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.
Here’s how LIFE described the world of these young women, which is something other than a dream:
The nine girls on this page are all movie starlets whom the RKO Studio is 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 is 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. 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.
All the while she worries about getting her contract renewed and about getting publicity. Even more than by schooling she helps herself by getting her picture in newspapers when she is chosen “Miss Poppyseed Roll” by the baker’s association or “The Girl We Would Most Like to Tie Up To” by the docker’s union. Finally comes a real screen test and, in most cases, the ax.
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 (they married when she was 19 and divorced eight months later), and had actually been in LIFE before, in 1942, when she modeled a WAAC uniform. 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. (For more on Greer and that drama, see this story). 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.
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.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
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.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
RKO starlets trained with studio dance director Charlie O’Curran, 1946.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
RKO starlets trained with studio dance director Charlie O’Curran, 1946.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Hollywood starlets being trained by RKO Studio, 1946.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
RKO starlets in training, 1946.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Hopeful RKO Studio starlet Virginia Huston posed in front of a measurements board, 1946.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Hopeful RKO starlet Virginia Hoston posing in front of a measurements board, 1946.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Virginia Huston, RKO starlet, 1946.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Hopeful RKO Studio starlet Virginia Huston was dressed in an evening gown, 1946.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Virginia Huston, RKO starlet, 1946.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
RKO starlets-in-training tanned on the studio roof during their lunch hour, 1946.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
RKO starlets-in-training tanned on the studio roof during their lunch hour, 1946.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
RKO starlets-in-training tanned on the studio roof during their lunch hour, 1946.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A collection of starlets being trained at RKO Studio, 1946.
Bob Landry/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
