Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1959)

Looking Back: So many of you have asked me what it was like in the Old Days that I’m going to take a few lines each month to talk about them — and the stars I knew. I think one of the greatest was (and is) Clark Gable. And my first recollection of him goes ’way back to 1930 when he got a job as a studio page-boy and used to hang around the sets asking questions upon questions. He was a tall, lanky young man with great broad shoulders and a ready smile — a friendly sort of boy, quiet, courteous and determined to get on. He’d know us all by name. Then when he got his first part, in 1931, in “The Painted Desert,” he told me, “I’ll give myself five years. Then they’ll be tired of me. That’s about all you can count on. But maybe by then I’ll have enough money to see the world. That’s what I’d like to do.’’ Twenty-five years later he’s still at the top (and he’s seen the world). “Have the movies found another Valentino?” I remember the reviewers saying of him at the beginning. And I watched Clark rise in just months to the top of his profession. I think his greatest role was as Rhett Butler in “Gone With the Wind.” But he’s made so many films — almost sixty. Whenever I think about Clark, I marvel at how he finds time for a word with all of us, despite the fact that he’s rubbed shoulders with royalty. His marriage to the late Carole Lombard was one of Hollywood’s most fabled romances. Today, Kay Spreckles (wife No. 5) says he’s always complaining, “I wish everyone wouldn’t keep saying I’m dead.” Don’t miss Gable in Remember Clark Gable and his new film, “But Not Vivien Leigh in “G-W-T-W ? for Me. — cal york The Good News People: James MacArthur, who dropped by to say goodbye to me before taking off for England and the movie, “Kidnapped,” is one of the best-mannered and most natural young men in the business. I’m sure his mother, Helen Hayes, and his bride Joyce think so, too. Joyce, who has been appearing on Broadway in “Tall Story,” goes with James to England and later to Jamaica for Walt Disney’s “Swiss Family Robinson” . . . Brad Dillman, winner of a Foreign Press Award for international stardom and the proud parent of two young Dillmans, is exactly the type you would like best to climb Mt. McKinley with. If you grew weary. Brad would probably get behind and push. He's that gallant. It’s a Roman wedding for Ernest Borgnine and Katy Jurado. And a happy honeymoon in Capri for the beaming Katy and the slim trim groom who took off 35 pounds. Wish it could happen to your — Sara. Cal York’s Jottings: Fernando Lamas and his beautiful wife Arlene Dahl reconciled after a brief parting. The reunion came about when Fernando offered to help Arlene move into her new home and just stayed on himself. . . . Shirley MacLaine received several TV offers for herself and four year old daughter Sachie after their pictures appeared on a national magazine cover. So far, Shirley has refused them all. . . . Marlon Brando, who has been directing and acting in “One-Eyed Jacks” for months and months, has had it as a director. Marlon will stick to acting in the future. And that future includes Anna Magnani and Joanne Woodward in "Orpheus Descending.” . . . Replacements seem the order of the day with Lee Remick replacing Lana Turner in “Anatomy of a Murder” and Jean Simmons taking over Sabina Bethinan’s role in "Spartacus. Lana's walkout was due to a disagreement over her wardrobe with director Otto Preminger but no one is certain why the lovely German Sabina was ousted. . . . The death of Lou Costello, who brought happiness into thousands of lives, saddened Hollywood and the world that loved him. Lou, with his pixie-like charm, will be greatly missed. . . . Peter Lawford claims he receives five times the fan mail for his “Thin Man” role in the TV series than he did in movies. So Peter, who is Sinatra’s closest pal these days, is a mite skeptical about a movie return. Maybe Peter better stick to Thin Manning for a while longer. . . . Wishes do come true. Ask Barbara Stanwyck who sat week after week glued to her TV set fascinated by Robert Horton’s performance in “Wagon Train.” A friend told Robert of Barbara’s admiration — and the two have been dining and dating ever since. . . . The British press seems to have almost totally ignored Deborah Kerr when she went over to England to see her children. . . . Leslie Caron will have three weeks in Italy with her husband Peter Hall before beginning “For Each the Other.” ... I hear Bob Wagner and Natalie Wood’s new home has a salt-water pool. . . . Reconciliation is expected soon for actor Jack Balance and his wife, Virginia. . . . I’m told that William Holden bought a hotel while out in Africa. . . . And everyone’s talking about the new twosome of Millie Perkins and Dean Stockwell who met recently while in San Francisco. Even the stars enjoyed celebrating it. Left: Ann Sot hern was with her daughter, Patricia. Below: Shirley Temple and her children had fun. Above: Gale Storm took her four on a boat trip . . . and ( right) Jane Withers showed her famous doll collection to daughter, Wendy.