- Marjorie Reynolds, Holiday Inn, 1941. “I was never a beautiful girl, and in those days you had to look great. I had a drive to do better things than I was doing, but not that great inner drive that every successful people have.” The pretty Texan was flown to LA as a potential co-star for Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby in the Irving Berlin musical. It was her first flight. It made her ill. On landing, her agent, Joe Rivkin, rushed her into a beauty parlour tune-up. At the studio, he did most of the talking, But as soon as she confessed that she could not dacnce – game over! No slouch, Rivkin drummed up other studio calls. Result: a Fox contract for a year, another at Republic where she where she worked with, sang with, and was soon married to her cowboy co-star. Roy Rogers.
- Jane Frazee, Springtime in the Sierras, 1947. Gene Autry was back from WWII and aiming to recapture his #1 Singing owboy spot from Roy Rogers, his successor at Republic Pictures. But Roy promptly did what Autry never could. He toughened up! Glitzy duds, songs and even his wife and their comfy image were dropped in favour of Frazee for the next five movies. In showbiz since six, she felt that third billing to a saddled Sinatra – and the horse! – “was the beginning of the end.” In fact, she was carried on filming (from top billing to no credit) until 1956, even daring to guerst on The Gene Autry Show! And then went into real estate.
Birth year: 1912Death year: 2001Other name: Casting Calls: 1