Radio mirror (Nov 1936-Apr 1937)

RADIO MI RROR The One Broadcast Hollywood Fears fear, envy, and sometimes respect, in the talk. Most of them admit that they need not be afraid if they conduct themselves like ladies and gentlemen. But they can't help resenting it when Jimmy takes them to task. Let's take a look into some of Fidler's methods and see what sort of chap this bogey man of Hollywood really is. Always ready to fight for the underdog, he recently raised his voice until Hollywood realized that more than one old time star needed financial help. Because of his campaign, and because he was not afraid to mention names, many of your old-time favorites are now receiving contracts to studios, or preferred extra calls which they so sadly needed. When a certain producer tried to force his attentions on a young starlet, whom he had just put under contract, she went to Jimmy. He related the incident on the air! Withholding names but telling the producer that unless he stopped annoying the girl his name would be announced on the next broadcast. The following morning two thugs called on Fidler, and politely informed him that unless he laid off, something very mussy and unpleasant would happen to him. Before he went on the air again, Fidler sent word to the producer to be sure and listen in. He announced the visit of the producer's henchmen and informed the producer that if anything unpleasant happened to him, the entire case, a record of which now reposed in the safe-deposit box of his attorney, would be given to the newspapers. The girl was never molested again! SOMETIMES Jimmy pays for inside tips and then, again, sometimes, not. It depends entirely on the motivation of the person who gives the information — and upon whether or not he actually needs the money. One of Fidler's most satisfactory and hard hitting ways of bringing the stars up on their toes is reading an open letter to them over the air. Once, when he chided Carole Lombard for taking two of Glenda Farrell's boy friends away from her in quick succession the trade papers, and his old enemy, the (Continued from page 29) Screen Actors' Guild, went to his sponsors and tried to have him removed from the air. But the sponsors seemed to see things Jimmy's way! "The greatest response 1 ever received from an open letter," Jimmy told me, "was when I wrote to Robert Taylor and told him that unless he quit being a champion playboy he would lose Irene Hervey. He did lose her to Allan Jones, but, in that instance, the fans did not like my letter!" Jimmy grinned. "I suppose some people regard me as a Public Enemy," said Jimmy, "but why should anyone in Hollywood be afraid of me unless he has a guilty conscience? If I see what looks to me like a wrong, I try to use what influence I have to right it. If I see someone getting out of line, I try to push or help him back in. I defy anyone to point out a single instance where I have broadcast or printed anything to hurt a reputation or defame a character." Now, you are probably wondering what sort of chap this Jimmy Fidler is. A little about the fellow whose shadow hangs ever across Hollywood's sins and misdeeds. If you were introduced to him you would find him a rather slender, blond man, a typical man-about-town, well but never over-dressed, charming and with a smile that you'd remember. He never knows what it is to relax and his reservoir of energy seems endless. He paces the floor like a caged lion when he talks. He was born in St. Louis but spent his boyhood in Memphis which accounts for the South in his radio voice. He has been married three times, once at a tender age, and that first marriage lasted only a year. His next marital try was with an actress, Dorothy Lee — and such marriages rarely work out in Hollywood. Today he has found his true heart's desire, a girl who loves to sit at home with him and who does not demand the night spots. The business side of Fidler's life is equally interesting. He was a western editor for a magazine which paid him a salary of $500 a month. He earned another |300 by writing for other magazines. He earned almost $10,000 a year, a sum not to be lightly cast aside — but that is exactly what Jimmy did when he decided to become a radio commentator! "Before becoming a magazine editor," Jimmy explained, "I had been a personal publicity agent to stars. 1 helped such stars as Janet Gaynor, Wally Reid, Edmund Lowe, Marion Nixon, Rudolph Valentino, Betty Compson, and many more to positions of wealth and fame by my efforts on their publicity campaigns. I discovered how avidly fans listened to news and gossip of Hollywood, and vowed if 1 ever found a medium that would satisfactorily bring this information to people I would jump at the chance of doing the job. Radio proved to be the answer, so 1 gave up everything and resolved to build myself into a radio personality. If I could make others rich and famous, why not Jimmy Fidler?" BT was with this sort of faith that Jimmy gave up his $10,000 a year income, and for more than a year interviewed stars on the Hollywood on the Air program. And without one cent of compensation! At last his efforts bore fruit in the way of a national broadcast. That was the turning point. Sponsors, his daily news column, and the Fox Movietone News job followed in rapid order. Success hasn't changed Jimmy Fidler very much. He has some fundamental rules which he never breaks. He doesn't mind telling them: "I take great pains never to obligate myself to anyone in Hollywood. That is a hard and fast rule because I don't want my hands tied by some personal obligation if I am forced to take a swat some time. I never attend the many press parties, for I can't afford to accept the hospitality of a star and then later rake him or her over the coals. I'm duty bound to my job. It has been a long, steep climb but I see sunshine ahead. Now that I am on the air all the year around, I'll give my listeners all the news that is fit to talk," he smiled, "and get away with it too!" If the past is any indication of the future, Jimmy will do just that. Our celebrities will toe the mark — or pay the price. It is the sort of price which money cannot buy — that is why Jimmy Fidler has the broadcast which all Hollywood fears! chicken soup with a bit of flour added for thickening, may be used in a rice ring. No doubt you have used canned tomato soup in preparing Swiss steak, but have you tried it with veal chops? Brown the chops in butter, pour a can of tomato soup over them and simmer, covered, for fifteen minutes. Turn, baste thoroughly with the soup, and continue simmering for fifteen minutes more. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and set under the broiler flame until the cheese has browned. Macaroni and spaghetti are on the preferred list in the Keech cuisine, and these standbys, too, Mrs. Keech dresses up with canned soup. She makes a sauce for spaghetti by browning in sweet butter thin slices of frankfurter (the skins are to be removed first), then adding a can of tomato soup, half a glass of milk, plenty of pepper, and simmering until it is of the desired consistency. With this, Kel likes 80 Set the Stage With Soup (Continued from page 47) lettuce, with Mrs. Keech's special Roquefort cheese dressing. Macaroni a la Keech is prepared as follows: place a layer of cooked macaroni in a buttered casserole, cover with a layer of hard boiled egg slices, spread with cream of spinach soup and dot with butter. Repeat until the casserole is filled, cover with buttered Crumbs and bake in a moderate oven. On those rush days when Kel has only a few minutes between broadcasts for lunch he is likely to order poached eggs on toast — but poached eggs with a difference. Sometimes they are poached in chicken consomme, sometimes in tomato soup, sometimes in beef bouillon, but never in plain water. When you arrive home late in the afternoon because your bridge game has lasted longer than usual, do you worry about what can be prepared most easily and quickly so that dinner won't be de layed too long? Next time that happens, try Mrs. Keech's suggestion of salmon with pea soup, or cheese with tomato soup. For the former, drain the oil from a can of salmon, remove skin and bones and place in the upper part of a double boiler. Add a can of pea soup (undiluted) and heat through. If the mixture is too stiff — it should be the same consistency as any creamed dish — add milk gradually until the desired consistency is reached. Serve on buttered toast. Cheese with tomato soup is prepared in the same way, the proportions being one half pound of cheese to one can of tomato soup. Serve on buttered toast or crackers. Mrs. Keech has other delightful suggestions for using canned soups which shall be sent to you, together with recipes for Kel 's favorite salads and desserts. Just send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Mrs. Margaret Simpson, Radio Mirror, 111 East 42nd St., New York, N. Y.