Bert & Morty

Did you know it is an old leap year tradition that on February 29, a woman is “allowed” to propose marriage to a man? 1964 was a leap year and in honour of that tradition, actress Angie Dickinson listed the ten most eligible bachelors in Hollywood. Her advice on how to go about catching one: “First you must have the desire to catch him. Next you must communicate with him; let him know that he belongs. Then, present the most eligible girls list of one – you.” Here are Angie’s picks…

	Warren Beatty Very talented, plays piano, sings. Impossibly unpredictable, moody… devilish… sensuous in his entire being.
	Richard Chamberlain A female Doris Day, cleancut, sexy and handsome… I don’t know him well, but I imagine he could be great fun. Seems very polite, but not too polite I hope.
	Alain Delon The most gorgeous man I know; I describe his to people who don’t know him as a cross between James Dean, Peter O’Toole and Elizabeth Taylor. Great vitality, mature and grownup.
	Vincent Edwards Tremendously exciting and sensuous… sings great. A girl would never know what to expect from him.
	Albert Finney He looks as if he has boundless energy. A tease, but very entertaining on a date. At ease in meeting strangers and can put strangers at ease.
	Cary Grant What can I say? Everybody knows why he is on the list. In spite of his romantic flavor, he’s very down-to-earth. His charm is not inbred or calculated; it is real.
	Rock Hudson Devilish; he can drive you crazy at a dinner table. Handsome, to say the least… warm eyes, and the eyes of a man can tell a great deal, if not all.
	Elvis Presley I don’t know him, but with those dreamy eyes, he’s got to be on the list… I also like his sense of humor, as evidenced in interviews. Seems like a terrific guy.
	Frank Sinatra Extremely warm, and loyal to his friends and his causes. Generous of his personality and time, and with gifts. Interesting and unpredictable. Mad!
	Efrem Zimbalist Jr. As charming as they come. Gentlemanly, well-mannered, really class… He has depth, yet he is lighthearted without any forced gaiety.

Source: Actress Lists Hollywood’s 10 Top Bachelors, Meriden Journal, Jan 27 1964, Page 2

You go from one plateau to another. If a man every five years faithfully put down his views of life, love and the world, at the end of 20 years he would find a frightful mass of inconsistencies. People cannot stay the same. They change every second. They can’t even stay the same in outward appearance.

The biggest problem in the way of self-improvement is the ego – one’s willingness to admit, even to one’s self, one’s own ignorance. You can never accomplish anything if you worry too much about staying in the same place. Like a ship, you can’t stay at the same rotting pier. You have to go out into the harbor.

What is the basic rule of self improvement? You have to learn how to concentrate without distraction and how to apply the results of your concentration in any field of endeavour you choose.

What has been the biggest handicap in your own self-improvement? Running off at the mouth. If I had any true wisdom I wouldn’t have need to talk about it – to convince you or myself.

You can make people cry very easily, but it is much harder to make them laugh. Yet that is always what I wanted to do. I still do… If I can make people laugh, that’s enough. It does some good.

Source: Cary Grant Improves Himself, The Newburgh News, Jul 24 1959, Page 5
Photo: SodaHead

In 1958 newspapers complied a list of the 12 most powerful actors in Hollywood. These men were not under constrictive studio contracts. They demanded the best best roles and highest salaries, and they got them! They were named, the “Golden Dozen”.

From L-R: Marlon Brando, Gary Cooper, Tony Curtis, Kirk Douglas, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, William Holden, Burt Lancaster, Gregory Peck, Frank Sinatra, James Stewart, John Wayne

Source: 12 Kings Rule Hollywood, The Miami News, Oct 6, 1958, Page 89

In 1946 during filming of “I Was a Male War Bride”, Cary Grant was stricken with a serious case of jaundice. He lost 30 pounds and production of the picture had to be halted while he recuperated by cruising around European canals on a Dutch boat soaking up the sun. His doctors banned him from consuming alcohol to which Cary replied, “It’s good for me. I just had an ice cream soda.”

Source: Cary Grant Back at Work on Film After Serious Attack of Jaundice, The Meridian Daily Journal, May 6 1949, Page 3
Photo: Dr. Macro

In January of 1947 Cary Grant and Howard Hughes (the multi-millionaire movie producer/pilot/eccentric) went missing while flying a B-23 Douglas twin-engined bomber to Mexico for a vacation . Air-authorities began a search after the pair did not arrive in Amarillo, Texas as scheduled. They were eventually located safe and sound in Nogales, Arizona and did not give a reason for their detour.

Source: Hour-Long Search Finds Hughes Grant, Eugene Register-Guard, Jan 11 1947, Page 1
Photo: Life Magazine

We had a Cola in her dressing room at the Titanus Appia studios while she waited to be called to the set for her next scene in Marriage, Italian Style, which she is making with Marcello Mastroianni as her leading man and the great Vittorio de Sica directing. Curled up on puffy old makeshift Italian furniture, we got the girl talk over with first. She was surprised to learn that Warren Beatty had been romancing Leslie Caron. She hears now and then from Cary Grant. She thought is was very sweet of Natalie Wood to take the trouble of accepting the Foreign Film Award for her in the United States.

-Excerpt from Dorothy Kilgallen column

Source: Daytona Beach Morning Journal, June 17 1964, Page 7
Photo: M&R Entertainment