Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1963)

One of our biggest stars, once married to an alcoholic, is fighting a losing battle with the bottle. Her friends are horrified, but don’t know how to help. MIDCR HeDDas HaT continued It must be love. Richard Chamberlain donned a black wig and sang in “The Fantastiks” at a little theater in Hollywood, all because his friend Clara Ray was in it. Rod Taylor found Diane McBain briefly before he went to London, which happened to be where Anita Ekberg was making a picture. But don’t hold your breath. Rod likes Anita, but likes his freedom more. Here’s a new low. A so-called psychiatrist has written a book titled “Violators Of The Child, Marilyn Monroe,” in which he tells about his romance with her. And he’s such a coward he wouldn’t even use his own name. The Crosby boys are still having trouble. Lindsay’s wife Barbara lost their expected baby. Then, Lindsay had what everyone called a breakdown. Now Barbara’s suing for divorce and asking $3,000 monthly alimony, claiming he’s worth a million. Philip’s separation from wife Sandy is unusual. He left home but didn’t take his clothes. For a while he was going back to the house once a week but refused to tell where he’d been. Sandy said she had no plans to divorce him — now or ever! Movita, supposedly the one and only Mrs. Marlon Brando these days, played the native girl opposite Franchot Tone in the 1935 version of “Mutiny On The Bounty.” By conservative estimate, this lands her in her forties. It also puts her in the third corner of a triangle. Tarita, the native girl of the present “Mutiny” and formerly a Tahitian waitress, is also chummy with Marlon — who seems to like things complicated. That J. Lee Thompson is not to be outdone. After spending a fortune calling his fiancee Susan Hampshire in London, he went over for a showdown and they called the whole thing off. She explained she didn’t want to give up her career and he agreed with her. Now the director has signed Susan to play a role in his next picture, “The Mound Builders,” filmed in Mexico. Above: Cara Williams and I shared handsome Arthur Cameron at a Beverly Hilton benefit party. We girls agreed it was pretty nice, even to share him. Suzy Parker and Brad Dillman are still in love. Quite a switch Dick Quine pulled when he moved into a Hollywood apartment and left orders that his address and telephone number were not to be given to Kim Novak. He wasn’t that finicky in Paris where he, his son and Kim were very cozy. Joan Crawford’s delighted with the rumor that she’ll marry New York’s Governor Nelson Rockefeller, but swears it’s not true. She met him only once — at a campaign party a year ago. I asked why she didn’t do some campaigning of her own, she replied, “I’m old-fashioned enough to think the fellow should ask.” Zsa Zsa Gabor took on a fourth husband, Herbert Hutner, after dating him but three weeks. She was an hour late for the ceremony. She said her mink coat wasn’t her best one — but it matched her wedding gown. Bob Hope and Sophie Tucker stole the spotlight when they appeared before Queen Elizabeth at the Royal Variety Performance in London. They raised $126,000 for the Variety Artists Benevolent Fund. Sophie belted out her old standbys — and got the longest ovation in the history of the theater. And Hope — was Hope. That, no one can ever beat. What would we do without him? That’s all the news for now. I’ll write more next month. • 34