The mechanics of movie stardom have changed plenty over the years, and
a story that ran in
LIFE in 1946 gave a window into how things used to be done. Headlined “LIFE Visits With Nine Hopeful Starlets,” the story serves as a snapshot of a bygone system in which studios hired and trained aspiring actresses to—if all went well—appear in their movies.
The girls whom the RKO Studio was paying and training in the hope that it may find one of them to be a new and different version of Katherine Hepburn or Ginger Rogers. Each girl was on a seven-year contract starting at $100 a week, but the studio may terminate the contract every six months.
“A starlet leads a life of work and worry—the dedicated and ordered sort of existence enforced on officer candidates in the Army,” LIFE described. “Usually she knows little about acting and therefore must be instructed. Grooming and posture must be improved. Diction must be changed to remove all trace of local accent.”
Among the nine starlets who where photographed by LIFE’s Bob Landry, two can be said to have made their mark on the cinema. One was Martha Hyer, who was nominated for an Academy Award for supporting actress for the 1958 drama Some Came Running, which was directed by Vincent Minelli and also starred Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine.
Then there’s Jane Greer, who came to RKO as the ex-wife of singer Rudy Vallee. Greer went on to earn a leading role in the 1947 noir classic Out of The Past opposite Robert Mitchum, but then her career went on standstill for a while after RKO was bought by billionaire Howard Hughes, her former lover. Greer eventually moved on from RKO, and her career had a late second wind that included appearing in Against All Odds, the 1984 remake of Out of the Past, and also three episodes of the David Lynch TV show Twin Peaks.
The results for the other starlets were mixed at best. Nan Lesilie worked plenty, with 82 IMDB credits from movies and television. Virginia Huston who was heavily featured in the LIFE pics, appeared in Out of the Past with Greer, and wound up with about a dozen credits in her film career. Nancy Saunders had a lead role in the 1947 crime drama The Millerson Case, and after a dormant period she collected some relatively recent credits, including appearing as a landlady in an episode of Dawson’s Creek.
Vonne Lester had 11 roles but only one credited, when she played a messenger girl in the TV version of The Thin Man. Debra Alden had one credit, 1947’s Code of the West. Of Mimi Berry’s four roles, three were uncredited. Bonnie Blair‘s career had a similar fate.
As the LIFE’s story made clear, success for such starlets was more the exception than the rule. The process in Hollywood has changed a great deal since 1946, but one constant remains: it’s tough to make it as an actress.
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| RKO starlets trained with studio dance director Charlie O’Curran, 1946. |
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| Actor Robert Clark (foreground left) and starlet-in-training Virginia Huston (right, foreground) take lessons from a drama coach with other students in the background, 1946. |
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| RKO starlets trained with studio dance director Charlie O’Curran, 1946. |
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| Hollywood starlets being trained by RKO Studio, 1946. |
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| RKO starlets in training, 1946. |
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| Hopeful RKO Studio starlet Virginia Huston posed in front of a measurements board, 1946. |
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| Hopeful RKO starlet Virginia Hoston posing in front of a measurements board, 1946. |
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| Virginia Huston, RKO starlet, 1946. |
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| Hopeful RKO Studio starlet Virginia Huston was dressed in an evening gown, 1946. |
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| Virginia Huston, RKO starlet, 1946. |
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| RKO starlets-in-training tanned on the studio roof during their lunch hour, 1946. |
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| RKO starlets-in-training tanned on the studio roof during their lunch hour, 1946. |
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| RKO starlets-in-training tanned on the studio roof during their lunch hour, 1946. |
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| RKO Studio starlets Nancy Saunders, Debra Alden, Virginia Huston (top row, left to righ)t; Martha Hyer, Mimi Berry, and Bonnie Blair (middle row, left to right); and Vonne Lester, Jane Greer and Nan Leslie (bottom row), 1946. |
(This story was original published on
LIFE.com)
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