“HOLLYWOOD IS BETTER”

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 141, 11 March 1938, Page 8

“HOLLYWOOD IS BETTER”

<> ' Robert Taylor’s View SOME “DEBUNKING” f ■ f For the past three years, says Robert Taylor, the Hollywood film star, I’ve been reading things about myself and my fellow-workers in various newspapers. Some were nice, some were nasty, some were true and some were false. This gives me an opportunity to right some wrongs. Although I’ll probably end up by wronging some rights. In the first place, screen players are real people, and therefore are subject to days when they feel swell and other days when they feel terrible. If a business man feels badly and happens to be grouchy during the day, everyone is sorry for the fellow and hopes that he recovers soon. But not with the screen star. Should he have an off-day then it’s “temperament” or “it’s going to his head.” t When I first came to Hollywood this feeling was very strong among outsiders. True columnists and have done much to correct this situation. , “Screen players own homes that cover entire hillsides. They have Roman swimming pools and several tennis courts.” • I’ve read the above statements many times. In fact, whenever any of my friends from back home visit Hollywood, they think I’m kidding when I point out the homes ot Wallace Beery, James Stewart, George Murphy, Eleandr Powell, Buddy Ebsen, or any of the other players. “Where are the huge pools, where are the private golf courses and the private theatres?” I can point out pools and such, but most, of these show places belong to retired business men who have never seen the inside of a- motion picture studio. , Regarding Hollywood parties, I don’t mind admitting that I was really disappointed. My first break in pictures came when I was still going to Pomona College. That’s only- thirty miles from Hollywood, but we had heard of the “famous” Hollywood revelries. ' Most of the Hollywood parties I have attended were tamer and more simple than the average college -affair. But they were just as much fun. Simple Entertainment.

Suppose Joan Crawford invites yon to her home on Saturday night. First, dinner, then to the livingroom or the garden for coffee. Usually the guests sit around and play some game like backgammon. About eleven, the party is finished. . Sounds like it might be a dull evening to the average person. It isn’t, because most hosts and hostesses in the movie capital realise that after working all week, a screen player needs entertainment of a simple nature. I’m not. trying to imply that people who work in pictures don't like to dress up and go’dancing, or put on costumes and go to a fancy ball. I’m merely saying that I've been in Hollywood for three years, and I’ve yet to locate one of those “wild” parties. But Hollywood’s a world of fun, even if it isn’t as glamorous as I thought it would be. > Let’s “debunk” som e more ideas about Hollywood that 1 had before entering pictures, and some that perhaps you have now. Players don’t drive around in built-to-order cars. Perhaps they’d like to, but big cars are hard to drive. Also they make you a target for all kinds of racketeers. Clark Gable’s been driving a car-of 1929 vintage. William Powell follows closely with a '3l type, as do many of the others. I will admit that screen players wear dark glasses when they leave their homes or the studios. So do'tbe rest of the people living in Southern California. They have to or the strong sun will hurt their eyes. Hiding from the public? Don’t be foolish, for that public is their boss, and who ever heard of displeasing the boss. No, Hollywood’s not all like I thought it would be. It’s better.