Thank Your Stars

Canada has always been grateful for help from Hollywood stars in publicizing its war-bond drives. Some months ago it engraved "Canada Thanks You" on some freshly-coined nickels, punched a hole in each, and sent them off with bread-&-butter notes. Subsequently, bracelets of the plugged nickels turned up on the wrists of some of Hollywood's most fashionable women.

Last week Canada spent more than nickels in a hands-across-the-border "thank you." Through nine whoppingly successful victory loans, 50 Hollywood stars had toured the Dominion, had made seven film shorts and 37 radio transcriptions. In a gesture of gratitude, Canada took over the pale green sunroom (for cocktails) and the green-paneled Palm Room (for dinner) of the swank Beverly Hills Hotel, exported boyish, popular Lester B. ("Mike") Pearson, Dominion ambassador to Washington, as guest speaker. There was also a kilted Scottish bagpiper, and a mouth-watering Canadian dinner presided over by austere John Helders, maitre d'hotel sent down from the Vancouver Hotel.

Among the 275 guests were Canadian-born Mary Pickford, Walter Pidgeon, Alexander Knox, Jack Carson; British-born Greer Garson, Gary Grant, Ronald Colman; such friendly neighbors as Margaret O'Brien, Shirley Temple, Jimmy Cagney.

It was one of Mike Pearson's most convivial ambassadorial assignments. He posed happily with Greer Garson (see cut), gently ribbed the industry for "romanticizing us into a nation of scarlet-coated Mounties who are concerned impartially with getting their men and pursuing their women." He pointed out that it had taken Canadian actors to portray U.S. Presidents on the screen (Walter Huston and Raymond Massey as Lincoln, Alexander Knox as Wilson).

After the dinner (including Manitoba buffalo steak, supreme of prairie chicken, roti, Okanagan fruit compote, Inglenook-Traminer white wine), Mike Pearson toasted the President of the U.S.; Actor George Murphy responded with a toast to the King. Shortly after midnight, everyone went home.

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