TV Radio Mirror (Jan - Jun 1959)

Lola Albright Kirby Grant Merry Anders INFORIVIA-riOlM BOOTH What Lola Wanted . . . Please tell us all about Lola Albright of the Peter Gunn series. N.H., Long Beach, Calif. Most beautiful young girls who leave home and family to go to Hollywood, do so for one reason — to break into the movies. But not Lola Albright. She just went to cinematown to join her parents, who had moved there earlier. As for a career, the only kind Lola wanted was what she already had, in radio. . . . After graduation from high school in Akron, Ohio, Lola had been unable to decide between two loves — art and music. So, with true feminine logic, she chose radio acting. The blonde star had been doing small bits on radio stations in Cleveland and Chicago, when Paul Hesse, the famous photographer, for whom she occasionally modeled, encouraged her to try for a movie career. When she moved to Hollywood to join her parents, Hesse started off a chain of events that led her to an M-G-M screen test. Lola appeared in several films, but her big break came when Stanley Kramer gave her a role in "The Champion." Her performance won her a contract at Columbia, where she appeared in several films. ... In less than two years since then, the actress has done more than fifty TV shows, is currently co-starred as Edie Hart, the attractive night-club singer in the very popular Peter Gunn series on NBC-TV. In the very unlikely event that she runs out of acting assignments, Lola need not worry about employment opportunities. She is a gifted pianist, a line water-color artist, and a talented sculptress. Virtuoso on Horseback Would you please print something about Kirby Grant, who plays Sky King? E.G., Pascoag, Rhode Island As the pilot-rancher star of TV's Sky King, Kirby Grant is equally at home at the controls of a plane or in a saddle. He 18 even counts horseback riding and airplane piloting among his favorite hobbies. But there is another side to Mr. Grant — other than the athletic type of personality he presents to his viewers. The tall, rangy actor is an accomplished singer and a concert violinist. Incongruous as it may seem, the handsome TV star doesn't think it a bit unusual to tromp into his living room in cowboy boots and, a few minutes later, begin playing the Mendelssohn concerto. . . . Montana-born Kirby made his professional debut as a combination actorsinger at the Chicago Theater, then later turned to a radio career at NBC. Deciding to concentrate solely upon acting, Kirby joined a band of traveling thespians about to tour the Midwest making one-night stands. His success as a roving actor won him an audition in the "Gateway to Hollywood" contest and a contract at RKO Studios. . . . The young actor had been at RKO only a few months when he joined the Air Corps as a flight instructor (previously, weekend flying had long been a hobby) . The war over, he returned to Hollywood where, after a year or two of movie-making, Kirby accepted a job as director of commercial motion pictures in Chicago. Then came the opportunity to star in the Sky King series. . . . Grant lives with his wife, the former Carolyn Gillis, and their two daughters, Kendra Lee and Kristin Carole, in North Hollywood. On Her Merry Way Would like information on Merry Anders of How To Marry A Millionaire. B.A.C., Millbury, Mass. Funnyman Bob Hope may not know it, but in addition to his great comedy talents, he has displayed, on at least one occasion, a remarkable gift of clairvoyance. One evening a few years ago, as Bob was heading home from his studio, he was besieged, as usual, by a group of autograph hunters. As the comic dashed off his signature for one exceptionally pretty teenager, he said, "Honey, you shouldn't be asking for auto graphs, you should be giving them." And with those words, Hope predicted the bright future of Merry Anders, the sophisticated, warm-hearted Mike of TV's How To Marry A Millionaire. . . . Merry had daydreamed of an acting career long before, but her serious intent to become an actress began that night. A native of Chicago, Merry had moved with her parents to Los Angeles at the age of fifteen. The star-struck youngster immediately began her avid search for the sight of a movie star even before she had unpacked. After her encounter with the comedian, she enrolled at the Ben Bard Playhouse for dramatic lessons and, a short time later, a talent scout discovered her. The blonde starlet celebrated her sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth birthdays on the Fox lot. Several movie and TV roles later, she landed the starring role in the road company of "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" As a result, the actress eventually was interviewed for the How To series. . . . Together with Lori Nelson and Barbara Eden, she won out over 200 actresses being considered for the three starring roles. Calling All Fans The following fan clubs invite new mem' hers. If you are interested, write to address given — not to TV Radio Mirror. Johnny Cash Fan Club, Mrs. Pat Isom, P.O. Box 5056. Memphis, Tennessee. John Bromfield National Fan Club, Jan Burns, 24 Heath St. Somerville, Mass. Vic Damone Fan Club, Ann Titus, 56 Ferndale Avenue, Hamburg, New York. ■ FOR YOUR INFORMATION— If there's something you want to know about radio and television, write to Information Booth, TV Radio Mirror, 205 East 42nd St., New York, 17, N. Y. We'll answer, if we can, provided your question is of general interest. Answers will appear in this column — but be sure to attach this box to your letter, and specify whether it concerns radio or TV. Sorry, no personal answers.