The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-03-10

he visited was the casa MaQaHa which used to be his beloved Earl Carroll Theater. Carroll designed every stone of the ornate structure himself and he stood outside for a long time looking up at the facade before he went in to his table.
 Later he told me that he was so intrigued by the way his tastes in decoration had changed that he scarcely saw any of the show. In his sybaritic Hollywood establish ment, he has covered some of the walls with real fur and developed a new kind of neon lighting.
 So florid was his reputation for selecting pretty girls that few know that Carroll is an accom- plished architect.
 His West Coast beauties are supposed to be among the best he has ever picked, which led Carroll to reminisce on beauty and give some of his ideas on this pleasant subject. The producer said that he was convinced that generally speaking, blue-eyed girls are pret- tier than brown or gray-eyed ones and that the most beautiful girls come from the Mississippi Valley. His reason is that the Mississippi Valley is far enough from either coast to keep most girls in the val- ley out of the metropolitan cen- ters. Thus they live and marry in countryside calm. Their children combine the best characteristics of the parents and, yoila, a beau- ty. Or so says Carroll.
 WALKING INTO SUCCESS
 Robin, gent with spectacu- lar head of hair due (his wife de- clares) to his habit of scratching it while in the throes of creation, is seeing the shows before turn ing out some more picture songs. He came to New York from Pitts burgh decade ago with fistful of letters of introduction leaving behind him challenge that he would make good in six months.
 A believer in luck, he took the first letter of introduction he picked out of pile and went to see the man to whom it was ad- dressed-George s. Kaufman.
 Kaufman told him to take half of his $500 and splurge on a good time and then go back home. Robin said he couldn't do it, he had sworn to make good in the theater. Since he couldn't act, Kaufman asked what other tal- ents he had.
 Robin said he could write poetry and wondered whether he couldn't write the words for songs. Kaufman soon found out that Robin didn't even know that the words were called lyrics" but he introduced him to a com- poser.
 That composer maneuvered 7 Robin into an association with the great Vincent Youmans and he wrote the hit lryic "Hallelu- jah." Subsequently Robin had three musicals running simultan- eously on Broadway and he was given a Hollywood contract. CURIOUS LADIES
 The studio teamed him with Rainger who had won fame with "Moanin' Low" after convincing his wife that he ought to quit the practice of law Gin Newark, N. J.) and devote his time to composing.
 In the last Academy awards Robin and Rainger received the prize oscar" for their song Thanks for the Memory" This astonished them, for the song had been written as special material for a picture and they had no idea it had any mass or popular appeal. The song expressed so- phisticated well . it was nice knowing-you-anyway" attitude.
 Shortly after the song became popular, Robin began getting let ters from ladies in his past in- quiring whether they had not in- spired it. One letter writer asked If the song had anything to do with a certain afternoon in a Pittsburgh park. Robin said no, but maybe that was because his wife, Estelle Clark, formerly of the films, was in the room during my interview with him.
 He is unlike the usual idea Of song-writer. He is neat, intelligent, pleasant and can write serious poetry as well as lyrics. He thinks lyrics are hard to write and often paces the floor all night before he gets the right line. He has no hobbies except driving all night and eating corned beef