Modern Screen (Jan-Dec 1960)

self. But he's seen her go through hell once in her marriage to Eddie Fisher. And he wonders if marrying Harry will prove as serious a mistake. Leon confided, "Harry's not really like Debbie — not like the Debbie I know, anyway. He hasn't her warmth; he doesn't understand her kind of clowning around. I'm afraid if she marries him, he may try to change her . . . and if he does, he'll destroy the warm, wonderful girl I know. And Debbie doesn't take matters of the heart lightly. She fought hard to keep from becoming bitter after Eddie left her. If she marries Harry, she'll fight equally hard to make a go of that marriage. "I hope she doesn't rush into marriage with Harry. There are so many warning signs on the horizon." Debbie is a completely different person with Leon than she is with Harry. Not long ago, Debbie was talking to Leon and suggested, "Let's dress up as beatniks and have some laughs." He was as enthusiastic about the idea as she was — it was crazy enough to suit both of them. They rented the beatnik costumes and then paraded down Beverly Boulevard, drawing stares. Debbie grinned like a gamin. Then she had another idea. "Let's surprise Harry. I want to see the expression on his face." They got a lift to the swank Beverly Hills Hotel where Harry now lives. The doorman, not recognizing Debbie, wouldn't let them in. They slipped in through a side entrance. A bellboy tried to get them to leave, but Debbie insisted upon calling Harry Karl on the house telephone. DISGUISING HER VOICE, Debbie said, "This is Mrs. Herman Schultz, a friend of Debbie Reynolds. Debbie told me to call you. She says you're the living end — real cool — and she wants you to come down and meet another cat and me. So why don't you get on your bicycle and roll down?" Harry came down. He looked at Debbie and Leon, and a horrified light of recognition dawned in his eyes. "What's the idea of doing this, honey?" he asked Debbie. "Oh, Harry, I think this is fun. Real funsville. Why don't you take Leon and me into the swankiest cocktail room in the hotel. We'll knock their eyes out." Harry looked as if he wanted to crawl underground. "He was in a state," Leon recalled. "He just didn't dig Debbie's pixie sense of humor. Debbie and I, however, took each other's hands and walked in. We were hysterical with laughter. I'm afraid Harry was just plain hysterical. We stayed in that cocktail room, attracting lots of talk and lots of stares, until Harry, hot under the collar, insisted that we all leave. But Debbie and I had a ball. Harry begged her to change those crazy clothes and behave herself. She said, 'Okay, Harry. I'll see you later.' " When Leon drove her home, she said she was going to shower, put on an evening dress and go with Harry to Romanoff's. She looked a little wistful as she said it. Or was it just Leon's imagination? "Why should Harry try to talk her into marrying him, if he feels he can't accept her as she is? Debbie is a blithe spirit, a pixie. Why does he say he's in love with her if he wants to make her into a Beverly Hills society matron? On the other hand, I adore Debbie for exactly what she is. And I always have. She relaxes when she's with me." After a steady diet of Harry, Debbie seems almost compelled to go out on a date with Leon "to relax." Why does she feel this necessity? With Harry, Debbie goes to the finest restaurants and night clubs, dresses up, wearing her minks and the fabulous 76 jewels Harry gave her. But with Leon, it's altogether different. One night, only a short while ago, she and Leon made a date. "What are you going to wear, Leon?" she asked him. "A blue sweater, maybe red Bermudas." She showed up wearing an almost identical costume — big, bulky blue sweater and red Bermudas. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail. She looked like a cute teenager— the pre-glamorous, pre-Harry Karl Debbie. "Let's have laughs," she said. She and Leon doubledated with another couple— an old Burbank school friend, Ray Stevens, and his wife, Carole. They went bowling. Debbie was a riot, clowning all over the place. Her eyes danced. She took off her shoes. She was like a kid. Then they went to some little "dives" around Sunland and in the Valley. "She was a three-ring circus," said Leon wistfully. "In the bowling alley she hoisted a big ball, then pretended it was too heavy for her, and as she tossed it, she fell down the alley with the ball. Debbie was her old self, clowning, laughing, her pony-tail flying. It made me feel as if she was eighteen and I nineteen again, and I thought back to the days when we had solemnly looked at expensive lots and laughed at the idea of either of us ever having enough money to afford anything like that. "When I started to drive Debbie home, her face was glowing." THEN, AS SHE WAS LEAVING for her big. beautiful home, facing a formal date with ITa*-ry the next evening, Debbie shivered slightly. She looked up at Leon tenderly and said, "I had such a wonderful time tonight. I'd almost forgotten what it was to have fun like this any more. I loved it. This is the kind of fun I enjoy. I've had the bes* time tonight I've had in two years. Thank you, Leon dear." And fhen she walked into her beautiful home. The next night she was the glamorous Debbie Harry Karl knows and loves. But Leon says, "Can Harry really understand this girl? Or will he try to remake her — and break her? It would be tragic if he did. For Debbie has a priceless gift of fun and laughter." Why does Debbie continue to see Harry? Why, perhaps, will she marry him, when there is so much in her bubbling personality that is alien to his nature? Leon thinks she wants a man to respect and look up to, emotionally, financially This is a picture of Leon Tyler and Debbie, taken when they were teenagers. They have remained true and steadfast friends. and socially. "I think she's rationalizing. Harry seems to fill the bill on those things Debbie thinks she needs. She's had one bad experience in marriage. She was so badly hurt, now she wants protection and dignity. She thinks Harry will give her that protection. She doesn't need his money — Debbie will make millions through her own talent. But there is an aura of power around Harry. People bow to him — the maitre d's to whom he gives big tips, his hundreds of employees, the people in Hollywood cafe society to whom he is a big spender. I think Debbie's beglamoured and confused. "I'd rather see her wait for a while until she's sure. I think she's lonely. Perhaps that's why she likes to go with Harry. It's always one party after another, or traveling to Palm Springs or Las Vegas, or to night clubs. When she's with Harry, they're always with other people or doing something — moving, moving, moving, so that Debbie doesn't even know what Harry is like deep inside." At one time — shortly after her breakup with Eddie — Harry seemed to be the answer to Debbie's needs. At first there were lots of men who wanted to date her. She found out that many of them were leeches — out for the publicity they could get from dating a big-name star. Once at this time, she took Leon's hand in hers and said earnestly, "I have many acquaintances, but I can count my friends on the fingers of one hand." Debbie feels that Harry likes her for herself. He doesn't need her money. She feels he doesn't need her fame, and isn't attracted by it (although many people in Hollywood disagree with her about that) . Once, one of her old friends in Burbank warned her, "Harry doesn't have any sense of humor." SHE QUICKLY DEFENDED HTM. "He has a dry sense of humor. Maybe it's not like ours. He's a different kind of man — but he has a worldly humor.' When any Burbank friends warn her about Harry's weak points, she rushes to his defense. "He does so many things for Debbie. How can she help but be impressed?" says Leon. "He comes to the house, loaded with gifts for her children. More than anything else, this strikes home with Debbie." Once, someone who loves Debbie and feels Harry is wrong for her said, "Debbie, if he's so fond of children, what about his own? Although he pays a hefty sum for the support of his three young children (as decreed by the courts) he seldom comes to see them!" At this, Debbie flared up and defended Harry all the more, insisting that he loves his children, and does his best to see them whenever possible — and that it isn't always possible. On Sunday mornings, Leon is often at Debbie's house, romping with her children. He doesn't come loaded down with as many expensive gifts, but the children's faces light up when they see him. They adore him. Leon has a special way with children; he teaches youngsters in a Valley school and he knows how to get down on the floor with little Carrie and Toddy and play with them. Many of Debbie's Burbank friends hope that she doesn't marry Harry. "He doesn't really understand her or us," they say. "When Debbie lets loose and clowns, sometimes he acts startled, as if he can't quite get with it. At a party she gave recently, she invited Harry, some of her movie friends, her family and the Burbank crowd. She and Leon did a rock-and roll-dance together and they were a riot. She was the bouncing, clowning Debbie we used to know before her heart was broken by Eddie. Everyone was laughing.