The Australian Women's Weekly Icons

Revisit the magic of Hollywood’s golden age with a new Icons issue. From leading lady Lucille Ball’s path to becoming our favourite funny girl to the secret lives of stars including Frank Sinatra, Leslie Caron, Burt Lancaster and more there are 164 page of gripping reads and vintage photos to enjoy.

From the editor

LEADING ladies • Audrey Hepburn Ingrid Bergman Jayne Mansfield

Comeback queen • After the star took an eight-year sabbatical from Hollywood, The Weekly was on set to witness her magical return. And, as Audrey told Philip Judge, it was all down to her sons begging her to take on the part of Maid Marian.

Defying expectations • The Swedish actress wowed Hollywood when she arrived in the US. Yet a scandal derailed her momentum, trashed her image and forced her into exile.

Behind the bombshell • At just 34, the woman dubbed Hollywood’s “smartest dumb blonde” died in a car crash. In a new documentary, My Mom Jayne, her daughter Mariska Hargitay has set out to find out who the woman behind the tawdry headlines really was. Tiffany Dunk reports.

Stars AT PLAY • Stars knitting The Stork Club

Knit one, purl one • STARS KNITTINGAs a popular pastime during Hollywood’s Golden Age, knitting was enjoyed both on set and off. And as the stars completed their patterns – needles in hand, one stitch at a time – they bonded, made gifts for loved ones, and whiled away long filming days.

Home away from home • THE STORK CLUBIt was New York’s premiere hotspot, the rich and famous making it their stomping ground for decades. Tiffany Dunk revisits the heyday of the infamous nightclub.

Aussie INNOVATORS • Errol Flynn Annette Kellerman

Tassie devil • His Australian background and unconventional approach would fundamentally change Hollywood’s masculine ideals and action films in the height of the Golden Age, as Sarah Rodrigues reports.

Million dollar mermaid • She began swimming to strengthen her legs after years spent in steel braces. And by the time she was a teen, this plucky Aussie would set records in the pool before beginning a vaudeville career that set the world alight. A new book by Grantlee Kieza explores her incredible legacy, including this extract examining her entry into the world of film.

SCANDALS & tragedy • Box office poison list The making of Cleopatra The first wives club

The chalice poisoned • BOX OFFICE POISON LIST As the studio system ruled Hollywood, an open letter published in The Hollywood Reporter in 1938 shook some of the biggest stars in Tinseltown, defining careers and acting as a catalyst for industry change, as Nicole Hickson reports.

A cursed epic • THE MAKING OF CLEOPATRAThe film would ignite one of Hollywood’s most infamous love stories, end two marriages, leave its glamorous star close to death and almost tank its studio at the same time. Genevieve Gannon reports.

Forgotten love stories • THE FIRST WIVES CLUBPart of Hollywood’s magic is the great romances: Bogie and Bacall; Liz and Dick; Gable and Lombard. But long before these legendary pairs were other wives who were often the first casualties of fame, as Bronwyn Phillips discovers.

LEADING men • Charlton Heston Tyrone Power Paul Newman

Bigger than Ben-Hur • He was the king of the epics, dominating the silver screen in some of the biggest historical and science fiction films of his time. Yet off the screen, his journey from liberal civil rights advocate to conservative icon was equally compelling. Georgia Moore reports.

The matinee idol • With a family legacy in entertainment, unwavering ambition and talent to boot, the handsome actor had all the right ingredients for a Hollywood career that soared but ended far too soon.

The hustler • Before he was Hollywood’s most bankable star, the iconic...