Silver Screen (Jun-Oct 1940)

80 Silver Screen for October 1940 Dulcy Struts Her Stuff [Continued from page 27] It is always a pleasure for me to see Miss Ann Maisie Dulcy Sothern. Not only because I, as interviewer and friend, think she is one of the grandest people in Hollywood, utterly unaffected, and as loyal and sincere as the day is long; but also because every time I see Ann I get a very pleasant, slightly startling, shock. Ann isn't humdrum. There was the time I called on her at the hospital where she had had her appendix removed. It was the day she was to leave for home and she was sitting up in bed wearing a bright red turban and her slippers, but nothing more. "Hello, d-a-r-ling," said Ann (Ann stretches a great many of her words to the breaking point), "believe it or not I am waiting for the doctor's okay." And there was the time I bumped into her on a fishing barge off the coast of Catalina. Ann loves to fish, but she just can't bear to see the poor little fish floundering around, so Roger has to do all the dirty work, while she covers her eyes and squeals, the very quintessence of femininity. The barge was enveloped in that customary dreadful fish odor, so dear to the heart ,of the fisherman, when suddenly above the fish smell rose the tantalizing scent of fleurs de rocaille de Caron. Ann, it seems, had brought along an atomizer, and was making the most of it. And I shall never forget the day I ran into her at the racetrack at Santa Anita Park. With everyone else watching the horses Ann was sitting alone in the corner of a big sofa in the lounge with her eyes closed. When I spoke to her she opened them slowly, gave me one of her vague smiles, and said, "Oh, it's you, presh. I'll talk to you later. Right now, I'm being psychic." She's nuts, I thought, but Roger explained it to me. It seems that Ann had picked out of thin air a long shot who had won the first race and paid the magnificent sum of $85. As practically no one else at the track had that horse, a poor old nag that had been dead on its feet for years, Ann had decided then and there that she possessed miraculous psychic gifts. "It cost me a pretty penny," Ann told me several weeks later, "before I discovered that I wasn't psychic at all." Now she never goes near a track. She's allergic to horses. See what I mean about Ann? Never humdrum. When I last saw her, the day she was doing re-takes on "Dulcy," I cornered her in her dressing room, where she was fussing with her new pompadour hairdo (and most becoming, too), and suggested that she give out with a few "don'ts" for us gals. "You ought to know some good don'ts from your personal experiences," I said. _ "R-e-al-ly." said Ann, reaching for a piece of candy, which she loves, but isn't supposed to eat. She bit down on it, made an awful face, and swallowed quickly. "That's your punishment," said Maria, her devoted maid, "you know you promised not to eat candy this month." "Well, d-a-r-ling," said Ann, "I think the best don't is don't be a fixer-upper. People who meddle in other people's lives should be strangled, r-e-al-ly. Of course, you might have the best intentions in the world, but the minute you start interfering not only do you bring unhappiness to your friends, but you usually find yourself up to your neck in hot water, too. I never will forget the time I tried to fix up a romance for one of my former boy friends. When he arrived for a visit in Hollywood, he was very eager to meet a beautiful young actress I knew, but not very well. Right away I had to become Cupid. I arranged it so they met, and they fell in love, and I thought I was just being wonderful scattering love and sunshine. Well, do you know what! That girl had a husband! She never told me! And that husband offered to sue me!" Maria turned her back, and Ann snatched a chocolate. "Never again do I fix up any romances." And I also know that never again will Ann fix up anybody's garden for them, even though she is a most enthusiastic horticulturist. Among her best friends are the Ray Millands, and the Ray Millands moved into their new Beverly Hills home not so long ago. But for some reason or other they had a little trouble making the grass and flowers grow in their very beautiful back yard. "Fertilizer," said Ann to Mrs. Milland, "d-a-rling, you need a different fertilizer." Mrs. Milland agreed that she probably did, and thought no more about it. The first warm day of summer, and very warm indeed, she invited a few of her girl friends to have lunch outdoors in the patio. Ann couldn't come as she was working, but Ann began to worry about the grass and flowers. Mrs. Milland had everything prepared beautifully, her first party in her new home, and she was all relaxed waiting for Joan Crawford and the other girls to arrive when suddenly she smelled a horrible smell. A quick dash to the window just in time to see Ann Sothern's pet gardener scattering fertilizer all over the lawn and the garden. Mrs. Milland hastily removed her guests to the Victor Hugo restaurant. "I'll never be a fixer-upper again," said Ann morosely. But she was. It seems that Cesar Romero, one of Hollywood's most charming and eligible bachelors, after living for years in various apartment houses, finally decided to buy himself a small home. "Poor Butch," said Ann, "the d-a-r-ling. He doesn't know a thing about furnishing a house. I must help him." So she and Julie Murphy decided to give Cesar a shower — a kitchen shower. All of Cesar's friends were invited and they all brought very appropriate gifts and there was much fun with Cesar opening up the presents and saying, "It's exactly what I wanted! How did you know? What is it?" But of course Ann, big-hearted Ann, wasn't content to bring just one little knickknack for the kitchen. Oh, no. She brought everything but the proverbial kitchen sink! And naturally, Cesar being a bachelor, hadn't thought much about One of the things Maureen O'Hara best likes about the United States is its ice cream and especially in cones. "Dance, Girl, Dance" is her latest. the kitchen anyway, and had built it very small, and now he hasn't the slightest idea what to do with all those kitchen utensils. Because of Ann he's got to build a new kitchen, and building costs money. When Ann heard about it she said, "I'll never be a fixer-upper again." At times like this I see what Roger means. Ann's second big don't is: don't take yourself seriously. You only make yourself ridiculous if you do. Even your friends have to laugh at you if you do. And you completely lose your sense of humor if you do. After being off the screen for a year Ann, being a human being, was as pleased as punch when people started raving about her Maisie characterizations. "I took it awfully big," she said. "In fact, you'd think no actress had ever created a character before. But it wasn't long before I had the wind taken out of my sails. And the conceit out of my mind." It happened one day at the studio when she was being interviewed by a big newspaper critic from New York. Ann was giving out with her best charm and everything was simply "wondy" until the critic said, "Miss Sothern, before I go I want to tell you that I think you are awfully good as Blondie." "Every time I find myself taking myself seriously," said Ann, "I think of that." And Miss Ann Maisie Dulcy Blondie Sothern returned to the art of picture-making.