Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1945)

INSIDE STIFF For Dewey: Ann Sothern, pouring tea for Penny Singleton and Ginger Rogers, among many well-known filmites at pre-election Ambassador tea ( Continued, from page 8) enough for him to get to it every night. Dick is maaad about boats! . . . The first time that Gregory Peck kissed Jessica Tandy for a scene in “Valley Of Decision” — her bustle broke! What a man! Those daily tennis games between Tallulah Bankhead, Garbo and Katharine Hepburn over at Clifton Webb’s house — are positively hysterical! Talu, who always said she couldn’t even hold the racket — and who never has risen from her bed until mid-afternoon unless she had to work — is now out on the court every morning fresh as a daisy — but not hitting many tennis balls. Garbo and Katie, however, are supreme. So Bill Tilden, the ex-champ who is around most of the time, does most of his coaching for Tallulah’s benefit! Cal Goes to New York: Don’t ask how your friend Cal could tear himself away from the fascinating doings of old Hollywood to hie himself off to New York, but suddenly there we were for a few gay days and from where we sat in the Stork Club, 21 and El Morocco it looked like good old cinema city to us. Dorothy Lamour popped over to our table at the Stork, leaving her handsome husband, Major William Ross Howard, alone for a moment, to tell of ex-husband John Hertz. Not a word was spoken between them. But here’s news — Myrna tells us she’ll be back in Hollywood for another movie soon. A hand on our shoulder at El Morocco and a voice in our ear — a soft “hello,” told us without turning it was Katina Paxinou. Later we discovered the Academy Award winning actress felt bitterly unhappy over Hollywood’s failure to find her another movie role. “I don’t want another Pilar,” Miss Paxinou kept telling producers who insisted upon another “For Whom The Bell Tolls” character. “I’m an actress. Let me act.” Bute they didn’t, so the New York stage will eventually get her. The way Franchot Tone’s wife wore her hair, straight and clamped down with bobby pins, and her large-mouth make-up had night-clubbers gossiping. Franchot is remaining in New York for a play. They wouldn’t believe us in Hollywood when we told of the big friendship act staged by Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, first at Roy’s and Trigger’s cocktail party at the Astor ballroom (Trigger behaves beautifully at social functions) and later at Rogers’ Madison Square Garden rodeo when Roy summoned Autry into the ring where he proceeded to steal the show from Roy. And after all those hundreds of letters, bitter ones too, that Rogers fans have written us about Autry and vice versa. And no more of that from now on, children. Bob Hutton and Cal grew quite chummy at the various parties and night spots. A nice fellow and certainly a hit after “Janie.” ( Continued on page 12) Also present: Mr. and Mrs. James Craig step out for tea and talk at the Ambassador her experience in Baltimore. While dining in state with her husband’s family, a sailor popped over and informed Dottie he’d seen her last four pictures and he wanted his $1.60 back. Embarrassed, Dottie handed him two dollars from her own purse, saying, “And I want my forty-cents change.” Of course it turned out to be a bet and one the sailor won. Who but Lamour would tell it on herself? Here’s one on Cal. We’d gone over to Third Avenue to get the morning papers and suddenly stood rooted to the spot. Coming up Third Avenue was, of all people, Ray Milland, whom we’d left behind in Hollywood. So we yelled “Ray!” Not only did Ray ignore the greeting but a crew of men hidden behind a camera in the rear of a truck started making unpleasant comments — and loud. Gradually the light dawned. Cal, who actually cut his teeth on movie cameras, was interrupting a movie scene, Ray being in New York to film sequences for “Lost Weekend.” How they kidded Cal in Hollywood when the story got back. We saw a bit of drama, too. Seated in the Stork was lovely Myrna Loy in a very pink bonnet — when who came in and for one very dramatic moment, paused by her table — but her