Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1961)

Gardner McKay continued who had originally introduced him to the woman now in court to charge him with being the father of her child. 0.1)*/ . The clerk began calling ' • names, going down the list of cases. Through it all, Gardner McKay sat listening, an unopened book, “The London Anthology,” in his lap. He sat there quietly, patiently, watching, waiting to be called. . . . 10:45: Patrice Franz, now twenty-three, who had initiated this lawsuit, was very pale. Her face showed strain, her eyes were puffy from lack of sleep or perhaps from tears. She sat still, her gloved hands folded, never once looking in Gardner’s direction, never once letting any expression show, except when she leaned forward to speak to her attorney. 1 *07 • “McKay,” the clerk pro* » nounced. The two attorneys— Paul Caruso for Miss Frantz and John A. Griffin for McKay — rose and stood as the judge began questioning them on the matter. There was a difference of opinion between the attorneys as to how much time would be required to hear the motion. Griffin said at least a day and a half. Mr. Caruso argued that the whole thing could be settled in two hours. McKay’s attorney objected. The judge called the two men to his bench. For ten minutes the lawyers stood, their backs to the spectators, engaged in hushed conversation with the judge. The tension began to mount. Would they get their chance to be heard today? Miss Frantz’ complaint against Gardner, which she brought into court on behalf of her minor daughter, was routine in its allegations. She alleged her daughter to be illegitimate. And in addition to asking for court costs and attorney’s fees, she asked for support in the amount of six hundred and fifty dollars per month. She also asked that the court legally name Gardner McKay as the father of her child. She alleged intimacies with McKay beginning on the 14th of February and continuing through the 12th of April, 1959. In answer to her complaint, McKay’s attorney filed a statement alleging that Miss Frantz’ attorney failed to make mention of certain vital points of information: that the plaintiff was Mrs. Frantz during the time the child was conceived, and the law presumes a woman’s legal husband to be the father of all children born to her during their marriage. I . -\7 • The judge made his pro* * nouncement: “Because of the time factor and necessity to allow proper time to hear these motions, the McKay case is postponed for fourteen days.” The case would be heard in two weeks by Superior Judge Orlando H. Rhodes. It was said at a later date that the change in judges was made because Judge Brand’s brother is an executive at Gardner’s TV studio. The attorneys for the plaintiff and defendant came out from the enclosure of the judge’s bench. Each walked to his respective client and whispered something— perhaps brief words of reassurance. Miss Frantz left the courtroom first, McKay and his friends followed. Downstairs, Miss Frantz walked into the press room where a friend had been waiting. In the friend’s arms was a tiny, dark-haired baby wearing a Scotch plaid dress and a white sweater. On her feet were tiny white leather shoes with a bell attached to the laces. Miss Frantz took her eleven-month-old daughter, who was sound asleep, and posed for newsmen’s pictures. Out in front of the courtroom Gardner stopped for a moment and looked out at the stretch of blue sea rimming the pale sky. Then he took a deep breath and walked out back to where his car was parked. He opened the door to his convertible, and was immediately smothered by a thing that looked like a shaggy white rug. Springing out of the car, his dog Pussycat raced around and around the parking lot. As Gardner waited for his dog to come back, Miss Frantz walked out onto the parking lot. They came face to face for the first time since they’d entered the courtroom. There was a pause, a brief hesitation, and then, as Gardner turned to get into his car. he raised his hand in a gesture of friendship. The girl with the sleeping baby walked on. Thirteen days before this particular Thursday morning, front pages throughout the country ran a news item which said: “A paternity action has been filed in Santa Monica Superior Court by Patrice Frantz, a former cocktail waitress. She alleges intimacies with actor Gardner McKay between February and April of 1959 and is asking the court to declare McKay the father of her daughter born December 6. 1959 in Dowgiac, Michigan, where she now resides. Miss Frantz says McKay has refused to provide support for the child . . .” The day the story broke Gardner was besieged by reporters all wanting a statement. To the first one he’d said, off the cuff, “Wow! Here’s a married woman who suddenly divorces her husband and then accuses me of being the father of her eleven-month-old child. There’s absolutely no truth whatsoever in this. The whole thing is ridiculous!” This statement was the only public one Gardner made until he talked with this Photoplay reporter. 12:35: “I’ve been to thirteen schools and traveled over most of the world,” he began. “I was raised in New York and I consider myself worldly. I thought I understood people. Then this happens. My first reaction when I heard about this suit was . . . well . . . frankly, I was madder than hell. It wasn’t true. What was I scared of?” He didn’t duck the issue. “I met Pat through some close friends of mine, Sandy and Don Joslyn,” he began. “Don and I have been playing basketball together regularly since I came to Hollywood back in 1957. I was at Metro then and we both played on the M-G-M team. Now we’re both on the Twentieth team and we get together a few times a week. Around February of 1959 Sandy came down to watch us play basketball, the same as she does every week. She had a friend with her, and after the game we were introduced. The friend was Pat Frantz. That night the four of us stopped off for some ice cream after the game. “After that first meeting I saw Pat maybe a half a dozen more times. Incredibly, she must have taken a liking to me because she began coming with Sandy to the basketball games. A couple of times when she was there I had a date, so after the game it was just a hello and goodbye. One or two times Sandy and Don and Pat and I had coffee together. That was that. I never dated Pat Frantz alone because honestly I never wanted to. Besides, at this time, I was seeing another girl quite steadily, actress Greta Chi. I just wasn’t interested. “I decided to fight. I knew I was taking a chance, a big chance. A lot of people suggested there was an easier way to handle the situation. But I had to fight it. To stand up for what I believe, for what is the truth. I couldn’t compromise with the things that I believe. “Now I feel so calm inside, I can’t exactly explain it. When this whole thing first started I admit I was afraid. I’m reconciled to whatever happens. This is satisfying because it means growth on my part. Today I’m sitting here and I’m not worried — not for myself. The only one I feel sorry for is that child ... as I feel no bitterness toward that girl. I have no more anger inside me. The outrage I felt when I first heard of ths suit is gone and so are any thoughts of self-pity. I feel no anger inside. I just want to prove the truth. I hope that people will believe 2:00: Gardner McKay walks out of the commissary. His position is clear: a man should not be taken advantage of because of his position, his race or his beliefs. Gardner McKay is willing to fight to prove these truths. The decision is up to the court. Although he knows, deep within him, that the verdict ultimately is yours. For whatever the law decides it is you who will determine the course that Gardner McKay’s life is to take in the future. It is your verdict that can make him or break him, so give your decision serious thought. — Marcia Borie See Gardner in “Adventures in Paradise,” ABC-TV, Mon., 9:30 P.M. EST. . *5F