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If Janet Gaynor and TyronePower are married by the time you read this, it will be because Tyrone, madly in love, has overcome certain strong reservations and matrimonial convictions in Janet's mind that no other suitor has been able to since her marriage to Lydell Peck went on the rocks.
If they are not married, it will be because those reservations and convictions are stronger to Janet than Tyrone
's ardently persistent arguments.
For make no mistake about it. TyronePower is head over heels in love with Janet. If he had his way they would have been married several months ago--particularly at the time when she was visiting in New York, and Tyroneflew East to be with her.
The little matter of "no marriage" clause in his contract means exactly nothing to the white-headed boy of the Twentieth Century Fox domain. Perhaps he is right in believing that outside of a slight peeve there's not much his studio could or would do about it, even though he ignored their wishes where marriage is concerned.
It isn�t' likely the powers that be would indulge in the famous sport of cutting off their noses to spite their faces and cancel one of the most valuable contracts on their roster if he married.
But even though they made the extreme gesture of disapproval--those closest to Tyroneknow that it would make little difference if he could only prevail upon Janet to say "Yes."
In other words, he is a young man very much in love.
You may argue, "Ah, yes, but a year ago he was seemingly just as much in love with Sonja Henie." It's true that romance had reached the serious stage. Tyroneand Sonja so close to the same age, so new to stardom were inseparable companions. there was no doubt of their regard for one another, but there are those close to the youngsters at the time who will tell you that Sonja's feelings for Tyronewere always deeper and more intense than were his for the little skating star.
Tyronewas truly fond of her. But their romance had begun to his the wavering stage actually several months before Janet�s lovely red head loomed on the horizon.
One of the most misunderstood points in their romantic triangle is the belief that Janet broke up Sonja and Tyrone. The truth is that long before her advent Ty was beginning to chafe a little at Sonja's almost maternal chidings and domination. The little Henie is a possessive person. To put it more frankly, she was a little too bossy. She wanted to know where her boy friend was every minute of the day and night. She loved to have him dancing attendance upon her, running little errands to prove how completely he belonged to her. She liked to "manage" him, to make suggestions about where he lived and what he ate and wore.
When they were together, it was no unusual thing to hear Sonja, pouting prettily, demand: "Come and sit by me, Tyrone," and a rather wryly embarrassed hero would obediently march over, perch himself on the arm of her chair and hold Sonja's hand.
At this particular stage of their romance, Tyronewas soaring at the box office. After years of struggling in minor professional jobs he was thrilled and pleased at the way the world had suddenly become his oyster cocktail. Famous women stars whom he had long admired just as big names on the screen were now eagerly his dancing partners.
There was hardly an unmarried glamour girl in Hollywood who would not have accepted his dinner or dancing invitations.
And because he is very young and because life was suddenly very interesting and exciting for him, it began to be harder and harder for hi to dance continuous attendance every time Sonja crooked her little finger.
For a short time, even at the height of the Sonja interlude, Tyrone's name was linked several times with Loretta Young's. But when the first rumors broke that Tyronewas visiting Janet at her beach home--no one believed them. Even when Mr. Winchell who knows so much about such matters informed the world that this was just so much baloney and that Tyrone�s heart was still safely with Sonja's keeping. "The kids are crazy about each other," is the way Mr. Winchell put it.
But soon Hollywood, and probably Mr. Winchell could no longer doubt the evidence of their own eyes. For one thing Tyronecame directly from putting Sonja on the plane on the first lap of her European vacation, to Janet's house. They dined together that evening and almost every evening after.
They were constantly together. When the danced on one of the quieter out-of-the-way night spots it was noted in next day's movie columns that Janet always removed her hat just before they stepped on the floor and that Tyrone's cheek invariably nestled against her hair. No matter were they were, they hardly took their eyes from one another--certainly young Power never took his away from Janet.
And since their love story has now reached the point where there can no longer be any doubt or skepticism about the way Tyronereally feels about her--let's pause a moment to consider the reasons why Janet may not yield to his ardent pleading and become Mrs. Power.
First there is a small matter of a difference in their ages. Tyroneis 24. Janet is 31. But this is the least of the stumbling blocs in their romance from Janet's angle.
Far more important is Janet's deep rooted conviction that careers and matrimony do not mix. The experiment failed her once. Almost from the beginning, though their marriage lasted three years, Janet and Lyddel Peck must have realized that their union was eventually doomed to failure.
Shortly after her separation from Lydell, Janet told me: "Neither was to blame, Lydell was always sweet and understanding. But our lives seemed at such cross-purposes. Lydell was a business man. By six o'clock every day his working day was over. He had every right to expect to come home and find his wife sitting across the table from him and to look forward to an evening of social engagements. Yet, because of my work I doubt if we ever ate a meal at a regular hour. Frequently I worked at night just when Lydell had planned for me to meet some of his friends, or to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary. We seemed to be in two different worlds."
But overshadowing even these good arguments is another which I doubt if Janet herself will readily admit. It is merely that in spite of her great femininity and appeal and "littleness," Jane is more typically a bachelor girl than any other star I can name in Hollywood except Garbo.
Janet hates ties of any kind. She does not enjoy anything in connection with the running or management of a home. In spite of her wealth she has never owned a home in California and the only piece of property she has ever bought is a cottage on the beach at Honolulu used exclusively for vacations.
Now let's look at the other side of the ledger and note that arguments why Janet, in spite of her convictions, might be willing to make another try at matrimony--with Tyrone.
In the first place, her closest friends believe that she is more sincerely in love than at any time since her famous romance with Charlie Farrell. I think it has always been ironical to Janet that she and Farrell allowed their ambition and their careers to come between them just long enough to permit them to meet, fall in love with and eventually marry---other people.
Strangely enough, Tyronehas come into her life at almost the same point in her career Charlie did--ten years later. Janet's star was just rising to the heights when she fell in love with Charlie. After a slump of tow or three years, it is just beginning to rise again--and she meets Tyrone.
She made the mistake once of sacrificing love for ambition--now she has a second chance at that same decision. In many ways Janet has been a lonely girl. With the exception of her mother and one or two friends, there has been no one very close to her. Right now in her early thirties it is much more important for her to make the right decision regarding her future happiness that it was ten years ago.
I believe Tyrone's greatest appeal to her lies in the fact that he is a real companion as well as a devote suitor. Unlike Lydell, he is in and of her own profession. They enjoy the same things, places and people. Moreover Janet is "good" for Tyrone. She came into his life at a time when he was in a very good way of being spoiled by fame and attention and permitting it to go to his head a little.
Janet, wise in the ways of Hollywood, who knows every angle of the picture game, advised and guided him. And what woman can resist this strong appeal of dependency in the man she loves--even when he happens to be a romantic Don Juan of the movies?
Tyroneis Janet's second chance at the happiness that eluded her years ago. Will she take it? Or is she more content as "a woman along," going her almost Garboesque way through life?
Only Janet knows the answer and she hasn't told--yet.
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