Modern Screen (Jan-Dec 1960)

Only Frank Sinatra, of her many pursuers, came anywhere near catching Lauren. But Lauren says now, "The less said about Mister Sinatra, the better!" Frank, a doting father to his own children, was not exactly the best choice for Lauren and Bogie's children. And, with Lauren, her children come first. "Right now," she said, "the children are the most important thing in my life." And, she knows all too well the sacred image held of Bogie by young Stephen. "Stephen remembers his father so well, and I want him always to think of what a kind, wonderful man he was." Then, Lauren added a 'but.' "But, I don't want to talk about him every day because I don't want to create any insurmountable obstacles for them (meaning her children) when I remarry." Jason Robards is a proud man and he will make it on his own. With Bogie's Lauren. With Bogie's friends and hers. And, with Stephen and Leslie. Lauren Bacall is a lot of woman. She's proved it time and again, especially during the desperately trying period in which she was the only one who knew Bogie was dying. For ten months, she played it straight as if nothing were happening. And, Bogie, realizing the end was near, and watching her keep her heart from showing on her sleeve, said: "She's my wife. So she stays home. Maybe that's the way you tell the ladies from the broads in this town." Now, she seeks happiness. And, as she says it in the candid way that has become her trademark: "I feel that the greatest compliment I can pay Bogie is to get married. Because our marriage was so good I find it difficult to live any other way." She leaves her heart open. And, for Jason Robards that opening is perhaps the lead he needs to make his move. Jason, delighted when Lauren opened in Good-bye Charlie on Broadway, boosted her to the skies to all his close friends. Then, not to be outdone, he starred in Toys in the Attic to rave notices, and no one could have been happier than Lauren over his success. They toasted each other with champagne, and the bubbling smiles that crossed their happy faces were more than just the effects of sparkling champagne. Theirs is not one of those dimly-lit, out-of-the-way restaurant type friendships. They appear in such spots as the Brasserie, a restaurant frequented by many and as bright as a Christmas tree. Even the most cynical beings wish them the best. "Jason's his own man. And Betty knows it. He doesn't need to do Bogie to make everything seem right. And, if he had to, he'd change his physical resemblance to Bogie, just to make it on his own." Anyone who knows Jason knows this. The actor who said it had known Jason through the hard times, but he also knew and liked Lauren. He was hoping the comparisons between Bogie and Jason wouldn't be any stumbling block to the new happiness Lauren and Jason seem to have found. One of the funniest, though cherished, taunts that Bogie ever tossed out was when he said: "I had to marry her. She chased me until I had my back to the wall. I did what any gentleman would do — I gave in." Lauren has always laughed at the old line. It was a private joke between Betty and her Bogie. Now, she has left the way open for a fiercely independent man to laugh at the same line, a line Bogie coined, but held no copyright on. A line that any gentleman would be wise to think over. For, as Jason knows, when a man's got his back against the wall, giving in can be more fun. Especially if he gives in to Lauren. END The Good Wife (Continued from page 39) Jeanne had to forget all hopes for resuming her career as a model. Besides, she soon had her own Dino, Ricci and Gina to raise. Many times, when the stepchildren were going through the usual adolescent rebellion, she wondered if they were thinking, "You're not my real mother; you're only my stepmother!" But she held her temper, mustered all her patience and offered all her love in handling each little crisis in a big family. There were times when Dean found married life oppressive and stormed out, only to return and promise to try a little harder the next time. Things got better after he split with Jerry Lewis, and he said then, "Now I can give more time to family life." All seven kids, plus Dean, Jeanne and three servants, live happily in a big 11room Beverly Hills House. While Dean goes out to work, Jeanne runs the house and keeps the kids in line, and still has enough energy left to do occasional partying with Dean. For him, she is a patient, tolerant, understanding wife. But perhaps more important, at home she plays her greatest role, a loving stepmother, and does it well. Gloria Stewart James Stewart was 41 when he finally married, in 1949. As Hollywood's most eligible bachelor for a long time, he had dated many stars from Marlene Dietrich to Olivia de Haviland. But he kept avoiding marriage. "I couldn't stand having anybody around me all the time," he explained. But his years in the U. S. Air Force changed him, and when he returned to Hollywood, he was more of an extrovert. At the Gary Coopers' house, he met and fell in love with Gloria McLean Hatrick, a divorcee with two children. They married and two years later, their twin daughters were born. 76 Jimmy's marriage has worked because he wouldn't compromise. He wouldn't marry on impulse. He held off the aggressive Hollywood actresses; he resisted the glamour girls looking for a star husband. He waited, and kept looking, until he found the Right Girl. Of course, he had to make a lot of adjustments. He had to adjust to a couple of lively stepchildren, to having his own children late in life, to being surrounded by noisy, happy kids in the house, to having a wife and new responsibilities, not easy for a long-time bachelor. He was fortunate in finding Gloria, a well-poised, beautiful socialite who knew Hollywood too well to want to become an actress. She runs their big house efficiently, giving the kind of formal parties he likes, such as their recent party for the King of Nepal. With her encouragement, he has come out of his shell enough to become active in civic and school organizations and the Boy Scouts. "I like family life," he says. Gloria sighs, "He's the ideal man: patient, kind, thoughtful." Jimm.v gambled in the firm belief there was only One Girl for him and she was worth waiting for . . . and winning. Janet Curtis When Janet Leigh married Tony Curtis it was her third marriage. She didn't know it then, but it was destined to be her toughest . . . and happiest. On the surface, at the beginning, things looked good. Janet got better roles; Tony moved up at Universal studios; they started saving money, and they were working out their cultural, religious and personality differences. Then, suddenly, the pressures of Hollywood got Tony down, and he became depressed, distressed, emotionally ill, and had to go to a psychoanalyst for help. In this crisis, when the man of the family is down, Janet knew instinctively her role. She stayed home, started raising babies, became more the wife and less the actress. She stopped taking picture offers that required going on location away from Tony. She encouraged Tony in his new self probings, his budding intellectualism. She gave him a deeper love and a greater understanding as he wandered down the dark, tortured paths of analysis, tearing at the roots of childhood memories and reliving past agonies. She summoned all her patience to tolerate Tony's mercurial moods of anger, self-reproach, frustration. She stood fast by her man, as all loving women have done through the ages when their man was threatened. Instead of competing with him — as many actresses do with their actor husbands — she submerged herself so that Tony was undisputed boss and big star of the family. She watched happily as he developed confidence, got top roles, earned huge salaries, took his place among Hollywood's articulate young leaders. Their marriage' worked because she did not hesitate to continue loving her mate through sickness, as well as in health, as they had promised each other solemnly in the marriage vows. Lydia Heston Chuck Heston fell in love with Lydia Clarke when they were speech majors at Northwestern University. Two years later, in 1944, just before he went into the Army for three years, they married. When he returned, they started the heartbreaking job of looking for acting jobs. Sometimes they acted in the same play, sometimes they didn't. In 1950, they won the Theatre World Awards as "most promising actor and actress of the year." Their marriage worked during their lean years because, as Chuck said then, "We both want the same things — each other, and work in the theater." The test came when Chuck's career started to move. Lydia could have competed with him, trying to keep up the pace. Instead, she reacted as a wife instead of as an actress, and she deliberately slowed down her own career, to help Chuck. She sought modeling work, so they could survive while Chuck pursued new acting jobs. They lived in a one-room cold-water flat "overlooking a garbage can." Lydia said, "Two people can work and still live together happily provided they are both interested in each other's work." She took occasional acting jobs, at Chuck's urging, but when their first baby, Fraser, arrived, she went into semi-retirement.