Modern Screen (Jan-Dec 1960)

real big — but, after the tax deductions, it was small; then the agents, the publicity men, the dressmakers, the hundred and one demands made on the check brought it down to nothing like what a girl hoped it might be at the beginning. And Debbie wondered if the sacrifice was worth the pay-off. At the rate she was going she'd be secure for life — but she'd never be rich. The yachts and silver Rolls-Royces are not for movie stars. They can't afford them. There is no question about Debbie Reynolds' marriage to Eddie Fisher being a love match. And, as far as she was concerned, it was for life. Even in the spotlight, she thought. I can find some normality, something that resembles the happiness I see in others. She was wrong. '"Debbie Reynolds," a radio gabber said, "is taking the smash-up of her marriage to singer Eddie Fisher like a real trouper. She is dignified in her statements. She is accepting defeat at the hands of Elizabeth Taylor graciously. And she hasn't lost her sense of humor. . . ." And all the while Debbie was like any other young woman in her situation — too stunned to make sense, in tears every time she was alone, proud before strangers, and, as she had been taught, witty when the jerks who couldn't read a woman's sorrow in her face made their silly jokes. And. like the rest of the women in her position, she suffered the cuts and walked away from the inevitable one day with the same scars. You know her today by those scars. Debbie's fear And she confides to her closest friends now that she is afraid she may never fall in love again. Yet being with Harry Karl, experiencing the warmth of his deep concern for her and her children, having someone there to take the heavy load of her responsibilities on his shoulders, being treated like a glamorous young woman instead of a wife cast aside — all this left a glow that seemed very much like love. And it would be so good to feel that wonderful feeling again. Debbie longed to be in love again. But if it wasn't real . . . ? Debbie Reynolds is no longer the youngster with stars in her eyes. She is a mature woman with concrete values. She devotes a good deal of her time to work with The Thalians, a group dedicated to the care of mentally retarded children. She doesn't play at this — she works at it and she is known as a tireless, soundthinking executive officer of the group. In business, the business of making deals for movies, that is, she is known as a sharp trader, more than wise to her own value and the value of a dollar. As a film star, she knows her rank in the firmament and she sees that she gets every bit of respect due her on the set. To some people she is known as a tyrant, to others a snob, to others a real tough dame. Maybe she is all of these things. And if she is, it is because she was made that way. The ingredients of the formula went into the flask — and Debbie Reynolds, as she is today, came out. As to Harry Karl, his tale is the reverse of Debbie's. Some say he has a very large fortune — others, including his former wives, not so large. At any rate it is enough to allow him to live in luxury such as few men get to know. His whole background is laced with evidence of his liking for publicity and desire for acceptance by the community of celebrities in which he lives as one worthy of mention in the daily blabs. He has had a press agent for years— and he is probably the only shoe maker in the world with a private press ^gent. In moments of strife, such as when his ex -wife got into quite startling jams, Harry was always available to the boys with the by-lines for a quote. He contributes handsomely to the Los Angeles Press Club. One of his adopted sons is named Harrison, after a local gossip columnist. Yes, Harry digs the limelight. As to the kind of husband he would make Debbie, who can tell? But his exwives may give us a clue. His first wife, Ruth Winters, now operates an accessory shop in a Beverly Hills beauty salon. They were married twenty-four years ago. not too long after Debbie was born, and have been divorced fourteen years. They had a daughter, Judy, who is now twenty. Harry owes nothing, nor does he give anything to his first wife. He does, however, employ his daughter's husband at a quite respectable salary — and more than likely gives his grandson shoes for free. Not joyous at all Harry's second wife. Marie MacDonald. is considerably less than kind in speaking of Harry and her memory of her times with him are not joyous at all. "I hated being married to Harry," she stated frankly quite recently. "He was fun when I dated him. I didn't even know he was a rich man. I thought his uncle owned a few shoe stores. (There will be loud laughter from many who know the canny Marie at this.) After we were married I discovered he was subject to terrible fits of depression. He'd stay in bed for days at a time, all wrapped up in depressed moods. I couldn't stand it. We lived in a house like Wuthering Heights — and after a while I began to feel low and depressed all the time. When I left him, I felt as though a great weight had been lifted from me." Marie adds. ''I think he finds in Debbie something he found in me. Vivacity. Now in my case, I had all the vivacity — and I think she'll find out the same thing. She won't know what he's really like while she's dating him. "And as for the children, we have three, two adopted, Denise and Harrison, both aged ten, and Tina, who is our natural child, aged three and a half. Harry has seen the children only three times last year and twice this year. I don't know how good he is to Debbie's kids— but he doesn't bother much with his own." According to Marie, Harry Karl's income, after taxes, is about $56. 000.00 a year today. If he were to live with Debbie and the family, the way he wants to live, this wouldn't go very far. And he pays a heavy divorce settlement to Marie. She gets $3,500 a month alimony until the day she dies, whether she marries again or not. She gets $750.00 a month each for the three children — and Harry pays extra for such items as clothing, toys, medical and dental care, transportation to and from school — and, when the day comes, he will pay their college tuitions and board while they are being educated. So, even if he is a little blue once in a while, he most surely has established credit as a good family provider in latter years. . . . As Harry Karl pores over luxury house plans in his suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Debbie looks around the home her children know and love. And she looks into her heart and the truth becomes very clear to her. She is not in love with Harry Karl, she probably never was. But she had wished she were. Wished it so much that she almost believed it, and certainly the public believed it. But she'd only been fooling herself. She knew now, beyond a doubt what the answer would be: "I like him better than any man I know," she admitted, "but I have no plans to marry . . . I'm going to think a long time before I marry anyone." END PSORIASIS? SURE YOU CAN WEAR PLAY CLOTHES! Don't lec psoriasis keep you from wearing the clothes that will make you most attractive. SIROIL helps remove those unsightly crusts and scales. 27 years of successful results. SIROIL won't stain clothing or bedlinens. Sold on 2-weeks-satisfaction or money refunded basis. AT ALL DRUG STORES U£Vl • For greater daytime comfort useSIR-O-LENE Skin Softener Between nightly Siroil applications. 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