TV Radio Mirror (Jul - Dec 1956)

When she does get "to sit down," however, Patti does it in a place that's well worth all the work. It's every career girl's dream of what an apartment in New York should be. It's bright and gay, spacious and airy — a combination of French provincial and modern — designed to give "the feeling of a country house lost in the city." And last February, when Ed Murrow interviewed Patti on CBS-TV's Person To Person, her fans finally got a chance to see how Cinderella lives. Actually, Patti appeared on the show to give her family a chance to "visit" with her — for, although she visits home whenever she can, and her mother and father come East, they had not yet seen Patti's new apartment. "Mother loved it," Patti recalls. "She was very pleased." But she also observed that Patti lived there alone. What was the good of that great big kitchen if there was no man to cook for? Who wants five and a-half rooms if there are no children to fill them up? For, although Mrs. Fowler already has eleven children, twenty-five grandchildren, and a crop of great-grandchildren on the way, it is the dream of her life that "Clara Ann" get married, too. She can understand her daughter being Patti Page. She can even understand her being Cinderella. What she can't understand is her not being Mrs. Charles O'Curran. . . . Patti and Charles met almost two years ago, when he was staging her act for a personal-appearance tour. He thought she was too heavy, too shy, too undemonstrative. He wanted her "to give out more," to use her hands, even to dance. Patti, of course, fought him every step of the way. "I'm a singer," she insisted, "not a dancer." But then, inexplicably, she learned from the man what she had resisted in the teacher. "Charles made me realize how important appearance is in this business," she said. But, when Patti took off thirtytwo pounds, it wasn't just a business matter. It was a labor of love. Overnight, she seemed to acquire poise, sophistication. It was a new glamour, but it came from within— for, suddenly, Patti had come alive. "He's my ideal," Patti confides. "He's a happy person. He's in show business. He likes to stay home. He loves dogs. He loves good music. He loves the theater. And he loves children." He also loves Patti, for, when he had to return to Hollywood and she had to remain in New York, he telephoned her every day. Whenever either of them gets a few days off, they pay flying visits to each other. "We're planning to get married," Patti said last November, "but . . ." It is a remark she still hasn't finished, for she is still in New York and Charles is still in Hollywood. They still phone every day, they still pay flying visits. But their story has not yet ended happily ever after, for it seems that Cinderella can have problems, too — just like the rest of us. The same problem every career girl has when it comes to love, only magnified for Patti. The modern career girl can have her success. She can "have a ball." But what about the prince? If the ball goes on too long, he can be nothing more than a dancing partner. And how can the prince give Cinderella the world if she already lias it? In Patti's case, much as she regrets the lelay in getting married, she's proud of Charles for insisting upon it. If Patti still loesn't know the wedding date, it's because the decision isn't up to her. She's just old-fashioned enough, just woman enough to leave that decision up to the man. When Patti marries, it's for keeps — for happily ever after. That's why she and Charles are trying to make the conditions right before the wedding, not after. And the first condition for a happy marriage is that the man be the head of the house. This doesn't mean that Charles wants Patti to give up her career. He knows how hard she has worked for her success, and he's proud of her. But a marriage can't work, with one half of the team in Hollywood and the other half in New York or on the road. Charles wants to make sure they can be together. He wants to have enough money so that, if Patti goes on singing, it's because she wants to — not because she has to. And he must provide a home for those five babies that he wants as much as Patti. For, once she becomes a mother, Patti will give up her career. "When I'm settled with a definite assignment," Charles has assured her, "when I'm secure, then we'll get married." It isn't easy, for there are no steady jobs in show business. But Charles is one of the top directors in his field. When Patti met him, he was staging the dance sequences in Martin and Lewis pictures. In addition to staging Patti's act, he has prepared such top stars as Howard Keel, Lilo and Vic Damone for their personal appearances. Currently, he is promoting his own musical show which he hopes to stage in New York. He is obviously making headway, for as recently as last April, Ed Sullivan announced in his column: "Patti Page and Charles O'Curran nearing wedding date." And friends of the two were making private bets that Patti, an inveterate sentimentalist, would be a "June bride." In the meantime, Patti isn't just sitting around waiting. She knows that life isn't a fairy tale. One doesn't just end up living happily ever after. One works for it. "I'd like to spend six months of each year in New York," she has decided, "and the other six months in Hollywood." That's why she's angling for a job in motion pictures. Recently, Patti appeared in her first dramatic role on CBS-TV's Appointment With Adventure. "I wanted to prove to myself and to my agent," she says, "that it's possible for me to be more than just a singer." The final proof will soon be coming up, for Patti is taking a screen test at 20th Century-Fox. It's ironical, however — and every successful career woman can testify to the fact — nowadays, a girl not only has to work her head off to get to the top, but, once she gets there, she has to work twice as hard to achieve the same happiness that other girls got just by staying at home. So you want to be Cinderella? Patti feels like writing to her fans. Then be like the original one. It was so easy for her. Someone else got her the clothes for the ball. And once the prince saw her, all she had to do was wait around the house until the prince found her again. But, unless you've just got to sing, unless you've a talent that just has to find expression, don't be one of the new Cinderellas who insist upon making their own way at the ball. ... But then, Patti never did get to finish her fan mail that day. She was interrupted by a long-distance call from Hollywood, and ran to her bedroom to take it in private. And, suddenly, all was well with Cinderella. "It won't be long before I'm saying 'I do,' " she announced happily. It was definite, but when would the big event take place? Patti laughed with such pure devilment, this poor reporter just couldn't help but feel that Patti would beat him to the punch. She'd get to the altar before he could get his story to press. That's the way it is, when the new Cinderella finds her Prince Charming. People 60 to 80: Tear Out This Ad . . . and mail it today to find out how you can still apply for a $1,000 life insurance policy to help take care of final expenses without burdening your family. You handle the entire transaction by mail with OLD AMERICAN of KANSAS CITY. No obligation. No one will call on you! Write today, simply giving your J name, address and age. Mail to r Old American Ins. Co., 1 West 9th, Dept. L770M, Kansas City, Mo. 89