Evening star., 1945-11-18
HOLLYWOOD.

IL you must feler 10 8 HOuy.l
wood mama" in the presence Of a
studio boss you'd better mile-and
hold your breath. The mere men
ton Of q movie mama is apt to set
on fireworks.
She's the dynamic, not-to-be-dis-
mayed matron who grabs her on
spring by the arm and totes her
endlessly In and out OF casting de-
partments. Her child Is always the
most precocious. the most beauti-
full, the most talented Of all the
starring moppets. She sneers at the
very mention Of kids who have won
names for themselves.
And that's only the start. just
give her little wonder a contract
and the fun begins. Mama really
takes over-the entire studio.
This Is the traditional type Of
Hollywood movie mama-but today
we're going to discuss another, and
much more agreeable kind. She's
the movie mama whose kids have
grown up and out Of her jurisdic-
tional domain. She's the mama
who's right in there pitching the
words and pantomime for herself.
Yes, it's true-a steadily increas-
ing number Of screen stars moth
ers are not satisfied to sit by the
fire at home In their afghans and
bask in the reflected glories of
glamorous sons and daughters.
They're patting the pancake make
up onto their faces, dolling up In
movie wardrobe clothes and taking
places before the cameras to make
careers for themselves.
One Of the latest recruits to the
growing ranks of acting mothers of
film celebrities is an energetic, gray
haired little woman named Lillian
Fontaine. Academy Award Winner
Joan Fontaine and her equally dis
tinguished sister, Olivia de Havil-
land. call her mama.
Ginger's Mother Producer.
Other prominent members of the
new screen sorority include:
Mrs. Alice Cooper, white haired
mother of Gary.
Mrs. Leila Rogers, Ginger's nom,
who has now switched from emoting
IN pictures to producing them at
RKO.
Mrs. Anna LIE Sueur, mother of
Joan Crawford, who began her own
career as Lucille lie Sueur.
Mrs. Connie Lupino, whose
daughter Ida is ably carrying on
the family theatrical tradition.
Mrs. Nina Carson, the mother OF
MRS. Minniver" Of the Oscar-win-
ming war picture.
Mrs. Fontaine currently is per-
forming at Paramount in the role OF
a Cockney-speaking Londoner In
THE Imperfect Lady," a drama of
Victorian England in which her fell
low players include Teresa Wright
and Ray Milland. It's only her sec
ond effort for the screen although
she has been regularly bringing
home good stage marks for her work
with Hollywood's experimental Ac-
tors, Laboratory and the famed
Pasadena Community Playhouse.
She was initiated into the mys-
teries of the film sound stages one
day when Director Billy Wilder
asked her to play the role of Jane
Wyman's mother in THE Lost
Week End" and she agreed. Daugh-
tiers Joan and Olivia learned about
it when their mother casually an
nounced that she had a 7:30 call in
the morning at the studio.
Was Drama Instructor.
''They were surprised" the twin
kling-eyed movie newcomer said,
but they decided that acting must
run in the blood and let it go at that.
I didn't get much sleep that night,
but wasn't half as scared as when
first faced the camera"
Although Mrs. Fontaine says she
can speak only for herself, she is
probably voicing the thoughts of
others among the career mothers"
when she states:
"You can't raise your daughter or
your son to be a player without
having love for the acting busi-
ness yourself. And often it's either
Ia case of the child following In the
parents footsteps, or vice versa"
Mrs. Fontaine herself was a dra-
matte instructor in England before
she married. When her daughters
were well along on their own careers
she decided to return to her own
first love, the theater.
Mrs. Lupino gave her daughter,
Ida, the heritage Of the London
stage where in her heyday she was
one of the most popular musical