There was the usual off-again-on-again publicity build-up around Ty Power's romance with Annabella. But, finally, after it was obvious that Suez had sent Ty's popularity rocketing, they were married at Annabella's home in Bel Air, with all the flower decked splendor of the kind of Hollywood weeding you see in the movies.

Pat Paterson, actress wife of Charles Boyer, was matron of honour. Charles and other members of Hollywood's Continental colony were present. Don Ameche was best man.

He was an old buddy of Tyrone before ever they had risen to be twin stars with Twentieth Century-Fox, for they had worked together in radio in Chicago in the days when Tyrone was making his way very modestly towards a stage career in New York.

But the story has run out of sequence. Before we digress to comment on Ty's ease in costume we left him, historically, at the beginning of a season of Shakespeare in Chicago.

By the end of that season it seemed that he was set for a steady, uneventful career n the theatre. Then Hollywood intervened and, in a curiously indirect but dramatic manner, changed the whole course of Power's life.

At the conclusion of the Chicago season, Power, sr. was engaged to go Hollywood to play the starring role in Paramount's The Miracle Man. Tyrone went to Hollywood, too.

Work on the picture was under way when Mr. Power was taken ill on the set. But a trouper of the old school, he made no complaint and worked until midnight. Then he collapsed. Tyrone was called and took him home. At four o'clock in the morning--December 30, 1931--he died in his son’s arms.

Patia Power and Ann came at once from Cincinnati to be with Tyrone. Out on his own, the boy found things not so good as they had seemed.

But eventually Tyrone decided it was tine to be on his way to New York--and, he hoed--Broadway.

His first break came by way of Helen Menchen, the stage star, whom he had met in Chicago en route for New York. She got him work in summer repertory and a part in "Romeo and Juliet," with Katherine Cornell.

Snapped Up

The tryout of "Romeo and Juliet" was held in Baltimore. Patia Power was there to se her boy in his first Broadway production. She was able to feel proud of his work.

After the run, Tyrone was engaged again by Cornell to play in her production of "St. Joan," in New York, n 1936. By this time, Twentieth Century-Fox had made a test of Tyrone. It was screened in front of Darryl Zanuck, in Hollywood. Zanuck made up his mind quickly and signed the lad to a seven year contract.

We know how those seven years were extended and extended again by his satisfied employers. We've followed his progress through some of them to his marriage with Annabella. Let's take the story on from there.

Success followed the marriage. Tyrone appeared n the title role of Jesse James, and put up a good show against stiff competition from Henry Fonda, the third of the Twentieth Century-Fox three musketeers, Don Ameche being the other.

Rose of Washington Square, a very Alice Faye musical, followed then a modern trifle called Second Fiddle, which was also rather second class, and that spectacular effort, The Rains Came. In each of these, Tyrone's popularity stood up to more than a few sharp suggestions from the critics that whatever the part he was always Tyrone Power, dressed differently.

Incidentally, the same kind of criticism has greeted some of his more recent pictures, but picture goers seem to like their Mr. Power to be forever Tyrone.

In 1940, Ty took to the rapier and balcony-leaping acrobatics with a vengeance in a remake of the old Fairbanks epic, The Mark of Zorro. this was ;pure cloak and sword as distinct from costume drama, and Ty appeared to revel in it--with such success that anew field of casting was opened to him.

In 1941, Power went to Mexico to film the bullring scenes for Blood and Sand. He was there for a full week working n the Mexico city arena hired for the occasion.

Last Teaming

In the summer of the same year he went off on leave from the studio and played in summer repertory with Annabella in the eastern states. The play they chose was Molnar's "Lilliom." It proved to be the last time they were to appear together.

The following August saw Tyrone sworn into the U.S. Marines. A whole battery of cameramen and news hawks saw it, too, so that the Service could make good propaganda use of its acquisition of a film star. Ty was so nervous that he fluffed his lines.

In a matter of months he was on overseas duty.

By early 1946, Tyrone was out of Service, reunited, to the sentimental cooing of the columnists, with Annabella, and almost immediately rumored to be separating from her. the sharp eared typewriter happy lady columnists were welcoming back their beau-ideal.

Meanwhile Ty went to work on The Razor's Edge.

Just around this time he took the first of his overseas trips, the purpose of which, apart from providing Mr. Power with a good time, has been described with delightful vagueness as "spreading good will."

This one took Ty, accompanied by Cesar Romero, to twenty-five South American states. It was apparently, a terrific show.

When he returned to California, the separation rumors were proved to be true. Annabelle went back to France and Frency films, and the gossips started a new campaign this time with Lana Turner as the lucky lady.

Whatever the true facts behind this "romance" the writers played it up big.

Flying Envoy

Nevertheless, Ty flew off on a 25,000 mile flight which covered Africa and a good deal of Europe. During the itinerary he was at the controls most of the time. On the ground he managed to meet General Smuts, Haile Selassie and the Pope. He had graduated from goodwill tourist to the unofficial envoy class.

Back in Hollywood he and Lana broke the news in a "joint statement" that it was all off.

Then it was Linda Christian. The long barrage of fragrant publicity. which surrounded Ty’s courtship and marriage is too fresh to need expansive comment here.

Ty met Linda first when he was filming Captain from Castile in Mexico, but the romance didn't flare up until they met again in Rome, where he was making Prince of Foxes. the wooing that made world headlines, with supplementary items on the Annabella divorce culminated in splash stories of the fair-tale wedding, the young couple's audience with the Pope and the fabulous honeymoon.

The rest is almost anti-climax, although the publicists did their best stories of Tyrone beleaguered by storm and flood in Morocco during the making of Te Black Rose, which will be on view generally any week now.

Tyrone is now in this country, playing in the earthy "Mister Roberts" on the London stage. He has said that his producers, stirred by his success in this piece, are considering giving him more serious roles, presumably as a change from costume pieces like The Black Rose,.

How serious they are, in fact, I wouldn't know. But I'll take a very large bet that they won't allow Ty to do anything in which he isn't' on the screen, recognizably Power. The Power boy is too valuable a property to be permitted to lose himself in acting alone.

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