Radio stars (May 1933)

RADIO STARS HARD TO HANDLE Sure Wayne King is hard to handle. But only because he believes in being true to himself. His stubborness isn't a silly pose By DANNY TOWNE WAYNE KING is a (Right above) Pormost obstreperous trait of the gentleyoung man. You can man who has been see it in the tilt of his jaw called a "prima and the slope of his shoul donna" because of ders. I wasn't the first per his alleged temperason to discover that he was ment. (Right below) hard to handle. Wayne and his To begin with, I had come bride, Dorothy Janis, to Chicago to write a story former movie player, about him, and he had turned me down. Not personally, for I hadn't gotten that close to him, but through the NBC publicity man who sought to arrange the interview. In the end, I had to waylay him. It was in the reception room of the Chicago NBC studios. The loudspeaker sounded the last. lovely notes of his Lady Esther broadcast and the clock ticked past the hour. Suddenly, up a corridor, came the bright sound of laughter and banter. I looked and saw young men, bearing odd-shaped cases that I knew contained musical instruments. In the van was one who held my gaze. Bare-headed, overcoated. with a white silk scarf drawn like a bandage about his throat. Wayne King! I fell in step as he passed. His face was happy; obviously the broadcast had gone well. "Mr. King, I want to ask you a few questions." "Why?" "It's for a story." We were already racing down the hall. "There's no story in me." "But it will be good publicity." An elevator door clanged open. "I don't want publicity." He dived into the elevator. "But people want to know about you." I dived after him. On the ground floor, he didn't hesitate a moment. Into the street and a zero wind. I stuck like a leech. "I've got to write a story," I said. He stopped beside his car, a low Lincoln with rakish racing lines. "If you want a (Continued on page 47)