The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-07-24
Walter WincheII. O. ByO0dN,0y !.
HOLLYWOOD AMERICANA
lssaas pssA Rsglasss& cssyugse lsao. Dai1 M'VvssD

hUkLXWOOD AMERICANA Nothing is more important in Hollywood than having an option ! picked up. It is their version of Heaven, and they would go through Hell for 1t ... The climate is very healthy, but the nerve-wracking work before the cameras leads to many hreakdownS No matter what happens to the rest of the world, "Who got what part9" is the most important topic of conversa- tion Most Hollywoodites are nice, but they have had to adopt Q jungle attitude to exist ,. When actors get tired of wearing costumes they relax by going to costume par- ties.
 If you have 6 top-notch director, he can make almost anybody a good performer. Simply because scenes are retaken until they get what they want .. A man who makes five thousand Q week con- siders 8 man who earns five hun- dred per week a pauper not good enough to associate with :. Wrinkles are the great bogey of actresses because Q few can ruin 8 lifetime of trying to make & name for yourself They hire people with brains, but few are allowed to use them . Few people realize that picture e-makirg Is 8 great in- dustry-like automobiles. And the way they judge you is by box-of- flee figures--not artistry No matter how many click films you make, they will always remember your last flop.
 Most Hollywood actors are anxious to do q play on Broadway. And when they were doing Broadway they hoped for contracts in Holly wood Beauty is not very in,- portant-luck and talent are the great assets. That's because there ts more than enough beauty in Hollywood, but not enough talent. Hollywood producers are fav- |orite targets of satirists. But most |of them turn out more hits than the so-called intellectual Broadway variety /. Knowing the right peo- pie is nOso important in Hollywood than any place else. But being a relative Of a big shot is even bet ter The public sees pictures of swimming pools in movie mags and thinks Hollywood is Paradise, but they never hear about the peo- pie starving there.
 Love seems to be great for films, but not for film people. They're SO interested in their own careers, they haven't the time or energy to make a success of another career marriage Publicity is the life- blood of the industry and they will do anything for it--even behave like human beings :. Actors know they haven't got much chance of lasting long, and some of them are smart enough to save their money, so that they won't wind up broke Most of the drivel and inter- views you read about movie people is just bunk that comes from the ltypevwiters of press agents You can always tell when perform CTS begin slipping. They start making personal appearance tours. Makeup experts can perform all kinds of miracles, they even made Ben Bernie look like a com- edian.
 The big fear there is new ideas. They're afraid the public will de- mand something new and they will have to give up their gold-lined for- mulaO A man who is in posi- tion to give screen tests can get almost anything from a gal except her respect Some of the most agile press agents in the world are out there. They can take silly little word like 'oomph" and turn 1t into a national institution via pub- 1llcity |. Of course talent and luck are important for success, but few Hollywoodites get anywhere without being adept at back-stab- ping .. No matter how sappy the