Modern Screen (Feb-Dec 1959)

Don't say ... I used to be BLONDE Da nnn tn^m/l Blondes rate the dates ... so don't let timeDC UIlU lUUdy I darkened hair keep you out of the fun! With Marchand's Golden Hair Wash you can bring back sunny blondeness or lighten your hair a mere shade. You can add a dashing blonde streak or give dark hair golden highlights— safely, easily at home. Perfect for lightening arm and leg hair, too. All-in-one-package, famous for 50 years. The boy began to laugh. "Wow!" he said. "Wow what?" Mr. Grobman asked. "I forgot you get paid for working, too," the boy said, still laughing, and rushing out of the store to tell his folks the good news. What Fabian wanted out of life At about the same time Fabian began working at the Bellevue Pharmacy, he entered George C. Thomas Junior High School — the same school Eddie Fisher, another local boy, had attended some fifteen years earlier. Eddie was, of course, already a top entertainment figure, and the pride of Thomas. Nobody at the school ever dreamed that Fabian would begin to follow in his footsteps in just a few short years. "Lots of boys were jealous of Fabian when ' he was here at Thomas," one teacher recalls. "For lots of reasons. And we all heard about the fights he was forever getting into." She specifically recalls the day she passed Fabian in the corridor, his right eye half closed and discolored— his face battered. "Where'd you get it, Fabian?" the teacher asked. "The shiner?" he asked back. He smiled. "Gee, I was home last night, in my room, and it was dark and there was this door and—" The teacher nodded. "And you walked into it?" she asked. "Yeah," Fabian said. "That's right." "Come on," the teacher said, " — the truth." "Honest," Fabian said, not looking her straight in the eye. "Honest" — and he walked away. A little while later the teacher heard another version of the story — this time from a girl student who was helping her mark some papers. "Did you see Fabian Forte's eye today?" the girl asked. "Really, some of the hoodlums in this school are too much." "What did happen?" the teacher asked. Forecast of things to come "Well," the girl said, taking a deep breath, "a couple of days ago Fabian caught one of these bullies in the boys' room beating up a poor little kid, half the size of him. Fabian broke it up and told the bully to lay off. In fact, he pushed him right out of the boys' room. So after school yesterday the bully showed up with a friend, near that empty garage on Johnson Street, to teach Fabian a lesson. They grabbed him while he was walking by, pulled him into the garage and began to beat him up. But Fabian ended up flattening them both, like two pancakes." She began to giggle. "You should see them today!" "Oh, that Fabian," she went on, coming out with a sigh that was soon to be repeated by millions of girls throughout the country. "Ohhhhhhhhhh. . . ." Fabian had just been graduated from Thomas Junior High and entered South Philadelphia High School when two events that were to change the course of his life took place. The first was his father's illness. The other was his chance meeting with a man named Bob Marcucci. Both events took place on the same day. On the morning of that day, Fabian's father suffered a heart attack. The Fortes, panic-stricken, phoned for an ambulance. Within a few minutes the ambulance arrived, Mr. Forte was placed on a stretcher and — Mrs. Forte accompanying him — was gone. Fabian stayed around the house to watch after his two young brothers and to wait for word from the hospital. It was while he was waiting — sitting on the concrete stoop outside the house — that Mr. Marcucci saw him. Why Fabian did it What has never been printed, however, is Fabian's real reason for making his decision to become a singer. "The reason," a friend says, "is that his father was sick and Fabian was worried about this. Also, at this same time, his brother Bobby became sick — something wrong with his spine — and the boy had to have a lot of special care. There were lots of hospital and doctor bills to pay. The Fortes weren't poor — but a cop doesn't make $50,000 a year, either. So Fabian thought that maybe if he got into this singing business and made some money doing it, the family would never have to worry." Always a religious boy, he went to his church and had a talk with his priest. "Those who have faith," the priest told him, "can do the impossible." Fortunately, Mr. Forte made a rapid recovery and Bobby's case was not as serious as was first believed and the billpaying went smoothly, without Fabian having to help at all. But time had passed by now and the boy was already on his way into that big new life that was spreading out before him. Before long, Fabian cut his first two records. They were titled I'm In Love and Lilly Lou. They were not very good, and they were not successful. But most of the people around the boy, who knew him and liked him, were proud. "He's really improving," they said. "NQt much of a voice yet, but you should have heard what it was. . . Anyway, lots of girls are beginning to write in to him and he's got a couple of fan clubs and it really looks like he's going to make it." However, a few people close to Fabian were worried. One of them, a teacher at Thomas Junior High, phoned him one day. For a few minutes they exchanged greetings, talked about the old days, about this and that. Then the teacher asked: "Fabian, how are things going in high school?" "Fine," Fabian said. "You managing to keep up with your studies?" the teacher asked. "Oh sure," Fabian said. "I'm going to be moving around a lot now, going on tours and everything, week ends mostly. But I had a talk with the people at school and they said that as long as I kept up with my work, it was all right with them." The teacher paused for a moment. "If you really like it . . ." "Fabian," she said, "do you remember that talk you had with me a few years ago, when you told me what you really wanted to do in life when you got older — how you would go to high school and then to college and become a big man in one of the professions someday?" "Yes, I remember," Fabian said. "Well, I think what you're doing now is fine ... if you really like it — " the teacher said. "Oh, I like it," Fabian interrupted. "Yes," the teacher said. "But remember, you're only at the beginning of something now. I don't know much about the entertainment field — except that it's tough and that there's a lot of disappointment involved. People rise and fall, much more quickly than in any other field. So be the smart boy you've always been and remember that. And, remembering it, keep up 73