| Show 5 ft fc v 5 ti l r. r iff jr fr t Embarrassing ng Accident Led Betty to Stardom StardomS S By Erskine Johnson HOLLYWOOD NEA NEA This This Is the story of an accident a mishap that led to acute embarrassment boiling anger and finally to star star- dom She was 15 years old old old-a a fledgling dancer with her heart set on a stage career She had tried the radio had sung with an orchestra and had appeared In a number of amateur shows But somehow she had failed to makan make mak an impression The public or at least that portion of it which had seen and heard her simply wasn't Impressed Then one day she read an advertisement in a Los Angeles newspaper calling for chorus girls at the theater The candidates were to be given their chance before the audience Those Thos who received the most applause would get the jobs She was the third contestant She was wearing shorts held up by bya a halter around her neck As she danced the halter broke and she grabbed for her shorts to k keep ep them from f falling off Th The audience audi audi- audience audience audi audi- ence roared with laughter and hooted and cat caned The girl was so embarrassed she broke into tears Then anger cam came to her aid She became so mad she didn't care what happened and finished the number waving one hand land in time with the music and frantically holding up her shorts with the other The audience which had been laughing and hooting suddenly changed its tune and cheered the plucky miss as she danced off off- stage And to her surprise she was one of seven girls selected for forthe forthe the chorus line It was was lucky for foz her that she won the approval of that first audience If she hadn't received that Job a movie talent scout who visited the theater several several several sev sev- eral weeks later might not have haves seen s seen en her might her might not have Discovered ered her as a screen possibility The girl the girl the dancing star of Sweet Rosie OGrady Betty OGrady Betty Grable C They were pals They went to the same school dated the same girls laughed together shared the same heartaches Then one of them left school to join the navy in World War I I. I The other soon followed After the war they both decided to crash the stage They shared a room in New York together to- to together together to to- gether and lived on 1 a day They saved enough h money to buy a dress one suit suit one dress suit which they shared like everything else And whenever things got too tough the suit would go to a pawnbroker But no matter how bad things went they managed to make a ritual out of one meal a week joined now and then by another ambitious youngster a struggling song and dance man who was also looking for work None of them have to worry about their next meal today But But the three thre of them recalling the days when a doughnut and a cup of coffee were luxuries still meet once a week in H Hollywood for din din- ner ner The two pals Pat pals Pat OBrien O'Brien and Spencer Tracy whom you'll see on the screen next in A Guy Named Joe The ambitious song and dance man who shar shared d their struggles struggles-a a guy named Jimmy Cagney Ii b bt t L I Ii i LYE 1 I q i iv v Kr f f fBetty Betty Grable Audience a ap applause won her first dancing job o |
