Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1948-09-24

44A( OAlAJ NOllIC1l al l1Sb WIN
plane from one engagement to ;
and boogie-woogie with equal {
motion picture star. This parao
Iturbi, who appears in a piano r
Theatre for one day engagemel
a career of so many contrasts be-
on my shoulders"
In his motion pictures he has
always played himself and usual
ly directs super-symphony and
plays the piano, along with his
acting. He has played about ev-
erything firm Shostakovich and
: AChopin to boogie-woogie and
proved on the screen that his per-
sonality is as fascinating as his
musicianship. Following his first
film Thousands Cheer, Iturbi
appeared in 1.-TWO Girls and a
Sailor" with Jimmy Durante and
June Allyson, Music for Mil
lions" with Margaret O'Brein,
Anchors Aweigh" with Frank
Sinatra and Gene Kelly, "Holi-
day in Mexico" and his current
picture, Three Daring Daugh-
ters" with jeanette Macdonald
and Jane Powell. This spring
Iturbi will start work on "His
Only Son., a story written es-
pecially for him, in which for the
first time Iturbi will portray a
screen character other than him
self.
For his roles in the films, Jose
} Iturbi - who normally rises at
noon reports at the MGM
Studios in Culver City at 7:30
am. He travels daily from his
Beverly Hills home on a motor
cycle with a sidecar attached.
He once owned an airplane in
which he flew from one South
American city to another and all
over the United States for con-
certs and he prides himself on
his mechanical ability. But his
motorcycle speed is about four
teen miles an hour.
One afternoon during the max
ing of film he asked for three
hours off from the set when he
was not particularly needed. 1t
was learned later that he had
dashed" downtown to Los An
gele's Philharmonic Auditorium
and taken part as piano soloist
in symphony concert, returning
b put in additional time on the
picture.
Yes" he admitted when stu
dio executives asked about it. 81
gave concert this afternoon,
but didn't want to worry you
about it,"
Metro Goldwyn-M Mayer almost
didn't get him for the first pic
ture, Thousands Cheer, be-
cause he was suspicious that it
was just another one of those
Hollywood calls that don't de-
velop into anything" Experience
had conditioned him to be sus-
picious. Many times, he says,
one producer or another seeing
him at a concert or a party would
say, You're just the man l want
for a. picture, Iturbi." The musi-
clan reports he would call on the
producer only to find that the
hollywood executive would look
at me in a daze, forgetting what
he wanted me for. Five or six
times this happened. So, when
Metro Goldwyn-M sent for
me l wasn't sure if they meant
it, either"
Despite this reluctance, he has
an almost superstitious belief
that his screen appearances full
fills an impression" that came to
him when he was seven years
old. He says he was playing the
piano in a motion picture house
in Valencia, where he was born.
"The pictures were silent, of
course, and played to give them
life" Iturbi reports. IF horses,
Overture to William Tell; if
sad, something sad; if a fal, I'd
cell my hands down the keyboard (
n bump at the end in the
1ss notes. / remember looking
up at the screen and thinking
Some day I will be in a motion
picture on a screen with every
body seeing me- And / was only
seven years old, too! Now
Iook!" ;
He believes, sincerely, that
he people sometimes get pre- L