Evening star., 1947-07-27
HOLLYWOOD.

HOLLY WOOO.
Hollywood stars have a new and
strange ambition. They want to
learn how to act! Everyone you
meet has q play script under his
arm, and a burning ambition to
get behind the foothghts.
I guess it all started when Ingrid
Bergman closed her eyes, jumped
into the Broadway hopper last
season in Joan of Lorraine" and
came out the biggest femianine
star in show business. Now every
one here wants to do likewise.
The stars are getting to the point
where they can leave the swimming
pools and plush living Of Hollywood
for the dangers and possible freeze
before a live audience. That not
only takes courage, but it's also a
career hazard, because if those New
York theater critics really get their
teeth into you for a bad perform
ance the tattered remains may look
a bit moth-eaten when they re-
appear on the screen.
Even Spencer Tracy didn't fare
too well when he went to Broad
way in "The Rugged Path" They
liked him all right while he was
doing the play. But because he left
it in mid-stream, so to speak, he
was taken over the Goals and called
Hollywood softie.
Hard to Convince.
One of the biggest back-to-the-
stage enthusiasts is your friend and
mine-Keenan Wynn, son of Ed.
Keenan, has been practically driven
back to the theater because at
Metro, where he earns his thou
sands week, they refuse to think
of him except as boy who makes
people laugh by falling fiat on his
face. Yet last year keenan, knocked
us all for a loop by playing the
late John Barrymore role in
Twentieth Century" at the Laguna
Playhouse. If you don't believe me
about his performance, I give you
Gregory Ratod who screamed,
THE mans SENSATIONAL"
But it takes more than one sea-
son to convince Hollywood. And
keenan, is now at it again, at the
Coronet Theater in Hollywood,
starring In "The Skin of Our
Teeth" with Jane Wyatt. And they
are packing 'em in. At the end
of the season here, they 60 to San
Francisco. I wouldn't be too sur
prised If they end UP in New York.
Just as exciting is the big migra-
ton this summer to La Jolla in
Southern California, where the very
top actors in Hollywood are put
ting on an 8-week series of plays.
The group, financed by David Selz-
nick up to $4,000, is called The
Actors Co. 1t begins with Dame
May Witty in Might Must Fall"
continues with Dorothy MCGUIRE,
possibly in ".Liliom," Gregory Peck
in Rope" to be directed by Alfred
Hitchcock, and Diana Lynn and
Guy Madison in Dear Ruth"
Joseph Gotten and Jennifer Jones
will be costarred in play and
Bette Davis will be on stage-if she
is well enough. Eve Arden and Gig
Young are costarred in Biography
THE idea is to make 1t paying
Gregory Peck told me
on the set Of his current movie,
"Gentlemen's Agreement" But any
money We make goes back into the
All the players are
drawing the minimum $50 week
demanded by Equity.
'.sWe hope to build Our own thea
ter at La Jolla, and every year we'll
put on some plays with top Holly
wood stars. It's good for movie
stars to really work at their craft.
That is difficult while making
with their broken-up scenes
New York is 5000 miles away, so
they are bringing the theater to
California. If stars like Peck, Cot
ten and Jones are the attractions,
I prophesy that California soon will
be as important a play center as
New York.
Even stars who never have been
on the stage now are fighting for
the privilege of live applause-and
Kisses. Lucille Ball-and I'm glad
all hers in Dream Girl" is applause