Modern Screen (Dec 1953 - Nov 1954)

Diana Lynn isn't playing the blues any more! ■ Diana Lynn has not had it easy in either her career or her private life. The collapse of her marriage to John Lindsey affected her deeply, and for a long time her work provided little comfort. Producers regarded her as a successful pianist turned actress, beamed down on her delicate face and wry little smile — and cast her over and over as the sweet but misguided little other woman. Diana hated it. She began to take little interest in her work, less in her piano, none in the bright young bachelors who asked for dates. Wanting to get away for a while, she accepted the lead in the London company of The Moon Is Blue — and suddenly everything changed. The play was a hit and Diana scored a personal triumph, hailed by tough London critics as one of the few "real" actresses to come out of Hollywood. She felt good enough to look for new worlds to conquer, so she decided to leave the cast and treat herself to a solo tour of Germany, France, Spain and Italy. Back in Hollywood she found a few more very pleasant changes. There was a most satisfactory delayed reaction to her starring roles with Dan Dailey in Meet Me At The Fair and with Glenn Ford in Plunder Of The Sun. Television offers began to pour in. In the gaps in her suddenly happily, crowded schedule, Diana found time for the music she had almost given up. Now she's playing piano for fun . . . and enjoying herself socially as well. "It's wonderful to read the hundreds of letters from those who wish me well," she says. "And in case the word hasn't completely gone around, I'm not disheartened any more!" j 62 james Stewart: model husband (Continued from page 42) ball and goes hiking. They just love to hike together. Last year they climbed to the top of some mountain in Santa Monica Canyon and hid a golf tee. Well, a week ago they hiked back to see if they could find it. They not only found it, but this time they buried two golf tees. "Of course Jim doesn't know quite what to do with our twin girls, Judy and Kelly, because they are only three. But he surely likes holding them. "I'm not saying this because he's my husband, but I've yet to find anyone here who doesn't genuinely like Jim." Jimmy Stewart's behavior as a citizen, like his behavior as a husband, is a result of his background and philosophy. In his own words, "I'm just a smalltown guy with small-town values and a small-town attitude." Jimmy tries to live in Hollywood today as he would five in .Indiana, Pennsylvania. Jim was born and reared in Indiana (population 11,743) where his father runs the hardware store. Husbands there, as he remembers, are simple, unsophisticated, hard-working, church -going providers. Jim is very much like them. No nightclubs, no yachts, no fancy racing cars. TTe has made a lot of money, and although lavish with his family, he gives himself relatively few luxuries. But according to his wife, "He's a camera bug. Jim has one of every kind of camera in existence. I've never seen so many cameras in my life." Jim has always been plane-crazy. When he was a boy he took flying lessons and made model planes. Now he owns an F-51 Mustang which has broken the coast-to-coast speed record, piloted by Joe De Bona, one of Stewart's best friends. Stewart and De Bona own a charter plane service out of Clover Field, Santa Monica. But Jim is usually too busy for pleasure flying. "As soon as I finish one picture," he says, "seems as if there's another right behind." C tew art is blessed with great powers ^ of concentration. He studies while his two stepsons are watching television, his dog Belo is barking and Gloria is talking or dancing with Judy and Kelly. "It's absolutely incredible," says the wondering Mrs. Stewart, "how Jim can study while any kind of racket is going on. I think this concentration is responsible for his absent-mindedness. "You've heard of the absent-minded professor? Well, Jim is the original. "I love him and he's wonderful, but after the twins were born and he was supposed to take me home from the hospital, he almost forgot about it!" He drove to the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, all right. The nurse said she would take Mrs. Stewart's gifts and bags to the car. "Let me help," Jim offered, whereupon he scooped up an armload of packages and headed for the elevator. When he got to his car, Jim dumped the packages. Somehow he had started thinking about a camera he'd read about. Forgetting the nurse who was following him, her arms laden with bags, he jumped into his car and drove to a camera store. The salesman was demonstrating. "Here's one," he announced, "that even your wife can work." "My wife?" Jim repeated. "Why, I've left her at the hospital!" And with that he dashed to his Chewy and raced back to the Cedars of Lebanon. When the nurse was talking to a hospital attendant about Jimmy's absentmindedness, the attendant said, "That's nothing. He almost forgot to take his twins out of the hospital, too!" Jimmy Stewart loves his family, and he hates to be separated from his wife. "That's why I got married," he once explained. A few years ago when Jim was making No Highway In The Sky in England, he insisted upon taking Gloria and the two boys with him. After a few months Gloria decided to take the boys and go home to wait for the next baby. Jim had to stay. When Gloria got home, she learned that the baby would be twins and called Jimmy in London. Jim merely said, "Wonderful, wonderful. So glad you called." Ten minutes later he began to think about it and called her back. "Darling!" he shouted. "Did you say twins?" Jimmy loves old clothes and will continue to have his favorite sports coats patched and re -patched. When he orders a new suit, he will take it back to the tailor time and time again until he feels completely satisfied with it. One tailor who has worked on Stewart's clothes says, "You can't believe it. He seems so easy-going and he speaks slow and soft. But if his collar is one-hundredth of an inch out of line he can't wear it!" Pat O'Brien observed a man on the circus set of Ring of Fear who was thoughtfully looking at the camels. He picked up a straw, placed it on the camel's back and waited. Nothing happened. "Wrong straw," the man mumbled as he walked away. Sidney Skolsky in The New York Post His wife says, "You'd expect him to be grumpy once in a while, but in the five years we've been married, Jim has always been pleasant. "He always does his best to please and he never forgets anniversaries or birthdays. He's given me cars and diamonds and so many things. And lots of times, he's very cute about the way he gives things. "For example, hell buy me a red cashmere sweater. On the box he'll write, 'This is a red cashmere sweater.' Then he'll hand the box to me and say, 'Put this away some place. It's a gift for you, and I don't want you to know what's in it.' " Gloria finds it very difficult to buy gifts for Jim. So far she has given him two presents that she's satisfied with — two paintings by Utrillo. Jimmy Stewart is a fine artist. As a boy he developed a marked talent for sketching. At Mercersburg Academy, he was art editor of The Karux, the school yearbook, for three years. He is also a good accordionist and pianist. At Princeton he played an accordion solo, "So Beats My Heart For You," in his first Triangle Club musical. The Falmouth Players, a stock company in Massachusetts, relied on his accordion, too. Now, it lies hidden somewhere in the cellar, and Jim plays the piano at home. This simple family entertainment — playing for the kids to sing — is his idea of a good time. And because it is, he has never become the prototype of the sought-after movie hero. Before Gloria married Jimmy she was told that he was shy, that she would have to bring him out of his shell. She found that he is not shy, exactly. He has great humility and respect for others. And he will not compromise on his principles. He doesn't believe in making "problem" pictures, for example. No matter how much money he is offered he refuses to star in