Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1956)

Our return brought with it great exitement. Shortly after we got back, Jimly was asked to read for a leading role in ! em Ayers’ fall production of “See the jaguar.” Jimmy had little hopes of get1 ng the part, since another actor, who had een reading it during the auditions for le show’s backers, was almost set for the )le. But it was the dream he’d had in the ack of his mind all these months, and e was determined to do his best to make come true. His nerves were showing the night he ent to read. He had no clean shirt, so I int him one of mine. He was unable to lanipulate his hands to tie his tie, so izzy took over for him. We agreed to :eet him at the Paris Theatre after the adition. I went to the theatre with Dizzy iid tried to concentrate on the movie hile Dizzy worked out her hours. By the me she got off, Jimmy had not arrived, I we walked in the direction of the ace where he had gone to read. We were ilfway there when we saw him walking )wn the street toward us. We stopped, raid to know the answer, and tried to scern from his expression what had ippened. His face told the story. No |ie said a word; we just stood there ughing and crying like three crazy, ateful little kids. After many intense onths of clinging to a slippery handful [; faith and hope, the littlest part of a earn come true can be an exulting exlirience. All of Jimmy’s hopes were riding on at play. It was the first time he had i'en afforded the opportunity to work jsely with top professional talent, and he eant to absorb as much as possible. Imiediately, he allowed himself to fall ider the complete influence of his dictor and the star, Arthur Kennedy, and refully followed their advice. The only Sculty he encountered was in trying ; sing the folk song Alec Wilder had mposed for the play. Jimmy was pracally tone-deaf and had to be coached ery evening by Dizzy or me, until at !t he almost had it. During the four ;eks of rehearsal, every thought he had, ery conscious moment was devoted to 5 role. He was determined to make the jst of this, his first appearance on .oadway. jDpening night in New York was espe cially tense for him. The out-of-town reviews of the play had been bad. Most of the critics panned the script, but they had been favorable toward Jimmy. His concern on opening night was, therefore not as much for his singular success as it was for the over-all success of the show. Anyone who saw his performance can attest that Jimmy did beautifully. He played a young boy whose mother had locked him in a smokehouse for many years in order to spare him from the cruelty of the outside world, and his portrayal was filled with sensitivity and pathos. The whole audience seemed to respond sympathetically and intensely to Jimmy’s acting. Backstage after the show, his dressing room was crowded with friends and well-wishers. Jimmy’s heart was filled with pride and gratitude. He had done well and he knew it. The New York critics, however, did not like the script, even though they praised the acting highly, and the play closed after only six performances. However, as a result of his favorable notices, job offers started coming in for Jimmy almost immediately. The recognition and ensuing activity took the edge off his disappointment over the show’s closing. He was assigned several TV roles and got calls from the motion-picture studios. One such call was an offer to fly to Hollywood to make a screen test. Jimmy declined, insisting that a test could be made in New York, if they really wanted to test him. He had no desire to return to Hollywood, even to make a screen test. Ultimately the idea for the test was dropped, and Jimmy continued doing television work and auditioning for Broadway plays. Several months went by without any major incidents. Jimmy continued to work, a little more regularly now, and studied even more intensely. He moved back to the Iroquois where he spent much of his time reading and learning to play the recorder, a flute-like instrument. Often he would sit in the window of his small room, piping out the sad strains of the folk tunes Alec Wilder had written for him to practice. Dizzy had gone off to dance at some place on Trinidad, and although Jimmy dated frequently, there was for a time no one to take her place. His anxieties were less than they had been during the past two years, but still ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD PUZZLE ON PAGE 86 Across 1. First 6. Hunters 11. pa 13. Anthony (Quinn) 14. I’ll 15. Iron 16. R K (Robert Keith) 17. in 18. etc. 19. “vag” (vagrancy) 21. St. 22. Rainier 24. Knights 25. Reg (Reginald) 26. N. Y. 27. set 28. Arm 30. S H (Susan Hayward) 33. Beast 35. Keith (Andes) 36. B C (Bing Crosby) 37. hem 38. Oona (O’Neill) 40. T M (Tony Martin) 41. trend 44. cop 45. T D (Tom Drake) 46. E R (Edward [G.] Robinson) 47. lion 49. It 51. Away 54. Barry (Nelson) 55. Knock 57. 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