Evening star., 1942-11-20
Buster Keaton
q
Now a Tutor
LII Slapstick
aHelbs Lana Turner
Perfect Swing in
Throwing Ice Cream,
BY HAROLD HEFFERNAN.

HOLLYWOOD. - believers
at work:
Fifteen years ago a stony-faced
movie comic named Buster Keaton
was the most popular buffoon of his
day. Many oldtimers still regard
him as the greatest pantomimist of
them all and those same oldtimers
very often inquire as to what Buster
Is doing today.
We came upon the answer yester-
day. The one-time king of slapstick
turned up on the set of Careless
Cinderella" as technical adviser to
Lana Turner in an ice-cream- and
cake-throwing sequence. Imagine
the fellow who knocked Fatty Ar
buckle off his pedestal and who
rated a salary of $4,000 a week
picking up grocery money as tutor
In the fine art of custard heaving!
But there stood Keaton, looking
not so much different than in the
heyday of his fabulous silent-day
career, giving the critical onceover to
Miss Turner as she stood behind
the soda fountain of a make believe
flve-and-dime store. Lana was
wearing a gorgeous Irene gown with
q short mink jacket thrown care
lessly over her shoulders. Her eye1
were blindfolded by napkin, folded
and tied at the back of her head
all a part of the story's crazy plot |
mlXup. Her arm was raised high. |
In her hand was a huge hunk of q
creamy substance supposed to be |
Ice cream.
Sling the ice cream with a full
arm sizing" shouts Keaton. taking
complete command of the rehearsal, |
Lana does just that-except that
her arm swings and the ice cream
doesn't. 1t lands on her shoe.
No, no." Keaton pleads. Don't
pull in your arm. Let it 60 high
and wide"
Lana tries again-and again
more than an hour is consumed in
transferring some of the fine tech /.
nlque OF Keaton to the girl who
oarely was in kindergarten when
buster was wowing audiences into
theater aisles.
'Okay." said Keaton finally. and
waved for Director Wesley Rugples
10 start filming. He stood bv watch |
Ing glumly while the scene was shot
Then he walked alone through the
big stage door and up one of the
narrow M-G-M streets toward the |
CASHIERS window, there to pick up a |
days pay check. 1t must have looked
puny indeed to a man who one dav !
dlctated his own salary terms. But, |
that's Hollywood. a place where a
fellow can't eat his past glories.
First days filming on Private
Miss Jones' finds Kathryn Gray
sons husband. Corpl John Shelton.
nome on leave. visiting the set. He
Is standing OH the sidelines Watching
the cameras line up on his wife and
John Biles, who plays her father in
the picture.
whats going on?" Shelton asks
casually of an extra who has moved
In beside him.
The extra eyes the boy in uniform
and then in gracious manner
starts to explain the process of max
ing movies.
That man over there he said,
indicating Boles. 'is John Boles. The
little girl is Kathryn Grayson. Boy,
you should hear her sing. A real
prina donna"
Whereupon the extra launched
into life story of Miss Grayson,
her previous pictures, her teachers
and other vital statistics.
Unaware of the conversation. Miss
Grayson glanced toward Shelton
and threw him a kiss.
"She must recognize me-" Shelton
remarked.
"Oh, she's a friendly little thing
all right" the extra declared. See
her once and she'll never forget you"
The cast of RKOs air saga. Bonn
bardier," was working at the studio
after three weeks of hobnobbing
with the Army Air Corps at Albu-
querque, N. Mex, doing location
scenes.
Pat. O'Brien. Walter Reed and
Eddie Albert were in the scene on
set that would appear in two Sc
quences of the finished picture. one
before and one after Pearl Harbor
Director Richard Wallace was about
to start his action when Randolph
Scott, from off-scene, stopped him.
Something's wrong. Dick" he |
called. This is the early sequence
because Eddie has been killed if it's /
the later sequence. And if it's the .
earlier sequence, Pats major, not /
a colonel"
1t was the earlier sequence so
Pats tunic was hastily changed and .
he became major. Wallace wanted /
to know how Scott had developed !
such sharp eyes for military in
sigma.
Il never miss any more he re-
torted Il once called general .
major"
(Released by North American Newspaper
AllianceD