You know how a dog tilts their head to the side with that “huh” look?  These couples may have elicited a few double-takes. 

ERNEST BORGNINE & ETHEL MERMAN (Married in 1964 for about a month)

Ernest Borgnine was one of the first autographs I got in the mail.  "Poseidon Adventure" was how I knew him.  I loved his dedication to his wife, Tova.  I would see them in gossip magazines occasionally; mostly for her because of her makeup line or whatever.  Notice the envelope is from Tovern (Tova-Ernest) Productions.  Ahhh … sweet love.  Also note the 1979 postmark – and how Mr. Borgnine forgot the “y” is Bobby.  It’s all good.  I thought he was great. 

Ethel Merman is not for me. Oops, too much! And her disco album? “I get no kick from cocaine” belted out by Merman over a disco beat is a lot. The album's not even good-bad. It’s just, well it’s just ...got an interesting cover.

JACK WRANGLER & MARGARET WHITING (Married from 1994-2009; when Jack died)

Gay porn star from the 70’s and 80’s marries band singer from the 40’s and 50’s.  AND IT WORKED!  Jack Wrangler and Margaret Whiting were an inspiring couple.  Margaret had a number one hit in the 40's called "Slippin' Around" - the lyrics are very apropos to their situation. I highly recommend the documentary "Anatomy of an Icon" - his career and relationship with Margaret is fascinating.

ROBERT EVANS & CATHERINE OXENBERG (Married in 1998; annulled less than 2 weeks later). 

Whatever did the Princess of Yugoslavia think of this?  After all, she WAS the mother of the bride?  Robert is so much.  He has the best Hollywood story.  Being discovered by Janet Leigh, acting for a bit, then becoming the big dick-swinging executive at Paramount, the marriages, the “enhancements”, the feuds.  This man has LIVED!

ROBERT EVANS & PHYLLIS GEORGE (Married 1977 for about 1 year)

What man WOULDN'T be proud to have a Miss America on their arm and what woman WOULDN'T want the hottest producer in Hollywood to be their man.  I guess One Year is good enough to cover the bases.

ROBERT EVANS & FIVE MORE WIVES.

Yep, Robert has been married 8 times - the longest being 4 years. His attention span for wives is like that of Gen Alpha scrolling through TikTok. But I give him props for his Hollywood legend and great story. You need to see the documentary AND read the book of “The Kid Stays in the Picture” . It's just so chock-a-block good of Hollywood lore! 

BRYAN O’BYRNE & NICK NOLTE (No, no marriage - just an interesting pairing)

Bryan was a character actor, a familiar face on TV, an acting teacher and a man that never married.  Nick Nolte was a student in one of his acting classes and Bryan pulled him aside, telling Nick that he had REAL talent. “Nolte spent nearly a year sleeping on O'Byrne's couch while working with him to become an actor."  Bryan cast his friend and roommate in a play by William Inge, which launched Nick’s career.  The rest is history -all because of an interesting mentoring friendship. 

FARLEY GRANGER & SHELLEY WINTERS (Not married; just "dating" on a 1950's magazine cover.)

Typical studio shenanigans of pairing one of their male gay stars with a sexpot of the day, building up their budding romance. And then lamenting about their "breakup" later. Magazines were paid well by the studios to keep things quiet and/or to create illusions to cover. Shelley the Beard. Autographs questionable; Mike McGarbo will advise. He still laments over the years of Shelley Winters autographs that were signed by her sister. Sorry if this brings up any PTSD, Mike.

JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT & JAMIE KENNEDY (dated 2009-2010)

They met on "Ghost Whisperer" – the comedian and one of America’s sweethearts. Not a match made in heaven, but we all make mistakes. Jennifer was visibly ill at ease when she was at one of Jamie's comedy shows and I met them at his merch table. It was obvi that she didn't want to be there. But I did get them to sign. I'll let my video about my encounter with them speak (I mean SHOUT) for itself.