The Wilmington morning star., 1947-11-07
AS Pegler Sees It
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright by King Features Syndicate, II

yourself in my lucky place, if you can, on
the same floor with the whole shipload OF
some of the most glamorous celebrities OF
the dream world OF make believe, such as
gorgeous June Havoc, who is certain par
TVS nomination for Miss Constitution Of the
U.S.A. for 1947.
Heh-heh-heh. foxed them. When I said
she was a certain party's nomination bet
they thought I was going to say the COM
muniSt party and then they would sue me
for calling her communist. But I am too
clever. Maybe I am that certain party
myself.
But must change the subject away
we're in love and politics makes strange
metaphors, SO let us talk about glamorous,
cemical Danny Kaye, the comedian.
Danny Kaye is fighter in the COM
mandos of the home front against intoler
ance. He did not give exactly his all for
freedom of speech during the war. He was
waiting until the checks were down right
here in freedoms citadel when "our brave
boys" had stacked arms and the skulking
forces of disunity would try to poison
neighbor against neighbor. That is how he
happened to fly down here with the Holly
wood shock troops for freedom to fight
the Thomas committee on un-American
c ctivities to the dying ditch. He and
Humphrey Bogart and the glamerous beau
ties
Danny didn't give exactly his all dur
ing the war; but ever since then he has been
more and more belligerent against the nazi-
minded red -baiters at home. He has been
active in the sort of political pustules called
progressive groups. He attracts many bobby
soxers hoping to hear him discourse his
unique and peculiar speciality which goes
"blag ab-ab ab." Don't ask me how he hit
upon it. Can genius blueprint inspiration?
DANNY Kavo WAC horn David nanip1
Keminsky in Brooklyn. During the war he
did movie called "The Kid From Brook
lyn' while 100000 other kids from Brook
lyn were in the war one way or another.
The neighbors around the Brownsville sec
tion which is kind Of poor neighborhood,
didn't think he was typical. His draft board
Kept on marking him LA by vote OF
to 0 and his appeal board marked him la,
also by to O. but after he had spent three
days at Fort Jay, kind of long for physical
and mental, in December, 1943, the doctors
scored him 4-F. The U.S.O. put in for him
to go out as an entertainer, but the local
board said: "Nope, with us he is still la"
The appeal board said: same here"
Then one night an unusual thing hap
pened. The appeal board had just voted la,
by to O, when messenger came with an
urgent letter from the local, wanting his
folder right back, without waiting for the
mail. The appeal had been withdrawn from
Washington. No action was to be taken by
the appeal board. So the appeol board drew
a line right across the whole entry, killing
the refusal out of record. The papers went
back to the local. That was the last that was
heard of Danny Kaye around those parts.
General McDermott, the state draft di-
rector, says Danny showed the right spirit
about the camp shows. The U. S. A. re-
ported that seven entertainers had been
killed in one area where his bookings were
to take him.
Nevertheless, local 229 insisted that if
he went at all he must 60 in a soldier suit
like the rest of the kids from Brooklyn
And they wrote that "the best interests of
the country would not be served by this
registrant being permitted to entertain
members of the armed forces"
Neither his physical nor. his mental
condition or attitude tends to show that the
morale of the armed forces would be bene-
fitted by his performance before them as
a civilian" they said.
Neither his physical condition nor his
Mental attitude"
General McDermott says some very
important Hollywood interests were putting
in for Danny to work in cornical make-be-
lieve to lift the spirits of those 330, 900 kids
from Brooklyn and their anxious, loved ones
at home.
But don't think the clown laughs all
the time. He has a lot of Hamlet in him, too.
And SO we find Danny fighting for free
dom even against the Congress which ac-
tually personifies the American people and
on the side of a lot of glamorous Hollywood
figures who certainly do seem to be COM
munists.
Now come behind the scenes with me,
Cinderella ere the clock strikes IL and
our adventure in the realms of glamour
comes to an end.
The waiter Games to my room and we
ask is it true that these rich Hollywood
celebrities tip higher than a cats back?
He scowls and then he says: "They had
$40 lunch bill. This committee in Holly
wood pays for it. One of the actors signs
for it, but the committee pays. 1t took three
walters three hours to serve them. They
had sandwiches, coffee and coca cola for
Is people, and they signed for a Sc tip.
I'm one party they had a $37 liquor
bill Humphrey Bogart told some other fel-
low to sign the bill. Treat the boy right
Bogart says. The waiter was there nearly
two hours. The guy signed for 81 tip.
To-day there, was an order for $11
worth of drinks. Bogart signed. He turned
ms n . back to sign. For the waiter, so cents
the busboys. It isn't so much that they are
really rude to you. They act as though there
was nobody there but them. They make
you feel like you didn't exist.
II don't care who you tell Them is INV
sentiments"
The lower classes, you see? Getting out
Of hand, really.
"Clank'
'TiS the clock striking the witching hour
and we must awake from our dream of
enchantrnent in the romantic, never-never-
land of make believe.
Quotations