Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 23, 1941

May 23, 1941: Why is Luise Rainer, a brilliant artist, permitted to twiddle her thumbs at the Beverly Hills Hotel? (She came here to get her final divorce decree.) Why are incompetents given fine dramatic roles to ruin, when an actress of Miss Rainer's PROVED ability could make those parts great?

Jimmie Fidler, May 21, 1941

May 21, 1941: Nazi Chute Swarm? And I thought “Nazi Sky Fleet” was silly. Tom Treanor, on a press junket to Venezuela, says: Walter Kerr and myself have a nine-room house with an icebox full of cold things, and also a maid. "Bueno," I said to the maid in my best Spanish when she opened the icebox. "Don't speak Spanish to me," she said. "I only understand English." That Martha Raye-Neil Lang romance hung in the balance the other night, when she stormed out of a nightclub because he was too attentive to another girl, Jimmie Fidler says.

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 20, 1941

May 20, 1941: International playboy Baldwin M. Baldwin (d. 1970), the son of Anita Baldwin and the grandson of E.J. “Lucky” Baldwin (the despot of Arcadia, according to The Times) gets married for the fifth time. The Germans in Venezuela have gotten the bounce, Tom Treanor says. "The parting of the ways was accomplished with great finesse on both sides. Contracts were settled up equitably, severance was paid, transportation back to Germany was given in many instances and, to hear it told, you would think that the era of good feeling and universal peace had arrived." Desi Arnaz's mother, after waiting in Mexico weeks to enter the United States on a quota number, must now due to a legal technicality return to Cuba and enter from there, Jimmie Fidler says.

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 19, 1941

May 19, 1941: Lee Shippey announces his return, thanks the guest columnists who filled in for him and says he doesn’t plan to answer the get-well cards he received, despite the entreaties of his secretary. Tom Treanor, who was killed covering World War II for The Times, witnesses the inauguration of Venezuelan President Isaias Medina. COLUMBIA'S "TEXAS" SET AT A GLANCE: A score of gun-totin' desperadoes playing gin-rummy off set, and another in a far corner manicuring his nails ... Veteran film gunman George Bancroft teaching newcomer Glenn Ford to twirl a six-shooter on his trigger finger ... Bill Holden: "Easy life, eh? Look! Because my shirt's open in this movie, I had to shave the hair off my chest. Try that when the thermometer's at 90 degrees!"

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 18, 1941

 

May 18, 1941: Nazi sky fleet?   Lee Shippey returns for a Sunday column. Tom Treanor says: Americans are here developing Venezuela's oil resources for just one reason. They have the capital and the know-how for oil production which the Venezuelans lack. The Venezuelans take advantage of American knowledge to get the oil out of the ground with great profit to Venezuela. The Americans take advantage of Venezuela's greatest natural resources to make themselves rich. But what will happen when and if the Venezuelans learn to get the oil out of the ground themselves? Jimmie Fidler says: The other day Paramount chiefs summoned new foreign find Eva Gabor (Hungarian) to the front office and suggested that she change her name because it sounds like a steal from Garbo. "Change my name?" shrieked Miss Gabor. "I was born with mine, and her real name is Gustafson. Let Garbo change hers!"

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 17, 1941

May 17, 1941: Allen Rivkin fills in for Lee Shippey with a column about problems at the post office in Westwood. Notice that even in the glory days of the streetcars, traffic was still a problem. Tom Treanor, on a press junket to Venezuela, attends a benefit for British Relief at the Caracas opera house featuring the Jooss Ballet.   Sensational if True: Veteran press agent Mike Newman's claim that he recognizes Rudolf Hess -- that Hess, under another name, was once Mae Murray's stage dance partner, Jimmie Fidler says.

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 16, 1941

May 16, 1941: Richard Macaulay, a screenwriter on “The Roaring Twenties” and “They Drive by Night,”  fills in for Lee Shippey, who is still recovering from surgery. Tip Jimmy Stewart that his ol' pal, Franchot Tone, is getting serious about Jimmy's girl, Olivia de Havilland, Jimmie Fidler says. ps. Walter S. Osipoff recovered from his experience and was later commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 15 Marines. He also accepted the official surrender of the navy base at Kurihama, Japan, at the end of World War II. He retired at the rank of colonel.

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 15, 1941

May 15, 1941: Harry Bedford-Jones, “one of America’s most prolific writers” (and no, I’ve never heard of him either,) is filling in for Lee Shippey, who is recovering from surgery. Nobody lives in Texas anymore. They've all come to Venezuela, says Tom Treanor, who is on a press junket sponsored by U.S. oil companies. Dorothy ("Citizen Kane") Comingore, after furnishing a new home, must move out because of her hay fever, Jimmie Fidler says.

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 14, 1941

May 14, 1941: Harold Lamb fills in for Lee Shippey, who is recovering from surgery. Tom Treanor files a report from Caripe, Venezuela, where he manages to find a cold beer kept in a refrigerator that runs on kerosene. Guy who never forgets to say thanks for a favor: Clark Gable, Jimmie Fidler says.

Hitler Aide Rudolf Hess Flees to Scotland!

May 13, 1941: Rudolf Hess, the Nazis’ No. 2 deputy, bails out  of his Messerschmitt over Scotland. He will commit suicide in Spandau prison in 1987. Ralph Bellamy fills in for Lee Shippey, who is recovering from surgery. Tom Treanor, who was killed covering World War II for The Times, visits an oil field in Venezuela and says the employee facilities  built by Standard Oil are cheap and dreary. ON THE CONTRARY DEPT. (The boldface type is mine): From a Hollywood daily: “George Raft and Edward G. Robinson, after feuding for days, went at each other with blood in their eyes. Marlene Dietrich separated them,” Jimmie Fidler says.

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 12, 1941

May 12, 1941: Producers have a new name for their movie: “Bahama Passage.” The working title may have provoked some unwanted reaction.     Garner Curran fills in for Lee Shippey, who is recovering from surgery, and writes about the late Times columnist Harry Carr. Ronald Reagan has a new Warners contract with bigger dough and promising a star buildup, Jimmie Fidler says.

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 11, 1941

May 11, 1941: We decided to poll a vote to decide which of the "funny men" are really funny. Bob Hope won the majority vote for originality. Milton Berle was classed as the fastest spieler with the best memory for gags (it was generally agreed that Berle doesn't mind swiping material). George Burns won almost hands down as the best teller of anecdotes and stories. Groucho Marx was extolled as a master of dry wit. Jerry Colonna, it was agreed, isn't funny often, but is very funny on those few occasions. Harry Ritz was acclaimed as a top joke teller, especially with stories having a risque slant. Jack Benny, most of us agreed, is seldom funny in private.