Evening star., 1947-03-23
Comedy Is Such Exhausting Work
Her Talent for Making People Laugh Keeps Eve Arden Rushing
From One Picture to Another
Rxs Graham
HOLLYWOOD.

k1OklS W SSA<As
"You come in looking like q horse"
declares Eve Arden, "and every one
says, How well you 1ook!' I'm sick
right now, but they still say how
well you look!"
The blond, wisecracking, sophisti-
Gated comedienne is overworked.
She dashes from picture to picture,
usually playing the best friend of
the leading lady. She wants to be
the leading lady herself. But not an
ingenue, thank goodness. II want" !"
says Eve, ito play parts like Rosalind
Russell and Irene Dunno" She
could do 1t, too.
Eve, at the moment. is playing In
1.-THE Voice Of the Turtle" She's
Olive, the girl who lets down the
soldier on . Weekend pass. It's
the best part she ever had and the
longest. She started her role the
day after she finished in "The Un-
faithful" with Ann Sheridan and
Lew Ayres. In the latter she played
AIMS friend. But 1t was justified
and q little different" she asserts.
II ran the gamut. I was mean,
dumb, smart, kind. I was AIMS
enemy But at the end I was re-
formed character"
Plans to Rest.
Eve tells me, you work hard, too
II you flnd out how to slow up, let
me know. I burn up energy that
isn't there. I used to do that in
the theater. I just can't slide
through performance. You want
to make people laugh, and It's very
exhausting work"
DO you plan to rest after The
Voice of the Turtle?'" I ask Eve
II plan to rest during the picture" !"
she replies determinedly. Every
time she has day off, Eve will dash
down to Palm Springs to sit in the
sun. That's what she says. But I
doubt whether she will sit. She's
sort of on the edge Of her chair all
the time.
She's very attractive, with un-
erring taste in clothes. Maybe that's
why sne wants q crack at romantic
roles in pictures. I'm my eight
years in and out Of Hollywood, !
was only married in one picture"
In her eight years in pictures Eve
has only seen one of her pictures
and not all of that. when I was
on the screen in my first part, some
one in the audience shouted, Woo,
WOO. She's terrific' I ran out Of
the theater and never saw the rest
OF the picture"
Lives on . Mountain.
Eve came to Hollywood, in the
first place, mot to make pictures
but to settle the estate of her
mother. But she accepted a role
in stage Door" with Ginger Rogers.
She has starred in several plays on
Broadway since then. Il still want
to go back there. and I hope they
are keeping my niche in the theater
warm. I want to be the Dame May
Whitty of the acting world. keeping
on until I'm an old lady. My pres
ent picture deal at Warmers is for
two year. Between pictures I want
to go East. I love New York. It's
the only city I love-. I stay up in
New York until $50 in the morn
ing, have breakfast at noon and go
to the theater every night"
In Hollywood, Eve lives in the
fashionable outpost" section. It's
high up on mountain with a ter
rife view of the city. Il built 1t
five years ago, lived In 1t 10 days.
then went to New York for year
to do a play" The house, accord
ing to Eve, is something I can use
and enjoy. I bought an extra lot
just below. it eight months ago, and
I've had four guys down there put
ting in nine pine trees and building
swimming pool to look like a
natural lake"
Until a few months ago. Eve
shared the house with her husband.
Ned Bergen. whom she married
eight years ago. Now they are hav-
ing what she calls "a trial separa-
ton" She and Ned see each other
frequently, but they haven't Of
this writing-made up their minds
about patching up their marriage.
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