This Is The Truth

RUMOR: “Jane Powell and Gene Nelson can hardly wait till the time they’re both free—so they can get married . . .”

FACT: Absolutely inaccurate! Jane is enjoying her new freedom more every day. Her closest pals feel that by the time her divorce is final, she will like it so much she won’t trade it. This romance is still pretty warm, but cooling slowly. Look for a new man in Jane’s life before long—and the possible reconciliation of Gene and Miriam Nelson. The indications are that Miriam may never even file for a divorce.

RUMOR: “Elizabeth Taylor wishes her son would hurry and grow up a bit so she can have more time to work on her career . . .”

FACT: Which son? Liz is so much in love that she doesn’t give a hang about her career anymore. Sure, she’ll make movies. But they’ll be in between children if she has anything to say about it. She told a friend recently that she’s glad she had a baby while she’s young—and she wants a couple more right away. She feels she can get a family started and then act her head off, and Michael Wilding agrees. Oddly enough, M-G-M thinks Liz will be just as talented and beautiful five years from now and is willing to wait.

 

RUMOR: “Rory and Lita Calhoun have weathered five years of marriage without a quarrel.”

FACT: Man, what an understatement! It didn’t get into print, but a few weeks ago. Rory and Lita got into a battle and he slapped her three times in front of a handful of guests. She locked him out of the house, so he put his fist through a plate glass in their front door and had to have ten stitches taken in his hand. If this isn’t a fight, it will have to do till a riot comes along. You can look for a major disruption of this happy family any day now.

RUMOR: “Susan Hayward and Jess Barker will arrange a quiet property settlement. For the sake of the twins, there will be absolutely no public name-calling . . .”

FACT: It’s just possible Jess Barker and Susan Hayward will have been in court by the time you read this— and you’ll know how wrong this information is. This estrangement is as bitter as any we’ve ever encountered in Hollywood. The past several years of marriage between Jess and Susan have been studded with violent quarrels. Since they separated. Susan has had a guard to keep Jess away from the house and a court order restraining him from molesting her. Jess, angered because of his alleged “woman of the house” role during his marriage, has retained Sammy Hahn, the famed attorney to represent him. They say he will ask for his share of community property and possibly alimony. At any rate, Jess and Susan get along like a gopher and a snake—and don’t you believe anything else. We know nothing of blame, and Jess always appeared to be a good husband. However. the sympathy of their friends is all for Susan. The money involved in this case will amount to close to a million dollars. That’s enough to start a fight in church!

 

RUMOR: “It looks like the end is near for Shelley Winters and Vittorio Gassman . . .”

FACT: It might look like it, but it isn’t! Shell and Vittorio, no matter what you read to the contrary, are in love. Sure they fight. He’s Latin—and she’s Shelley Winters. But they expected to fight before they got married. And they expected to be separated for long periods of time. And they expected the newspapers to make the most of it. In our opinion, even an announced estrangement wouldn’t mean a thing. Vittorio, in true Italian fashion, is the master of his home and simply crazy about his kid. The real reason he takes off to Italy so often is that his salary over there is almost astronomical. Shelley is entirely in favor of his making money while they’re both young. Shelley is the kind of a girl who would tell the world if she didn’t like the way Vittorio tied his shoe laces. But she’s made for him and he is for her. The only ending here will be a happy one!

RUMOR: “Marilyn Monroe is the happiest girl in town, what with her career going so well . . .”

FACT: Rot! One of these days Marilyn Monroe is going to stage one of the most important sit-down strikes Hollywood has ever seen. She is most unhappy with her career. She feels she is being used as a freak attraction and is not being given a chance to prove her true talent as an actress. And as for money, she’s sick about her income. She knows a girl has to make it awfully fast in Hollywood and she sees her best years going unrewarded, except for expenses. As an indication, Marilyn’s salary is now $750.00 a week. She collected something like $15,000 for “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” Jane Russell, her co-star, was no more important in the film, but Twentieth paid Howard Hughes, Jane’s boss, $250,000 for the same picture. No, sir, Marilyn is not happy about her career right now!

 

RUMOR: “Ann Blyth is lucky in having married a man who wants her to go ahead full blast with her career . . .”

FACT: It’s true that Ann is lucky in getting the man she did. No doubt of that. But, believe us, her career is and always will be secondary to her home and family. Ann will work only when it does not interfere with the bearing and raising of the large family she and Dr. Jim McNulty have already planned. She won’t abandon the screen entirely until that family gets big enough to require her full time—but on that day she will quit. Ann likes to act, but her whole life has been a big wish for a husband and kids. That is what she really wants. So don’t miss any of her pictures. There may not be too many more.

RUMOR: “Pier Angeli seems to have gotten over Kirk Douglas very nicely and they are now the best of platonic friends . . .”

FACT: Nonsense! It will take Pier and her family some little time to get over the flash-in-the-pan business with Kirk. They just don’t understand what happened. It was the family’s first experience with a hit-and-run-artist. Pier was really in love and, to give the devil his due, Kirk might have been, too. But while he had no real intention of marrying, Pier did. She is deeply unhappy and resentful about the whole affair and may very well crawl back into the shell she wore when she first came to Hollywood. The name Kirk Douglas in the Angeli household is poison!

 

RUMOR: “Bing Crosby returned to the Paramount lot the other day looking fit as a fiddle. Bing has a long list of pictures he’ll do in the next three years . . .”

FACT: Some time this winter, or in the early spring, you will pick up your paper and read that Bing Crosby officially retires from motion pictures. He will devote the rest of his professional life to occasional radio and television programs—and the private part of it to easy living and maybe a little romance. Actually, Bing is one of the richest men in America. He has been making films for years only to assure his brother and other members of the family a good income through Bing Crosby Enterprises. This company has now strayed far afield from movies, is deep in electronics for the government, and filthy rich in oil. The crooner doesn’t have to croon the company’s coffers full any more. Another thing is that Bing is a bit older than his published age-and he wants to cut out the hard work for fun. His last objective was to secure the futures of his sons. Now they are all independently wealthy—and Bing’s work is done. You’ll read about it.

RUMOR: “Judy Garland is once again back in tip-top condition and sailing along on a career that promises to be bigger and better than ever . . .”

FACT: It’s too bad, but this is not so. Judy’s personal life is happier now than it’s ever been. She’s very content with Sid Luft and they’re just as compatible as a man and woman can be. However, professionally, Judy is still in trouble. Picture-wise, at least. Despite what you might hear to the contrary, Judy has been having a bad time keeping her weight down for “A Star Is Born,” and when she has to reduce she’s a victim of nerves. That halted her career at M-G-M, and it appears it might again. Some said “A Star Is Born would never be finished. Others that it would be, but it’d take a long, long time, with frequent layoffs for Judy. In any event, the grind may well convince Judy that films are not for her—and she may devote her talents to less grueling tasks from now on. We’d say a season on the stage each year, a few records and a bit of radio.

 

RUMOR: “Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons had a wonderful lark shopping to get Stewart off to England for ‘Beau Brummel.’ They were pleased actually, at this vacation from marriage . . .”

FACT: The Stewart Grangers have the happy faculty of not paying any attention to what they read about themselves in the newspapers—and that includes divorce rumors. But they did not have the slightest bit of fun getting Stewart ready for England. For a number of reasons, Stewart was very angry that Jean did not chuck it all and go with him. He just didn’t want to leave her here alone. But a lot of money was at stake and a contract with RKO that demanded Jean’s presence in Hollywood on call. She felt she’d be an idiot to go away and forfeit the money. This stirred up a misunderstanding (a nice mild word) between them. We have a feeling it will all work out nicely, but at the moment their tempers are not in what could be called a settled condition.

RUMOR: “It looks like wedding bells any day now for Dan Dailey and Gwen O’Connor. But Donald doesn’t care—he has Marilyn Erskine . . .”

FACT: This opinion is as wrong as a weather prediction. In the first place, Dan Dailey is not in love with Gwen O’Connor—and if he were it wouldn’t make much difference, because he has sworn many times he’ll never marry again. We believe him. And Donald O’Connor is not in love with Marilyn Erskine. As a matter of fact, he’s already given her back to the field, Donald is, however, still in love with Gwen and, as his pals will tell you, carrying a blazer and biding his time. Our bet is that one day Donald and Gwen will marry again and have the joy of raising their daughter together.

RUMOR: “The marriage between Lana Turner and Lex Barker was no surprise to their friends . . .”

FACT: Baloney! The relationship between Lana and Lex had been as shaky as a treed raccoon for more than six months. And their marriage was a spur of the moment thing that actually shocked their friends. As a matter of fact, Lana went to Rome to see another man-and Lex chased her. He apparently did a good job of talking. We can tell you that more than anything else Lana wants more children, so you can look for this marriage to bear prompt fruit—if Lana and her tree-swinging hubby can get past the first few months without a major scuffle. A chap we won’t name is carrying around a heavy heart and an astonished expression because of Lana’s sudden leap into matrimony.

RUMOR: “Despite the announcement of a separation, the Gregory Pecks will try for a reconciliation . . .’’

FACT: Forget it. It has been amusing to this writer that the press treatment of the Peck affair hasn’t been more definitive. As you read a few weeks ago, Greg and his wife have been out of step since last January, and here’s why: When Greta went to Europe in 1952 to visit her husband she learned that his reported amours with other women weren’t all exaggerated gossip. But she thought he’d stop when she got there. He didn’t, so they had a long talk in a Paris hotel suite and they agreed that Greta would take the kids home and Daddy would come back this Christmas for a reconciliation with her and the kids. In the meantime, Greg continued to live like a bachelor and made no bones about his regard for Audrey Hepburn, with whom he had made ‘Roman Holiday.’’ Greg will be back home for Christmas more than likely, but he’ll be busier talking to divorce lawyers than looking for Christmas trees. Only a minor miracle could save this marriage from crumbling—and for our money, miracles are out of season in the Peck family.

THE END

 

It is a quote. PHOTOPLAY MAGAZINE JANUARY 1954