Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1953)

Dozens of exciting stories and pictures about your favorites in . . . August RADIO-TV MIRROR Magazine At Newsstands Now Featuring — ★ EDDIE FISHER’S LIFE STORY ★ MR. AMATEUR HOUR -TED MACK ★ ARTHUR GODFREY’S LU ANN SIMMS Plus Stories About — ARTHUR GODFREY HOAGY CARMICHAEL BILL CULLEN “LIFE CAN BE BEAUTIFUL” “ROAD OF LIFE” “BRIGHTER DAY” And many others in August RABIO-TV MIRROR Magazine At Newsstands Now are at least eighteen.” I thought then that she was cruel. I know now that she was right. Memorize this truth: The thing that you want to do secretly, or any act or deed you want to do surreptitiously, isn’t the best thing for you. In contrast, think of those wonderful words in the marriage ceremony . . . “in the face of God and this company.” The right things you will always want to do that way. That’s how you know they are right. When God and those nearest and dearest to you are looking on, you begin on a sure foundation. When you want to do the opposite — hide away, lie, pretend — it’s wrong, no matter how much you rationalize the real reason to yourself. When we are growing up, we fool ourselves. We tell ourselves, as an alibi, “I’d be more popular if I were prettier” or “better dressed.” Or “had a nicer home.” Alibis! Blaming our own lack of real values on things outside ourselves. But the girl who says to herself, “If I used my brains more, I’d be more popular,” you can count on the thumb of one hand. It took me ages before I realized that to go out every night was idiotic. Now I know that my happiest evenings are spent at home with my family. It’s just a case of growing up. F or example, when I first got into movies, my job represented security for me. It meant I could take care of my son, myself and my mother. Now being in movies has become a much more wonderful thing to me. I see it is my duty to entertain people. That’s my place in life, and if I can bring a little joy to all kinds of people, my mission is accomplished. Incidentally, that’s one reason I like to do “family” pictures. I love families. And I love to think of bringing happiness to families, all the way from grandma down to junior, who has just got his first chemistry set. Once I sang a love song in a night club with the tears running down my face. That’s because I had lost a love that was very important to me. It was a cold, winter night in New York. My son was away from me, with my mother, because I had to work all night, sleep all day and couldn’t afford to support us in New York. I felt so sorry for myself. I told myself I had given “everything” to that love. I would, I told myself, “never love again.” The thing you have to learn about love is that it is inexhaustible. The more love you give, the more love you still have. When you aren’t yet sixteen, you haven’t the experience to distinguish between quantity and quality. You haven’t, I mean, unless you are a lot smarter than I was at that age. Your aim is to be a popular girl. I don’t blame you for that. But what do you mean by popular? Are you getting quality or quantity? The kids who go after the “kicks” are usually giving too much to get too little. Does that make sense? To have six boys dating you, will you hide out in the backs of cars, or dark streets, doing things you’d never do in the light of your own living room at home? Stop kidding yourself. Find your real values. You are you. That seems like a simple statement, but think about what it really means. God in his wisdom has made no one else in the whole world who is just like you. You are utterly unique. So why don’t you develop your own uniqueness in conformance with His overall plan? When I see beautiful girls like Hedy Lamarr or Ursula Thiess, I’m amazed I’m on the screen. When I see an actress like Shirley Booth, I ask, “And I get by with acting?” Then I go home at night, and I see my husband, my son, and my mother. I want to get down on my knees in prayers of thankfulness. And I do. Because if between the lines of what I’m saying here, you come to the conclusion that I feel you should have an active faith and religion, you are right. God made us in His image. Knowing all, seeing all, He is here to guide us if we will only trust Him. When He let you be you, let you be the center of your own universe, He gave you your greatest opportunity. If you sell yourself cheaply you are the person you are hurting. Maybe it sounds dull to you, when you are sixteen, to counsel you that you might better stay home with a good book than go out with a cheap boy. But it’s true. Think of it this way: Do you know everything about any one subject in the world? Or do you know one thing about every subject? Of course you don’t. Nobody does. But every single thing you learn puts you that much ahead. And every kindness you do puts you that much ahead, too. Stop kidding yourselves, kids. The world owes you nothing — but it gives you everything. And you owe it everything. The more you give it, the more you’ll have. ( Doris Day will soon be seen in Warners’ “Calamity Jane”) The End my mind at ease ” say many grateful listeners to radio’s “My True Story.” For on this true-to-life program you hear real people deal with real problems of love, hope, fear and jealousy. Taken from the files of “True Story Magazine,” the characters you meet on “My True Story” might very well be you, your family, the folks across the street — and the problems they solve might very well be the problems you want solved. TUNE IN “MY TRUE STORY” AMERICAN BROADCASTING STATIONS Be sure to read "DESPERATE FOR A BABY" — a heartbreaking problem that every woman will understand — in August TRUE STORY — out now. 88