Hollywood Eccentricity

Cromwell Argus, Volume LXVIII, Issue 3481, 9 August 1937, Page 2

Hollywood Eccentricity

"Eccentricity" (says Frank Lloyd, the Paramount producer-director) "is just another -word for the super ego that every true artist must have. Ego translates into a belief in one's self. And in acting, as in all other walks of life, you must believe in yourself and make 6thers believe in you before you can be successful." «_ As an example, Lloyd looks upon Claudette Colbert, wbo co-stars with Fred Mac Murray in "Maid of Salem," as an eccentric. He believes she is a far better actress because she is escentric enough to da exactly as she pleases. She lives her own kind of life, keeps her own „ counsel, and chooses her friends because she likes them and not because they may be the "people to know." Marlene Dietrich admits she is calculatingly eccentric. When she first went to Hollywood she realised that she had to be different in order to stand out from the great numbers of beautiful women in Hollywood. Her eccentricity takes the form of mild but colorful defiance of conventions. Many people would consider it an eccentricity to refuse thousands of dollars for a week's work. Bing Crosby did that just a little while back. The offer was for personal appearances, but Bing said he preferred to go on a vacation to Hawaii, where he visited before starting "Waiklki Wedding." Bing says he would rather play golf than earn money, and the eccentric part of it is that he means it. And there's Gary Cooper, who washes his own car, George Raft, whb hires a cook and never eats at home, Fred Mac Murray, who likes vests with huge checks, and Irene Dunne, who likes to ride in red taxi-cabs.