Radio and television mirror (July-Dec 1951)

Come and Visit the Ronald Colmans and perhaps the most gracious living to be found in Hollywood, yet they live with laughter and originality, with assorted householders that number one child, two dogs, four rabbits (at present) and one unevictable tortoise. When they are not rehearsing or performing their radio show on the two days a week which Halls of Ivy requires, the Colmans glory in their home-life — in entertaining their friends, in romping with their tiny daughter, in remodeling the house which once belonged to Corinne Griffith. Rc lonnie bought the house in the first -I place because he fell in love with the beautiful oak-paneled library. He loved the mullioned windows with their window seats, the giant fireplace copied from an old English castle, the bookshelves that reach from floor to ceiling. When he married Benita she added her feminine touches to the room in the form of a Paisley-print armchair, and a sculptured bust of Ronnie that she had always loved. This room then, represents that formal and romantic side of the Colmans, that their friends recognize at first glance. The room that has been added on is a second sitting-room, as gay and informal as the library is traditional. Benita's love of rich colors is seen in the Chinese mural wallpaper with its startling tints of orange-red on gray. The same orange-red is picked up by lacquer chairs, and before the picture windows that look over the cool expanse of green lawn she has placed a single vase of bird-of-paradise blooms that echo the color. There is a grand piano in this room. A piano whose keys have thrilled to the rippling fingers of many famous guests in impromptu performances. Jose Iturbi, Artur Rubinstein and Myra Hess have played here. Jascha Heifitz, too, has brought his violin to this room of the singing colors. For entertaining on a large scale, the Colmans have still another room. A great spacious formal drawing-room in tones of soft grays and greens. There is a long sofa against one wall, upholstered in a gay floral pattern of lilac and primrose flowers. Benita's portrait hangs here, a modern impression by artist Richard Kitchen. In another corner is the curving figure of a kneeling woman, sculptured by Benita for her husband. Behind pale green draperies is a projection booth where the Colmans can entertain with home movies, much to the delight of small gap-toothed daughter Juliet. Juliet's nursery is a rollicking rhapsody of blue-checked wallpaper, childsize white furniture and prancing nursery-rhyme characters. The sevenyear-old mistress of this domain has, besides a lack of front teeth, cornflower blue eyes and a shock of silken blonde hair. She's had her chance to be an actress — at least an actress of the kindergarten-Westlake-School-for-Girls variety. Proud parents Ronnie and Benita attended a school production the other day in which Juliet, along with her classmates, was dressed up as a candy . cane and sang a song with twenty other ' misses, not one of whom had a whole set of teeth. "It was quite a sight," reports Benita. "All those babies with their bright little 100 (Continued from page 43) faces — and then I looked around the audience and spotted their relatives. I saw Betty Grable, the Fred Astaires, the Edgar Bergens, and the George Murphys. They were all as intent on the performance as if they were watching a performance of "La Traviata" at the Met. "All this — Sunday clothes, rapt attention, at eleven o'clock in the morning! But I guess all mothers of tiny school children will know the thrill of pride that ran through us as we nudged each other and said, 'Look! There's Juliet — or Sally — or Vicki.' I honestly feel that we enjoy those school performances as much as the opera or ballet." The word "ballet," however, has painful associations for the Colmans at the moment. Benita says that taking Juliet to the matinee of "Sleeping Beauty" was about the most embarrassing moment she can remember. It happened like this. Benita impulsively undertook to escort her daughter and a seven-year-old girl friend to a matinee of the Sadler's Wells Ballet. Before the performance Benita tried to brief her charges on what would take place. She finished her lecture just as they climbed the stairs to their balcony seats. She was telling them about the overture, and how the conductor would perform. "You'll see him come out and walk into the orchestra pit," explained Benita as she removed Juliet's small white coat. "You'll see him get up on the podium and raise his arms. Everyone will be perfectly still. Then, when he's sure the orchestra is quite ready, hell move his arms, and they'll all begin to play." Juliet blinked her eyes fast with excitement. Everything happened the way her mother said it would. There was the conductor mounting the podium with stately step. He was raising his arms. Juliet felt she would burst with excitement. She hurled herself against the balcony rail and let out a roar of encouragement. "Ready!" she yelled. "Set? Go!" A thousand heads swiveled up towards the balcony, as Benita hid her face in her furs and prayed for the end of the world. There was only one lucky break — Ronnie wasn't with them. He'd have died. But of course Juliet isn't always a rowdy. She's just unpredictable. Why, some evenings she feeds her rabbits with all the tenderness of a real rabbit-mother. She can't bear the baby bunnies to be given away, with the result that, as fast as they multiply, the Colmans stow them in their car and send them down to their ranch near Santa Barbara. If just one little twitching nose was missing — Juliet would know, and grieve. So the rabbits continue their gay spree on the ranch, in company with some ancient chickens that Benita can't bear to kill. "Those birds must be all of fifteen years old," chuckles Ronnie. "They wander about, wobbly-legged and practically featherless, but they live out their spans of senility because Juliet and Benita won't let them be touched It's idiotic — but there it is!" Summers spent in levis and bright shirts on their ranch are fun times for the Colmans. Spring, fall and winter they spend in town. But their love of entertaining goes right on. Ronnie's pet form of diversion is to try out new magic tricks. According to his manager, Nat Wolf, he's terrific! at various forms of sleight-of-hand. He loves to mystify his cronies with rope tricks, and they all say he's pretty good. Whenever Benita thinks he's getting a little too proud of his fastmoving fingers, she calls upon fellow magicians director Peter Godfrey and Warner Baxter to do their stuff. When they start through their repertoire of disappearing rabbits and goldfish bowls, Ronnie droops in dejection — in moments like these he threatens to learn how to saw Benita in half! But so far he hasn't caught on to that calamitous conjuring Outside entertaining is another "must" at the Colmans. They have a magnificent brick patio overlooking the back lawn. There's a swimming pool on the left, over where the old Jack Benny home is located. There's an ancient summerhouse on the right, over toward the Charles Chaplin house. It's a convenient spot for the Chaplin children to reach by crawling through the hedge, and young Juliet uses it for an outdoor playhouse as she shares it with Oona and Charlie's brood next door There is an ancient gardener, too clips each hedge and shrub with a loving hand, and there is a not-so ancient butler who takes care of thf indoors angle of the Colman home "His name is Harry," says Benita her hazel eyes dancing once more. "Ir every article that has been writter about us, we find references to oui 'venerable old butler.' This drives Har ry almost out of his mind. He isn'l old at all. In fact he's a lot youngei than we are. But apparently when any one writes about Ronnie they feel he ought to have a venerable old butler so Harry is elected!" This is our big chance to put in plug for Harry: he isn't a bit venerable folks. He's youngish, and nice-looking and you ought to know the true fact about the Colman household! Whenever Harry has a night off Benita slips into the kitchen and whip: up Ronnie's favorite dish for a tray supper before the fire. Believe it 01 not, this tea-and-crumpets characte: snorts at the idea of his native foddei and relishes a steaming plate of Italiar spaghetti as only English-born Benit can cook it. Young Juliet Colman is growing with the speed of her pet bunnies, onlj taller. She's one of the happiest kid; around town — and one of the luckiest The Ronald Colmans let her run abou barefoot in the rain. "It never hurt me to paddle in tht mud," says Benita. "I have a theorj that a child knows instinctively wher she's cold, and should come inside She knows when to put a coat on, too We don't coddle our little girl, and she': turned out pretty healthy. The neighbors may be shocked, but Juliet ii happy." Juliet beams her gap-toothed smile and drags her father off to set up the movie screen. Tonight they will see s Western movie, and after Juliet is ifi bed Ronnie and Benita will sit in theii tiny private sittingroom upstairs and Benita will likely say: "Darling, I've just thought of another wall that reallj should have v\ window — how about throwing out another bay?" .^.