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astrognossienne · 2 years

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scandalous beauty: mary astor - an analysis

“Sex as something beautiful may soon disappear. Once it was a knife so finely honed the edge was invisible until it was touched and then it cut deep. Now it is so blunt that it merely bruises and leaves ugly marks.” - Mary Astor

Mary Astor may not have been the greatest actress of all time—but her story is the fullest breath of every actress. She lived her archetype as an artist through and through. She was discovered as a teenager in a beauty contest, shimmered in silent films, and survived into the talkies. Her first husband died tragically in a plane crash in 1930, and her second embroiled her in a tabloid custody battle that set the stage for how every star today lives under the media microscope. In 1936, she was at the center of a Hollywood scandal so big, it knocked news of Hitler off the front page. Her vindictive and petty estranged second husband stole her private diaries, called the Purple or Lavender Diary, to use in a bitter custody battle. It was reported that Astor wrote breathless accounts of her many love affairs in its pages. People flooded the courthouse and vendors sold hot dogs and ice cream to the crowds. Astor's diary was the first major Hollywood sex scandal. She faced losing her career, daughter, and reputation, but she wouldn't be shamed. When faced with these challenges, Astor fought back. Her second act in films was her artistic peak; best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in 1941′s The Maltese Falcon, she won her Oscar and finally got parts where she could dazzle. And then she prematurely aged out of her glamorous roles and, in countless MGM films, became the mother on film that she could never be in real life. She left Hollywood, returning to her craft in theater and the early years of television before finally discovering writing. She may have been a Taurus, but she was a tempestuous woman who was torn between her work, her family, and her life—a life that no one could say was not fully lived.

Mary Astor, according to astrotheme, was a Taurus sun and Virgo moon. She was born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke in Illinois in 1906. Her parents were both teachers; her father was a German immigrant and her mother was an American with Portuguese roots. Lucile's mother, who had always wanted to be an actress, taught drama and elocution. In 1919, Lucile sent a photograph of herself to a beauty contest in Motion Picture Magazine, becoming a semifinalist. The following year, she sent another photograph to the same magazine, this time becoming a finalist and then runner-up in the national contest. Her father then moved the family to New York City, in order for his daughter to act in motion pictures. He managed her affairs from September 1920 to June 1930. A Manhattan photographer saw her photograph and asked the young girl to pose for him. Those photographs were seen by a movie agent and Astor was signed to a six-month contract with Paramount Pictures. Her name was changed to Mary Astor during a conference among film company executives and gossip columnist Louella Parsons. Astor's first screen test was directed by silent film legend Lillian Gish, who was so impressed with her recitation of Shakespeare that she shot a thousand feet of her. Actor John Barrymore saw her photograph in a magazine and wanted her cast in his upcoming movie. On loan-out to Warner Bros., she starred with him in Beau Brummel (1924). The older actor wooed the young actress, but their relationship was severely constrained by Astor's parents' unwillingness to let the couple spend time alone together; Mary was only seventeen and legally underage. It was only after Barrymore convinced her parents that his acting lessons required privacy that the couple managed to be alone at all. Their secret engagement ended largely because of her parents’ interference and Astor's inability to escape their heavy-handed authority. Barrymore became involved with Astor's fellow WAMPAS Baby Star Dolores Costello (Drew Barrymore’s grandmother), whom he later married.

In 1925, Astor's parents bought a Moorish style mansion with an acre of land known as "Moorcrest" in the hills above Hollywood. Her parents not only lived lavishly off of Astor's earnings, but kept her a virtual prisoner inside Moorcrest. Mary was scarred by the oppressive control exerted by her parents. When her relationship with Barrymore ended, she began to stand up to them, even running away from the family home on at least two occasions. The studios finally refused to deal with her grasping father but her full salary was still paid to her parents. They paid Mary a small allowance and used her earnings to maintain a lavish lifestyle for themselves. When Mary eventually cut off their income stream they took her to court, unsuccessfully and caused lasting bitterness. Mary was a very needy person who sought affection from the men in her life. She had numerous affairs and was married four times. Her first husband was Kenneth Hawks, the brother of director, Howard Hawks. The marriage ended tragically in 1930 when he was killed in a plane crash. As the film industry made the transition to talkies, Fox gave her a sound test, which she failed because the studio found her voice to be too deep.

Alone and anxious, she soon succumbed to the bedside manner of Franklyn Thorpe, the doctor who had looked after her after the tragedy. They married in 1931. The couple had a daughter, Marylyn. After their marriage, it became clear that Thorpe also had a trigger temper and a talent for enumerating Mary’s faults. Within two years, she wanted out. But Thorpe had grown fond of the lifestyle to which she had accustomed him. He knew she had had adulterous assignations with men, and if Mary took legal steps toward a divorce, he would accuse her of being an unfit mother. A woman friend suggested she take a holiday in New York—why, she’d write her good friends Bennett Cerf and George S. Kaufman at once. Surely they’d be happy to squire her around. Kaufman was not only the toast of Broadway but a consummate seducer, well known to be in a devoted but open marriage. Mary quickly became his latest conquest, finding him handsome without his glasses, genuinely solicitous about her career, and absolutely sensational in bed. Mary’s happiness in New York contrasted sharply with her wretchedness in Hollywood, chained to second-rate scripts. It was also unbearable to live with a foul-tempered despot after teddy bear George. When Thorpe refused to give Mary a divorce, she and four-year-old Marylyn moved out. Mary went to see an attorney, who advised patience: a custody trial could ruin her career. The finally divorced in 1935. The divorce was bitter and very public.

the purple diary scandal

Earlier, Mary Astor’s husband Franklyn Thorpe had searched for and found the diary he knew Mary kept. In it he read that his sexual performance was lame, his name-dropping and social climbing offensive, and his profligacy with her hard-earned money infuriating. She even ridiculed him for growing a mustache identical to Clark Gable’s. More important, he read that “G,” in New York, was her ideal match. It wasn’t hard to figure out who “G” was—she’d written about going to all the rehearsals and plays of George S. Kaufman. Thorpe made it brutally clear that should Mary try to dissolve the marriage he would use the diary’s salacious passages to destroy her career and take custody of Marylyn. Mary knew her diary contained not only devastating material about her own life but also secrets about others. If it became public, many lives would be ruined, not just hers. Thorpe produced Mary’s diary, which he claimed would show her to be an unfit mother. Thorpe began leaking snippets from the diary to the press, and as the trial approached he even fabricated entries. He said Mary’s confessions included a racy scorecard that listed all the men she had bedded along with numerical ratings of their prowess. The diary allegedly included detailed descriptions of Mary's extramarital affairs including erotic descriptions of encounters with playwright George S. Kaufman. The excerpts praised “G”’s prowess as a lover in such graphic terms that even the tabloids resorted to euphemisms. The most explicit extracts appeared in Time magazine, which quoted Mary’s testimonial to her “thrilling ecstasy” with George, who “fits me perfectly . . . many exquisite moments . . . twenty—count them, diary, twenty . . . we shared our fourth climax at dawn . . . I don’t see how he does it . . . he’s perfect.”

As soon as Mary was seated in the witness-box, she underwent fierce grilling about her “friendship” with the men named in her diary: John Barrymore, the screenwriter George Oppenheimer, Bennett Cerf, Daniel Silberberg (a New York stockbroker), and Kaufman. Mary handled it splendidly, with far more composure than she had a week before. Kaufman, for his part, reluctantly responded to the newshounds and tried to appear blasé. “I am just a friend of Miss Astor like many others in Hollywood,” he said as nonchalantly as he could. “I most certainly am not involved in her difficulties with Dr. Thorpe.” No dice; the linotypists knocked themselves out emblazoning his name across the Saturday papers. “After this trial nobody will remember anything I’ve done,” he moaned to his collaborator and friend Moss Hart, “only that I screwed Mary Astor.” The settlement to determine which parent should have custody of a four-year-old Marylyn was submitted to the judge Knight. Marylyn was awarded to her mother during the school months, and to her father for vacation periods and weekends. Mary maintained that the diary passages were forgeries and the judge eventually ordered the pages to be destroyed. In her two memoirs, Mary became circumspect when writing about her affair with Kaufman, never divulging more than what the public already knew. Kaufman, no surprise, never saw her again after the trial and was touchy about any mention of her name.

With the failure of her fourth marriage her drinking increased and she was off screen for the first half of the 1950s, suffering a long physical and nervous breakdown. In 1951 she attempted suicide, although Mary claimed that an overdose of sleeping tablets had been accidental. She converted to Roman Catholicism and was encouraged by her priest to write about her life as part of her therapy. In 1959, her autobiography, entitled 'My Story: An Autobiography' was published and became a best-seller. It was followed by five novels during the 1960s. Her last screen role was in 'Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte' in 1964 with her old friend Bette Davis, after which she retired from the screen. Mary Astor lived her final years in the Motion Picture Country Home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, where she died of respiratory failure on September 25, 1987 at the age of 81.

Next week, I'll focus on James Stewart’s best friend and a famously taciturn Taurus: Henry Fonda.

STATS

birthdate: May 3, 1906

major planets:

Sun: Taurus

Moon: Virgo

Rising: Scorpio

Mercury: Aries

Venus: Gemini

Mars: Gemini

Midheaven: Virgo

Jupiter: Gemini

Saturn: Pisces

Uranus: Capricorn

Neptune: Cancer

Pluto: Gemini

Overall personality snapshot: She was a perennial student of life, methodically adding to her skills, talents, security and enjoyment. She charted her future with a clear, rational grasp of what was necessary, and she laid foundations that were index-linked and geared to letting her enjoy the good things of life whilst never shirking her duties at work or at home. Enormously responsible, capable and blessed with lots of earthy charm, she aimed to do the right thing for herself and for loved ones – nothing pleased her more than serving those who depended upon her. One side of her was very fixed and self-assured: she knew herself and her needs and desires well, and she was confident in what she could do. She was also clear about what she did not want to do. Another side of her, however, tended to question and analyze herself, and doubted that she had really got it right. This is the side that tells you that you could always do a little bit better. She was a sticker, a veritable workaholic and persevering perfectionist, dedicated to high standards and sterling service. But she was also quite independent, and preferred to be able to choose when, where and for whom she worked. Ideally, she worked for herself, and she was a jolly hard taskmaster whose work was never done.

Work and service was what she instinctively centered herself around, and yet it can at times weigh her down if she let herself get lost in the sea of details that she tried to master. She was the great pragmatist. At home in the world of the senses, she was able to build up realistic priorities and a good sense of reality by dealing sequentially and logically with the things of this world that she could touch, taste, see and add up. As a result, she was an excellent organizer and could manage many types of responsibilities admirably, from domestic arrangements, gardening, child-rearing and teaching to writing, dancing, painting, singing and running your own theater company. She made it her business to know your medium inside out, and your professional approach inspires confidence in everyone. Essentially she aspired to a life of simplicity, usefulness and rational harmony. She needed to create something concrete and enduring, something that was morally sound, practical and contributes to the wellbeing of others, and something that was ultimately an expression of her own worth. When she was fully engaged in the purpose of her life, however quiet and humble it may have appeared to be, her love of excellence and of pleasure came together to create a warmly humorous, sharp-witted and innately wise personality whom others admired and respected.

She had dark, brooding looks with thick, abundant hair and strongly marked eyebrows that framed the most important feature of her face, her eyes. Overall, she gave the impression of quietly contained power. Her clothes were chosen for their dramatic value. She held a lot of hidden rage and passion within her and took nothing at face value and preferred to work her way to the roots of an issue in search of the underlying meaning and motivation. She was quick-witted, decisive and competitive. She liked to make an impression, and be seen as making an impression. Her enthusiasm for something that interested her was astounding. She could be quite impatient and unrealistic, especially when she faced opposition and obstacles. She was also self-willed and confident. In arguments, she could be quite combative, believing that she was right. She tended to have a hot temper that needed a firm hand. Sometimes she could be a little thoughtless and quarrelsome. She and honesty went hand in hand. She was a mentally restless person, both versatile and broad-minded. She experienced personal growth through analysis and using her intellect, although the collection and communication of facts may be an end within itself. She tended to dabble in many areas of knowledge, building up an extraordinarily varied store of information, rarely specializing in one area.

A rather complex person, she was artistic, creative, intuitive and compassionate. At times, she was her own worst enemy, because she tended to relive past errors over and over again, which gave her a negative outlook on life. She could be hypersensitive and moody, needing quiet and solitude. Although she had a basic fear of subjects she didn’t understand, they fascinated her nevertheless. She looked for a life partner who had similar ideals to her. She belonged to a generation with a rational and logical attitude to life. There was a conflict between tradition and convention, and the experimental and unconventional. As an individual, she had to learn to strike a balance between the erratic and the conventional. As a member of her generation, she had the ability to come up with original ideas which could be of practical value. Members of her generation were emotionally sensitive and extremely conscious of the domestic environment and the atmosphere surrounding their home place. Also, as a member of the Cancer Neptune generation, she felt a degree of escapism from everyday reality, and was very sensitive to the moods of those around her. Astor embodied all of these Cancer Neptunian ideals. As a Gemini Plutonian, she was mentally restless and willing to examine and change old doctrines, ideas and ways of thinking. As a member of this generation, she showed an enormous amount of mental vitality, originality and perception. Traditional customs and taboos were examined and rejected for newer and more original ways of doing things. As opportunities with education expanded, she questioned more and learned more. As a member of this generation, having more than one occupation at a time would not have been unusual to her.

Love/sex life: She approached sex like a scientist approaches the laboratory. She just couldn’t wait to see what she would learn. Erotic experiences for her were less a means to sensual pleasure than a way of feeding the mind. Sex is very intense realm of experience but, in essence, no different from any other realm of experience. And for this reason she was remarkably free of both shame and restraint with regard to her sexual experiences and it often surprised her that other people approached the subject with such fear and secrecy. Some may have considered her approach cold and clinical but others would have appreciated her openness and indefatigable curiosity. The one element of sexuality that may have scared her just a little is commitment. She had no trouble falling in love, but you she found it very difficult to stay that way. The most important and enduring relationships in her life always had more to do with ideas than with sex. The partner who thought as she did or, better yet, left her free to think the way she wanted would always have been closer to her than the person who just got her aroused. After all, there is no sexual organ more crucial than the mind.

minor asteroids and points:

North Node: Leo

Lilith: Gemini

Vertex: Cancer

Fortune: Cancer

East Point: Sagittarius

Her North Node in Leo dictated that she needed to downplay her more anarchic and unpredictable aspects and turn her attention to developing her personal authority and allowing herself to show more warmth. Her Lilith in Gemini ensured that she was a wolf, not a sheep, and proud of it. She was perfectly capable of flirting, cajoling, writing and talking her way to the top. Earnest people terrified her because she was scared that their plodding worthiness might dull the wits that she needed to survive. Vertex in Cancer, 8th house reveals that she had a dream for an almost womblike environment that shut out all discordant noise or interference from the outside. There were very deep desires regarding the ideal structure or family and home life. When she did commit herself in a relationship she was really deeply committed and if she felt that her partner was not similarly serious then she struck out at them in defense. Her expectations of others were unrealistic and based on her own feelings of insecurity. She had an internal yearning for an inseparable union with and total commitment from another, come what may. This need was so intense that she may have fantasized all manner of unspeakable actions and reactions if the final dream, once attained, was even threatened. The dark side is that when the reality of her partner didn’t fit this model (and it rarely did totally) she had a difficult time adjusting if faced with a breach of contract of any sort. Once badly hurt there was a tendency to become jaded and guarded in future relationships, thereby passing up the opportunity to explore interactions which might just fulfill out intense needs perfectly.

Her Part of Fortune in Cancer and Part of Spirit in Capricorn dictated that dictated that her destiny brought money into her life. Happiness and good fortune lay within her home and family, which provided emotional and financial security. Her soul’s purpose was to create practical and long-lasting achievements. She felt spiritual connections and saw the spark of the divine when she observed her progress through life and saw it take a form and structure that would outlive her. East Point in Sagittarius dictated that she was more concerned with finding final answers. Her goal seeking was oriented toward questions of meaning, truth, philosophy and religion: Why are we here? Where are we going? What (if anything) does life mean? All these were very personal issues for her. If she decided she had found THE truth, there could be problems. This was the potential missionary combination: “I have the truth, world. It is the only truth. And I am willing to fight to ram it down your throat.” She may have aggressively pursued ultimate values and belief systems. Such people are, in some way, identified with the absolute. This can manifest as: “I should be perfect.” Her idea of perfection may have been defined as having all the right answers to all the right questions; as being witty, charming and fun; as traveling to all the right places, etc. Then, she could decide, “I am perfect; the world only needs to recognize and appreciate me,” or “I should be perfect; I’m not; therefore I am nothing.” Seeking perfection in the form of some higher meaning in life was usually more satisfying to her than trying to play God personally.

elemental dominance:

earth

air

She was a practical, reliable woman and could provide structure and protection. She was oriented toward practical experience and thought in terms of doing rather than thinking, feeling, or imagining. Could be materialistic, unimaginative, and resistant to change. But at her best, she provided the practical resources, analysis, and leadership to make dreams come true. She was communicative, quick and mentally agile, and she liked to stir things up. She was likely a havoc-seeker on some level. She was oriented more toward thinking than feeling. She carried information and the seeds of ideas. Out of balance, she lived in her head and could be insensitive to the feelings of others. But at her best, she helped others form connections in all spheres of their daily lives.

modality dominance:

mutable

She wasn’t particularly interested in spearheading new ventures or dealing with the day-to-day challenges of organization and management. She excelled at performing tasks and producing outcomes. She was flexible and liked to finish things. Was also likely undependable, lacking in initiative, and disorganized. Had an itchy restlessness and an unwillingness to buckle down to the task at hand. Probably had a chronic inability to commit—to a job, a relationship, or even to a set of values.

house dominants:

7th

10th

4th

Her attitude towards partnerships with other people was emphasized in her life, whether on a personal or on a business level. It also revealed her marriage partner. It indicated how she dealt with other people and how her relationships with others affected her. Also had the propensity to attract enemies, and the effect that they had on her life was an issue. Her ambition in relation to the outside world, the identity she wished to achieve in regard to the community at large, and her career aspirations were all themes that were emphasized throughout her life. All matters outside the home, her public image and reputation were very important to her. Her attitude to people in authority, and how she viewed the outside world, as well as the influence of her mother and her own attitude to her was highlighted. The domestic arena and the home were emphasized in her life. By extension, the influence of the family she was born into, and the parents that raised her, in particular her father, as well as her personal and private life was of paramount importance to her.

planet dominants:

Moon

Saturn

Venus

She was defined by her inner world; by her emotional reactions to situations, how emotions flowed through her, motivating and compelling her—or limiting her and holding her back. She held great capacity to become a part of the whole rather than attempting to master the parts. She wanted to become whatever it is that she sought. She believed in the fact that lessons in life were sometimes harsh, and structure and foundation was a great issue in her life, and she had to be taught through experience what she needed in order to grow. She paid attention to limitations she had and had to learn the rules of the game in this physical reality. She tended to have a practical, prudent outlook. She also likely held rigid beliefs. She was romantic, attractive and valued beauty, had an artistic instinct, and was sociable. She had an easy ability to create close personal relationships, for better or worse, and to form business partnerships.

sign dominants:

Gemini

Virgo

Scorpio

She ventured out to see what else was there and seized upon new ideas that expanded her community. Her innate curiosity kept her on the move. She used her rational, intellectual mind to explore and understand her personal world. She needed to answer the single burning question in her mind: why? This applied to most facets of her life, from the personal to the impersonal. This need to know sent her off to foreign countries, where her need to explore other cultures and traditions ranked high. She was changeable and often moody. This meant that she was often at odds with herself—the mind demanding one thing, the heart demanding the opposite. To someone else, this internal conflict often manifested as two very different people. She was a discriminating, attractive, thorough, scientific, hygienic, humane, scientific woman and had the highest standards. Her attention to detail was second to none and she had a deeply penetrative and investigative mind. She was an intense, passionate, and strong-willed person. She often imposed her will on others. As a less aware Scorpio dominant, this often manifested in Bryant as cruelty, sadism, and enmity, which had the possibility to make her supremely disliked.