sister of writer Frank Hardy and Great Aunt of opinion-dropper Marieke Hardy, entertainer Mary Hardy was a familiar figure on radio and TV to many Australians in the 1960s and 70s.

My mother, who, it must be said, held certain snooty bourgeois pretensions, never liked her and on more than one occasion described her as 'vulgar', a term which, to my childish ear, always carried a cachet of intrigue and sparked a curiosity for the person or thing thus described. 

From the beginning, I guiltily found Mary more than a little fascinating and very different from most of the other blandly respectable television personalities my mother favoured - she was, after all, the first woman to say the 'F' word on Australian television. In an era of cute barrel girls and delightfully-mannered hostesses,  as a female entertainer she was so...brash. Not everyone appreciated her refreshing lack of inhibition of course and she could easily rub people up the wrong way, including my mother, who valued niceness above candour.

Never a beauty, a condition she was only too well aware of herself, Mary refused to be ignored and managed to garner a place in the spotlight via the strength of her wit and personality and at a time when not many female television personalities could manage it. In the early days of Australian TV, physical attractiveness and a certain discreet nod to the established male order was a prerequisite for success for women in that medium.

Roots

Novelist Frank Hardy

Mary Hardy had come from a large, raucous Catholic family [though her father was an atheist]. One of eight children, the Hardy's were of modest means but politically conscious and creatively ambitious. Mary's birth in 1931 coincided with the Great Depression. Her brother Frank was a notorious red-ragger best known for his novel, Power Without Glory, a story of political corruption, originally commissioned by the communist party. Mary, the youngest of the eight Hardy children, made her debut stage appearance at the Bacchus Marsh Mechanics Hall. At 12, after the death of her father she moved to Melbourne with her mother.

Unlike many celebrities, Mary Hardy never removed herself too far from the average Joe, maintaining an easy rapport with her public and therein lay a big part of her appeal. Perhaps she made a point of never losing touch with those early working-class roots.  In the video below, a couple of literary tourists filmed the old Hardy house at 48 Lederderg St, Bachus Marsh, a country town West of Melbourne.  Interestingly, it was the same street in which novelist Peter Carey lived.

The All-round Entertainer
Although we were never officially allowed to watch Penthouse Club [way too vulgar], a vehicle for televised horse-racing, which aired on HSV7 in the 70s, I would occasionally catch snippets of Mary and her quick-draw ad lib wit in between the 'trots' on that show and later, on radio 3AW. There was something about Mary that was so essentially Australian or at least a particular strain of Australian - outspoken, comical, irreverent, yes, vulgar and an oddly affecting mix of confidence and self-deprecation.

By the time I discovered Mary she was already well into her 40s but many older Melbournians remembered her from her successful stage work and satirical reviews in the 1950s as well as her 3UZ afternoon show and her appearances with Graham Kennedy and Noel Ferrier on In Melbourne Tonight a popular variety show[also deemed irredeemably tasteless by my ever-watchful mother] which aired on HSV7 in the 1960s. Hardy was a versatile performer, at her best in the live arena where her spontaneous wit could bounce around unscripted and she won several gold Logies for efforts; an award bestowed not by industry peers but by votes from the public.

An Unhappy Joker
When Mary Hardy's fatally wounded body was discovered in her bath in 1985, shock waves reverberated through the Melbourne public and entertainment industry. Although it was no secret that she had battled depression, having spent time in hospital for 'nervous breakdowns', such events shake everyone's equilibrium and to those who were close to her, undoubtedly right down to the core. 

According to most accounts, age had made the uber-feisty Mary more mentally fragile and at 54 she had made the decision to bow out with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, perhaps due to a cumulation of factors - loneliness, insomnia, the diminishment of her career [not helped by conflicts with management], unresolved issues with her Catholicism, self-esteem wounds and other issues unknown. Ultimately, though those close may have an inkling, the internal dynamics of any suicide is a mystery known only to the person involved and perhaps not fully, even then.

Mary had married musician Lee Gordon Pearce in 1968 and they divorced in 1975. Presumably she had other relationships but never remarried. Reputedly, Hardy lamented her childless state and this too, may have contributed to her depression. Conscious of her appearance, she had also suffered from a sense of inferiority in the beauty department and a nose-job in her 40s failed to rectify her insecurities.Though far from ugly, she was, it seems, an overly harsh critic of her own aesthetic appeal.

Yet, just two years prior to her death, there were plenty of signs of life - at a 1983 Liberal part function Hardy had managed, with characteristic irreverence,  to get herself arrested for heckling the then Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser and sending out crow calls during a rallying song performed by pop singer Colleen Hewitt. Strange to think that that spirited act was probably her last public performance.

The Beauty of Gene Tierney

An American Babe

1940s beauty, Gene Tierney

1940s leading lady, Gene Tierney, was a Brooklyn-born beauty who wowed screen audiences with her striking features - luminous green eyes, a bone structure to die for, tall slender body, light olive, glowing skin and an elegant sense of style. Unlike some female stars of her generation,whose sex-appeal lay in a girl-next-door approachability, Tierney was the untouchable goddess, beyond the reach of ordinary men.

Tierney's onscreen presence exuded a kind of upmarket refinement and indeed, she was born into comfort and privilege, attending some of the best educational institutions in the US before being whisked off to a Swiss finishing school for a final polishing. Her father was a successful insurance broker who set up a corporation, Belle-Tier,  to finance and promote her acting career, a backing enjoyed by very few fledgling starlets.

At the insistence of her father, who thought she should first garner some dramatic kudos by appearing on the stage, the actress made her entree into film via Broadway, where she fell under the wing of influential producer/director, George Abbot. While her acting talents may not have been sufficiently outstanding to separate her from the herd, her beauty and presence was and thus the young actress did not go unnoticed under the stage lights, either by critics, the public or her theatre colleagues, with whom she formed some influential friendships. Tierney's upward career trajectory seemed inevitable - exceptional beauty and family backing ensured she had elegantly stepped on a first-class ride to Hollywood and adoration.

The Ingenue

Mary Pickford - an ingenue of  silent films

What is an Ingenue?
An ingenue is an innocent; a guileless girl-woman who has charm, physical appeal and general niceness but is unsullied by too much worldly knowledge. Ingenues have been a mainstay character-type in film, literature and theatre for as long as these mediums have been around. They represent the eternal ideal of the virtue in women; Eve before the apple incident.

The Ingenue in Films

In the silent film era ingenues were particularly prevalent. Ham-fisted story-lines tended to revolve around sweet, artless young women who were often being threatened by the corrupting influence and/or physical violence of a villain - they were variations on the old cliched theme of the innocent girl tied to the railroad track by the ghastly evildoer and is rescued, with seconds to spare, by the gallant actions of the male lead.

Of course as audiences became more sophisticated, so did plots and subtler versions of the ingenue appeared. Ingenues became involved in complex plots involving a range of dramas and situations, from gangsters to spy thrillers. Screwball comedies of the 1930s featured feisty, wisecracking ingenues with bags of sex-appeal yet who seemed strangely immune to sexual innuendo.

Fop Hairstyles

17th century engraving of a British actor,
in character as 'Lord Foppington'.

Source: Wiki Commons

What Does Fop Mean?
The word 'fop' was used way back in the 1600s as a pejorative term for men who appeared to be overly vain, putting too much emphasis on their clothes, hair and general appearance. As a handy term for a dandified peacock, it caught on, eventually finding its way into popular culture via fictional characters such as The Scarlet  Pimpernel and Zorro.
The Rococo period
Foppishness was applied particularly to the French Court of Louis XV and the dandified and effeminate fashions which emanated from that part of the world, particularly in the eighteenth century, when French style among the male upper classes dictated such fashionable accoutrements as elaborately curled powdered wigs, skirted embroidered coats, delicately frilled cuffs, pink stockings, stick-on beauty spots and lush fabrics such as satin, silk and velvet. This was known as the 'Rococo' or 'Late Baroque' period and it was a good time to be a fop if you were that way inclined.

Top Actresses of the 1960s

When you're hot, you're hot and in the 1960s there was no-one more sizzling than these female movie stars...

The social revolution of the 1960s and its accompanying shifts in perspective brought about new standards of beauty in the film industry. The pointy-chested, pancaked-faced, voluptuous babes of the 1950s didn't gel with the emergent youth culture who were looking for something a little more edgy to identify with. Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe were on the way out and Brigitte Bardot and Jane Fonda were on the way in.

It was the era of subversive fashions, revolutionary music, political protest and greater sexual freedom and the new generation had a taste for women who were assertive, freedom-loving, slender, sexy and trendily chic. The actresses featured below represented a new ideal of the individualistic, modern women and they radiated the vibe and energy of the pulsating '60s on screen.

Wooden Framed Sunglasses

The Wood Look

What goes around comes around in the fashion industry and that's certainly true of sunglasses, the designers of which often look to the past for inspiration, as evidenced by the many retro designs on the market.

Sunglasses with a distinctive wood look have become popular of late and the style refllects mid century sunglass fashions, when wood was commonly used in the frames.

The Baghdad sunglasses below are 'wood effect' rather than real wood but they are also very reasonably priced and once they're on you really can't tell the difference. I bought a pair of these recently and they do have a definite retro look, reminiscent of the 1950s.

Baghdad retro style wood effect sunglasses

Baghdad wood look sunglasses in action

Decorating with Chandeliers

"The term "chandelier" is from the 12th Century Old French world Chandelier, which evolved from an earlier, 10th century term chandelabre. That's not the end of the story though, because chandelabre came from the latin word candela, meaning candle.

They have a very old and grand history and have been used to grace the fine houses and mansions of the landed gentry and aristocrats of Europe for centuries.

Chandeliers add a fabulous touch of romantic distinction to any living room, bedroom or dining-room. I've even seen them used to great effect even in bathrooms. They work particularly well with French Provincial or Shabby Chic design elements.

Top of the Range: Molteni Stoves

It was the master chefs of the 1920's who helped direct the development of Molteni stoves, a brand name synonymous with high quality, prestigious and expensiveprofessional stoves and rangehoods. Founder, Joseph Molteni crafted his ranges on the advice and specifications of master chefs and for decades, Molteni stoves and cooktops have been uitilised in some of the best kitchens of the industry.

Recently however, Molteni has moved into domestic home kitchens, offering the household some of the most beautiful and efficient stoves available. They are made to last and apart from the A grade performance, come in a variety of striking colours and gleaming finishes. From the glistening gold knobs to the smoothly opening drawers and fine accents, Molteni reeks of craftsmenship and attention to detail.

Molteni Classic range

Strictly For the Luxury Kitchen

Molteni stoves are big, therefore they not for every kitchen and they are, as you would expect, hand-wringingly expensive - the home range having been designed primarily for the luxury kitchen. However, if you are fortunate enough to have both the room and the funds, they would be a fantastic acquisition.

Molteni craftsmen boast an emphasis on attention to detail, durability and state of the art technology. The solid steel stoves are virtually hand made, having been manufactured one at a time, according to customer specifications.

Chesterfield Couches

History of the Chesterfield Sofa

Apparently many Canadians refer to any sofa as a Chesterfield but this is news to me as I've always associated the name with a particular type of classic, large, leather couch, with a padded, buttoned upholstery - very solid and disguished looking and very British. According to the Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, the term Chesterfield is generally used to describe a sofa created in honour of Philip Stanhope, the fourth Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773).

True Chesterfields (as opposed to any old couch) are indeed very distinctive, with a low rolled back and thick, supportive, yet extremely comfortable padding. Chesterfields look even better with the patina of age and as they are made from good quality leather, they're hardy and virtually never wear out, unless you treat them abusively. Perhaps they might survive even then.

Elsa Schiaparelli; Shocking

Shocking Schiaparelli

Elsa Schiaparelli was one of Coco Chanel's biggest rivals. In the Paris scene of the 1930s, the Italian born Schiaparelli personified cultivated chic and was a style leader among the fashion icons of the era. Many of her designs were drawn from the creative influences of the Paris art scene and she collaborated with Salvador Dali and sculptor, Alberto Giacometti.

Yves Saint Laurent Style

The Style King

Easily one of the most recognizable figures in fashion history, by the end of his life, Algerian born Yves Saint Laurent had managed to make his name synonymous with elegant style.

A precocious adolescent, Laurent began designing clothes professionally at 17, while working as a couturier to an assistant of fashion great Christian Dior. Over a career that spanned over fifty years, before his death in 2008, he revolutionized several aspects of the high fashion industry and influenced a host of designers who came after him.

Saint Laurent's rise to fame was phenomenally rapid; at 21 he was named Head of Dior and his first major collection in the spring of 1958 brought him international acclaim - his Trapeze dress, in particular had wowed the industry and public alike.

Andy Warhol's Soup Cans

Warhol's Soup Factory

Artist Andy Warhol once remarked in his non-chalant fashion, "art is about liking things". Well Warhol must have been very fond of Campell's soup cans because he painted quite a few of them - 32 in total and all uniformly measuring 510 mm by 410 mm. They were created in 1962, using a silkscreen printing method and each can displaying the varieties of soup Campbells had on offer at the time. artist took ordinary objects from popular culture and emphasised them in ways that transformed them into iconic 'art'.

By the 1960s,the soup can, in all its glorious mundaneness, had been a familiar object to millions. By removing the cans from a familiar domestic context and placing them in a space normally reserved for works of art he was at once mocking the seriousness of the art establishment and at the same time elevating popular culture to the level of art.

Batik Art

Batik is an Indonesian word and refers to a particular method of dying cloth known as 'resist dying', whereby part of the cloth is deliberately prevented from absorbing colour dyes. Instead of a uniformly patterned colour effect, Batik cloth is a vibrant mix of hues, with varying colour intensity on different parts of the cloth.

Wax or paste is commonly used in traditional resist dying - this is applied to various parts of the cloth before the whole is dipped in dye. As the wax is usually applied by hand and the process not exact, a more random colour pattern is achieved, with indistinct, rather than precise borders around the patches of colour. It's a process that has been used in Asia, Egypt and Africa since ancient times.

The Coolness of Smeg Fridges

Smeg is an innovative, Italian based company specialsing in high quality home appliances for the trendy, moneyed set. Their vintage designs are reminiscent of the 1950's and 60's yet incorporate top engineering and the latest technology.

Founded in the 1940's, Smeg is a family owned company, under the guidance of Roberto Bertazonni, who had the vision to employ some of the best Italian architects (such as Mario Bellini, Guido Canali and Renzo Piano), to work for the business. Smeg's strength was to see appliances as something more than utilitarian objects - with Smeg function and form work together and one is not overshadowed by the other. One of the more iconic objects in Smeg's range of products is the iconic retro refrigerator..otherwise know as The Smeg.

Buzzwords

What's a Buzzword?

Good question. A buzzword is a word that has become so fashionable and over-used, it's almost a slogan. Often such words begin as pop-psychology jargon in the corporate, media or academic world and then spread out to become more widely used.

A buzzword can come across as pretentious, as the word may be an attempt to make something seem more important than it is. When someone says they felt "empowered", what do they really mean? They felt stronger, better, more able to cope? "Empowered" implies they've been injected with a superhuman tonic, which of course they haven't so it's really just a feel-good word designed to motivate people for political, social or personal reasons.

Buzzwords aren't necessarily a bad thing but they do tend to be overused, sometimes to the point where they become meaningless and just glide over the listener, elliciting no emotional response. Often they're very effective as a motivational tool and can stir people to action, such as the call for "the empowernent of women", though that term is now so tired few would be excited by it. They can also be suffocating and even a form of compulsion, especially in a corporate or academic environment, when it becomes a requirement to speak in buzzwords. 

Marilyn Monroe Posters

MARILYN MONROE LIPS - 24x36 - ART PRINT / POSTER Collections Poster Print, 24x36 Collections Poster Print, 24x36 Amazon Price: $2.89 List Price: $6.99

Photogenic

Marilyn Monroe, AKA Norma Jean Baker, was one of the most photogenic women in the world. So powerful were her images, she still continues to fascinate half a century after her death. What made her so photogenic?

Bobby Womack

Once a back up guitarist for the legendary Sam Cooke, Bobby Womack began his career back in the 1960's, singing in the family R&B band, The Valentinos. Based in Cleveland where Womack was born, the line-up included Bobby's four brothers, Cecil (of Womack and Womack fame), Harry, Friendly and Curtis, all of whom were songwriters. Notably, Bobby Womack wote the Rolling Stones hit It's All Over Now,which topped the UK singles charts.

It was Cooke who 'discovered' the band and offered them a contract with his SAR Records label, much to the chagrin of the boy's father, Friendly Womack Senior, who considered Cooke's brand of music sinful. At that time in the US there were two kinds of black singers - gospel and mainstream secular and to cross over to the latter was seen by some as selling out to the devil. Although Curtis was the lead singer, Sam had singled Bobby out for attention, remarking that he "sang with authority, and commanded attention on stage".

Zsa Zsa Gabor

The Gabors Flee Europe

World War 2 created flux and turmoil in Europe. It was a time of change and disorder; families were uprooted, homelands abandoned and for some, a chance for new beginnings in strange lands. Amongst those uprooted and thrown into flux, were sisters Zsa Zsa, Eva and Magda Gabor who, with their parents Vilma and Jolie, made their way from Budapest, Hungary, after the Nazi invasion, to America, sometime in the mid 1940's.

In Budapest, the family had been relatively well-heeled and the girls well-educated; they spoke several languages. In addition, Jolie Gabor, who was a kind of Hungarian Mrs. Bennett, saw to it that her daughters were well-versed in the essential charms a woman needed in order to catch a suitable husband.

Diplomacy the Game

Diplomacy

The other evening I was wandering aimlessly through the games section of Amazon, as is my want, when I came across a product that stirred a strange little memory - partly warm and fuzzy, partly uncomfortable. It was a board game called Diplomacyand when I spotted it I felt a zap of recognition and surprise because I hadn't seen it for years.

My older brother and sister and their friends used to play this game when I was growing up and frankly, as an onlooker, it drove me mad. As I was apparently "too young" too understand the cutthroat and complicated nature of international diplomatic relations, I was excluded from play. I still haven't played it, so this isn't a review but I can attest to the dedication, seriousness and profound involvement it inspires in its players.

The game of Diplomacy

Diplomacy Amazon Price: $22.99 List Price: $29.99

Political Intrigue and Alliances

The game of Diplomacy usually involves seven players who become totally consumed by the game play, which can go on for many hours, during which time alliances will be formed, traitorous actions performed, slimy promises made, heated words exchanged and copious amounts of tea, coffee and various snacks consumed.

Long suffering little sisters who are not allowed to play will often be sent on tedious missions to provide these nourishments and non players will get annoyed and frustrated as living areas are completly taken over by the game.

Oft described as game of "intrigue, trust and treachery" this is not a game for the faint hearted and in truth I'm not sure how hard it is. As a young teen, I could never make head or tail of it but then, I was never given the chance to learn properly. I mentioned this re-encouter to my star Diplomacy playing brother recently and I don't whether this may be an unfortunate, innate sexism within him but he tells me my older sister, who wasallowed to particpate, never really understood the game either: according to him, she just "pretended too". (Oh my, I know she'll be furious if she reads this.)

The Birth of Diplomacy

Diplomacy has been commercially available since 1959 and was created by Alan B. Calhamer in 1954. The story goes that, as a boy he was intrigued by an old geography book found in an attic that showed a map of the world prior to WWI. Years later, while at Harvard Law School and recalling the geography book, he developed a game of strategy and alliance, which put seven players in charge of the major world powers.

For those who really get into Diplomacy in a big way, there have been tournaments held since the 1970's and playing Diplomacy by mail and now emailhas been an option since the 80's. Not so surprisingly, it's Henry Kissinger's favourite game and evidently John F Kennedy was also a fan.You'd think these politicians would have got enough cuttroat intrigue in real life wouldn't you? Apparently not.

Rules of Diplomacy

There are no dice in this game - it's all about negotiation. The game is set around the turn of the 20th Century, when the major world powers vie for supremacy. According to the folks at boardgames.canada.com,who seem to know all about it:

Military forces invade and withdraw, shifting borders and altering empires with subtle maneuvers and daring gambits. Form alliances and unhatch your traitorous plots as you negotiate and outwitin a delicate balance of cooperation and competition to gain dominance of the continent! In Diplomacy, your success hinges not on the luck of the dice, but your cunning and cleverness.

Yes, from memory that sounds about right. One of these days, I'll get around to playing this game and what's more, I'll damn well win! I know how to be ruthless if I have to...

The Diplomacy Board. Image from boardgamescanada.com

Doris Day Hairstyles

Doris Day -1954 covergirl

Fresh as a Daisy and Clean as a Whistle

soft and romantic...a very young Doris Day

I confess, in my callow youth I was critical of Doris Day - her appearance, manner and general aura, which seemed so pert, accommodating and just generally reeking of repressed glass-of-white-milk niceness. At that time, the 50s era hadn't yet taken on it's cool retro cachet and it seemed to my sensitive fashion palette an era of excessive bad taste mingled with blatant sexism. I was a 70s snob (yes I know, the 70's! In itself, a fashion disaster).

However, over the years, I've changed my mind about Ms Day. Whether this can be put down to to general maturity or a growing nostalgic wistfulness for the 1950s, I can't say but I'm now prepared to admit that there was more to Doris than meets the eye. She had something...a je ne sais quo, that stretched beyond the full skirted curviness of her figure, white teeth, sparkling blue eyes, the sexy, whispery, breathless....and yet, forceful way of talking and of course her, powerful singing voice. How she used to belt out those numbers, with a voice as clear and clean as rain on a tin roof.

But down to hair...

the blonde is beautiful philosophy

It seemed to me and still does, that much of Doris's fetching perkiness emanated form her crisp blonde hairstyles and the hair itself, with it's suggestive synthentic doll texture and luminous, equally manufactured colour tones. So Hollywood and yet at the same time, so housewife/good girl. Less tarty than Lana Turner's platinum poof but more oomphy than June Alyson's anal bob. How did she pull it off?

Doris Day could never have been dark. It wouldn't have worked. So much of her image relied on the clean clear purity of a golden halo. She was a kind of refined Betty Grable, with perky Ginger Rogers overtones. Never an obvious vamp in the blonde Jean Harlow sense... but rather a dangerous woman of a more subtle, complex strain - exuding part worldly, womanly vixen and part homespun, earthy domestic warmth. Wow, she was hot!

So young..so nice

Decades of Day

Day's hair went through several transmutations over the decades but it's luminous essence remained the same : always blonde, cute and fresh, with fetching waves and contrivances in the right places.

  Early Days

Doris Day, from  romance on the high seas

Born in 1922, the singer had her first big hit in 1945, with the classic melody, Sentimental Journey and from that pivotal  point, she never looked back, career-wise. that early musical success led to a lengthy movie career and she made 39 films in all, beginning with the technicolor  extravaganza, romance on the High seas, in the late 1940s. Here, Day's hair was moulded into typically 40s, stylised oomph concoction, with bushy, careful, long curls and scrolled up bangs. and of course, very blonde. It was, for the times, a young, bouncy look that perfectly suited day's vivacious personality.

In the 1950s Doris's hair took on a more sophisticated look, in keeping with the changing styles of a new, modern post-war era. Shorter hair was the go, but it was no less blonde. In this decade, Doris wore her hair pinned up or cut into a classically 50s short bob. It was a more mature look but no less pert than the previous decade. Doris's hair was nothing, if not assertive.

pinned up glamour with Cary grant in that touch of mink

One of Day's biggest film role in the 50s was her portrayal of singer Ruth Etting in the 1955 film love me or leave me, co-starring with legend, James Cagney and her hair radiated the jazzy, sexy appeal of a 50s gamine. The film was a critical and commercial success and further cemented Doris Day as a major talent, as well as a considerable box office draw. 

doris day, hot as hades in love me or leave me, 1955.

classic day and hudson, from pillow talk, 1959

Toward the end of the decade, Day launched into the series of profitable, light romantic comedies with hollywood gay hunks Rock Hudson and Cary Grant, for which she is perhaps best known - think pillow Talk. in these films our heroine's hair was less sexy round the edges and more cute and respectable bobsy, in keeping with the squeaky clean tone of the films. It was, after all, the twin bed era.

Doris Day, mature and stylish in a pillbox hat. from midnight lace 1960

the 60s and beyond

still a bob - but longer. Doris Day in the 60s

As the radical 60s swung into action, Doris grooved things up in the hair department, growing her still gold locks into a longer bob and later, for her tv series, the  Doris Day how, which ran from 1968 to 73 a youthful ponytail. By now in her 40s [and in the 70s] her 50s, she still looked good. throughout her career, the hugely successful singer/actress managed to project a fun and sexy, yet level-headed image that women aspired to and men admired. Ms Day was the quintessential all-round gal.

a top notch and a bob...such indecision