Impertinent Interview—Susan Hayward

It seemed an unwise time, under the circumstances, to ask Susan what her next husband would be like. But I had read somewhere that Susan Hayward felt inclined, if she ever married again, to marry a writer. I had asked her about that statement and she had explained: “Actually I don’t really know what my next husband’s profession will be simply because I don’t know who my next husband will be!

“But I do know what kind of man he will be.

“He will be the kind of man for whom I will give up the acting profession. Yes, I intend to quit acting. But only when I get married again, and I won’t marry for at least a year. My divorce won’t be final till the fall.

“I intend to quit acting because there are so many other things I want to do—have more children, for instance, and travel. I have been working since I was seventeen years old.”

I thought of Susan’s career: from a third-floor walkup flat on Church Avenue in Brooklyn to Hollywood stardom and a lovely home in California.

“It all ties in, doesn’t it?” she asked. “Wanting a change, I mean. Things always work out for the better, don’t they? And now I want them to work out again so that the man I marry will figure very, very importantly. He will love me for myself. He, like myself, will want a long engagement. What do I mean by long? Well, it will probably be much longer than my first engagement, which was for six months. It may be for two years. On the other hand, it may be for only two months! After all, when the time comes two months may seem like a long time, too long a time. It will depend on the man.”

I thought of Jeff Chandler, Richard Egan, Ned Marin and the others with whom Susan has been linked.

“There’s no one—yet,” she repeated. “When will there be one—the right one? I would guess anywhere from a year to three years.”

“And that’s when you’ll give up acting?” I asked.

“Look, I love acting,” the radiant little redhead replied. “But there are other things in life, too—children, to repeat, and traveling. I’ve found I can’t combine them all. I’ve also found that I like the old-fashioned idea of the man in the family being the boss of the family.

“He would also be a perfect father for the twins. And he would want more children. I’ve always wanted more.”

As for Susan’s social life: “My social life is very limited and, I suppose, will continue that way. I’ve just finished ‘Soldier of Fortune’ with Clark Gable for 20th and the spare time I have I like to spend with the twins. I like doing things with Greg and Timothy and I love a home life with them and a few friends.

“There are no romantic involvements at the moment. It’s so nice and peaceful for a change!”

—BY MIKE CONNOLLY

 

It is a quote. PHOTOPLAY MAGAZINE MAY 1955