Radio mirror (Nov 1936-Apr 1937)

RADIO MIRROR cushioned in asp vent do^y cotton t° jjg^Tta. chaiing ant?x£teX provides Wondeisoit^dPeed lasting comiort a cUSfc B»* f&SK•£*"•" ionS free to absorb. many times rfs £ in »oistuie^ des .. Equal»« ce ^ole SsSSfcsS to provide aE>s heerest 6 Ja^fa***^ ! mb icotex *St€£ I "ZUftave* %?0Ztm&zt?*c— WONDERSOFT KOTEX A SANITARY NAPKIN made from Cellucotton (not cotton) 66 arose a crisis in his broadcasting work. Before his marriage in October, Dick had promised to remain on the Hollywood Hotel program. The rest of the cast signed new contracts, But Dick's ran until January. However, when in October he agreed to remain, it was on certain conditions. Warner Brothers were to receive additional publicity on the program. The number of hours of Dick's rehearsals, the number of songs he was to sing, the handling of the guest star situation, and other details were to be ironed out. Dick told me that if a new contract had come up for signature in October, he would have attached his name without hesitation. At that time radio was still too precious to take any chances with. He'd have let himself be pushed around a bit rather than risk losing it. But between October and January, Dick's chest began to stick out, the way a man's will when he is newly married to the girl he loves, and wants above all else to shine in her eyes. In the radio studio, though they didn't realize it at first, they had a new, different Dick Powell to deal with. The amiable, obliging fellow who never seemed to care much what anyone did to him was fading before an assertive, self-confident man on whose toes no one could tread — and get away with it. The time allotted to Dick on Hollywood Hotel was being cut down more and more. In proportion, he was getting less fun out of the job. He didn't need the money. But he did want to do radio work. JJL ND so he saw what he should have "" seen long ago, but would never have seen — or if he had, would never have acted upon — if Boy hadn't met Girl. Dick, with the pride of having Joan Blondell as his bride, and his new found courage, suddenly realized that unless he made a critical decision he would never have the chance to do the kind of radio work he wanted above all else. "So I made up my mind," Dick told me. "I decided, once and for all, that I had to quit, had to leave the program that once had meant so much to me." With a minimum of fuss and publicity Dick went quietly about the job of leaving. If you have read that he finally left because Warner Brothers would not allow him to continue, you have read the wrong reason — as you can see by now. Dick quit! Walked out! Left the show! And the day after his last Hollywood Hotel broadcast on which he explained to Frances Langford and the others that he had too much movie work to continue, he and Joan left for that private honeymoon I have already mentioned. On the same day, Warner Brothers assigned two of their top flight song writers, M. K. Jerome and Jack School, to prepare numbers for a new program to be known as Dick Powell in Movieland. Even as this is being written. Dick is in Yosemite Park and the two song writers are hard at their work. And on the desk of Dick's agent, offers from other sponsors are piling up. I saw three of them. They were wonderful offers, and for the kind of program Dick hopes to have. But should he turn all these down, he will still have Dick Powell in Movieland. So Dick's radio future is assured. He has Joan to thank. It is Joan who has given him his new mental state, the new feeling of being happy. And this change has catapulted him into a new realization of his own strength. With Joan, he'll become — there's no other way to put it — bigger and better than ever. Love, which has done so many different things to so many Hollywood stars, has shown Dick Powell the way to his first real happiness.