Detroit evening times., 1945-10-14
Sir Philip Ashley -
I'VE Had TO Fall I'm
Love With Each
Other"

teSSlOn, Out never anyone
who dull or stuffy." X
Gertrude never would forget
that night when Elsa Maxwell EEw
was playing the piano at one OF ~
Mrs Walter Guinness parties and
her hostess escorted her across
the cleaning parquet floor of
the music room, whispering Gertrude, want
you to meet the handsomest man in London.
He was Capt. Philip Ashley of the Guards
impeccable as TO family. position and appear
ance everything" Gertrude recalled, that a
knight in armor should be-"
I'VE had TO fall in love with each other, she
wrote. 1T was as natural and instructive TO us
both as ii was for us to breathe. There could be
no thought of marriage for us. was still mar
red and any question Of involvement In divorce
proceedings would have ruined Philips career.
THEY remained "good staunch companions" for
. long time, and when Gertrude came down
= nth double pneumonia in Toronto, after she ana
can edition OF Charlot's Revue in the winter sea
son of 192I25 Philip came over and took her TO
stay with mutual friends on the Riviera.
LAS soon as 1 was able" she recalled, I'VE
motored about the Riviera and the border
into Italy and far into Sicily. We went sghtsee-
ing i'm mellow old temples, and we lived where the
garden walls hung with wistaria and amid
lemon and orange and olive blossoms-the most
romantic stage drop played against
But she returned TO New York. and there,
while she was starring in 1927 i'm "Oh, Kay" she
met Bert Taylor, son Of the president OF the New
York Stock Exchange multimillionaire in his
own right. brother of Countess dl FraSSo. Bert
got Just as high a billing in her memoirs as Philip.
This tall. dark-haircd stunning looking Amer
lean was like someone one only reads about
With a snap of his finger, glance, quiet word,
he had the power to bring about miracles. He
literally knocked me off my feet. From the
moment of his entry into my life | began to live
in a storybook world"
II was very exciting storybook world-for
while Gertrude wrote Philip that she was see
ing quite bit of this young American-she felt
that she had TO tell him because he would be
sure 10 hear il anyhow from someone else.
Early in 1923 Bert whose full name was
Bertrand l.. Taylor, Jr, announced that they would
be- married. probably in June soon Cert
trudes divorce became final That the first
intimaton that under the anonymity OF her legal
name, Gertrude had already a divorce.
Philip had made another trip across the At
lantc to see her and had proposed this time-in
spite OF the potential damage to his career
Gertrude had said mo. darling" although she
says i'm her book 'if he had done SO two years
before / am sure | would have said yes"
When the crash OF 90 came, Gertrude offered
10 marry Bert at once, Just 10 prove that loved
him and not his money" but he said:
n mo, Peaches. | must fight this thing alone,
can't afford to marry now"
So she and Noel Coward proceeded to set new
records with Private Lives" play which Noel
wrote especially for her. and then they took it to
London. She thought she might have stayed in
England too long, because when she returned she
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