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Show Shirley stars with Glenn Ford in MSM's "The Sheepman," a spoof of Westerns. Shirley comes by her talent and unconventionally naturally. Her father, te dealer in Arlington, now a Va., has been a musician and band leader, and her mother was an actress,' drama teacher, and "individualist" in her own right. Shirley still recalls with admiration the time her father objected to the casual Way her mother dressed for gardening. Shirley's mother reappeared fa short time later and proceeded to hoe the garden while dressed in high heels, white gloves, anda fancy party gown. Shirley's a master of the squelch herself. There was the time she attended a formal premiere and slipped off her shoes during the showing. When the lights went on again, real-esta- m m. 4 -....... i tj ssfi Miu'F - I did. The couple has a daughter, Stephanie,! who looks so much like Shirley that Parker boasts of the 4only matched set of girls in Hollywood." -- Shirley's marriage brings to mind Hal Wallis again, and the day he offered his congratulations on her weaaing. l naiuts, oniriey saw, oui when will you send me a gift?" Wallis masked his surprise and asked what she'd like "I don't suppose you'd give us a beach house? No? Well how about aSports car?" The producer came up with the car, but only after he had made certain it was tomato red. At least you can see Shirley coming now, he rationalized, even if you aren't always sure what i she's going to do. with a tumbler of water, awaited Glenn's next defiant journey. He got the water square on the head and what an actor! smiled. The truck driver didn't smile after narrowly missing Shirley!s red sports on Vine car as she abruptly Street. On the other hSnd, he didn't bellow at her either, which proves a cute grin is better than a good left hook any time. Zaniness sometimes develops in an actress only after ; she's reached stardom. Not so with Shirley. Mischief has atways been part of her makeup, even in those shaky days when her career was just starting. Her first featured role on Broadway, for example, was in Rodgers' and Hammerstein's "Me and Juliet." Shortly before opening night, Richard Rodgers himself cast a critical eye on Shirley. 'That long red hair is pretty. Miss," he said. "But when you dance, it just sweeps out the theater. Cut it!" Shirley, no girl to do things half way, showed up before curtain time with a crewcut coiffure that defied the fashion of the day. She went on stage only because there was no replacement, but when the curtain came down she'd won not only a personal triumph she'd paved the way for the "Italian cut." U-tur- " no shoes! Patrons beside her became impatient anil finally angry when she blocked their exit in a frantic search for the missing footwear. "All right," she told them resignedly, "it was only a $20 bill anyway? Let's leave it" Anger gone, the patrons vanished beneath the seats, hunting treasure. When one came up with the missing shoesShirley claimed them and sailed off grandly. When it's time to be serious, though, Shirley can tuck away her eccentricities and work for what she wants, whether it's a prize part or a husband. In the latter case, she spotted producer Steve Parker during the coffee break of a Broadway play rehearsal. "That's the man I'm going to marry," she told herself. A year later, she A ned girl with Shirley's impish dis-- " regard for sacred cows needs , luck to survive, and Shirley has had it She was an understudy to Carol Haney in the musical'Tajama Game," when Hal' Wallis flew to New York to see the show, and, in particular, its dancing star. Miss Haney, however, injured her ankle shortly before curtain time and Shirley, following a familiar story line in Hollywood's plot factory, stepped into the spotlight and won a fat movie contract. Since then, she has also been signed by NBC for television spectaculars. A devoted mother as well as a sprightly actress, Shirley plays with Stephanie, her pretty family Weekly. May IS, daughter. 195 29 |
