Modern Screen (Jan-Dec 1960)

But still she studied. "And prayed," she says. Harder. And harder. And harder. Till, finally, some six months ago, the incredible happened: A New York agent who had seen Margo work in class and who knew that Twentieth Century-Fox's Hollywood brass was looking around for a "new face" to play Susie Belle, the floozie wife in Hound-Dog Man, recommended Margo. A test was made, in New York. And Margo was given her stand-by papers — with a not-too-encouraging "maybe" attached. A few weeks later, on a Saturday, the agent called excitedly to tell Margo that someone at MGM had seen her test and that they had decided to sign her. Minutes after this call, with Margo still sitting, unbelieving, alongside her phone, there came another call. It was the agent again. "I just talked to the boys at Fox," he said, "to tell them about the Metro contract. But they were just about to call me, they said, to tell me they wanted you for further tests. 'Sorry, boys,' I told them, ' — first come, first served.' There was a pause, a long pause. And then, suddenly, came the word: 'Bring her around tomorrow. We'll sign her. And she leaves for the Coast on Monday.' " There was a pause here now, again a long pause. "Margo, did you hear what I said — you're going to Hollywood day after tomorrow!" the agent called out. But Margo didn't answer. Couldn't answer. Because she'd fainted dead away. Something very special And while we actually could end our story here, the ending being a decidedly happy one, we feel (1) that it would be impolite leaving a lovely lady lying on the floor, and (2) that you might like to hear a little about something very special that happened to Margo shortly after her revival and subsequent arrival in Hollywood. The something concerns a man, that segment of our population which Margo had practically rejected since her ill-fated first marriage. And— But let Margo tell it: "His name is Bob Radnitz. He's a producer, very young and attractive, though I must admit none of his qualities exactly bowled me over the first time we met. We met on the set of the picture. We were introduced, that is, and he said something like, 'Since we're both from New York we've got to get together sometime,' and I said, 'Yes,' and that was that. I thought. "Then this night, a few nights later, I was at home — I'd just put Darryl to bed — and the phone rang. " 'This is Bob Radnitz,' I heard a voice on the other end of the line say. "'Who?' I asked. I'd forgotten his last name. "He explained. " 'Oh,' I said, not very enthusiastically. I knew he was going to ask for a date and, truthfully, I couldn't have been less interested. "Well, he did ask, and I said no, and again I thought that would be that. "But he persisted, so much that I finally said, 'Look, if you're so anxious to talk to somebody, why don't you come over for a little while and have a cup of coffee?' " 'Pest,' I thought to myself when I hung up. "And he was, too. "First, as soon as he arrived, he made a long face when I told him I only had instant coffee. He said that there was nothing like drip coffee made in a drip coffee pot. 'Really?' I said. "Then, about an hour later, when I was starving and had to eat something and said, not too invitingly, 'Would you like to join me in some salad?' — he jumped up from his chair, like a man who hasn't heard the word food in years, came into the kitchen with me, and then proceeded to tell me about all the things he was allergic to. Things like tomatoes and tuna fish and a couple of other things I'd planned to put into the salad. '"When is he going to leave?' I wondered to myself as I stood there tossing the lettuce, oil and vinegar — the only ingredients I was allowed to end up using. 'When?' "But then something happened, as we sat there in the kitchen, eating. "We began to talk. Really began to talk. Bob started telling me about his life, the good things, the bad, the ups, the downs. And I told him about my life, all about it. And by the time we were finished talking, five or six hours later, it was as if we'd known each other — and liked each other— for years. "We made no appointment to see each other again when Bob left that night. Flowers and coffee pots "But the next morning, at about 7:30, just as I was getting ready to leave for the studio, the front doorbell rang. And there he stood, silly smile on his face, holding a little pink-and-white posy bouquet in his hand. I didn't think that type thing happened anymore. I didn't even know what to say. But Bob saved me the bother. 'See you sometime,' he said, handing me the flowers and walking away. "And then that night, when I got home, guess who was in the living room, on the floor, playing like crazy with Darryl. "He hopped up when he saw me. 'Margo — I didn't mean to barge in,' he said, 'but there's a little something I bought for you, that I'd like you to have.' "He led me into the kitchen. And there on the stove it sat, a gleaming new coffee pot. " 'It's the drip kind,' he said, 'just in case you ever decide you'd like to have me over for another cup of coffee . . . Well.' he said then, shrugging, as if he were about to leave, 'before you start thinking I might be some kind of a pest — ' "But my laughter stopped him, I guess. "And, probably too, the way I went over to him and hugged him. "Because he stayed that night — for coffee, and dinner. "And, come to think of it, he's been showing up for same every night since. . . ." At this writing, both Margo and Bob only smile when anyone brings up the subject of wedding plans. But to old crystal gazers like us, our so-called mystery girl's future seems very clear indeed. end Margo is a star of 20th-Fox's Wake Me When It's Over. My Son Has Been Kidnapped (Continued from page 57) So the court fight dragged on and the baby was passed back and forth between Stella and Herman time after time. The court made only one provision, that the baby was not to be removed from Memphis until the whole matter was settled once and for all. But Stella moved to Hollywood and little Andy remained behind with his father, now a $3950 per year IBM machine operator at the Mallory Air Force base. They both lived with Herman's parents. The first kidnapping One day Stella slipped back into Memphis and carried her beautiful son off with her, against court orders, against the law, back to her home in Hollywood. Now Sergeant Jonoski felt he understood the whole case. Obviously the boy's father had come to steal back his own son. Obviously it wasn't a matter for the Los Angeles police. Obviously it wasn't a kidnapping ... so decided Sergeant Jonoski. But we're forced to wonder just what it was. We went first to talk with Stella . . . then to talk with Herman. First, let's hear 78 Stella's story: "The house is so still now. It used to be filled with happy noises. My little boy laughing or yelling or playing cowboy and shooting off his toy six-gun. Sometimes, when he became too noisy, I'd call out, 'Andy, you must quiet down, honey.' What I wouldn't give to hear my little boy and his friends yelling in the backyard of my home. "When will I ever hear my son saying, 'Mommy' again, or feel his warm arms press me tight in a bear hug, or hear his sturdy little feet in cowboy boots stamp noisily in the kitchen where he'd dig into the refrigerator for snacks. I haven't stocked the refrigerator since he was snatched from me. "Is being a movie actress such a crime that I should lose my child? The courts in Memphis awarded my little boy to his father. But what about the law of God? How can anyone tear a child away from his mother? "I haven't been able to sleep well since Andy was taken from me. The nights are so long. It is hours upon black hours when I lie awake, my heart absolutely torn with longing for my son. And I wonder, during those endless hours: What is happening to Andy now? How is my little boy taking the shock of being snatched away from his mother? Is he awake at night, as I am, crying for me, as I am for him? "For many months, when Andy was with me, my happiness at having my child with me was mixed with a certain fear. I was afraid that a moment might come when the boy's father would try to take him from me. I'd had to steal my own child out of Memphis a year ago in order to have him with me in the first place. Once in a lifetime "I was a teen-ager at the time I married Herman Stephens, and it was shortly after our baby was born in Memphis that I realized our marriage had been a mistake. At the time of our separation, I was awarded full custody of our baby. My parents helped me take care of him when I went to school and when I worked. I soon had an offer to go to Hollywood. It was one of those golden opportunities that comes once in a lifetime and I would have been crazy not to take it. I wanted to make good in Hollywood for my child's sake even more than for mine. With a career as an actress, I could take care of my son and give him the material things a child needs, and I could give him a lot of myself, too. There's lots of time off in acting. However, at the beginning I had to remain in Hollywood