Evening star., 1950-06-18
HOLLYWOOD,


II just"wanna stay busy" Jimmy
Durante tells me on the set Of
''The Milkman." when INF quiet.
I'm lonesome. I wanna keep
workin' till time runs out on me" "
It's the happiest set on the Univer-
SAL International lot and Schnoz-
zola's the reason for 1t. He's had
them get q small piano for his
personal use and between scenes
he knocks OF half q dozen songs
for the crew. mixing the senti-
mental old ones with the tunes
from the picture and the old ones
that Durante has made famous.
When the set became tense be-
cause of the trouble they were
having with q great Dane dog
working with Jimmy and blond
Joyce Holden. Jimmy eased the
tension saying: TITS a small role.
anyway. Let's get US q Pekingese. /"
Later. he misplaced his cigar for
the sixth time and spent a furious
Is minutes trying to locate it.
Don't anybody leave" he yells.
"One Of my cigars is miSsin'. Find
1t, somebody. or we're in for a
confiagration."
The cigar was located and he
came over to sit beside me in the
fancy deck chair that bore. his
name. Dis chair is light enough
to swipe. an it's gonna look great
on my porch" Then he gives me
one Of those famous coy Durante
smiles that no one can resist.
One Loves Enough.
Schnozzola the Great is Just
homely enough to be cute. and his
heart is 10 times the size of his
notorious nose. Strange as 1t may
seem, unless you know him,
Durante is attractive to a great
many women. But to Jimmy
danes will be nothing more than
friends. One great love in a single
lieftime is enough for any man,
he believes.
Beneath his inexhaustible en-
ergy and gaiety. Durante hides a
deep sorrow for the passing Of a
woman who, in Jimmy's estima-
ton. can never be replaced. He
met her during the Roaring 20s
in a Harlem night club named
Club Alamo. She was a skinny
little kid. Jimmy recalls fondly,
with q peppy singing voice to
match the Dixieland jazz craze of
that age. She was supposed to
sing at the Ritz nearby, but had
come into the Club Alamo BY
mistake. They fell in love and for
20 years Jimmy Durante and Jean
Olson had q wonderful life to-
gether. In 1943 Jean passed
away. II could never marry any
one else" says Jimmy quietly.
Il like havin' loose feet and
free fancies. If I got to goin'
around with a gal now. I'd feel
like q ny between two swatters.
My memories are indelibily en-
graved inside of me, an I couldn't
get excited about q gal, disre-
gardless OF her beauty
Home Always Filled.
Durante's waking hours are
filled with one Of the most raucous
schedules imaginable. His home
in Beverly Hills is continually so
crowded with pals. co-workers and
acquaintances that Jimmy has
built an apartment over his ga
rage to escape the din, when rest
is an absolute necessity. II calls
It Grand Central Station" he says,
land I tell 'em there's. trains
leavin' every half hour"
Among the regulars at Jimmy's
home are Lou Clayton and Eddie
jackson, his original partners
when they took over the vaude-
vile world. Clayton. operating as
his personal manager, still gets
into the act with Jimmy at his
benefit shows. Jack Roth, who
played drums for them In the old
days. is still around. Because
Clayton recently underwent a
serious operation and Is still re-
cuperating, Jimmy is turning down
the opportunity to appear at Lon
don's Palladium in August.