Screenland (Nov 1939–Apr 1940)

One peep at this picture of the happy pair and you'll understand why Andrea Leeds feels that she and Bob Howard are marrying "for keeps." If you look close you can see Andrea's $25,000 diamond engagement ring. How Second Love Saved Andrea Leeds Continued from page 3 week's vacation. The day I left 1 saw Bob in the lobby, checking in at the hotel. I remembered him vaguely, so I nodded hello and that was all. I went on to Coronado when I had another week free. Believe it or not, but the day that I checked out there Bob arrived, and we passed and nodded in the lobby ! But that is but the beginning. Ken Murray, a good friend of mine, went to New York the following week. Bob was on that train. Ken confided to him, 'I know the girl who's perfect for you !' When Ken got back he announced, 'Andrea, I've met the man.' "He forgot to inform both of us who his choice was. So Ken and I went to the races at Santa Anita not long afterwards. Bob came over to our table. He and I talked for an hour and a half. I wondered how I could have ignored him ; I wondered how any woman could have failed to see him. He is so striking in looks. He has everything to be conceited about, but there is no strain like that in him. He is tender, has a terrific wit that comes forth so rarely you practically fall over backwards it's so funny. He is very considerate, and point out the woman who doesn't adore that trait. He has been about enough, yet he is fresh. And I don't mean that in the slang sense! "Ken phoned me that evening. 'What is this?' he demanded. Why am I the last one to know?' I didn't get it. 'Bob Howard insisted on my giving him your telephone number. He is the man I've been talking to yon about!' " "And," I interrupted, curiously, "did you 'go steady' after that?" Andrea smiled. "As soon as we could; yes. We had a few friends we had to see for a while, unfinished business, you know !" I caught up with her on the set of "Swanee River" at 20th Century-Fox, where she was undergoing plenty_ of ribbing about her marriage. Andrea isn't the wisecracking type ; but she has a sense of humor and her amiability had director Sidney Lanfield teasing her continuously. But before he started the gags he made a gesture which indicates how she stands with her fellow-workers. The Tuesday afternoon after her memorable Monday night he led her to a far corner of the huge sound stage to presumably go over added lines with her. The crew sneaked around the opposite way and wheeled on a wedding cake the size of a table. It was decorated with a horseshoe. The entire company had cake and tea and toasted her. ' She was accepting the sallies gallantly when she turned away from Don Ameche to talk to me. The hoop-skirt gown she was wearing prevented her from sitting down in any chair, so a prop boy popped up with a special stool each time she emerged from a "take." "Each day," Andrea declared earnestly, when we'd eluded the funsters, "I say to myself, 'I can never enjoy life more than this. Never!' But the next day comes and I love Bob more. Ours wasn't one of those melodramatic courtships, you know. We aren't given to flying off the handle. That's why I don't think we'll ever have fights. Bob is conservative. He's quiet until you get to know him; I like that in a man. We liked one another's company as soon as we started going out together, but both of us imagined we were boring the other because we're both, by nature, quiet. I have never been mad in my life. Not once ! I've never seen Bob angry, and people who've known him for years say they never have. That self-discipline makes sense to me. Oh, I become nervous when I do something wrong, but it's always inside me, never apparent. I grow calmer and calmer on the surface !" "But the fiery Mr. Samuel Goldwyn, your boss," I said, "is undoubtedly explosive. And you walked out on him and into stardom, remember?" "That was the one time they were going to give me glamor," she replied. "They fixed me up and tested me in a gold-diggerish role. I saw the test run off and I looked ridiculous. 'I won't look like that,' I announced. I just refused to argue about it." She was punished by being loaned for a bit part; but the bit was in "Stage Door" and Andrea was so outstanding she was welcomed back and established as a Goldwyn heroine ! She did not ask Mr. Goldwyn's consent to her marriage. "Why should I?" He wished her happiness when he heard about it. She is not going to retire, as has been reported. "How could I ? After all, my contract has three more years and I certainly owe Mr. Goldwyn that much loyalty. Bob has only asked that I don't work constantly. Three or four pictures a year will be all right with him, if I've time between. We're going to have three months for a leisurely honeymoon trip !" Andrea hadn't time to flirt like a debutante for she was cast in one film right after another from the time of her first date with Bob. He discovered that she isn't one of those fantastic actresses, with retinues and temperaments. Three years J ago her parents built a comfortable home and she lived with them. Sam Goldwyn didn't attempt to mold her in his traditional pattern ; she wasn't given a mysterious build-up as Anna Sten was. Andrea's been allowed to develop as the natural person she is. No mention was made of it in publicity, but she resided in her studio dressing room for more than two months of the time Bob was first rushing her. I She'd retire there after their dates, to be on hand for work. She didn't have a maid, she made her own bed, did her own cooking there. Such sincere application, minus folderols, speaks loudly, I think. "Why, I can cook anything you name !" Andrea boasted when she came out of another scene with Don Ameche. "You should have seen me at Del Mar one weekend during the races. I prepared spaghetti and meat balls for Bob and sixteen others. I had an Italian grandmother, and I've inherited her recipes. The kitchen wasn't equipped for the occasion, so I searched high and low until I located a kerosene bucket in the garage. I made the boys soap and scald it for five hours ; I boiled the spaghetti in an ice cream freezer, and then mixed well. "We're not sure yet whether to buy or build a home. I designed my dream house a couple of years ago, drew all the floor, plans myself. It is informal, modern Colonial, with chintzes and linens ; you can sit down and put your feet up anywhere. Bob thinks it more sensible to buy a place already built. But he says it's up to_ me." It's so much sounder, the basis_ of this marriage, than the one Andrea missed. It was Jack Dunn, the English skater who came to America as Sonja Henie's co-star on ice, whom she loved before. He, also, had been quiet and considerate. He'd liked Hollywood and Andrea so well that he determined to become an actor himself. He had all the attributes and^ he was signed, was to have made his debut in a stellar role just as Sonja did. During the extended negotiations Andrea was the one who counseled caution. She knew he couldn't concentrate on the myriad details of a budding career and be a husband simultaneously. When he brought her an 78 SCREENLAND