Eleven legends of classic cinema, from Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Nosferatu to Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, James Dean and Marlon Brando, plus the story of Hollywood itself.
Long before superhero franchises and streaming, Hollywood built the language of cinema and created its first global stars. This collection travels from the silent era to the 1960s, starting with the history of Hollywood itself, a real-estate development whose famous sign once read HOLLYWOODLAND, and F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu, the 1922 vampire film that a court ordered destroyed.
The silent clowns come next. Charlie Chaplin demanded 342 takes of a single scene in City Lights and fought against talking pictures for a decade, while Buster Keaton performed his own death-defying stunts, broke his neck on camera without realising it for 35 years and staged the most expensive shot of the silent era by sending a real locomotive off a bridge in The General.
Then come the stars of the studio age and beyond. Audrey Hepburn survived wartime famine by eating tulip bulbs, Grace Kelly left Hollywood at 26 to become Princess of Monaco, and Elizabeth Taylor became the first actor paid $1 million for a single role. Marilyn Monroe founded her own production company, James Dean made only three major films before his death at 24, and Marlon Brando and Anne Bancroft redefined screen acting with the Method.
Their stories are full of glamour, scandal and surprising courage. Choose a legend below to read fifteen facts about them.
Every item on this page, with the one fact most people get wrong about it.
| Name | Where you'll meet it | The fact worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Charlie Chaplin | Silent era, 1889-1977 | He demanded 342 takes of a single scene in City Lights. |
| Buster Keaton | Silent era, 1895-1966 | He broke his neck on camera and did not realise it for 35 years. |
| Audrey Hepburn | 1929-1993 | She survived the Dutch famine of World War II by eating tulip bulbs. |
| Marilyn Monroe | 1926-1962 | The dress she wore to sing "Happy Birthday" to JFK sold for $4.8 million. |
| Grace Kelly | 1929-1982 | She turned down more than 60 scripts to become Princess of Monaco. |
| Elizabeth Taylor | 1932-2011 | She was the first actor paid $1 million for a single role. |
| James Dean | 1931-1955 | He is the only actor with two posthumous Oscar nominations. |
| Marlon Brando | 1924-2004 | He earned $3.7 million for about twelve minutes on screen in Superman. |
| Anne Bancroft | 1931-2005 | She was only a few years older than Dustin Hoffman when she played Mrs. Robinson. |
| Nosferatu | Germany, 1922 | A court ordered every copy of the film destroyed. |
| Hollywood | Los Angeles, from 1880s | The Hollywood sign originally advertised a housing development. |
Biggest Jewellery Sale
$116 million
Elizabeth Taylor's jewellery collection sold for a record $116 million. Elizabeth Taylor
Best Pay per Minute
$3.7 million for 12 min
Marlon Brando earned $3.7 million for about twelve minutes on screen as Jor-El in Superman. Marlon Brando
Most Valuable Dress
$4.8 million
The dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing "Happy Birthday" to President Kennedy sold for $4.8 million. Marilyn Monroe
Silent era, 1889-1977
Chaplin's Tramp made him the first actor on the cover of Time, and he co-founded United Artists. He could not read music but composed a pop hit, and his body was stolen and held for ransom after his death. Exiled from the US, he received a belated Oscar and a delayed knighthood.
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Silent era, 1895-1966
Harry Houdini gave Buster Keaton his nickname, and as a child he was thrown across stages as a human projectile in vaudeville. He staged the silent era's most expensive shot by sending a real locomotive off a bridge in The General. He later called joining MGM his greatest regret.
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1929-1993
Audrey Hepburn secretly supported the Dutch resistance as a teenager and spoke five languages. She won an Oscar for her first lead role and is one of the few EGOT winners. Her final years were devoted to UNICEF.
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1926-1962
Marilyn Monroe grew up in foster care and an orphanage before her screen name appeared on a 1946 studio contract. She read major literary works, studied at the Actors Studio and co-founded her own production company. She won a Golden Globe for Some Like It Hot.
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1929-1982
Grace Kelly paid for her acting training by modelling and became Alfred Hitchcock's ultimate muse. Her Oscar win over Judy Garland was a famous upset, and Hermès renamed a handbag in her honour. She was the first American royal to appear on a US stamp.
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1932-2011
A rare mutation gave Elizabeth Taylor double eyelashes, and she hated being called "Liz". She married eight times, twice to Richard Burton, and was a fearless pioneer of HIV/AIDS activism. Her jewellery collection sold for a record $116 million.
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1931-1955
James Dean began with a Pepsi commercial and was fired as a game-show stunt tester for being too fast. Alec Guinness warned him about his Porsche, and he got a speeding ticket hours before his fatal crash. He saw only one of his feature films reach cinemas.
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1924-2004
Brando was expelled from military school and became a Method pioneer under Stella Adler. He declined his second Oscar via a Native American activist, owned an atoll in French Polynesia and held a patent for a drum-tuning device. He stuffed cotton in his cheeks to play Don Vito Corleone.
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1931-2005
Anne Bancroft changed her name after being told her birth name was too ethnic and trained at the Actors Studio. She won an Oscar for The Miracle Worker, directed the feature film Fatso and belongs to the Triple Crown of Acting club. Her marriage to Mel Brooks was love at first sight.
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Germany, 1922
F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu was an unauthorized adaptation of Dracula, and Bram Stoker's widow fought to wipe it out. A smuggled print survived, and the film invented the idea that sunlight kills vampires. Max Schreck's performance inspired the legend dramatised in Shadow of the Vampire.
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Los Angeles, from 1880s
Hollywood was a real-estate project before the studios arrived, drawn by sunshine and an escape from patent disputes. The letters "LAND" were removed from the sign in 1949. The first Oscars were a banquet where the winners were already known.
Read the full article →8 questions, every answer is somewhere above.
1. Who gave Buster Keaton his nickname?
2. What did Audrey Hepburn eat to survive the Dutch famine?
3. Who was Truman Capote's preferred choice for Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's?
4. What did Charlie Chaplin famously lose?
5. Which luxury handbag was renamed in Grace Kelly's honour?
6. What gave Elizabeth Taylor her famous double eyelashes?
7. What did Marlon Brando put in his cheeks to play Don Vito Corleone?
8. What did the Hollywood sign originally advertise?
The term usually covers the studio era from the arrival of sound in the late 1920s to the early 1960s, when a few big studios controlled production, distribution and their stars' contracts. This collection also includes silent-era pioneers such as Chaplin, Keaton and Nosferatu.
Chaplin believed the universal pantomime of his Tramp would lose its magic if the character spoke, so he kept making silent films for about a decade after sound arrived. He was later exiled from the United States and received an Oscar two decades late.
It was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Stoker's widow Florence won a court order to destroy every print. A smuggled copy survived and saved the film, which also invented the idea that sunlight kills vampires.
She met Prince Rainier III of Monaco at an arranged photo opportunity, married him in 1956 and retired from acting at 26, turning down more than sixty scripts. Her wedding dress inspired decades of bridal fashion.
Among others, Audrey Hepburn won for her very first lead role in Roman Holiday, Grace Kelly beat Judy Garland in a famous upset, Elizabeth Taylor won for a film she hated, and Marlon Brando declined his second Oscar via a Native American activist.
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