The Happiest Millionaire (Disney) (1967)

MacMurray Learns Gator “Talk” For Disney Film “But what does an alligator sound like?” That was the question on Stage 2 at Disney Studio when “The Happiest Millionaire” script called for Fred MacMurray to imitate one. “T had no idea what kind of noise came out of an alligator,” said MacMurray, “and neither did the director, Norman Tokar.” In the film, Fred plays Philadelphia’s eccentric Anthony J. Drexel Biddle who actually kept alligators in his house, and one scene called for him to “talk” to George, his prized 8-foot, 200-pound pet. “The sound effects boys came up with a long-playing, hi-fi record for me to take home and listen to?’ laughs Fred. ‘“‘The darn thing shook up the whole house. It scared our two dogs half to death. They hid under the davenport for an hour. “But at least we found out what an alligator sounds like. They hiss a lot, and then there’s a deep-throated, rumbling growl. It’s hard to imitate.” Filmed in Technicolor, ‘‘The Happiest Millionaire” also stars Tommy Steele, Greer Garson and Geraldine Page, and introduces Lesley Ann Warren and John Davidson. Bill Anderson co-produced the Buena Vista release with Walt Disney. Mat HAP 2-N (Available in standard 2 col. width and coarse screen) © 1967 Walt Disney Productions “None of them stay very long,” comments eccentric millionaire Anthony J. Drexel Biddle (Fred MacMurray) to his butler and constant companion John Lawless (Tommy Steele). The two men are watching another maid disappear out the front door, after Biddle’s pet alligators have broken loose in the house. Filmed in brilliant Technicolor, “The Happiest Millionaire” stars MacMurray, Steele, Greer Garson and Geraldine Page, co-stars Gladys Cooper and Hermione Baddeley, and introduces Lesley Ann Warren and John Davidson. Gladys Cooper Receives Royal Honors From Queen During June of 1967, English actress Gladys Cooper, the 77-yearyoung co-star of Walt Disney’s musical, “The Happiest Millionaire,” was made a Dame of the British Empire during Queen Elizabeth’s traditional birthday rites. The position is equivalent to a knighthood and was presented by the Queen in recognition of Miss Cooper’s 62 years of outstanding performances on the stage and in motion pictures. Her co-starring role as Fred MacMurray’s indomitable Aunt Mary in ‘Millionaire’ marks Miss Cooper’s first screen musical appearance since “My Fair Lady,” which brought her an Academy nomination for best sup © 1967 Walt Disney Productions Mat HAP 1-K (1 col. width — coarse screen) Page 12 porting actress. She won previous Academy recognition for supporting roles in “Now Voyager” and “Song of Bernadette.” For Gladys Cooper, activity and youthful thinking is the key to life. She swims every day (rain or shine), works in her garden, takes long walks on Malibu beach, and travels regularly between the United States and her British home at Henley-onThames. Her American home, which she designed in 1947, overlooks the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. An avid tennis fan and a close personal friend of the former tennis star, Helen Wills, Miss Cooper loves everything akin to the outdoors. This includes golf and long automobile trips, like the one she made from New York to California by herself last year. “T used to raise Corgis, a rare breed of dogs and the oldest breed in England. They look like little foxes and are marvelous at rounding up sheep,” she remarks. Miss Cooper has gray hair, sparkling blue eyes, stands 5’ 5” tall and weighs 110 pounds. She has a trim figure despite the fact that ice cream is one of her favorite foods. ‘‘Of course,” says Gladys, “when I go out for ice cream, I don’t always end up purchasing it. One night I drove down to Malibu for a quart of ice cream and bought two acres of land in Hawaii. It seemed the patriotic thing to do, since Hawaii was soon to become a state.” When people remark about her trim, youthful looks and vitality, Miss Elizabeth Cooper is quick to remind them that she used to be a pin-up girl. “During World War I, there was hardly a trench filled with Tommies that didn’t have my picture posted somewhere. A friend once told me a group of Arctic explorers came across an abandoned camp at the North Pole and found my picture nailed to a post in one of the huts.” Miss Cooper waited until 1940 to make her American film debut. The film was “Rebecca,” and the director was her long-time friend, Alfred Hitchcock. ‘I came to Hollywood for three weeks and ended up staying for 26 years,” she laughs. Other major film credits include “Green Dolphin Street;’ “Madame Bovary,” “The Valley of Decision” and “Mrs. Parkington,” in which she portrayed Greer Garson’s daughter. Miss Garson’s make up made her look 84years-old in that production. The Disney film stars MacMurray, Tommy Steele, Greer Garson and Geraldine Page, and co-stars Miss Cooper and Hermione Baddeley. Young talents Lesley Ann Warren and John Davidson are introduced to the screen for the first time. Filmed in Technicolor, “The Happiest Millionaire’’ was directed by Norman Tokar from a screenplay by A J Carothers. Based upon the book and Broadway play by Cordelia Drexel Biddle and Kyle Crichton, the film features eleven new songs by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman. Bill Anderson co-produced the Buena Vista release with Walt Disney. Hermione Baddeley Encores In Disney’s “Happiest Millionaire” As Mrs. Worth, the long-suffering jig-dancing, alligator-chasing cook in the household of Philadelphia’s rich eccentric, Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Hermione Baddeley is the only cast member of the classic ““Mary Poppins” to be seen in Walt Disney’s ‘“‘The Happiest Millionaire.” The exciting musical, based upon the book and Broadway play by Cordelia Drexel Biddle and Kyle Crichton, stars Fred MacMurray as Biddle, Tommy Steele, Greer Garson and Geraldine Page. A 1959 Academy nominee for her supporting role as Simone Signoret’s roommate in “Room at the Top,” Miss Baddeley has appeared in such films as “A Christmas Carol,” ‘Pickwick Papers,” “A Taste of Honey,” “Do Not Disturb” and “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.” A native of England (Shropshire), she hastened back to London after completing ‘Millionaire’ to begin a nine-month theatrical run in “The Killing of Sister George.” Although she has been constantly employed in films during the past ten years, she readily admits, “I have a passionate, unending love affair with the stage.” Ever since she made her stage debut at the age of ten, acting has been Hermione’s entire life. Her dream is em © 1967 Walt Disney Productions Mat HAP 1-J (1 col. width — coarse screen) to bring to Broadway a musical review similar to those in which she teamed with Cyril Richard or Leslie Henson before and during World War aT. During the 1967-68 television season, Hermione will appear as a witch nanny in two episodes of ABC’s “Bewitched”’ series. Co-starring with Miss Baddeley in “The Happiest Millionaire” is Gladys Cooper. Filmed in Technicolor, the production introduces bright young talents Lesley Ann Warren and John Davidson. Norman Tokar directed from a screenplay by A J Carothers. Bill Anderson co-produced the Buena Vista release with Walt Disney.