Send Me No Flowers (Universal Pictures) (1964)

Tony Randall's ‘Send Me No Flowers” Role Gives Him Psychosomatic Hangovers (Advance) In Universal’s “Send Me No Flowers,” coming......-.-....--------$0 TS oe eee A se Theatre, Tony Randall tilts, weaves and stumbles through his co-starring role as a man who turns to the bottle for solace when he finds out his best pal is doomed. For two full months during the filming, Tony had to look reasonably potted in 97 of the 102 scenes he shared in the comedy photographed in Technicolor with Rock Hudson, Doris Day and Clint Walker, his costars. ‘It was a rugged assignment for a virtual teetotaler,” admits Tony, who confines his social tippling to an occasional bottle of good Bordeaux with dinner. “I had to concentrate so hard on a proper drunken condition that I even began to develop psychosomatic hangovers.” Randall figures he must have downed at least a dozen cases of soft drinks at various bars in both New York and Los Angeles while he researched his role, prior to the picture’s start. “A terrible experience, clinically speaking,’’ Tony confessed. ‘The sort of experiences that can drive a man to drink.” During his late-evening researching chores, Randall studied the five-martini man who winds up lighting his lip better than his cigarette; the bourbon on the rocks. fellow who often ends up crying on the shoulders of strangers; the society dowager who, after a cargo of stingers, insists on dancing in establishments that feature no music; the scotch-mist man who puts down his last glass, rises soberly and walks, straight as an arrow, into the nearest wall; and the junior executive who wants to meet everyone at the bar before he passes out. “But the saddest man I met,” Randall revealed, ‘‘was a distinguished gentleman in Beverly Hills. He was sitting alone, staring at an ashtray filled with cigarette butts. With a tear in his eye, he told me he had gotten just loaded enough to forget that he had successfully stayed away from cigarettes for a month. Now, because of the demon rum, he had to start all over.” In “Send Me No Flowers,” Randall purposely featured no special drinking habits. He divided his guzzling among bourbon, scotch, vodka, gin and even beer. In movies, scotch and bourbon are really tea; gin and vodka are water. “But beer is beer,’”’ Tony points out. “Nobody has figured out a palatable substitute that will produce foam.” Randall’s role in “Send Me No Flowers,” which was adapted for the screen from the 1960 Broadway stage hit, has him assisting his neighbor, Hudson, in trying to wind up his affairs which includes selecting a new husband for his wife. Hudson, a hypochondriac, overhears a doctor discussing a terminal case and thinks it’s his own. Norman Jewison directed. “SEND ME NO. Tony Randall is teamed again with Rock Hudson and Doris Day in the hilarious Universal comedy, “Send Me No Flowers,” directed by Norman Jewison and photographed in Technicolor. (Still No. 1940-145) x { ue | Doris Day took lessons from a pro golfer to equip herself for a sequence in her new Universal comedy in Technicolor, “Send Me No Flowers.”” For the screen, she has a low-handicap. (Still No. 1940-35) At the bar in the club, Rock Hudson tells his pal Tony Randall that he must make provisions for his wife’s future including the selection of a husband, in Universal’s hilarious comedy photographed in Technicolor, “Send Me No Flowers.” The wife is Doris Day. (Still No. 1940-45) Use Close-Up Camera To Imply Doris Day Is Low-Handicap Golfer (Advance) The color cameras stick strictly to close-ups when Doris Day demonstrates her prowess as a low-handicap golfer in a sequence for “Send Me No Flowers,” the Universal Technicolor comedy in which Doris teams again with Rock Hudson and Tony Randall, COMING. Fete to!= thes2esce Theatre. The order for close-ups only came from director Norman Jewison after checking on the results of golf lessons that Doris had been taking. “Her swing is beautiful, just like Patty Berg,’ Jewison commented, “but when she hits the ball, you never saw such a duffer’s slice. As long as we don’t reveal what happens to the golf ball, Doris will look like the club champion.” Ironically, while Doris never tried golf before, she is one of the film colony’s best tennis players. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t switch to tennis,’”’ Jewison revealed. ‘The golf leads into a crazy scene involving a runaway golf cart. Whoever heard of motorized tennis?” “Send Me No Flowers,” adapted from the Broadway stage,marks the third teaming of Doris, Rock and Tony. They teamed previously in two of the screen’s greatest comedy hits, “Pillow Talk” and “Lover Come Back.” Hudson Appears With Star Taller Than Self (Current) After 46 motion pictures, Rock Hudson set a new milestone for himself in “Send Me No Flowers,” the Universal comedy in TechniColor now. al. the. 4 3a ee Thatre. For the first time in his career, Hudson appears in movie scenes with an actor who is bigger than he is. His “topper” is 6-foot-6% Clint Walker of TV “Cheyenne” fame, who co-stars with Rock, Doris Day and Tony Randall in the film adaptation of the Broadway stage comedy. Clint tops Rock by two and one-half inches. ‘It feels good to be able to stretch out and act,’ Rock admitted. “For over ten years I’ve been in a slump, trying to look shorter than I am.” Film Roles Reversed In Real Life Actions (Advance) This is Hollywood, Mrs. Jones: Rock Hudson, who thinks nothing of putting away two complete steak dinners at a single sitting, will be seen with Doris Day, Tony Randall and Clint Walker in Universal’s “Send Me No Flowers,” WihlGh<COMCS cre to the PE eal ae ae tae ea Theatre, as a health food nut who lives on yogurt, organic figs, walnutburgers and vitamin pills. In the comedy, his eating habits are constantly ridiculed by Clint Walker, who, in private life, is a health food addict who lives on such nourishment as yogurt, organic fruits, wheat germ, kaffir milk, herb teas and energy supplements. Drenched With Water, Asks That It Be Soft (Current) For a comedy scene in “Send Me No Flowers” on a Universal sound stage, Rock Hudson, in pajamas, had to stand beneath a second-floor window while Doris Day soaked him with a pail of water. For six different takes, Hudson stood patiently and let the water smack flush in the face. “T hate to ask you, Rock,” director Norman Jewison finally ventured, “but I’d like just one more shot — if you don’t mind.” “Okay with me — on one condition,’ Hudson replied. “Ask the prop man to use soft water this time, huh?” Photographed in Technicolor, “Send Me No Flowers,” currently Issabether. ee ee ee Theatre. Clint Walker Waits Year For Right Role; Gets It In “Send Me No Flowers” (Advance) Clint Walker, the giant-sized actor with a determination to match, has successfully staged a one-year sit-down strike to prove he can portray other roles in addition to that of a fearless cowboy hero on TV. But he doesn’t recommend his method to other actors unless they have the same ace-inthe-hole that Clint used in his gamble. After winding up seven straight years as the popular star of “Cheyenne” on television, Walker firmly announced that he was unavailable for sagebrush drama, whether for theatre or home screens. The pay-off for his campaign arrived in the form of a juicy co-star role with Rock Hudson, Doris Day and Tony Randall in the Universal-Martin Melcher comedy, “Send Me No Flowers,” in which Clint plays a fun-loving, free-spending millionaire. The comedy, in Technicolor, comes Ba eee e to the:...:...... = Theatre. “It was a lucky break for me,” Clint admits. “I had done a guest appearance on TV with Jack Benny to prove I could handle comedy lines — and the right people saw it and liked it.” However, the 6-foot-6, 248 pound Walker didn’t get to eliminate the horse entirely from his thespic life. In his opening scene for “Send Me No Flowers,” he gallops a horse down a bridle path to rescue the frightened Miss Day from a runaway electric golf cart. “But we don’t ride off into the sunset,” Clint hastily adds. ‘We retire to the country club bar for a couple of very dry martinis.” Getting back to Walker’s acein-the-hole: “T couldn’t have sat back without a cent of income for a solid year, waiting for the right part. Even though my wife and I After seven years on television as the star of the western program, ‘““Cheyenne,” Clint Walker waited one full year for the right role in feature films, co-starring in Universal’s ‘“‘Send Me No Flowers.” (Still No. 1940-143 ) scrambled most of our married lives until the acting career showed up, we couldn’t survive long, long periods without income. “But a TV star of a western series has a _ built-in defense against a sudden and complete lack of income. I just lined up guest appearances at rodeos and fairs — and made more money than I ever made from a studio paycheck.” Doris Day is amazed and angered to hear her husband, Rock Hudson, who is trying to prevent her from leaving him, admit to having an affair in Universal’s zany comedy, “Send Me No Flowers,” photographed in Technicolor. Other co-star is Tony Randall. (Still No. 1940-93) Doris Day shows her relief at haying just learned that her hypochondriac husband, Rock Hudson, is not desperately ill as he believes in Universal’s hilarious comedy in Technicolor, “Send Me No Flowers.” Film also stars Tony Randall and Clint Walker. (Still No. 1940-57)