Re having back teeth extracted to enhance a screen look:
Lyn, Is this urban myth or truth? Ive never heard or read of this rather drastic measure taken before... or are you referring more to UK actresses, possibly?
The short answer is that I don't know for sure, though seem to remember reading in an (auto)biography about it being done regularly under the old studio system, and very few starlets objected. Marlene Dietrich did deny that she'd had it done at one stage, but then she denied many things that turned out to be true.
But, given the promise of fame and fortune, coupled with the ambition and desperation of young actors, it wouldn't surprise me.
Times have changed, and keeping natural teeth wasn't seen as hugely important in the 1920s/30s/40s when a set of dentures could provide a perfect smile. In the UK at least, dentures were often regarded as a desirable alternative to uneven teeth and toothache. Many perfectly healthy complete sets of teeth were extracted to provide ordinary people with a 'Hollywood smile'.
Indeed it's fairly unusual to find elderly people in the UK with a full set of their own teeth, because at one point dentures were extremely fashionable and many jumped on the bandwagon, thinking that new plastic gnashers looked great.
I've also read that many of the early male leads were given a studio makeover in the Golden Era which involved a full set of dentures.