Modern Screen (Dec 1949 - Nov 1950)

that's hot! "America really is the land of opportunity," Bing Crosby insists. "Look at us," he says pointing to Bob Hope and himself. "Where else could a piece of spaghetti and a meat ball both wind up with so much gravy?" Irving Hoffman The Hollywood Reporter To be perfectly truthful, June's handhake is too firm. It leaves a cramp in our hand. But she's a stickler about it. ;?he same way with grammar. One night, \ said, "It's me," instead of saying, "It's |" June carefully explained how the /erb "to be" always takes the nominative ase. And she should know! She was 'raduated from Roosevelt High School in "iJew York with the highest average of ny student in the school — something mazing like a 97.3%. Our friendship, though, wasn't completely one-sided. I did a lot of things 3or June, too. For instance, when newspaper columnists started panning June £or the way she dressed, I got my club Jiembers to swamp them with our comiLned opinion. We deluged them with stters and, on one occasion, with a 90Dot scroll that contained more than 19,[00 signatures. That was too much for p.e critics. They retreated, j In one year, the club grew to 2,000 jiembers, all active. We entered a congest run by Modern Screen to determine rjrie best fan club in the United States and . Canada. We won, and Hedda Hopper presented us with a huge, beautiful silver ^rophy cup. June was as thrilled as I. ..he had the studio take pictures of us J/ith the cup, and she ran around show■ig it to everyone she knew. I beamed like a strip of newly-polished chromium. June also took the cup home with her to show Dick, and one night she carried it with her to dinner at Giro's. She promised to return it to me the next day. She never did. The last time I saw it, the cup was filled with roses and resting on the table next to her bed in her twelveroom Bel Air home. It's one of her most prized possessions, and I want her to keep it. Christmas always posed a big problem to me, because I never knew what June wanted. The fan club members always sent donations for a gift, the sum usually amounting to more than $100. Before I spent it, I'd always canvass June's friends as to what she really wanted or needed. One year, it was an antique sterling silver coffee-maker, more than 100 years old. Another year, it was two sets of beautifully-bound books. Another, a complete ski outfit. My personal Christmas gift to June was usually a book. As for June, she gave me some wonderful treasures — but the one I value most is a miniature dual picture-frame made of sterling. It carries the engraving, "Gwenn from June." June explained the misspelling of my name with, "I know you only use one 'n' but two 'n's' look much prettier." When I went off to college, I couldn't continue with the June Allyson fan club, largely because I didn't have enough time, what with studies and dates and extracurricular activities. One afternoon, I started to explain this to June. Before I could, she raised her hand. "Your education comes first," she insisted. "You must drop the club. That's an order." Before I left June that afternoon, I made one last request. "I've blotted over 20,000 autographed pictures for you," I said, "but I've never had one of my own. May I?" For a minute, June could hardly believe that. Then she smiled, excused herself, and walked over to her desk. She took out a large photograph and on it she wrote these words: "For Gwenn. Thanks for being so wonderful to me and I'll always be grateful. Fondly, Junie." Then she took me to the door. As we said goodbye, I took her hand and we hugged — and then I ran out. And tears were streaming down my face. The End HOLLYWOOD'S LOVELIEST CHRISTMAS STORY (Continued from page 44) the birch branch for a Christmas tree." Now, all of this was spoken matter-offactly. There was no self-pity in this boy's voice. He wasn't feeling sorry for himself or mad at anyone. He wasn't leading up to a hand-out. I had reminisced about my youthful Christmases, and that had simply reminded him of his own. I asked his name. "Audie Murphy," he said. I swallowed hard at that one. "Not the Audie Murphy?" But even as I asked the question, I knew the answer. Yes, this was Audie Murphy all right, the mostdecorated foot soldier of World War II, the kid from Texas whose picture had been splashed across the cover of Life, the handsome young kid who'd been signed to a movie contract by Jimmy Cagney. No wonder his face looked so familiar! "But what are you doing," I asked in astonishment, "dressed like this and bumming a ride? You're a national hero; you've got a screen contract; you should be having fViT-ic+mac rlinnpr with T. R. Maver or 17m of headache, neuritis and neuralgia incredibly fast the way thousands of physicians and dentists recommend — Here's why Anacin is like a doctor's prescription. 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