Detroit evening times., 1943-01-10
Is Lovely Claire Luce
fhe RightfuI Heir Of +he
Late a nd Very Rich
Clifford Smith. or Will
Winsome Charlotte.
Wife No. z. Cash In?-
Well. It's The Courts
Headache

1SQOQCne
here a nervous reaction set in and have been
under the care Of physicians since that time
Again was in no position to give serious con-
sideration to this summons'-meaning the
summons to speak now or forever hold her
peace.
Which takes care of obstacle number two.
Like many another playboy Of his epoch,
Clifford Smith was determined to marry an
authentic Ziegfeld FolIies girl. He seemed TO
have what it took. His fortune reputed TO
amount to about 500, 900 900 at one time,
had been accumulated by four Smith brothers
mot the cough drop brothers).
Beginning by peddling works Of art, en-
cravings and such from door to door, they
multiplied their profits during the Colorado
gold rush by fitting out wagon trains for the
gold fields Then they multiplied the multi
plication in all sorts Of ventures: mines
ranches stock yards, banks, railroads. all of
which throve under their Croesus touch.
Each of the brothers. Francis Warren.
George and Benjamin, willed his money to
the others, with the ultimate result that nearly
all the great pile descended into the hands
of Clifford, grandson Of the last of the
famous four TO die.
You'd think that any chorus girl would
girls were the cream Of the crop back in those
days, and very choosy; the one Cliff picked
turned him down cold.
Neither this failure, nor his own marriage
on the rebound-to a nice respectable home
girl (who became the mother of his ONLY
child nor the pleas of his mother affected his
determination. Almost before the ink on his
daughters birth certificate was dry he was
back proposing to the same Folles girl who
had rejected him before.
When she rejected him again. he had
go at one of her sister chorines who hap
pened to be Claire.
His wife divorced him for this stubborn
ness, and his mother transferred the million
dollar inheritance she had earmarked for him
to his fbrother Cliff did not worry In
Claire ne finally had Foes girl to wife, and
If she had cost him cool million 1t simply
proved that he had been right all along about
how valuable Foies girls were.
Claire seems to have valued herself less
highly, for she is reported to have deplored
the loss. She is also reported to have en-
couraged him in trying TO get out of paying
alimony by casting doubt the legality of
his first wife's divorce. Evidently he failed
to realize that in doing so he was also casting
doubt on the legality of his marriage to Claire.
The Supreme Court, rather luckily for him,
removed both doubts.
Another thing he failed to realize was the
fact that Follies girls were somewhat perish
able articles. They didn't just go on being
Follies girls indefinitely; they had to move
along, either up or down the theatrical scale
Claire, who had vivid recollections of the
unhappy days when she was selling cigarettes
in New York night club was as determined
to go up as Cliff had been to marry one of
her ilk
So while he was now willing TO sit back
and take things easy-having accomplished
his purpose-hs wife went on working like
beaver to become a star
This conflict is supposed to have caused
the crack-up OF their marriage. Cliff scarcely
ever saw his bride Every time he wanted
her TO go some place she would have TO run
off TO London or Paris to play in some show
or other
Finally he put 1t up TO her squarely: would
she take a trip around the world with him
remember when people did things like that?)
or wouldn't she? She wouldn't
So they separated and he started looking
around for somebody who would
Beautiful Charlotte Fantoni welcomed the
idea of a trip around the world. ~
And now the final 81 800 900 reward she
won for saying yes at that time Is being
gravely threatened by the lady who said no.
Legal hangers-on are looking forward 70
the day when the yes and no girls get to-
gether in court. They think the result will
resemble The Women" that acidulous indict-
Mrs. Clare Boothe Luce-wrote in her unre-
generate or pre-Congresswoman, days.