You Read It First In Vintage Paparazzi

The odds are that Eddie Fisher will beat Liz Taylor to the altar. Eddie has finally established residence in Nevada to obtain a divorce from Liz. Why? Eddie is in love again. The object of his affections is Renata Boeck, the sexy German model. Renata came to Hollywood for a short “vacation” in July, but has been at Eddie’s beck and call since. Now, Renata is wearing a $5,000 jade ring which Mr. Fisher gave her to seal their togetherness.

Kim Novak kept her mouth closed when she and Roderick Mann, the man she was supposed to marry, came back to Hollywood on separate planes. Kim declined to comment on any wedding plans, but Mann, the English journalist, had something to say. On his first night in town he asked Dusty Miller for a date. So naturally this smoked out the silent Kim, and she announced she and Roddy were fini. Why? One associate confides it was because her psychiatrist advised against the merger. My advice to Kim: Marry the psychiatrist.

Could be that Cary Grant and actress Dyan Cannon are scheduling matrimony. Cary’s divorce from Betsy Drake was final August 13. Cary was a regular backstage Johnny when the actress was around for “How to Succeed in Business, etc.” at the Philharmonic.

I’m glad to report both Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin are now acting like adults. Both admitted wrongs in their first fling at marriage. Both resolved to correct them now that they are back together. To doubly insure a solid marital foundation they decided to have another baby. All I can say is, I wish them well.

If anyone cares, Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay are back together. There’s another little Hargitay on the way, too.

The Martins and Morells (no relation to McCoy) engaged in verbal bombasts. It all started when Claudia Martin eloped with Gavin Morell. Dean Martin burned with indignation over losing his eighteen-year-old daughter to a striving actor she met in a drama class. Jeanne Martin (Dean’s present wife) also voiced her disapproval. Dino’s first wife, Betty, blasted back. The first Mrs. Dino stated in no uncertain terms that Claudia was her daughter, and she not only had her permission but blessings to marry Gavin. However, the fact remains that the marriage may not be legal in the eyes of the California courts. (Gavin had obtained a Mexican divorce in order to marry Claudia.) Now, to make things entirely on the up and up, Gavin’s first wife (the mother of his child) filed for a divorce in Santa Monica.

I wonder if Troy Donahue knows that while he was in the wilds of Arizona on location for “Distant Trumpet,” Suzanne Pleshette and Dick Chamberlain stepped out on the town. Where did they end up? Well, it certainly wasn’t a place you’d expect to find the All-American TV medico. It was a strip club on the Sunset Strip. Well, I guess Dick could say he was just doing some research on anatomy.

If any of you were beginning to think that Connie Stevens would be always a fiancee and never a bride—that’s because she hadn’t met actor Jim Stacy yet. She’ll become Mrs. Stacy in a Catholic ceremony on October twelfth, if their present plans go through. It’s their first marriage—and last, I predict.

It was a close shave for June Allyson. She and Dick Powell’s barber, Glenn Maxwell, called off their marriage when an attorney informed the widow that a new husband could cost her a hunk of loot as Dick’s estate isn’t officially settled. So June decided to wait. Meantime, Glenn went back to cutting hair at his Newport Beach shop.

What’s going on on the “Viva Las Vegas” set? Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret hit it off like Liz and Dickie Boy, but the director wasn’t too impressed with the crooner from Memphis. He had directed Ann in “Bye Bye Birdie,” and it’s no secret that he admires her talent. So it may mark the first time Presley had to take a back seat in one of his films. I heard they cut four of his numbers.

Poor little Natalie Wood. It looked as if she would break into tears when she accidentally encountered Robert Wagner and the new Mrs. Wagner, Marion Marshall Donen, at Barbara Streisand’s Cocoanut Grove opening. Natalie was with her Arthur Loew, Jr. Just think, if Nat hadn’t met Warren Beatty she might still be Mrs. Robert Wagner. But insiders say Loew would marry the actress on a moment’s notice. She hasn’t given him the notice yet—but I bet she will any moment now.

Scooping Around: By the time Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen finished “Soldier in the Rain” they weren’t exactly pals. Steve had tried to establish himself as a Greater One to the Great One. . . . It’s official. Barbara Luna will obtain a divorce from Doug McClure. . . . Want to see Polly Bergen boil? Ask her if she’s emulating Jackie Kennedy in Polly’s latest, “Kisses for My President.” Polly is a Republican. . . . Anna Marie Alberghetti and Claudia Guzman called it quits. . . . The reason why Ava Gardner lingered so long in Hollywood: Frank Sinatra. . . . All Hollywood is wondering how much longer Tony Curtis and Christine Kaufmann can maintain their “isolated” marriage. . . . Either Bob Conrad has the most liberal-minded wife in the world or the two have decided to go their separate ways. Bob took off solo for a two-month fun trip of Europe. “I plan to live it up,” he boasted to a pal. . . . It’s Warren Beatty and Claudia Cardinale burning the romantic fires. . . . Keep hearing that Barbara Streisand and her handsome hubby, Elliot Gould, have called it a day. . . . Lana Turner and Fred May decided not to try it again.

Ty Hardin and his German frau, Marlene Schmidt, were having problems. So Marlene, a former Miss Universe, packed her bags and flew home with the young Hardin offspring to her mother in Germany. Ty’s trying to patch things up, but he’s seriously hampered: she can’t speak much English, and his command of the German language is nil.

My pet gripe is a star who says down with publicity, but on the other hand encourages it. George Peppardfalls in this category. I remember when a newshound asked him if it were true he and his wife had parted. George made a face and walked away. Later, the parting was confirmed. George maintains he’s at liberty to do as he pleases when he’s off-camera. What he means is that when he takes Elizabeth Ashley to a fashionable yet public place like the Cocoanut Grove, it’s not the public’s business. I feel that actors who feel their public life isn’t public—should stay home—or get another job!!

Here’s the latest chapter in the Dolores, Hart story. Her mother, Harriet Gordon, is obtaining a divorce from a prominent restaurant owner. Dolores remains in the convent in Connecticut. She writes to Hollywood friends that she has found real happiness at last. However, she assumes a realistic attiude. It’ll be two years before she takes her final vows, and if she isn’t 100 per cent sure still by then, she won’t.

How to protect an idol. M-G-M did it by editing all of Dick Chamberlain’s scenes in “Twilight of Honor.” They eliminated all of the objectionable dialogue.

It’s a good thing that Lance Reventlow and his date, Sharon Pringle, didn’t buckle their seat belts. Lance was at the wheel of a sports car in the Hollywood Hills when the vehicle went over a cliff. The two were thrown clear of the car upon the first impact. Then the tiny car tumbled five hundred feet to the bottom. What was left of the car wouldn’t have filled a CARE package. However, Lance suffered a serious back injury. They say he’ll be on crutches until Christmas. Sharon sustained cuts and bruises, and a hard time from her mother, Peggy Pringle. Sharon and Lance had been dating for two weeks prior to the accident. Sharon is a pretty teenager, and the granddaughter of the late Victor McLaglen. Peggy has sent her back to a girls’ school in the East.

When I speak of Lance, I must speak of Jill St. John—his estranged wife. Jill came to the hospital to see him, but only for old times’ sake. It appeared at one time they would reconcile, but Miss St. John feels differently now. Oddly enough, it was Cary Grant who was the most concerned about Lance. You see, Cary was once married to Barbara Hutton when the latter’s son was still playing with toys instead of real cars.

Poor Diane McBain. Her role in “The Caretakers” was reduced to practically a bit part. Could those rumors about a certain producer-director have been the reason?

Don’t ever say boo to Jack Ging. One night at the Peppermint West (Hollywood’s top twist spot), Mr. Ging came in with his wife and mother. It was a jammed night and even the men’s room was packed. This didn’t bother Jack. He and the spouse started twisting. The mother spotted an empty ringside table, but failed to spot a reserve sign on it. She sat down, and a waiter asked her to leave. Jack came dashing over and defended his mom.

Puzzler of the Month: What twenty-year-old beauty is making the Hollywood scene with well-known but elderly celebrities, and secretly tipping off a columnist?

THE END

—BY CAL YORK

 

It is a quote. PHOTOPLAY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 1963