Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1953)

Sought after and on top of the world , moody Steve Cochran is still a • The house where Steve Cochran lives crouches, somewhat apologetically, under a frowning hill. Facing Yoakum Drive, a street which Steve himself describes as little more than a wide ditch, it merges into its background naturally. It could be the property of a workman in an airplane factory or a gardener, but it certainly would never be pointed out as the home of one of Hollywood’s most important young male stars. And this is precisely why it suits Steve Cochran right down to the ground. Now well launched on a career which he has pursued long and devotedly, Cochran, at first glance, does not seem the sort of person who would choose a nondescript house. A bachelor — young and handsome enough to titillate the heart of most any young woman — he looks like the kind of male who’s most in demand in a community that’s hungry for eligible males. But Steve conducts his life exactly as he chooses — and this does not include much of the kind of gaiety Hollywood is famous for. Almost any cool California evening when he’s not working, he can be found sprawled in front of the huge stone fireplace in his library, his legs stretched out to a log blaze, a book in his hand, Tchaikovsky, his dog, curled up at his feet, and his parrot, Clarence, hovering in the background. He’s proud of the fact that he’s often alone, and he wonders how anyone could be lonely when there are so many good books waiting to be read. But his door is never locked and people, all sorts of people, wander in at the most improbable hours. ( Continued on page 76) LONELY LOCH I NVAR BY HYATT DOWNING 46