Modern Screen (Dec 1949 - Nov 1950)

the time of my life cont'd Betty's party, had a Strauss Waltz theme — with 15 violins! Milton Berle came up like gangbusters ond staged mad skits with Bob Hope, George Jessel. Betty thought that singing at her own party was corny, but guests cheered her duet with Dinah Shore of "There's No Business Like Shov The day after her party Betty fiew to Ted in Chicago. A few days later they returned to Hollywood together, were greeted by Lindsay, 3, and Candy, 2. my guy for the evening. He said he would. After that, things turned a little frantic. I decided there'd never be enough room in my house for all the people I wanted to come, so I consulted my good friend, the famous fashion designer, Don Loper. He told me to decide what sort of party I wanted and leave the rest in his hands. The idea turned out to be a Strauss Waltz Party. Don decided that the best place would be* the beautiful Crystal Room in the Beverly Hills Hotel and that it should be a candlelight ball so that all the girls would have a chance to look their most beautiful. At the last minute, I said to myself, "Golly, people are liable to waltz a couple of times and then say to themselves, 'What goes on here?' " so we augmented Hal Steam s fifteen violinists with Freddie Carga's orchestra. I figured that about the time the waltzers wanted real action we'd give them the samba, conga and Charleston. For awhile I went around assuring people that giving a party wasn't anything to get excited about, really, but the day of the party I sort of went to pieces. A couple of people called up and said they couldn't come. I found tears welling up in my eyes. I imagined myself sitting alone with the guest of honor and all that champagne (Ballinger '37, if you please). Then Don called. "Your gown is almost finished," he said, '"and it's a dream." My spirits took a great big bounce. Then Louie Sobol called and asked if I minded a great deal if he brought his girl along. How was I to know when I asked him to be my date that he was about to propose to the beautiful Peggy Strohl?' By 7:00 that night I was a nervous breakdown looking for a place to go to pieces in. At 7:30 my gown still hadn't arrived. At 7:31 the messenger was at the door and seconds later I was dressed. What a Don Loper gown can do for a girl! As he said, it was a dream— a dream in Duchess satin lame, embroidered in feather motif. A few minutes later I ran up the steps of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Dun whisked me to the entrance of the Crystal Room and placed me under a white spotlight. "Stay there." he ordered. I stayed for a quick thirty seconds. Then I began to feel a little ridiculous. Also, all over again, frightened silly. By the time the first guests arrived I was out of the spotlight and practically at the front door. Don kept asking me to stay in the spotlight, but I just couldn't. I'd come to parties too often and wondered where to put my left foot next. This time I was going to see that everyone met the hostess at least once on the way in. Then the room began to whirl around me. The guests came in droves — all three hundred of them including the couples who had called with their regrets. The buffet supper was out of this world. I'd been to private parties, banquets and just plain restaurants in which the steaks, when they arrived, were colder than a dowager's first look at a burlesque show. These steaks, filet roasts carved at the last second, were piping hot. I'd told the wizards of the kitchen I wanted the people really fed at my party and they certainly were. I began to have such a good (Continued on page 65)