Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1948)

End perspiration troubles with this miracle deodorant ! ETIQUET actually ends under-arm perspiration odor — safely —surely ! ETIQUET— made by specially patented formula — really checks under-arm perspiration ! FLUFFY-LIGHT AND SOOTHING Etiquet goes on easily — disappears in a jiffy! No gritty particles! MORE ECONOMICAL TO BUYEtiquet won’t dry out in the jar ! NO DAMAGE TO CLOTHING when you use Etiquet— famous cloth-test proves ! PRODUCT OF LEHN & FINK THE SAFE -ANDSURE DEODORANT ing out of my experience. That someday I’d be able to play comedy and drama. Warner Bros, carried me for years when I really didn’t deserve it. I have a great feeding of loyalty toward them and that’s why I just signed a new, straight sevenyear contract. I say it modestly but when my contract expired recently, I received several excellent offers from other studios. This “change” in me began when I was borrowed by M-G-M for the role of Ma Baxter in “The Yearling.” There are many who will understand my great feeling of release. There are those who won’t understand and who can’t understand. For the first time in my life, I was no longer shy, or afraid of being ridiculed about my ambitions. From that moment my turned-up nose became something that nature had placed in the center of my face. Period. I wish I could describe how I felt. It was like taking something the moths had been at for years — and airing it. And the great personal payoff came in my work, when I discovered that serious drama wasn’t nearly as tough as comedy! This pretty much tells the story — except that it doesn’t explain why I’ve refused to talk to certain reporters. It certainly is no secret that I am now divorced from Ronald Reagan. There are two people who know the causes and the reasons — Ronnie and myself. We have never discussed them for publication. We never will. We consider it our own personal business. Many “inside” stories have been written about our breakup, all of them unauthentic and unauthorized. Writers and reporters play an important part in helping all of us get established. I’ve made many friends who’ve respected my wishes in refusing to discuss my problems. Unfortunately, there are those who have probed and prodded, so naturally I have avoided them. It might prove amusing to question those who delight in designating how others have changed — what about you? Let your memory take you back ten years. Are you still thinking the same things, applying the same point of view? Have you changed? Maybe it’s good — maybe it’s bad. But have ybu changed? If you haven’t, I feel sorry for you. It means you haven’t progressed and personally I much prefer having it said I’ve changed, than have it proven that I’ve — stagnated! Aside from the happiness we all strive for, from now on I hope to work hard in both comedy and drama. Today’s world is filled with problems and I feel it is the duty of every performer to try and bring happiness. That’s why I made “A Kiss in the Dark,” which is light and frothy. I hope it will help people even momentarily, to escape from personal pressure. To balance the ledger, my dramatic role as the deaf mute in “Johnny Belinda,” is the greatest reward any actress could ask. Recently, something amusing happened, which is as good a way as any to end this story. In Warners’ Green Room, the walls are lined with portraits of the various players. On this particular day, they were “nailing me up,” when a young messenger brought in a group of studio visitors. As it worked out, none of the photographs showed me laughing — or even smiling. “Jane Wyman certainly has changed, hasn’t she?” said one woman to another. “She used to be so gay, have so much fun. I wonder what happened to her?” As they left, I was standing outside in shorts and a sweat shirt, listening to some hysterically funny stories that Danny Kaye was telling. I was laughing so hard, I was doubled up until I resembled a pretzel. The little messenger girl happened to have a sense of humor. Turning to her astounded guests, she quietly cracked, “Now you know what happened to Jane Wyman.” The End 100