Radio-TV mirror (July-Dec 1954)

$5000 Prize-Winning Story! "WOMAN IN HELL" A story of love, of loss, of despair from the depths of a woman's tormented heart. Don't miss this outstanding story in . . . NOVEMBER TRUE STORY MAGAZINE NOW AT YOUR NEWSSTAND Three Jewels for Mother YOU'LL NEVER FORGET MY SON'S DEVIL BRIDE— she preyed on her husband's love and wrecked her children's lives. Where would she stop? I WAS 15 AND TOO INNQCENT — the tragic story of a girl too naive to save herself from sin. AND MANY MORE REAL-LIFE STORIES IN NOVEMBER . TRUE STORY V ■ The Largest-Selling Magazine of its Kind 72 (Continued from page 51) she is a neurotic, scheming, kind of latterday Scarlett O'Hara. "It's by no means serious," Haila says, "but you can imagine how children feel when their school friends see Mother on a television show. They'd much rather have her sweet and pretty than a mean old witch." Robin and Chris and even five-year-old T.J. — young as he is — are really very proud of their mother. And, with good reason, for she is accomplished, beautiful and charming. Physically, Haila Stoddard is a fivefoot-five blonde. Her figure is a perfect size-ten and she dresses it with simple, handsome clothes. Her eyes range from blue to gray to green and are very expressive, as you would expect of a fine actress, for that is exactly what she is. Haila has starred and co-starred in Broadway shows with Louis Calhern, Clifton Webb, George Brent, Otto Kruger, Orson Welles, Monty Woolley, Walter Slezak and Bobby Clark, to name only a few. And, even nicer, many of her Broadway performances have been in healthy, longlived hits. She made her debut as the daughter in "Yes, My Darling Daughter." She followed that with such choice titles as "Blithe Spirit," "Moonvine," "Dream Girl," "Voice of the Turtle," "Affairs of State" and "Suzanna and the Elders" — again, naming only a few. This is no ordinary woman, no ordinary actress and no ordinary mother, as her children know. "There's no advantage in having an actress for a mother," she says. "Acting is my way of making a living. But, frankly, I've never really cared about being an actress." As a child, she substituted a comedy reading for a religious speech, out of sheer boredom — and, as a result, she was starred in a church production of "Pollyanna." In junior high, she wanted to be a singer — but, in the annual pageant, she had the only non-singing role. In high school, she wanted to be a dancer and went to dancing rather than drama classes — but, in spite of it, she was chosen for the lead in the senior play. In college, she wasn't a member of the National Collegiate Players — but, nevertheless, she again had the feminine lead in each of two yearly productions. Even as late as this past summer, it happened again. Haila was producing a play in summer stock and this was very gratifying, for her real ambition is to be a producer — but, just before opening night, Haila's leading lady was called away because of an emergency and Haila had to step into the role. "Some are destined for the gallows," she says, "and some for the stage. What can you do about it?" Her very beginning was a dramatic one — in Great Falls, Montana, where Haila forgot to wait for her cue and made a premature entrance weighing only two pounds. There were no facilities at the small, emergency hospital for an undersized infant, but a Norwegian nurse named Haila Hahn pulled our heroine through — hence, her first name. Haila's parents were just passing through Montana at the time and she actually spent the first eight years of her life in Salt Lake City, then went on with her parents to Los Angeles, where she attended public school. Los Angeles High and U.S.C. "California is a beautiful state, a healthy place to live and has fine people — but I hate it," she says. "I still dread the thought that, for some reason, I might have to live out there. To me, there is something dreadful about the uniformity, the rows of little lawns and little houses." As a girl, there had seemed no escape for Haila. Her parents were strict and made it clear that girls were expected to conform, be content with their environment and respect its narrow confines. "So I went to work on my younger and only brother," she recalls. As a man, he had freedom and she tried to prod him into traveling. "Not me," he said. "I like it here. I like the little houses and everything about it." "And he still does," Haila notes today. "He lives in California and has three sons and a beautiful wife and is very happy." Haila may have inherited her feeling for adventure from her father. He had traveled abroad for several years, as a missionary for the Mormon Church. That was in his youth. When Haila joined the family, he was an efficiency expert and somewhat thwarted. "Mother was a woman of innate, exquisite taste," Haila says, "which meant she was usually spending more than Father made." But Haila thinks it was her rebellion against her parents and their restrictions which led her to acting — that, and the fact that it was the course of least resistance. "And I was so lucky," she says. Immediately after graduation, she got a job as a walk-on in the Coast production of "Merrily We Roll Along." True to her luck, she understudied one of the leads and went on, opening night. That led to the part of Pearl in the road company of "Tobacco Road" — which, after a 65-week tour, landed her on Broadway with the ingenue's part in a smash hit. Haila Stoddard's status as an actress can be realized by simply noting that, since graduation from college, she has been constantly employed as an actress. She has done much radio and TV. The Secret Storm is not her first experience with a daytime drama, for she was Big Sister back in the Thirties. "The role of Pauline Harris is very satisfying," she says, "because she's a wellrounded character, and we're not just showing what she is but how and why she got that way." Haila admits, also, to enjoying the greater economic security in broadcasting. "Once on a serial it took me three weeks to finish a cup of coffee, according to the script, and you can't beat that for steady employment." Haila has been working with various producers as an assistant and co-producer for the past five years, initiating her ambition to be a producer herself. This year Haila and her close friend Gloria Safien, who is agent for Wally Cox, Orson Bean and others, will co-produce a play on Broadway. "It will be exciting," she says, "but, whatever happens, I will always consider the children my best productions." Haila and the children live in a pretty community on the Hudson River, just twenty-two train minutes from Manhattan. She is both father and mother to the youngsters, for she was recently legally separated from her husband. "We do have a full-grown man present at all times," she says, "and he's a regular patriarch." The bay window of her apartment faces a gigantic statue of Henry Hudson himself and. from her seventh -floor home, Haila and children are just about even with his nose. "It's quite comforting to have him around," she says, "even though his nose does get to running quite a bit during a rain." The apartment is furnished with odds and ends from the many plays that she has been in. She notes, "A producer must buy all the props and, when the play is over, he must get rid of it all, selling what he can."