Radio-TV mirror (Jan-June 1953)

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Get our handsome catalog Free for asking! Just send your name and address on postcard to: SOUTH CAROLINA MILLS Dept. 231, Spartanburg, S.C. devoted mother. She did much less work on radio, during the babyhood of her two daughters, because: "A child is young such a brief time, and Charles and I both felt we should be home as much as possible during those early years." Now that the girls are old enough for school (or nursery school), Elaine laughs about the one trait she and Charlotte might have had in common. "Charlotte's greatest fault is that she is completely wrapped up in self, in the things that concern her ambitions, in her appearance, in what she will wear and where she will go. She is clothes-conscious to a marked degree." Elaine hesitates and adds, "I have to admit I am very like her in that — but who can be clothes-conscious with two young daughters to dress up! The greatest fun is in having the girls clothes-conscious for me. "These days I have to pass a rigid test before I am allowed to leave the house for any important engagement, like going out for the evening with Charles or appearing at their school meetings. 'What are you going to wear?' they will demand. Sometimes they say, horrified, 'Oh, no, not that dress again!' and I have to explain that I have only so many changes of costume. When I'm dressed and ready, they always decide I look just grand and beam their approval. My little one will say, 'Oh, Mommie, you look so pretty,' even though I'm wearing the dress she objected to a short time before." Barbara (who is six) and Jan (who is four) are proud of their mother's radio programs. Elaine not only plays Charlotte, but appears on several other programs whenever the characters she 'portrays enter into one of the scripts. She is Gloria Nash in The Second Mrs. Burton, and has been heard as Iris Sanford in Backstage Wife and Lydia Craig in Front Page Farrell. The girls listen to their mother occasionally and seem amused to hear Mommie's voice coming from these other women. Their greatest pride, however, is in having her visit their schools and participate in the parents' meetings. She's a Class Representative in Jan's school and she works for the annual Fair as if it were the one job she had to do during that whole period, giving it every minute she can spare from her home and studio duties. She rarely misses anything important at either girl's school. One day she got off the air at one, raced up to Barbara's school for a two o'clock meeting, left it a few minutes early to get to a parents' meeting at Jan's school at 3:45 — all done without proper lunch. "It took some sprinting and I couldn't duplicate it every day, but I wouldn't have done anything else, at such a time," she comments. Doing things in a hurry seems to be almost a specialty of Elaine's. Consider the way she met Charles — and how they were married two months after that first meeting. "We met through his mother's invitation to me," she confides. "That's usually the kiss of death as far as having a boy like you is concerned," she laughs. "Charles' mother did wonderful work for the Stage Door Canteen ^vjing World War II and I was a captain of the junior hostesses. The mutual friend who introduced us to each other at the Canteen had invited me out for a weekend. Charles' mother, who lived near by, invited us both to a party, saying that her son would be there because he was on vacation. She wanted us to meet. "We surprised everyone by having a date every night after that. We were secretly engaged after two weeks, and the formal announcement was made after three weeks. We got married on Thanksgiving Eve, 1943, two months later. The date was November 24, and now we never know whether to celebrate our anniversary on that date or on whatever date Thanksgiving Eve falls. It's been quite confusing, so we compromise with two anniversaries." In the children's sunny-walled room, are two aquariums. "These are Charles' hobbies, too," Elaine explains. "I think the children aren't much interested any more. They like them here because they know their daddy likes them. Charles used to have several more aquariums with tropical fish, but neither of us had enough time to take care of them." Elaine used to ask the girls to keep their toys off the tops of dressers and bookcases and chairs, until she read somewhere that children ought to be allowed to keep their own room in their own way — "I'm doing it, with my fingers crossed, until it gets too out of hand." To a visitor, it looks like the room every little girl should have, with sensible linoleum flooring, and with books and dolls and toys in abundance. The girls and their parents go ice skating on New York's two most famous outdoor ponds, at Radio City and in Central Park. They all love the beach in summer. "Everything is exciting and wonderful to my children," Elaine says proudly. "They have a talent right now for sheer happiness, above everything else. They talk of becoming doctors — or, as second choice, teachers — never actresses, oddly enough. "I get a big thrill out of radio," Elaine says, her eyes bright with the joy of bringing these characters to life for so many listeners. "I never get tired of my roles, and I still believe that while every woman's first duty is to her home and family — her first privilege, I should say, is caring for her dear ones — still it is quite necessary for a mother to get out once in a while and see other people and make new contacts. She brings something fresh and vital and interesting back with her each time. Charles has an agile mind, in touch with many things, and I don't want to grow dull and introspective while he goes ahead, always enlarging his vision and his interests. If I weren't an actress, I would cultivate something else to do that could keep me from getting in a rut. I think every woman should, for her own sake and for the sake of keeping herself interesting to her husband and children." Good advice, perhaps, for the restless Charlotte Abbott. But who could picture Charlotte in this typical scene from Elaine's life? It is raining, but Elaine ties on a scarf, bundles up in a raincoat, and walks several blocks to the old New York house where Jan's nursery school is located. Elaine is just getting over a severe cold. However — "I can't let Jan down," she explains, almost apologetically. "I promised to come for her myself today." The welcoming smile which spreads all over the little face — so like Elaine's own — is reward enough. Jan is eager to show her mother a "painting" she has made by pasting pieces of patterned cloth in bright colors on heavy drawing paper, in shapes and sizes as her fancy dictated. "I wanted you to help me surprise Barbara with this," she tells Elaine. "Well, let's get home before the school bus brings Barbara," her mother agrees enthusiastically. "We'll put it at her place at the table, so she'll see it first thing." Jan beams her approval of her mother's understanding help. Elaine buttons her into the bright raincoat, tucks the brown hair under the hood. The two say goodbye to the teachers and go out into the murky street, carefully carrying the precious "painting." A rainy day, a wet walk until the shelter of home is reached. Two figures hand in hand, giggling over the surprise in store for sister Barbara. Happiness is made of simple scenes like this. But Charlotte Abbott wouldn't know. If only somehow she could play Elaine Kent — and learn to let herself be happy!