No. 10
Hollywood.
CHAT
UNOFFICIAL **
<************
Canteen
TEE
Mir. 20th, 1943
NON-PARTISAN
St. Patricks Day
Hollywood, California
Dear Mom,
What a life.' I'm so exoited I don't know what to say. Guess what 1
I had my arms around Deanna Durbin last nita ... in the flesh ... 'oourse we'
were danoin but even so ,,, oh goshj
This Hollywood Canteen is the nuts, no kiddin. They feed us, top
bands play for us, and the gals ... oh Mom you ought to see 'am — they're the
niftiest numbers you've ever laid eyes on, I'm not sayin that just beoause
they're movie stars ... beoause some of the ones that I liked best were just
seoretaries, or musioians or somethin, at the studios.
Get a load of what's been entertainin your darlin sinoe his furlough began last weeki Kay Kyser, Ish Kabibble, Georgia Carroll (make room
for her Mom ... I might be bringin her home). Jerry Adler, The Piokard Family,
Graoe Lennard, Alan Jones (tell sis he's oke), Basil Rathbone, Reggie Gardner,
Red Skelton, and Chester Morris,
Oh yes, I almost forgot. I had a ohanoe to kiss Marsha Hunt and
Ginger Rogers ... that is, everybody had a ohanoe. You see, they give two
bonds away every nita and the winners sometime' get a bonus of a kiss from the
stars who spin the wheel. Maybe my luok will be better Friday ... that's
Hedy Lamarr's nite ,,. but please don't tell Margie I go for these stars ...
I really don't Mom, it's just for laughs ... you know how I was always one
for kiddin around.
Monday found me in "heaven" again, Harry James packod the Canteen
and kept it that way until closing at midnight. Gil Lamb was very funny. I
thought the roof was coming off Tuesday when Milt Britton and his "screwballs"
out loose ... while they played they broke up violins, ohairs, tore their
clothes off, beat eaoh other with orow bars, and then the director winds
things up by shooting everybody including himself. When the stuff was cleared
we listened to Maroy MoGuire and Wally Brown and then a gal named Anne Corio
made us all gasp,
I'm going to try to see a few other things while I'm here - but I
know I'll bust if I don't get baok to the Canteen Friday,,, they tell me
Dinah Shore sings ten in a row with Freddy Martin's rhythms baokin her up.
And I mustn't miss that kiss from Hedy.
I was talkin with Billy Grady, a head talent soout, and he said
that MGM with all it's dough didn't have enough to buy the entertainment we
guys get for nothin for just one week at the Hollywood Canteen,
Mom these are the kind of things that mean a lot to us. Gee it's
great to be wearin a uniform of a oountry that you know is 100?£ behind you.
Love,
Johnny
"WEARIN 0' THE GREEN"
All of us have a little
Irish in our background somewhere and we're proud of it.
This week brought in St.
Patrioks Day so we thought itj
would be nioe to salute some
of the Irish stars who have,
and are doing, much to keep
Amerioan morale tip-top,
George M. Cohan, daddy of
then all, will be greatly
missed. Jimmy Cagney, his
suooossor via "Yankee Doodle
Dandy" makes us proud to be
marahing with Unole Sam.
At the Canteen we've seen
and boon entertained by Pat
0'Brian, now performing some~|
where-off-shorej Irene Dunnej
Virginia O'Brien; Spenoer
Traaey; George Murphy;
and Jimmy Dorsey and many
others.
STAGE SREVf is reoruited
from a minimum of five
unions every nightj Affiliated Property Craftsmen,
Looal 44j Motion Pioture
Set Eleotrioians, Looal728;
Motion Pioture Studio Grips;
Looal 80j Studio Carpenters,!
Looal 946.
REGULAR CANTEEN JUNIOR
HOSTESSES are reoruited
from the following guilds
and unions in the entei-tain*
ment fie Idt Aotors Equity;
Amerioan Guild of Variety
Artists; Motion Pioture Haiij
Stylists; Soreen Office Employees Guild; Soreen Cartoonists; Amerioan Federation of Radio Artists, and
Musioians Unions Locals 47
and 767.
SURPRISEi Woody Herman may-
bo, every Ihur, for 3 mos.
QUOTED FROM A V-MAIL-
NORTH IRELAND
..."Believe it or let it
be, I ovorhoard a oouple of
army boys hore on the baso
discussing where thoy would
like to be on a oertain
Friday evening not long
gone.
'I'd give a hatful to be
at the Hollywood Canteen
tonight', said the first.
•Don't mention it, it's
too damn good to be true',
was the reply.
Postmortemi They oaught
a lorry (truck) & spend the
night in Belfast ,, a genuine letdown from suoh high
ambition."
JCIN A HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN
GROUP GOING TO THE RED CROSS
BLOOD DONOR BANK. CALL BILL I
NEILL AT CANTEEN FOR DETAILS
IMPORTANT CHANGE . If you want to mail The CHATTER you must, put it in an envelope
in . with your return address written in left hand oorner and the
MAILING CHATTERS j word " FREE" written by you in the upper right hand oorner.
