Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1963)

( Here in New York and out in Hollywood, there are at least six gorgeous young actresses who own “Mimi Weber Dolls”— and who stick pins into them every evening before going to bed. What's a ‘‘Mimi Weber Doll?” Says one of our actress friends, looking up from her saucer of milk: ‘‘Well, you take a doll, dress it in a chic black dress, wind it up and it says, ‘Hands off George Maharis.’ ” Mimi, in case you didn’t already know, is George's manager, the so-called Lady in Black (George’s favorite color), and without a doubt the best-looking manager in the business. Also, it's been said, ‘‘Mimi is one of the few managers around who loves her client for more than his ten per cent. In fact, Mimi’s nuts about him.” But there are other complications to this could-be love story. The first: Mimi, although long-separated from her husband (her second, rumor has it), is not yet officially divorced from him. The second: George, while extremely fond of Mimi, reportedly isn't yet sure whether he’s actually in love with her. The third: It seems to be. important at this point in George’s career to keep him clear of any serious romantic entanglements — to keep him a bachelor who can neatly fill the marital fantasies of his numerous girl fans. And just how do these complications sit with Mimi? The first two, naturally, don’t sit too well. But the third — the bachelor bit — is just fine with her. Those in the know say that it is basically Mimi’s decision — both business-wise and personal-wise. Just as practically every other decision of the past five years — anyway-wise, as long as it concerned George and his life and his career — has reportedly been Mimi Weber’s. The story of how they first met is pretty well known by now, so we won’t dwell on it here. It’s enough to say they met in New York in 1958, when George — then about twentynine — was an unmarried, struggling offBroadway and TV actor. Mimi — then about George’s age (give or take a few years) — was a vividly pretty, unhappily married mother of an eleven-year-old son, and worked as a secretary at a talent agency. In the course of her work, she was sent to a TV studio one afternoon to get a client's signature on some sort of contract. She and the client (George, of course) met, talked, laughed together and became, as they put it, ‘‘good friends.” Says a friend of both: ‘‘At the time Mimi vyas living with her husband out on Long Island. George, who is a great respector of marriage, never made any kind of pass at her nor did he joke about her unhappy home situation when he heard about it. Many guys would, you know. This pleased Mimi very much since she, too, is a straight-from-theshoulder, no-nonsense kind of a girl.” That was why, back then, even though a friendship sparked, they both managed in some strange sort of way to see as little of one another as possible. But they did talk on the phone every so often. They did run into each other at the office, at a studio or at one show business bash or other. When George got his first big break, his role in “Exodus,” he went to Israel — and dropped Mimi a note once in a great while. Other than the notes and the occasional meetings, they steered clear of one another — as if on purpose, as if one of them sensed too-close contact might start a fire. Then, about the time George returned from Israel and was scheduled to step into the lead of a planned TV series to be called “Route 66” — his second and best (Continued on page 73) 37