Evening star., 1952-06-11

Va q SkAOWSnl.
She wants to be a newspaper
manhood in American Journalist
waiting for julie outside the Natior
That's the closing date for Gen
tlemen Prefer Blends" and the
end Of Jules job as the company's
most stunning female.
julie. a realistic 10 and recon-
ciled to being a magnificent six
feet Of young womanhood. recog-
nizes she is not ready yet to be a
cartoonist.
That. however, is not the point.
The point is that she should
be hired to electrify the rest of
the staff. Maybe no one would
get any work done with her
around q newspaper office, but
the morale and excitement Of the
place would rocket. And would
stay rocketed. The same effect
might be achieved by q palatial
new building with air-conditioned
directors-size rooms for copy boys,
but 1t would cost much more.
X 4
julie, whose father wanted 1t
pronounced Jul-ay with the accent
non-grave, is not rushing the car
toonist, or caricaturist, career
idea. She started drawing at the
age Of 8 in one Of those open air
art schools for children in Holly
wood. It Is her favorite activity,
and since she has newspaper
blood. on her fathers side, it
seems to offer the most appealing
career.
Her slant on the life she draws
Is just enough off-center that
cartoon-caricature suggests itself
as fascinating work. One idea
she outlined over luncheon at the
Raleigh sounded Charles Adams
ish. The New York's master Of
the macabre is one Of the joys
Of her life.
Miss Benedic, this is the French
Benedic without the "k," faces
the fact that a girl like her lives
in constant jeopardy of matri-
mony. At this very moment, for
instance, she is one of the major
interests of a Canadian drama
critic, a man who exemplifies the
perfect taste of the profession.
But" she demurs brightly,
"why not marriage and a career?
Most cartoonists, I suppose, do not
work at home. Yet, why not?
Or. II a girl married a newspaper
man. why not work in the news
paper ofice-another Office, of
course-with him?"
1t was suggested that critics
and cartoonists might work diff
ferent hours. but Miss Benedic
thinks this could be adjusted. In
q sane world. why not?
X
Miss Benedic. who is only 5 feet,
10l2 inches without shoes, is rec
onciled to being comparatively as
tall as Thomas Wolfe when he
wrote that plaintive. Lonely
World Of Tall Men" tale.
I've always been TALL" she says.
"When. I was in the sixth grade
in Hollywood's professional chill
dren's school. a movie company
came one day looking for high
school senior types. I was the
flrst one they took"
This she says is one Of the mild
" regrettable aspects Of being ma
jestically made. People just as
sumo that a girl cannot become
majestic at any such immature
age as 10. Miss Benedic darn well
did.
Miss Benedic, was born in Dallas
and reared, from 8 through Is, in
California. a pair Of facts that
most people recognize as instantly
explaining how she became that
statuesque. AS child. which she
just stopped being although this
seems odd in view Of her stateli-
ness. she lived an itinerant life.
Her father, then city editor Of the
Dallas News, was happy-go-gyp-
sy type and her mother shared his
distaste for remaining anchored.
II probably went to more schools
than any child of my time" Miss
Benedic says. mite ruefully. "I'd
60 q week here and month there,
which I suppose is not good, but
! did get the education that's sup
posed to come from travel. We
certainly travelled"
Miss Benedic's first sense of
settling down came at eight. at
that open air art school for chill
dren. She was going to regular
school nearby, but spent all her
spare time. including recess, with
the drawing groups. Looking back.
she feels proudly that she must
have been enthusiastic enough,
maybe even good enough. that she
became a teacher of still younger
children shortly after starting art
classes.
X X r.
Fashion modelling comes nat
urally to a girl like this and Miss