Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1963)

I^iad what it took — that singing and dancing was going to be her life.” Following the coffee and songs at Uncle Roy’s and Aunt Gerda’s, Ann-Margret was taken to her first new home in America — an apartment actually, the second floor of a two-story house on Lake Avenue and directly next door to where her aunt and uncle, Mina and Charlie Erickson, and f their daughter. Anne, lived. Remembers Anne (now married and living in East Orange, New Jersey) : “I was twelve at the time and an only child and I was terribly excited that a little cousin was coming from Sweden and was going to live right next door to us. But when she arrived, and as I got to know her, she became more like a little sister to me. She was so adorable, to begin with. She was such a kind little girl. Everything about her, in fact, was so sweet and nice that I just loved her from the very start. And she was so appreciative of anything you’d do for her. I remember how for months before she came, her father had ; spent so much time preparing her little room — with a record player, and little stuffed toys and all kinds of frilly little things. And when Ann-Margret saw the room that day, what he'd done for her. she just laughed and laughed so happily that you'd have thought she’d burst with excitement. As far as I was concerned, well, there wasn’t enough I could do for this little girl. Not as a favor, I don’t mean it that way. But just to be with her is what I mean. “I think the times I remember most were when we’d be in her house and she’d go to her mother’s closet and dress up in Aunt Anna’s clothes — long dress, high heels, big hat — and sing and dance for me. And the funny thing was that every once in a while I would think to myself, ‘Someday, years from now. I’ll be in a theater somewhere and the lights will go down and Ann-Margret will come out and j sing, not only for me, but for thousands and thousands of other people.’ And after she sang, of course, I would always applaud. And in my mind, somewhere in the back of it. I could hear the applause of those other thousands — even though she was not yet six at the time — even though they were only little Swedish songs she sang then.” People in Fox Lake who remember her — and there are many — recall that she was “rather quiet,” “reserved,” “extremely polite” and “extremely close to her parents.” A former grade school teacher of AnnMargret’s remembers this encounter with the girl one afternoon: “She was just about to leave school and I called her over to tell her how well her English was coming along and how she must be studying it at home all the time. “ ‘Oh, yes,’ said Ann-Margret, ‘I study it much. That is, when I am not taking my toe-dancing lessons with Miss Young.’ “ ‘Toe dancing lessons,’ I said. ‘Now isn’t that wonderful.’ “ ‘Not only that,’ said Ann-Margret to me, ‘but soon I will begin my piano lessons with Mr. Hallin.’ “Of course, I knew it was none of my business, but at this point I couldn’t help asking: ‘Isn’t this all rather expensive for your parents, Ann-Margret? These are fine teachers they’ve chosen for you. And they don’t come free.’ ” “To which Ann-Margret answered: ‘You are right. It doesn’t come free. To help pay for the lessons my mother does cleaning work two or three times a week. And my father works overtime at his job. But it is worth it. they say. They say that I have a good feeling for music in me. That I was born with this feeling in me. And that now it is up to all of us to cul-ti-vate this feeling.’ ” Says a Fox Lake neighbor of the Olsons: “I don’t think there’s any hiding the fact that Ann-Margret’s parents were pretty darn poor. But came the time when she had to give a recital at Miss Young’s, and Ann-Margret got the best pair of ballet slippers available. Her parents saw to that. And came the time she needed a special costume or something, and there was Mrs. Olson sitting up till all hours of the night, sewing the dress together and then putting on the sequins, one at a time, dozens, hundreds of them, sequin after sequin.” Another new life When Ann-Margret was eleven — and the sequin count had undoubtedly reached the thousand-mark — her mother and father decided that it was time for them to leave Fox Lake and move on to another Chicago suburb named Wilmette. Their reason was a very simple one. They had heard about a high school called New Trier in Winnetka, just this side of Wilmette. They had heard that academically it was the finest high school in the state of Illinois, and that — equally important — it boasted a music department that was probably second to none in the entire country. Ann-Margret, it happened, was more than a little loath to leave Fox Lake at first. “But Mamma . . . Poppa ... we have hills here and we can ski in the winter,” she said, in one of her rare rebellions. “And Auntie Gerda and Uncle Charlie and everybody are here, and I won’t have any more friends.” To which her parents replied, “The hills will remain. Ann-Margret. We can always come in the winter to ski. We will always be able to see everybody here. As for friends, believe us, you will make new ones. Besides, we are only going a short distance away.” And so a couple of months later the Olsons left Fox Lake for the town and the school that would make all the difference to a young girl’s life, and her future. . . . “It’s funny,” says Ann-Margret today, “how like all children I was so afraid to leave the place I knew so well. But what my mother and father had told me turned out to be true. Of course, we went back to Fox Lake to ski. Of course, we continued to see our family. And, of course, I made new friends. . . . The very best friends I ever had were in Wilmette, in fact. There are three especially, and their names are Joannie Stremmel, Holly Salvano and Sharon Lauver. You should talk to them before you write your story about me. I’m sure they’ll tell you_ things about me I’ve even forgotten — ” (smiling) “or maybe I will wish I had forgotten. . . .” FOR YOUR CHILD’S PHOTO PITH received big check Up to $300 paid for children's photos when used for advertising. Ages 2 mos. to 20 yrs. Rush 1 small photo for approval. Print child’s arid mother’s name, address on back. Returned. No obligation. Hollywood Spotlite, 1611 No. LaBrea.MD, Hollywood, Calif. Popular, Rock & Roll, Country & Western, and Gospel poems for musical setting and recording with "the Nashville Sound". Send poems today for Free examination and our best offer. MUSIC CITY SONGCRAFTERS Studio M, 6145 Acklen Station, Nashville, Tenn. For LASTING Eye Beauty! NEW! IMPROVED! 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