Action (May 1941 - Mar 1958)

Gaines Johnston, and for ventriloquising Edward Arnold, whose Invisible menagerie considerably lightens routine. The rugged reaches of Pennsylvania contribute Ted Heckert. whose recent Beau Brummel Imitations have landed him with an unexpected wardrobe expense in keeping up a new reputation. Don Boyd comprises a lot of acumen in a small space while proving the exception to the rule that most Nebraskans are great huskies of the corn-fed variety. Two of our dynamic juniors are local boys making good — Fred Barman and Arthur Gottlieb. Another Angeleno is a new arrival to whom we extend a welcome; namely, Timekeeper Henry P. Sass. The softer tones of Ralph Kash's crooninqs betray his Kentucky origin; while the rollicking gaiety of his disposition tends remotely to confirm the story of the blue grass of his native state, having originated in Eire. From the teeming metropolis of New York we gained Walter J. McCarthy, whose divot-cutting abilities are said to support his claim to being one of the best "gophers" in these parts; and Edgar Hoyt French, now one of our senior timekeepers. Illinois came through handsomely with no less than four of our personnel. The famous city of Peoria gave us Ralph Hahn, whose exploits on the putting greens verily should be recorded by the camera; the French capital may be temporarily lost to us, but we can still pride ourselves in Paris, Illinois, whence we derived Grace Ewart; Chicago, the great center of the Middle West, can boast of furnishing us with the efficient Loretta Higgins, in whom we invest considerable responsibility; and we find now that the same city only loaned us Gary Troy, who has just left us to devote his flair for adventure in the country's service. Ohio, off to work we go, and from that state, at almost any hour of the day or night, you are likely to find Al DeWeese doing just that — work; for the apparently endless succession of new agreements with concomitant retroactive payrolls keep his nose interminably to the grindstone. Boston, and its national characterization for intellectuality, are represented by Esther Silver, whose Bostoniana is sufficiently replete with answers to relieve our Research Department of many of our inquiries. Homa, the last half of the name of his state of origin, is H. V. Hill's first name, and we are tempted to believe that Oklahoma virtually lost approximately half of its effective man power when we gained this young conservator of energy. Michigan started out to make a newspaper man of Harold H. Bow but gave up the unequal contest when the glamour of the movies proved its superior attraction. We hope that when the same state finds out how we tried to transform its daughter Belle Kvitka into a boy, we will be excused on the grounds that "C'est le guerre." Our Canadian cousins generously gave us Barbara Bryan from the state of Alberta, and we are grateful Indeed for one who relieves us all of many worries. So — from the North and South, from the East and West, hail our personnel to this center, and from this center due to the present course of world affairs, any or all of us are liable to be scattered to the four corners of the earth, in pursuit of the ambition to preserve for all peoples the freedoms which we can no longer take for granted, and by which we must all be inspired to make victorious battle. SPECIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC EFFECTS DEPARTMENT By "Pogo" THERE'S Max de Vega, prob* ably one of the most colorful characters at the Studio. Max is a great lover of sailboats and very particular about his food and drink, especially about his drink — never bring him coffee when he orders postum. And then there's Emil Kosa, one of our greatest American painters . . . and there's Bud Fischer, or the "Colorado Kid" as he was known in days gone by. Dick Fritch is soon to be a Navy man, and it's our prediction that Dick will go places, because he has always liked the sea. Dale Seers, star basketball player and ribber de luxe. How's Charlie Baker these days? Haven't seen much of Charlie lately. I suppose he is working so hard he doesn't have much time for visiting. We certainly miss "The Champ" — who is now an officer in the U. S. Navy. They only made one Ray Kellogg and then tore up the pattern. That's one thing the Axis can be grateful for. WESTERN AVENUE FIRE DEPARTMENT By Chief H. M. Siegel N February 9, 1942, a fire started while the workmen were salvaging the former ocean liner "Normandie." The fire was caused by welders using acetylene torches in repairing this colossal ship which was to be used as a transport for American troops. When the smoke was finally cleared away, this 83,000-ton monster, built of steel, lay toppled over on her port side and half submerged at the Hudson River Pier. The House Naval Affairs Committee, Washington, D. C., after investigating, ruled that this disaster was due to "carelessness," and "issuance of unreasonable orders." This fire is only one of many fires which have caused serious setbacks to our war effort. Fire officials are continuously broadcasting warnings of the necessity for more stringent fire protection and preventive measures. On April 18, the "Normandie" again caught on fire and from practically the same reason, "carelessness." War-ti me fire prevention and protection measures differ only TO ALL EMPLOYEES OF TWENTIETH CENTURY-FOX .STUDIO CLUB: The Standard Optical Co., located at 2021 Wilshire Blvd., oilers to all the employees of this company a special optical service guaranteed to effect a substantial saving and give the utmost satisfaction. For further information call the Studio Club. For appointment call Exposition 72G9. in degree, but the degree is enormous. Under our present conditions it is impossible to be too careful. Uncle Sam has purchased the pier located at the point where the "Normandie" overturned, so maybe the pier will have to be d emolished before the huge liner can be put on her keel. We should get a real lesson from the above facts as to the importance of fire prevention and carefulness. WHAT’S IN A NAME? Jack Ferguson of the Engineering Department (he builds the various buildings on our Studio Lot) had occasion to hire a carpenter from outside the Studio. Well, after hiring the man. Jack takes another look at him and says, "Your face looks familiar, have you ever worked here before?" The carpenter says, "Oh yes, I was working here when you built that big suitcase and traveling bag warehouse." "Jack says, "What building is that? I don 't seem to recall that building. Where is it located?" The fellow says, "Right over by the big Scene Dock, you know, over where the golf course used to be." Jack says, "Oh, sure, the new Grip Building." The fellow says, "Oh well. Grips, Suitcases, Handbags, what's the difference, but I think Traveling Bag sounds better." 10