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Griffin Daily News
TV’s Watergate has bugs of its own
By Dick Kleiner
HOLLYWOOD - (NEAI -
Has anybody noticed the
commercial which runs regu
larly on the NBC Watergate
Hearing telecasts? It is for an
insecticide.
It calls itself "a profession
al-strength bug killer.
They could have used a bug
killer around Watergate.
+ + +
The opening night of "I Do!
I Do ! ' at the Huntington
Hartford Theater was a big
time in Hollywood, which
hasn't had too many big times
lately.
Rock Hudson was the eve
ning's revelation — he sings
and moves like a musical vet
eran. Carol Burnett, of
course, was her usual superb
self.
North to Alaska
Skagway’s gadfly
swats back
By Murray Olderman
SKAGWAY. Alaska -
(NEA) — He is the town icon
oclast
The town is Skagway. Indi
an for "Home of the North
Wind " Population. 659. more
or less. With no road leading
to or from it.
The only way you get there
is by the White Pass and Yu
kon Railroad, from White
horse. a dusty junction town
100 miles north in the Yukon
Territory of Canada. Or by
ship through Alaska's Inland
Passage and finally up the
Lynn Canal
When the Spirit of London
docked on an Alaskan cruise,
the population of Skagway
more than doubled. For a day
A year ago. Kurt Kosters
decided he wanted to be may
or. He got 34 votes And Glen
da Daugherty felt the spinoff
of his failure.
She was a local school
marm. Fresh-faced off the
boat from Marina del Rey in
southern California last fall
Idealistic. And now she's out
of a job. "She got laid off,”
says Kurt, “because she's my
girl. They're pretty narrow in
this town. Vicious gossip is
the local pastime."
’He came here a couple of
years ago," says Bessie, the
little old gray-haired lady who
works in Kirmse s Curio Shop
(est. 1897. "first jeweler in
Alaska "), "and thinks he
owns the town. Those kind
don't stay long. We let them
rave."
But Kurt intends to stay
because he's entranced by
Skagway and its history as the
gateway to the Klondike gold
fields, up through the Chilkoot
Pass.
It's not the most inviting
place in the world to live be
cause those Chilkoot winds
come whistling down at 75
miles an hour in the winter,
and it rains a lot the rest of
the year. Broadway, the main
drag, is still mostly gravel,
and the sidewalks are raised
wooden planks.
The Skagua Trading Post,
at the foot of Broadway near
8
Among those present were
Frank McCarthy with Hope
Lange, which surprised a lot
of people. Also spotted: Sally
Kellerman. Ed Ames. Jack
Oakie (Hollywood s foremost
first nighteri. Henry Mancini.
Suzanne Pleshette. one of the
Gabors (1 really think there s
only one Gabor, because you
never see two of them at one
time> and John Schuck of
Rock's McMillan and Wife
cast.
Leonard Stern, who pro
duces McMillan and Wife, was
there and he told me. After
hearing Rock sing. I may or
chestrate the show next sea
son.'
+ + +
Now that the writers strike
is over, the actors and ac
tresses are beginning to reas
semble in Hollywood. To
make a living during the
•: :jl
A BEARD can be a
problem in Skagway,
Kurt Kosters discovered.
the harbor, is Kurt’s new busi
ness, with Glenda helping out.
Many of the antiques in it
were dug up on personal for
ays to the old mining camps
in the hills. Out front, an Indi
an, the only Indian in town
whittles wood. Inside, Kurt
always offers coffee and con
versation.
The talk is about the tight
control of the town by an insu
lar society, and the railroad.
‘‘lf you got a beard,” says
Kurt, who Has a magnificent
bush sprouting beneath a bald
head, “you can’t get a job.
They don't want any hippies.
“The lack of interest in lo
cal politics disgusted me.
That's why I ran for mayor.
Two families run this town.
They say, ‘That dumbass just
dreaded drought they scat
tered all over. Susan Oliver,
for example, went to Canada,
where she did 65 talk shows —
and she says she got $1.68 per
show. But they did give her
the wardrobe of 65 specially
designed outfits.
Susan tells me she is grad
ually phasing out her flying
activities. It got to be too
much and she was being typed
in the public s mind as "the
actress who flies. She says
now she'll look for new fields
to conquer.
Jessica Lenz, the wife of
Rick Lentz. Richard Boone s
boss on Hec Ramsey, has a
small part in Woody Allen s
new movie. But she never
thought she'd get it.
Jessica says that when she
went for her interview with
Allen he spent the entire hour
staring at his shoes and never
wanted to be mayor.’ But ac
tually I just wanted to wake
them up Now we’ve got two
outsiders’ on the city coun
cil."
Up the street, another outsi
der. an expatriate philatelist
from Florida, nods, "Kurt’s a
good old boy. One woman here
ran for city council and got 57
votes from her own family."
That's not bad in a town with
just 200 votes.
The fortunes of Skagway
are tied to the railroad, which
carries lead, zinc, copper and
asbestos from the Yukon to
the cargo ships which come
into the deep water port. The
White Pass line also carries
an increasing tourist load
from cruise ships, such as the
Spirit of London, into the hills
on a hairpin ride to Lake Ben
nett.
There is no unemployment
in Skagway. The sign outside
the railroad office reads,
“Don’t Apply — No Jobs
Available." A sweeper in the
yards makes from $16,000 to
SIB,OOO a year. A section hand,
a laborer, made $23,000 with
overtime last year. The school
superintendent draws down
$24,000 a year. When three
teaching jobs opened up last
year, there were 450 appli
cants from "the lower 48." as
they call the other states.
Glenda got one of them
Starting out at $11,300.
There is no practicing phy
sician in town. There is one
old semi-retired doctor who
won't accept calls. So for an
emergency appendectomy,
they have to fly you to
Haines, a coastal community
20 miles away, and hope it
doesn't rupture in the mean
time.
Glenda's getting out when
the summer's over. She can’t
take the isolation any longer
Kurt’s staying. “It’s a bad
place to put a town," he says.
"The wind blows too hard and
the weather's terrible. But
I've been in love with the
Gold Rush and Chilkoot Pass
ever since I came to Alaska in
1958. They can’t get me out of
here.”
Even if he does speak out
and says what he thinks.
’ ink
H,
JOHN CARROLL
ASK DICK KLEINER
1
Some other Monroe, maybe?
By Dick Kleiner
DEAR DICK: I hope you can answer a question that's
been bugging me for about 24 years. I saw a film with the
late Vaughn Monroe in it about a Christmas tree business in
Canada. It was wonderful. What was the name of the pic
ture? — HELEN M. BENDIK, Fairhope. Ala.
DEAR MS. BENDIK: I think maybe those 24 years played
tricks on your memory. According to the records. Monroe
made four films. Two were westerns ( Singing Guns and
Toughest Man In Arizona "i. one was about concerts
("Carnegie Hall ) and one was about ship building ( Meet
the People ). Not a Chhristmas tree to be seen.
4-4-4-
DEAR DICK: I haven't heard anything in the last few
years about Frankie Carle. Is he dead or what? — PAUL
PICTON, Bremerton. Wash.
DEAR MR PICTON The answer to your question is
"what. He's not dead, at all. He's now 70 and semi-retired,
living in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. He still per
forms once in awhile and lives comfortably on the ASCAP
royalties from some of his tunes, like "Sunrise Serenade."
4-4-4-
DEAR DICK: I keep hearing about how so many movies
nowadays are made by independent producers, instead of the
big studios. Can anyone produce a movie? — ROBERT T.
HOUGHAN. Phila.
DEAR MR. HOUGHAN: Sure, anybody can. and you can
tell it by the quality of some movies these days. All you need
is the money to buy a script, hire a cast and a crew and a
director. And it doesn t cost that much — you can make a
respectable film for $250,000 or less. Peter Traynor. Exhibit
A. runs Leverage Funding Systems, an investment service
for doctors, and he made "Steel Arena." and it paid off.
+ + +
DEAR DICK: Will there be anv football shows regarding
practice sessions or anything of that sort? (Especially with
the Miami Dolphins or Dallas Cow boys I. — KAREN LOSS,
Williamsport. Pa.'
DEAR MISS LOSS: Probably. Pro football has become
such a big thing on TV that they leave no stone unturned in
their coverage Chances are there will be several pre-season
shows spotlighting teams in training. And the odds are that
you'll see your beloved Dolphins and Cowboys at work. too.
+ + +
DEAR DICK: I saw somewhere that Barbra Streisand
says she won't appear nude in a movie. What I'm wondering
is if anybody cares? — PAUL LONG. Shreveport. La.
DEAR MR. YOUNG: Obviously. Barbra cares. And. just
as obviously, you care. I can't say anything about the rest of
the world. Actually. Barbra has a figure that is pretty good,
all things considered. So maybe somebody approached her
about doing a movie, clothesless. It would have been rated X
—for Xtraordinary.
4- + +
DEAR DICK: Maybe I'm getting old, but it seems to me
that many of today's movies are immoral. I'm not talking
about sex. but about the way the "heroes” get away with
crimes. Do you agree? — DOROTHY KNUDSEN, Bemidji.
Minn.
DEAR MRS. KNUDSEN: I sure do. I think films like
“The Getaway " and The Thief Who Came To Dinner " are
reprehensible, even though I'm in the latter. Paper Moon"
is another one. although that's such a fairy tale that it’s ex
cusable. But I think criminals, big and small, should be
shown having to pay for their crimes, otherwise it could in
fluence some people whose morals are on the shaky side.
(NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN I
once looked her in the eyes.
Rick, incidentally, has writ
ten a play which will be per
formed this summer in Strat
ford. Conn.
+ + +
Remember John Carroll?
The one-time Hollywood lead
ing man is now running a
movie production company in
St. Petersburg. Fla. He pro
duced a film there recently.
"A Ride In a Pink Car" (they
may change the title » which
stars Glen Corbett.
+ + +
Gilles Marambeau. a for
mer Yves St. Laurent aide,
has opened his own men's
clothing shop in Beverly Hills.
He calls it Recherche. Mar
ambeau says that movies and
television have absolutely no
effect on men's fashions these
days. Maybe it s just as well,
judging from what some of
the TV stars are wearing.
(NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN l