Evening star. [volume], April 16, 1947, Page A-18, Image 18

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
f Television Easily Proves Self
Hottest of Recent Inventions
* By Jay Carmody
The actors this correspondent used to think of as the most'Spartan
actors were the ones who worked under Technicolor lights. A group of
such thespians grabbed us on a Hollywood set one day scone yean ago and
led us to the middle of a stage to let us see how it was with them in their
work-a-day life.
A couple of years after that, memory was refreshed by watching
Madeleine Carroll work in Tecnni-'
color in an outdoor scene. Miss
Carroll, who looked fragile, but was
not, was even more Spartan than the
ones that earlier day in Hollywood.
She could take the lights for
minutes at a time. But her make
up was made of less hardy stuff.
Every few seconds it would start to
flow away, an especially tragic sort
of erosion in that it left Miss Car
roll, the lovely thing, looking like a
bed of an Arizona river in July.
From now on, however, Techni
color actors are mere second placers,
or runners-up in the book of per
formers we bow to most deeply. First
place, thanks to Station WTTO,
henceforth* goes to television actors.
WTTG let us sit under its lights for
a 15-minute program yesterday for
a baptismal television broadcast.
“Baptismal” is the only word to
describe it.
Television is the hottest invention
short of the atomic bomb, or per
haps the Diesel engine, neither of
which we know anything about. Or
care to.
* * * *
WTTG’s staff, composed of nice
people who work on something that
looks exactly like a movie sound
stage, do not let innocents go into
television acting without warning. |
In fact, so you won't have that
astounded look, they give you a
warmup period.
"The lights,” the director said
comfortingly, “are a little hot when
you first step into them. If you take
them a few at a time over a period
of several minutes, however, you
won’t mind them.”
He suggested that this actor, and
Walter Kerr of Catholic University,
who is a much better actor and was
the star of the program, should sit
for a few minutes under the test
lights.
“Light rehearsal” probably is the
technical phrase for it, but “heat re
hearsal” probably would be more
accurate.
Mr. Kerr, an old conformist to show
business tradition, cheered himself
on by repeating something that
sounded like, “the show must go on—
at least until the actors melt.”
But, the actors never did melt, not
quite.
Moreover, their minds were di
verted during the WTTG warm-up
period by directorial interjections of
certain advantages television broad
casting has over the kind a man is
familiar with. The latter, of course,
is the kind done in air-cooled studios
with soft divans, and with produc
ers and engineers the performer can
see; not the kind who are blotted
out by the blinding light between
yourself and them.
"Just relax,” the director said,
bravely. "You can do anything you
want, you know. Any movement that
is natural or characteristic. Just be
completely natural. If you want to
smoke, light a cigarette. That’s OK
in television. Just do whatever you
want.”
"Except go home,” one of the per
formers said, politely under his
breath.
* * * *
The director thought up another
interesting and diverting subject.
"You can’t wear spectacles,” he
■aid. “They make all kinds of re
flections.”
“How would an actor who had bad
eyes read a script in television,” we
asked Mr. Kerr.
"He wouldn’t,” said the Catholic
TJ. man. “He would have to memo
rize the script or get a Job some
where else—maybe in a regular radio
station.”
"But,” the interrogator pursued
the point, “suppose in a television
play, you have a character who is
supposed to be a fellow of great dig
nity, say an International banker
who uses heavy plastic rim spec
tacles to awe lesser men. You could
not take his spectacles away from a
man of that type.”
"No,” said Mr. Kerr, who Is obvi
ously a natural for television, “in
that case, he would wear the spec
tacles—but with the lenses re
moved.”
* * * *
His companion who was doubly
blind at that point, once by the
lights and once by the removal of
his spectacles, had another question:
“Could I keep my glasses in my
hand, sort of like an Oriental's set
of talking beads? You know, as sort
of something to act with?”
The director said no, and added
quickly “We’re on the air.”
Fifteen minutes later the act was
off the air, the possessor of a pre
cious bit of new knowledge, namely,
that in television a man can know
he gave a bad performance, but walk
out of the studio feeling that he is
a hero—one of those fittest who sur
vived.
And who, heneceforth, will have
only admiration for television and
its actors.
Helgoland, a small island in the
North Sea, was once a base for
pirates operating against shipping
of the rich Hanseatic League.
AMUSEMENTS
BACK AGAIN—Even without
the bow tie, it’s still Frank
Sinatra, one of those impor
tantly involved in "It hap
pened in Brooklyn,” which
moves to the Columbia tomor
row for another F street-week.
FRENCH
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1207-1221 E St. N.W.
Wines • Beer • Beverages
AMUSEMENTS
AMUSEMENTS
Doors Open
1030 a.ra.
Also On Screen- T«x BENEKE
_ and the GLENN MILLER BAND_
Let Day • Margaret LOCKWOOD in “BEDEUIT j
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Hollywood:
Henry Fonda
WiU Retire
To Direct
By Sheilah Graham
Henry Fonda will retire as a
movie actor in three years. After
that he will direct pictures. I’m
sorry because, in my opinion, Fonda
is one of the best actors in Holly
wood.
Sonja Henle’s reception on her
recent European trip was, I am
told, on the cold side. And she
didn’t improve matters in St. Mor
itz, Switzerland, when she asked
for the rink at the Palace Hotel to
be cleared of skaters before she
would skate on it!
Clark Gable has yet another pic
ture coming up—if Metro and
George Stevens have their way.
One of the talked-of terms for the
Metro-Liberty releasing deal is that
Gable stars in "Hie Wayward Bus,”
John Steinbeck story, to be directed
by Stevens. They want to make it
into another “It Happened One
Night,” for which Gable won the
1934 Academy Award.
Tyrone Power testing with Rose
Strader and Frances Dee for two
of the top feminine spots in his
next picture, "Nightmare Alley."
Walter Pidgeon asks me to do him
a favor. I say “yes,” and he says,
“I want you to print in your col
umn that after playing tennis with
(pro) Frankie Feltrop for four years,
I finally won two games from him
last week!”
* * * *
Jane Powell has Tommy Breen,
son of Censor Joe, as her beau in
“Maiden Voyage.” But I’ll be very
surprised if Deborah Kerr stars in
this picture. It was just a beautiful
daydream on the part of Producer
Joe Pasternak.
Lon McCallister has been told
by Darryl Zanuck that he’s out of
“The Green Grass of Wyoming”—
“because,” said Zanuck, “I don’t
want to type you in animal pic
tures.” That’s very wise. Lon’s
grandparents celebrated 51 years of
marriage last Saturday, and Lon
gave .them • party at his Malibu
Hume Cronyn had his neck
twisted when Burt Lancaster held
him high above his head and threw
him over a flaming parapet—in
"Brute Force.”
Cornel Wilde can go to Honolulu
free any time he likes—because at
the advertisement he and his wife
posed for with the Matson Steam
ship Line. But here’s the Joke—on
Cornel. He won’t be able to make
the trip until next year because,
when he finishes a month of added
scales in “Forever Amber,” he goes
to Columbia far "1 Found a Dream.”
Then he has to report back to 20th
Fox far "The Black Rose.” Ah well,
he had a lot of fun reading the
travel folders!
* * * *
George Montgomery was offered
$400 each by Mrs. Howard Hawks
for two benches he made for his
new valley home. George actually
made 60 pieces of furniture 'with his
own hands for the house. Dinah
Shore is a lucky girl!
Humphrey Bogart is the rage of
Paris, I am told by Sophie Rosen
stein, Warner talent scout who re
cently returned from Europe. Every
where Sophie went in Paris, she was
asked, "Do you know Monsieur
Bogart?” It seems that Bogey re
minds them of Jean Gabin!
Joel McCrea has chosen the atom
ic-bomb experimental site in New
Mexico for shooting most of his
next picture, "They Passed This
Way”—an Enterprise release.
Michael Chekov, you will be glad
to leam, has completely recovered
from his recent serious heart at
tack, and four major studios are
now after him for a picture. Chekov
had to withdraw from "Aith at
Triumph” whan ha waa stricken,
and Charles Laughton took over his
role.
Charles Korvin, In his play, “In
cident in Connecticut” plays a Rus
sian U. N. delegate to Lake Success
who falls in love with an American
girt. If more Russian diplomats fell
in love with American girls, it might
solve something!
(Hdeued by North American Ntvmpapor
Allianeo)
Polite Forgery
By Hi* Associated Brass
HOLLYWOOD.
Reed Hadley signed John Carra
dine’s name three times the other
night, but he expects to be thanked
for It.
Reed bears a close resemblance to
Carradlne, even sounds like him
So, when Hadley took in the fights
that night, three youngsters de
manded his autograph. He explained
he wasn’t Carradlne, but one of the
trio said:
“Aw, you can’t fool us. We know
Carradlne when we see him.’’
Not wishing to make any enemies
for CaiTadine among the bobby
soxers, Hadley signed the three
autograph books.
Just a Game
By Hw Associated Brass
. * HOLLYWOOD.
Producer Leon Gordon was sum
moned home from the studio. His
four-year-old daughter, Gey, was
mining when Mrs. Gordon returned
to her car parked in front of a
local market.
Police searched the market, the
neighborhood and the Gordon home.
Gay was nowhere to be found. Gor
don decided he’d search the neigh
borhood himself.
As he entered the car, a small
voice came from a recess behind
the seat. It was Gay's.
“Well, Daddy,” she asked peevish
ly, "how long do I have to hide?”
_AMUSEMENTS_
THERE’S ALWAYS FXJN
AT THE FORTY-ACRE
MORE THAN FIFTY
FINE FEATURES AND
NINE THRILL RIDES
DANCING
9 to 12 NIGHTS Ex. Sunday
JACK CORRY BAND OF 14
MILDRED KIRKS SINGS
AMUSEMENTS
SHRINE
CIRCUS",
• _
Ticxns on sau at almas timhj.
Ills X ST. RW. • ULINI Alt HA, M *
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J. ARTHUR RANK PRESENTS
MASON
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"Hfaf TVent
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