Hollywood (Jan - Mar 1943)

Faye was born in Elizabeth, Louisiana, on July 8, 1917, but lost her Southern accent before it had a chance to develop; she left there at the age of two. She spent the next ten years in a variety of places — Chicago, Texas, California and New Mexico. At twelve she entered a convent boarding school in San Diego. That same year saw the start of the Emerson acting. Faye's first role was that of an aged shepherd. But her ambition was to be a devil or some other villainous character. The good sisters, however, always cast her as an angel or saint, hoping the role would be a good influence. Faye admits she was the school brat. Later, at San Diego's Point Loma High School, Faye's ability was recognized by dramatic director William Emery Shepherd. She was in every play produced during her schooling there. One of her outstanding roles was that of a male Italian fruit peddler. A year at San Diego State College exhausted the dramatics courses, so she left. One day there was a mysterious telephone call for her. "Would you like to turn professional?" she was asked. Faye now confesses that she didn't know then whether "turning professional" meant she would be paid or not, but she breathlessly said yes. It meant acting, anyway. She made an appointment. Dressed in her best clothes, with stacks of scripts under both arms, Faye prepared to read as never before. But the director, who had seen her in a college play, signed her without asking to hear a line. She was hired for the St. James Repertory Theater at Carmel— at $15.00 a week! Despite the slim salary, her summer with that stock company proved a wealth of experience. All other members of the troupe had years of acting behind them, but eighteen-year-old Faye was judged so good she was given the lead in the very first play of the season, Russet Mantle. Varied roles in the play-a-week schedule followed, and Faye was soon a veteran. Back in San Diego she joined the Community Theater players at the Globe, and in true Little Theater tradition did everything from bits to leads, from building scenery to painting backdrops. Faye was romping through a comedy role at the Globe, when a Hollywood scout arranged her first screen test. That test fooled even Faye. "When I saw it, I couldn't believe it was I," says Faye. "I kept saying, 'She photographs better than I expected, but that stage technique is too exaggerated for the screen. She'll have to stop wiggling her face.' An executive sitting next to me said, 'What's the idea of saying she? That's youl' " Faye doesn't mind wearing tattered costumes that have been dragged through dust, as hers were for The Desert Song. Nor does she mind her face photographing differently in every role. But she does hope that some day she can do a straight comedy role. "It's lots harder to make people laugh than to make them cry. After I've managed that, my goal is to play Saint Joan." Faye's other consuming ambition is to enter politics. And against the day when she might be a candidate for office, she insists on a dignified personal life now — no phony romance stories about her. Nor are night clubs her hang-out. She lives quietly in a French Provincial house, bright with gay chintzes. Faye Emerson may have face trouble, but it's no trouble at all to Warner Brothers, who have her marked for a big future. Her new seven-year contract with them proves that. ■ Mary Dodson, Cesar Romero and Tyrone Power stop and chat about Ty's recent enlistment in the Marines. Tyrone's new film is 20th Century-Fox's The Black Swan for freedom of the thighs £0*"* fit like your skin These popular "rayon knit" panties sold at your favorite chain and department store. ceiling price i FREE BOOKLET: "Tips on How to Hold That Line". 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