Radio-TV mirror (Jan-June 1954)

THIS GORGEOUS BOOK IS REALLY . . . HOLLYWOOD IN REVIEW Once again the editors of Photoplay Magazine bring you Photoplay Annual. This year Photoplay Annual is more glamorous than ever! It is a treasure-mine of information about the stars ... a real Who's Who in Hollywood. This book is a collector's item. A book that you should have in your possession. Here is just a brief description of this truly glamorous book: HOLLYWOOD STAR ENCYCLOPEDIA— Vital statistics and pertinent information on more than 550 stars — their roles and lives in 1953. The addresses of the leading studios. Now you will know where to write your favorite stars. BEST LIKED MOVIES OF 1953— Captivating scenes from the greatest movies of 1953 — here are movie memories you will want to keep — forever ! COLOR PORTRAITS OF THE STARS— Gorgeous 4color photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Simmons and Stewart Granger, Jane Russell, Robert Wagner, Doris Day and Rock Hudson. EVENTS OF THE YEAR— The parents of 1953 pictured with their youngsters — memorable weddings of the year — divorces of the year that made headlines — the final curtain, death robbed us of some of the nation's entertainment greats. THE YEAR'S NEWCOMERS— 20 new stars that made their mark in '53. Pictures, as well as a thumbnail description, of these newcomers. See and read about them here, and then follow their exciting careers. PORTRAIT GALLERY— Thrilling full-page pictures of Charlton Heston, Ann Blyth, Tab Hunter, Rory Calhoun, June Allyson, Ava Gardner, Jeff Chandler and Susan Hayward. fcctt Only 50c At Newsstands otitf Or Use This Coupon I PHOTOPLAY Dept. MG-354 ' 205 E. 42 St.. New York 17. N. Y° | Send me postpaid a copy of PHOTOPLAY I | ANNUAL 1954. I enclose 50c. Name R Please Print j M 'Address : | City State | When Faith and Love Walk Together (Continued from page 23) fun-loving, restless girl, got up too soon and overtaxed her strength. This tragic error resulted in a heart condition which has shadowed her life and Todd's ever since. When her teen-age girl friends were going to parties, having lots of dates, skating, dancing, skiing, and enjoying all the fun of youth, Edna was lying in a hospital bed. From the time Edna was nineteen until she was twenty -one, her greatest thrill was to have her friends visit her in the hospital room, and occasionally to be allowed to sit up in a chair. She had to learn patience early, she had to accept the life of an invalid while her friends were marrying or starting careers. She had to have more than the ordinary amount of courage. During those years, it was Todd who helped her most of all. When she became restless and railed against her illness, it was Todd who consoled her, gave her a reason for continuing her fight. He brought the world to her in that colorless little hospital room. And he was often with her even when he could not be there in person, for he was breaking in as a radio announcer, and Edna could listen to him. Whenever he could, between shows, he came to see her. He read aloud to her, played cribbage with her, told her jokes, brought her amusing little gifts. He kept her hope alive. He was the reason for her determined fight. He was the sustaining force in her life then, as he is now. "I always could count on him," she says. I odd was determined to marry her as soon as the doctors would let her leave the hospital. Their engagement celebration was held while she was still in her high white bed. They knew it might be months or even years before they could be married, that they could not have all the fun that young engaged people usually can count on. But, when Todd put the engagement ring on Edna's finger, they asked for nothing more than the love and trust they shared. The heart ailment from which Edna suffers is known as mitral-stenosis, a narrowing of the valve which pumps the blood from the pulmonary artery to the lungs. It is a condition which causes breathlessness and an inability to exert the slightest physical effort. It requires rest, unusual care and patience to adjust one's life to this impairment for which, until recently, there was no alleviation. Unlike some of the more usual forms of heart disease which strike out of the blue, Edna's condition is chronic, and there has never been a day when she has not been conscious of her limitations. Both Todd and Edna had given all these things serious thought before they married. Both of them, in a sense, were mature and thoughtful for their years. Not every young man just starting out on his career would be so unselfishly devoted as to propose marriage to an invalid for whose illness there seemed to be no cure. But Todd was not an ordinary young man. He was in love with Edna, and the life he wanted was a life with her. Friends, relatives, doctors advised against their marriage. "We don't know how long Edna has to live," said the specialists. "You can't have children. She'll never be able to live a normal life." Their friends cautioned them, too. "You're young, Todd, an active man. You like to play, to go places, to do things. Edna won't be able to keep up with you." But they were in love. It was as simple as that. They would work it out — and, for fifteen years, they have. Neither has a moment of regret. Neither sees anything extraordinary in their life together. Todd says quietly and with great sincerity, "It has not been difficult at all. I don't know whether I can make you understand that. Our life together has been a partnership from the very moment we were married. We have built our existence around Edna's capacities." And he continues earnestly, "We have never thought anything about it, it's part of us. It never was a hardship. We loved each other. We wanted to be together and that was all that mattered." Edna, too, never had any doubt in her mind that it would all work out. In her soft, shy voice, she says with such feeling that there isn't any doubt she means it, "I would have been the most surprised person in the world if it hadn't worked out." If there have been occasional moments of doubt and loss of hope, neither of the Russells admits it to himself or each other, nor to the world. It is hard to believe that there have not been dark times, when Todd had to call on all his love and faith: times when Edna had to summon all her courage in order to keep going. But keep going they did, because basically they had what few people in this world have. They had what they wanted. If outsiders wonder how they made their marriage work, it's no mystery at all to the Russells. The mystery to them is that anyone should think it had to be made to work. It has been their life, the one they were willing to settle for, and they see nothing extraordinary in it at all. Their social life, of necessity, has been geared to Edna's strength. And many a night they have spent alone, with Todd reading aloud to her. He got in the habit of reading to Edna during her early days in the hospital and he has kept it up ever since. It is characteristic of Todd and his attitude toward their marriage that he finds it no chore at all. In fact, with his wonderful ability to see the bright side of everything, he says, "Reading aloud to Edna through the years has been wonderful for my voice. It has helped me to learn voice placement." If Edna wasn't up to cooking dinner — well, Todd is a pretty good cook himself, and many a time he has brought dinner to Edna on a tray. What did it matter, if Edna couldn't go dancing? They could go to an occasional movie or a show. Or, if she couldn't go out, they could play cards together. It didn't matter, either, that part of each day Edna had to rest in bed. She couldn't work and Todd was out of the house, so she geared her hours of rest to his work day. Fortunately, too, his job and its unusual hours enabled him to spend more time at home than the average businessman. Nothing mattered to the Russells except that they were married and happy together. The thread of continuity running through their marriage is their faith in God and in each other. When they were married, Todd was just breaking into radio. He was making the tiny salary — even for those days — of $22.50 a week, which meant that Edna had to use ingenuity that would have taxed many a strong, robust housewife. Their rent, Edna recalls was $20 a month and, says she, "My marketing budget was $5.00 a week, and I made out on it, too." Todd's salary didn't leave much margin for emergencies, as they found out when Edna's heart condition forced her to go back to the hospital not long after they were married. This was the first of a series of staggering set-backs which would have daunted anyone less ebullient and optimistic than Todd. But they took it in their