Evening star., 1959-12-02
THE LYONS
DEN
By Leonard Lyons

bullnghter. He slipped and his
foot went through a wet can
vas on which he'd been working
and which was lying on the
floor. One friend looked at the
torn canvas and said the
clowning had been expensive.
"YeS," replied Picasso, pointing
to the paint on his sandals,
now I'll have to buy a new
pair Of sandals"
TRAVEL NOTE: The other
day Roberto ROsseIlini flew
from Rome to Paris, where the
airport reporters Immediately
surrounded him. They asked
him If there was any special
reason for this visit. NO" re-
piled Rossellini, "I just felt
like being interviewed"
FASHION NOTE: In one
scene for Seven Thieves" Joan
Collins wears a beaded gown
which cost the movie studio
$500. When Miss Collins tried
1t on she was so fascinated by
1t that she asked to buy the
gown after the movie was fin
ished. Then she played the
scene and withdrew her pur-
chase request: In that beaded
gown she couldn't sit down.
SPORTS DEPT: Max Baer
who died recently, and Billy
Conn, the former light-heavy-
weight champ. were in the
Army together. Baer told him:
Billy, whenever I had an OPP
ponent ! felt I could lick, 4
beat the hell outta him. Was
it that way with you, too?" Il
mo, it was different with me-"
said Conn. Every opponent Il
ever met, I knew I could lick"
DRAMA NOTE: Although
Baer was a capable clown out
side the ring too, he knew how
difficult it is to attain top rat
ing in show business. Fred
Finkleh0ffe gave him a role in
"H'ya Gentlemen" and said:
Max, you're going to be a great
comedian. I'm going to make
you the biggest star on Broad
way" "Oh, sure" Baer
scoffed to this short, pudgy
producer, you do that, and
I'll make you heavyweight
champ of the world"
ART DEPT: A friend of
Shirley Booths saw one of the
stars own paintings, and Of
fered to swap for it-giving her
a painting by william FauIk-
ner's 84-year-old mother. When
Miss Booth asked if the paint
ing was a primitive, her friend
quoted Mrs. Faulkner's reply:
"A primitive? No. I've taken a
lesson"
NEWS: SimOne SignOret, who
won international fame with
Room at the Top" will star
in Moderate aCntabile," a film
to be directed by Peter Brook
and produced by Raoul Levy.
-. Arthur Miller few to Holly
wood last Thursday to join
Marilyn Monroe. Louis
Armstrong will star in World
Take a Holiday" a musical
comedy by Dave Brubeck, the
jazz pianist, and his wife. The
plans are to open it in London
in the fall. Irene Castle,
lunching at the Colony revealed
that she'll return to action by
teaching dancing in Florida
this winter. The largest
abstract murals in the world,
45x97 feet, are being painted for
the Astor Theater by Buffie
johnson. She says the job re-
quires $50 gallons of oil paint.
=. Tom PostOn invited the
families of all those involved
in his TV show. "Split Person.
atty" to see him in his COM
edy-farce, Golden Fleeing"
The tab was for 140 tickets.
OPERA DEPARTMENT.:
Walter Slezak, who made his
Metropolitan Opera debut in
Gypsy Baron" last Wednesday
night. described his reaction
when he first walked out on the
stage: Il felt I was looking into
an endless hall, pierced only by
red exit lights. And I thought,
If $500 people here applaud,
that's 5000 more than at the
Lyceum Theater'" Rudolf
Bing gave him the dressing
room once used by Slezak's
father, although now it's in the
ladies' wing backstage.
BOOK NOTE: Moss Hart
visited his 96-year-old father,
Commodore Barnett Hart, and
asked what he thought of Moss
autobiography, "Act One" The
senior Hart replied: II began to
read your book. I read that
you didn't like your mother,
that you didn't understand me
and that although you slept
in the same bed with your
brother, Bernie, you felt no
communication with him at all.
I read all that and thought to
myself, Say. what's going on
here?'"