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Show STAGE-SCREENADIO Released by Western Newspaper Union. By VIRGINIA VAI.E WHAT started as a radio ra-dio audition script for Groucho Marx a few years ago is now a successful radio show, and will soon be adapted adapt-ed for the stage, screen, television tele-vision and a comic strip. Irving Brecher, producer of NBC's "The Life of Riley," put it into his trunk after Marx used it in try-outs. It stayed there till Brecher Brech-er heard that William Bendix was being considered for a radio series; then it became "The Life of Riley," developing into one of the top comedy com-edy shows on the air. Ruth Warrick's performance in Columbia's "Perilous Holiday" puti her high on the list of actresses who are getting somewhere. It's her I " j RUTH WARRICK first picture break since "Knute Rockne." Pat O'Brien starred in that one, took an interest In Ruth's work and saw to it that Columbia did too. Following an old European custom, cus-tom, a tiny pig was given Mrs. Paul Henreid on New Year's Eve. The Henrieds meant to dispose of it, but their small daughters took things in charge. The pig, Fifl, now lives in a basket in their nursery, and is fed from a bottle. Henried says that when Fifl grows out of her basket she must go. The children chil-dren are ominously silent about that. : Dorothy O'Hara designed a lovely love-ly evening gown for Diana Lynn to wear in "Easy Come, Easy Go," but Director John Farrow said the girl Diana played couldn't afford such clothes. So Diana bought it; it's the one she wore to that ball at the White House. When you see Vivian Leigh and Claude Rains In Berna.-d Shaw's 'Caesar and Cleopatra" you'll see the most expensive picture ever made. Not just because it was a six million dollar investment; almost al-most unsurmountable difficulties were overcome. Buzz-bombings, labor la-bor shortages, rationing of materials mate-rials Gabriel Pascal had to face all of them in making the picture. Months were spent on research; even the constellations are replicas of those that shone in October, 48 B. C. Costumes and sets are authentic au-thentic in every detail. Even the Sphinx had to be reproduced; the original was too worn, Janet Blair, Carole Landis, Durante, Dur-ante, Hildegarde and other celebrities celebri-ties each contributed a chapter to Abner Silver's book, "All Women Are Wolves." It'll be filmed, probably prob-ably by 20th Century Fox, who've offered $200,000 for the screen rights. Robert E. Donahue Sr., RKO T'athe News cameraman and veter-pal veter-pal 30 years of news coverage, is tfVflrst newsreel cameraman to I I g on assignment to cover the c'jmlc bomb tests. He expects to spend five months in the Pacific, on "Operation Crossroads." Gene Autry will have to find new leading lady June Storey says she's given up being a horse-opera horse-opera ingenue. When Gene went into the army, Jane quit, after making mak-ing 12 pictures with him, and made a radio career for herself. Then she was given an interesting character role in "The Strange Woman," with Hedy Lamarr, and she'll take only good, meaty roles from now on. Walter Greaza, who's "Inspector Ross" of "Crime Doctor," had to shave off his mustache when he made a commercial movie. Some of the members of the CBS radio show have worked with him every Sunday for the past six and one-half one-half years but nobody noticed the change in his appearance! ODDS AND ENDS Karen Hale, daughter of veteran actor Alan Hale, makes her screen debut in W arner N Bros. "Cinderella Jones." . . . Busby Berkeley says that of the 1,500 beautiful girls he's brought to the screen in the last 15 years, 1,491 have deserted films for marriage, motherhood and housewifery. house-wifery. . . . John Morley of "Road of Life" got into radio by a fluke he walked into an advertising agency to ask tor a ioh and was given an audition. . . . If' hen John Hetlerssun auditioned for the Fred Waring Glee club he wot ' very nervous; Fred suggested a game of table tennis, interviewed him while they played, signed him up. I |