Evening star., 1942-09-07

ing q war work
that In some
ways Is just as
Henry MeLemers. important as the
turning out of fighting equipment.
They are building morale. and
who is to say that the building in
that intangible stuff is not just as
vital as the construction of articles
Of steel and powder?
Neither Bing nor Bob will like
this story, but 1t should be written.
Both. want to get In the armed
forces, and swap their songs and
gags for a uniform and rife, but
the Government doesn't want them
to, considers them more valuable
where they are.
Crosby with a rifle, even a Crosby
who could get his craftsmanship
medal. would not be as helpful as a
Crosby whose singing of "Star Dust
gave cheer and comfort to a regi-
ment of men stationed somewhere
in the bush of Australia. A Hope
with machine gun would be q
pretty effective soldier, but not as
effective as Hope who had walked
on a platform and sent halt an
army camp to bed feeling a little
brighter, little happier.
And that's what Bing and Bob are
doing. No two civilians I know of
are giving more of their talents to
tpe war efforts than these two men.
Crosby is here in town now. For
rest? For few days of playing
the horses or golf? Nope. He is
here after stop in Washington
where he put his voice on wax to
be sent to our soldiers all over the
world. His was the biggest name
in the transcribed show Command
Performance" which will be used to
entertain men from Libya to Camp
Dix.
The Command performance.
idea is a great one. The biggest
names In the entertainment world
get together and do a show. It is
recorded. Then out 1t goes to the
far reaches Of the globe. It is a
very personal show. The enter
tainers, for the most part, are Sc
lected after a reading of the letters
written In by soldiers. If the letters
show that the boys would like to
hear so-and-so, then so-and-so goes
on the show.
Remember reading about the SOL
dier who wrote In from some distant
spot that he would like to hear
Carol Lands sigh. Just sigh, that's
all. Well, Miss Lands sighed into
the mike. the sigh was recorded, and
before long that soldier will hear 1t,
On one of the shows just finished
in Washington, there1l be an imi-
tation rainstorm. Thirty seconds of
rhowling winds, splashing drips and
rolling thunder.
| y
"A soldier in Egypt wrote in"
Crosby told me, "and said he hadn't
seen any rain in eight months and
that above all else in the world he
craved a rainstorm, so he'll get it."
In an earlier show dog barked.
Not a trained dog, with musical
bark, but just mutt with an off,
key yap-yap. Why? Because some
private in Iceland wrote in and said
nothing would make him SO happy
as to hear his dog bark. The dog
was flown from Brooklyn, where the
soldier lived, to Hollywood, and his
bark wss incorporated in the show.
But to get back to Bing and Bob.
A few nights ago Crosby, via tele-
phone, talked and sang into tele-
phone in New York. The outlet was
in theater in Sioux City where 400
persons each had bought a $1,000
War Bond TO listen to him. Now
he is on golf tour. Binghamton,
Detroit, Toledo, Battle Greek, Chi
cago, Grand Rapids, Tulsa, Okla
homa City, Fort Worth and points
West. He'll play 1S holes and then
give an impromptu show on the 18th
green and then sell bonds In the
clubhouse.
Hope will join him on the tour.
Crosby says Hope is the hardest
working civilian in the country.
Here is typical Hope week end"
Bing said. "A Saturday or so ago
he worked all day at the studio,
making a picture. That night he
went to Santa Ana and gave a show
for the boys at an aviation camp.
Finished, he drove back to Holly
wood, slept three or four hours,
and hoped plane for Salt Lake
City.
Sunday afternoon he played 18
holes of exhibition golf, grabbed
bite to eat, and drove 100 miles
across the salt beds to Wendover,
site of bomber base. We put on
a show there. When we were
through with the show around IL
o'clock the boys didn't move. Hope
asked the chaplain in charge what
to do next. The chaplain explained
that the soldiers had nothing to
do. couldn't possibly sleep as it was
then 1l6 in the shade, and that
perhaps we had better do the show
over again. We did.
Hope, so tired he could scarcely
move now. drove back to Salt Lake
City in the early morning, hoped
a plane, and was back working at
his studio the next morning. He
does this sort of thing nearly every
week end"