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A FRIEND
I TREASURE
By GARY COOPER
The study of Guy Standing, above, was drawn
by Gary. Gary was at one time a newspaper
cartoonist, as you probably know.
26
An intimate story of
YOU may have noticed that I drew two sketches to illustrate this story. You see, this is the first time in my life I have ever written a story about anything or anybody, particularly about someone whose friendship I value. So the sketches are for the benefit of those who can't quite get the drift of my initial literary effort . . . and the story is for those who can't quite get the drift of the sketches.
If I were a great deal more articulate than I am (and I've never been accused of glibness in expressing myself) I still doubt that I would be able to do justice to the charm of this man with whom I have worked . . . with whom I have stretched legs lazily before the roaring fire, and whom I have gradually come to know as one of the most colorful personalities Hollywood has to offer.
I am proud to call Sir Guy Standing my friend. His interest and his curiosity about his fellow man know no bounds, but I believe his friendship is given to few. Certainly ours has been a process of evolution and typical British unhurriedness that began when we met casually during the first days of "Now and Forever," but did not really gain momentum until that mutual adventure, the filming of "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer."
Frankly, I knew very little of Sir Guy the day we shook hands over the curly head of little Shirley Temple. Naturally I knew his distinguished reputation in the theater of two continents . . . the long and successful tours he had made with Jane Cowl in "The Road to Rome" and "Jennie." I had seen him in "The Road to Rome" and later in "Cynara" when those companies played Los Angeles. I heard Paramount was interested in signing him for the screen. But the deal did not actually go through until almost a year later when he suddenly decided against opening a new Broadway show in favor of Hollywood.
Though he had been on the Paramount lot several months in the making of such pictures as "Death Takes a Holiday," "Cradle Song" and several others, we did not meet until "Now and Forever" went into production.
I wish I could promise to tell you "all about" him now. But that would be highly presumptuous and an exaggeration on my part. Getting to know Sir Guy is like drinking a highball in London. Just as one Scotch and soda will suffice a British gentleman for an entire evening, so will one incident, one event, one confidence gained be sufficient unto the meeting between friends . . . when one of them is Sir Guy.
Because describing his appearance is far easier than catching his personality on paper, I can step out quite boldly and say that he is one of the finest looking men I have ever seen. In years he is well over the fifty mark and there are two hundred pounds of muscle and brawn perfectly distributed over his six-foot
Immediately at the left is a photograph of Standing. At the right is a charcoal sketch of Gary drawn, to return the compliment, by Sir Guy.
The New Movie Magazine, March, 1935