Margaret Lockwood (1916-1990)

Birth name: Margaret Mary Day Lockwood
Birthdate: September 15th, 1916
Location: Karachi, British India

Died: July 15th, 1990
Location: London, UK
Cause of death: Cirrhosis of the liver

Best known for: British film starlet who found fame in the 1930s and 40s in films such as Lorna Doone (1934), Doctor Syn (1937), Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938), The Wicked Lady (1945) and Jassy (1947). She was nominated for a Best British Actress BAFTA for her role in 1955's Cast a Dark Shadow, but lost out to Katie Johnson for The Ladykillers.

Margaret's success in films both in the UK and the US is undeniable, shifting her screen image from lead starlet to darker, villainous roles in the post-war years. However, as she approached her 40th birthday, her popularity began to wane, so instead she turned to the stage and television screen to sustain her career.

Marlon Brando (1924-2004)

Birth name: Marlon Brando Jr
Birthdate: April 3rd, 1924
Location: Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Died: July 1st, 2004
Location: Westwood, California, USA
Cause of death: Respiratory failure

Best known for: Legendary American performer often cited as the greatest actor of all time, and an influence on generations of performers to come. He was nominated eight times for an Oscar, winning two - for On the Waterfront in 1955 and The Godfather in 1973 (although Marlon refused this award due to the poor treatment of American Indians in the entertainment industry). He also won five Golden Globes, a Primetime Emmy and three BAFTAs. His iconic status as a legend in film history will last forever, thanks to films such as A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), The Wild One (1953), On the Waterfront (1954), The Godfather (1972) and Apocalypse Now (1979).

Everybody knows how great Marlon was in his prime in the 1950s and 60s, his legendary status as a principal icon of American film history meaning that most people know something about his career when it was at its height. And most people know that Marlon put on a great deal of weight as he entered old age. But what exactly did this Hollywood icon do in his latter years?

Hattie Jacques (1922-1980)

Birth name: Josephine Edwina Jaques
Birthdate: February 7th, 1922
Location: Sandgate, Kent, UK

Died: October 6th, 1980
Location: Kensington, London, UK
Cause of death: Heart attack

Best known for: Larger than life comedy actress who is most famous for being part of the repertory company of actors who made up the Carry On film franchise team, in particular playing Matron in the various hospital-themed installments. Between 1949-1965 Hattie was married to fellow actor John Le Mesurier (best known as Sergeant Wilson in the BBC sitcom Dad's Army).

Hattie had enjoyed a successful career almost constantly since the late 1940s, both as part of the Carry On team and outside of it. Although she appeared in a total of 14 Carry On films between 1958-1974, she also had great success alongside comedy actor and writer Eric Sykes in his various TV shows, including 59 episodes of Sykes and a... (1960-65), The Plank (1967) and 68 episodes of Sykes (1972-79). She also worked with Tony Hancock and Frankie Howerd, and appeared in 26 episodes of a now largely forgotten sitcom called Our House (1960-62), co-starring the likes of Norman Rossington and Charles Hawtrey.

Clark Gable (1901-1960)

Birth name: William Clark Gable
Birthdate: February 1st, 1901
Location: Cadiz, Ohio, USA

Died: November 16th, 1960
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Cause of death: Coronary thrombosis

Best known for: Oscar-winning actor who was a matinee idol of both the silent and sound era, starting out in small parts in the 1920s before securing roles in classic films such as It Happened One Night (1934), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Saratoga (1937). It is his iconic role as Rhett Butler in 1939's Gone with the Wind which secured his legendary status, after which he appeared in various war and Western films. He won an Oscar for Best Actor for It Happened One Night (beating Frank Morgan and William Powell) and was nominated for a further two (for Mutiny on the Bounty and Gone with the Wind). He was also nominated for two Golden Globes. He was married five times, most famously to the actress Carole Lombard, who died in an airplane crash in 1942.

In the 1950s, times were hard at Clark's home studio, MGM, thanks to the advent and success of television, and plummeting movie revenues. Many MGM execs were fired (including Louis B Mayer in 1951), and a number of stars considered to have excessive salaries were let go too, including Judy Garland and Greer Garson. Although Clark was not one of these stars, his salary was deemed excessive, and when his contract came up for renewal in 1953, he decided to go his own, independent way.

Bette Davis (1908-1989)

Birth name: Ruth Elizabeth Davis
Birthdate: April 5th, 1908
Location: Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

Died: October 6th, 1989
Location: Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Cause of death: Breast cancer

Best known for: Actress who became one of the most successful and revered in Hollywood history, being nominated for 11 Oscars (and winning two, for Dangerous (1935) and Jezebel (1939)), three Golden Globes (and being awarded the Cecil B DeMille Award in 1974) and four Emmys (winning one, for Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter in 1979). In 1999 the American Film Institute named her the second greatest female actor of the 20th century (after Katharine Hepburn).

By 1980, the year Bette turned 72, big-screen leading roles had all but dried out. As with so many stars of the classic era of Hollywood, Bette turned to television, and made a good many TV movies in her final decade, including the Emmy-nominated White Mama (1980) and A Piano for Mrs Cimino (1982). These projects were almost always well-received, and Bette appeared in an average of one every year until ill-health really took its debilitating effect.

Tarzan - Part 5 (The 1980s)

Character's first film appearance: Tarzan of the Apes (released January 27th, 1918)

Character description: Tarzan - aka John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke - is a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in his novel Tarzan of the Apes in 1912. He was a feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani great apes after being separated from his parents when their ship was marooned off the African coast by mutineers. As an adult he experiences modern civilisation for the first time, largely rejecting it and choosing to remain in the wild as a heroic adventurer.

This is the fifth in a multi-part entry charting what happened to the various actors who have played Tarzan over the years. Click here for the silent era (1918-1929), click here for the 1930s and 1940s (1932-1948), click here for the 1950s, click here for 1962-72, or read on to find about the Tarzans from the 1980s...

Myrna Loy (1905-1993)

Birth name: Myrna Adele Williams
Birthdate: August 2nd, 1905
Location: Helena, Montana, USA

Died: December 14th, 1993
Location: New York, USA
Cause of death: Complications following surgery

Best known for: Actress who rose to prominence in the silent era, and consolidated her fame in the 1930s and 40s in films such as The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) and Meet Me in St Louis (1959). She was also known for her role as Nora Charles in the Thin Man film franchise (1934-47). She was never nominated for an Oscar, but did receive an Honorary Award in 1991, at the age of 85, for "her extraordinary qualities both on screen and off, with an appreciation for a lifetime's worth of indelible performances".

Myrna's career was going great guns throughout the 1930s and into the 1940s, with particular success in romantic comedies, but the outbreak of World War Two saw her shift her focus away from making movies and onto the war effort, specifically the Red Cross. Myrna was vociferously outspoken against German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, and as a result was placed on his infamous blacklist (a list of Western names who would be sent to concentration camps if ever they were captured). Myrna helped to run a Naval Auxiliary canteen and toured widely to raise funds for the war coffers.

Charles Hawtrey (1914-1988)

Birth name: George Frederick Joffre Hartree
Birthdate: November 30th, 1914
Location: Hounslow, UK

Died: October 27th, 1988
Location: Deal, UK
Cause of death: Heart disease

Best known for: One of the regular ensemble cast that made up the Carry On team in the UK in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, although Charles had been a star in his own right since the 1930s, starting as a child performer. Charles was known for his horn-rimmed spectacles and his catchphrase "Oh hello", as well as his effeminate manner.

Charles's career as a Carry On regular was long and memorable. His first appearance was as Peter Golightly in the very first film, Carry On Sergeant, in 1958, and he subsequently made appearances in a further 22 movies, as well as the 1969 and 1970 Christmas TV specials. However, his unrepentant alcoholism was what called time on his Carry On career in the end, and what ultimately sounded the death knell for his performing career overall.

Lou Costello (1906-1959)

Birth name: Louis Francis Cristillo
Birthdate: March 6th, 1906
Location: Paterson, New Jersey, USA

Died: March 3rd, 1959
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Cause of death: Heart attack

For Lou Costello's comedy partner Bud Abbott, click here.

Best known for: Comedy actor most famous for playing the gag man to Bud Abbott in the Abbott and Costello comedy partnership of the 1940s and 50s. He enjoyed joint success with Abbott in a string of branded comedies, such as Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (1945), Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) and Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955).

Abbott and Costello first worked together in 1935, and formally teamed up the following year to perform in burlesque, vaudeville, minstrel and stage shows. By 1938 they were gaining fans across America as part of the Kate Smith Radio Hour, and in 1940 they secured their first Hollywood film roles in One Night in the Tropics - they were actually minor characters but they stole the show with their comedy song and dance routines. After that, they never looked back...

Bud Abbott (1897-1974)

Birth name: William Alexander Abbott
Birthdate: October 2nd, 1897
Location: Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

Died: April 24th, 1974
Location: Woodland Hills, California, USA
Cause of death: Prostate cancer

For Bud Abbott's comedy partner Lou Costello, click here.

Best known for: Comedy actor most famous for playing the "straight man" to Lou Costello in the Abbott and Costello comedy partnership of the 1940s and 50s. He enjoyed joint success with Costello in a string of branded comedies, such as Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (1945), Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) and Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955).

Abbott and Costello first worked together in 1935, and formally teamed up the following year to perform in burlesque, vaudeville, minstrel and stage shows. By 1938 they were gaining fans across America as part of the Kate Smith Radio Hour, and in 1940 they secured their first Hollywood film roles in One Night in the Tropics - they were actually minor characters but they stole the show with their comedy song and dance routines. After that, they never looked back...

Tarzan - Part 4 (1962-1972)

Character's first film appearance: Tarzan of the Apes (released January 27th, 1918)

Character description: Tarzan - aka John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke - is a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in his novel Tarzan of the Apes in 1912. He was a feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani great apes after being separated from his parents when their ship was marooned off the African coast by mutineers. As an adult he experiences modern civilisation for the first time, largely rejecting it and choosing to remain in the wild as a heroic adventurer.

This is the fourth in a multi-part entry charting what happened to the various actors who have played Tarzan over the years. Click here for the silent era (1918-1929), click here for the 1930s and 1940s (1932-1948), click here for the 1950s, or read on to find about the Tarzans from the 1960s...

Etta James (1938-2012)

Birth name: Jamesetta Hawkins
Birthdate: Tuesday, January 25th, 1938
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA

Died: Friday, January 20th, 2012
Location: Riverside, California, USA
Cause of death: Leukaemia and dementia

Best known for: Legendary American singer who straddled the genres, including jazz, blues, R&B, soul and gospel, and is believed to have bridged the gap between blues and rock 'n' roll. She was nominated for a Grammy Award 15 times, winning three - for Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holliday (1995), Let's Roll (2004) and Blues to the Bone (2005) - and received three further Grammy honours - the Lifetime Achievement in 2003 and two Hall of Fame awards for At Last (1999) and The Wallflower (2008). She also enjoyed a couple of number one blues and jazz records in the States, including 2001's Blue Gardenia and 2003's Let's Roll, while in 1955 she had a US R&B chart-topper with The Wallflower (Dance with Me, Henry).

Etta's 1960s heyday soon gave way to a slump in commercial, but not critical, popularity in the 1970s. She was devastated when the founder of the label which had helped make her a star - Leonard Chess of Chess Records - died in 1969, and although she continued recording for Chess, it wasn't working, and she left the label in 1979.

John Gielgud (1904-2000)

Birth name: Arthur John Gielgud
Birthdate: Thursday, April 14th, 1904
Location: London, UK

Died: Sunday, May 21st, 2000
Location: Aylesbury, UK
Cause of death: Natural causes

Best known for: English actor and theatre director who dominated the British stage, along with Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, throughout the 20th century. He was an inspiration and mentor to many budding actors who have since gone on to be mentors themselves. He was knighted in 1953, and in 1994 the Globe Theatre was renamed the Gielgud Theatre in his honour. He was twice nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor - for Becket (1964), losing to Peter Ustinov, and winning for Arthur (1981). He was also nominated for three Golden Globes (winning twice, for Arthur and War and Remembrance (1988)), five Emmys (winning one for Summer's Lease (1989)) and eight BAFTAs (winning for Julius Caesar (1953) and Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and being awarded an Academy Fellowship in 1992).