回复：【长篇阅读】公子的传记

Bob sent a letter to Jim Reid of Motion Picture magazine. It was dated March 14, 1941:
Dear Jim:
Thank you for the opportunity of replying to the rumor which seems to have been circulating around recently.Unfortunately it is an opportunity which is too seldom granted people in this business.
Barbara and I were married two years ago for reasons which are common, I believe, to any two people who decide to take that step, namely love, mutual interests and a pretty good understanding of each other. So far as we are concerned these elements still exist.
The rumor, though unfortunate, did not come as a surprise to either Barbara or myself. Actually we have been expecting it.It seems most inevitable that when picture people have been married over a year, rumors of this sort arise. Why, I do not know but the fact still remains. . .
May I assure you and hope that you will assure your readers, in turn, that all such rumors are entirely unfounded and untrue.
Thanks again for Barbara and myself. . . .
Sincrely,
Bob(Motion Picture Magazine, April 1941)

Though the public was satisfied with the Taylors’ statement, their close friends saw a strained marriage.
Barbara continued her maternalistic instincts, calling Bob “Junior,” and he still referred to her as “The Queen.” One acquaintance said, “Maybe they forgot each other’s real names, they’reapart so often.”
Actually the reverse was true. These separations held the Taylor marriage together as long as it did. If they had been forced to live under the same roof seven days a week, neither could have tolerated the other for very long.
When Barbara spent time at home she studied her scripts and read a great deal: Bob was not a reader and longed to be on a horse or in a plane.
Ernest Hemingway used to kid Taylor about having never read one of his novels and Bob, having no defense, said, “Everyone is always telling me to buy this and that book—usually a best seller—and with all good intentions I make a special effort to go into a book store, but whether I end up with what I went in for or not, I always—and I mean always—walk out with a cookbook—can’t resist them!”
He loved to whip up a new barbeque sauce or meatloaf—anything but sit still. He was very restless and because of this was bored easily.
Taylor did not like to answer the telephone for fear he would get involved in a conversation or have to give an answer to a parity invitation.
If he were sitting by the phone and Barbara was in another part of the house, he would yell for her to pick it up. His excuse was that she was a better liar than he was.

“Bob could not just say something like, ‘We’re busy that night,’ because if he attempted a lie, he’d stammer and stutter. The only time he will use the telephone is when he is 15,000 feet in the air in a plane—then he calls everyone just to say ‘hello.’
“But if a buddy calls him about going hunting, he’ll talk on and on, making plans in detail.”
Taylor’s quirks regarding the telephone used to puzzle everyone. He always identified himself, “Hi, this is Bob,” even to his closest friends, including his mother. Whether he just didn’t trust Bell’s invention or was modest enough to think no one would recognize the voice that was unique and unmistakably his is debatable. (Though many actors are impersonated—Bogart, Cagney, Cooper and Gable—it is almost impossible to doTracy and Taylor.)
Western Union was a good customer of his. “Bob, we were supposed to go to dinner tonight with so and so.”
“I’ll send a telegram!”
“Why don’t we just call and tell them we can’t make it?”
“Nah! They’ll try to convince us we should come. I’ll just wire we won’t be there!”

Barbara complained that she was a “telephone wife” because Bob was usually away someplace. Under those circumstances he was one to call regularly—just as long as he was far enough away.
Since Barbara was not a traveler, the majority of her movies were made in Hollywood,and if she had to get anywhere it was usually by train. On the very few trips she and Bob made together, he would fly and she would find other means of transportation to meet him at their destination.
She liked to be close to her work and liked the conveniences of city living. She never took vacations and concentrated all her efforts on her career. Bob talked often about getting another ranch, but they remained in town.
During these first few years of their marriage, he did not see much of Beatrice, Nebraska, and did not take Barbara home to meet his old friends. Ruth divided her time between California and Nebraska.She no longer dyed her hair, saying “Arly likes it natural.” But no matter where Bob was, he kept in touch with her every day.
There was no warm affection between Barbara and Ruth.
Barbara never forgot that Mrs. Brugh was not in favor of the marriage, and Ruth still considered her daughter-in-law a threat to her influence over Bob. There was little suffering, however, sincethe three were rarely, if ever, together.

In 1941 Lana Turner entered Robert Taylor’s life. She was his co-star in Johnny Eager, the story of a gangster who destroys himself when he falls in love with the girl he framed.
Taylor was physically attracted to Miss Turner instantly. She was only twenty-one years old, held the title of “Sweater Girl,” and was suing Artie Shaw for divorce after less than a years of marriage.
She was not terribly career-minded and preferred men and jewelry over anything else.
Taylor remarked that Miss Turner was perfectly proportioned and not as “busty”as her pin-up pictures. “Her face was delicate and beautiful. I have never seen lips like hers, and though I was never know to run after blondes, Lana was the exception. I couldn’t take my eyes off her and there were times during the filming of Johnny Eager that I thought I would explode!
“Her voice was that of a breathless little girl. I don’t think she knew how to talk without being sexy. When she said a simple thing like ‘Good morning,’ I melted. She was the type of woman a guy would risk five years in jail for rape.”
Acting daily with Miss Turner fascinated Taylor. He took it as long as he could and when he discovered she was making no effort to ignore his attentions, and in fact, was physically drawn to him, he knew he had to be with her alone.

“She became an obsession. I HAD to have her . . . if only for one night. . . .”
Van Heflin in Johnny Eager won an Oscar as supporting actor for his portrayal of the drunken Jeff Hartnett.
Taylor was awarded with excellent reviews, though critics were not about to write anything about him without bringing up his past. “It is hard to figure out why MGM wanted to flash another facet of its already faceted Mr. Taylor.
“Let it be said right away that it is Mr.Taylor’s best ‘facet’ to date! Such fatal beauty as his is much better taken with mussed hair and a convincing snarl.
“In fact, Mr. Taylor, though the admiration comes grudgingly, you’re okay!”
In Norma Shearer’s last movie, Her Cardboard Lover, she shared top billing with Taylor. The script was weak (a fable about a lady who employs an ardent gentleman to pose as her personable male secretary in order to pique the bounder she loves.)
Her Cardboard Lover was bad. Taylor could afford one failure, but it was a bitter disappointment especially since it was Miss Shearer’s farewell to movie-making.

With World War Ⅱ in full bloom, battle films were popular. Taylor was scheduled for Battleground, but didn’t look the part of the tough war correspondent. The make-up and costume department tried everything, but nothing worked. John Hodiak replaced him. However, he and Charles Laughton appeared in Stand By for Action, a worthwhile picture, but unfortunately it was compared to its English counterpart, Noel Coward’s In Which We Serve. Critics said, “It would be better to laugh this picture off, but too many folks will take it seriously.”
In 1943 a cast of male stars gathered on the set of Bataan: Lloyd Nolan as a wise-guy corporal, Robert Walker (his movie debut) as the scared kid from someplace in the Midwest, George Murphy as the even-tempered Air Force lieutenant, Thomas Mitchell as the old Army man, Desi Arnaz with his unusual interpretation of the English language, and Robert Taylor as the hard-bitten sergeant who buries his buddies and digs his own grave at the end.
George Murphy said, “It was a good thing we were supposed to be a motley crew because that is exactly what we were.
“I’ll never forget the scenery. The movie was filmed entirely in the Hollywood studio and somehow, some frogs decided to make the Bataan set their home.
“We arrived one morning and they were everywhere.We had to stop production so the studio could be fumigated.”

The end of the movie was a vivid one.Taylor, the last alive—no place to go, no place to hide, no sleep, waiting to be killed by the hundred of Japanese who were quietly watching him from not too far away--prepares his own resting hole, where he knew his body would fall.
From out of the mist came one, then ten,then hundreds of the enemy.
“C’mon suckers . . . Ha! Ha! Come and get it! What’s the matter with ya? Whatya waitin’ for? Ha! Didn’t think we were here, did ya? You dirty rotten rats . . . We’re here. We’ll always be here. C’mon suckers . . . ”
His machine gun aimed at the camera, Taylor goes mad and the shooting fades into the camera-haze until the last bullet is fired.
Bataan was unusual—a movie that did not “prettify” the facts of war and was true and ugly in every detail.
Taylor’s performance was generally regarded as magnificent, and it was said that his excellent acting “will remain in our memory for a long time without a doubt.”
But as usual, not letting him forget, one critic commented, “His role as the Sergeant is by far the most intriguing without a trace of the softness his roles once allowed him.
“Handsome Bob looks with disdain from the beginning to the end.”

Lloyd Nolan, who appeared with Taylor in several movies, including Bataan,said he thought Bob was a very sensitive man, but that life could have awarded him more than he received.
“I think Bob Taylor had to fight two things—his great beauty as a man (which he cuoldn’t help!) and his lack of confidence in his talent as an actor.
“I don’t think he realized that handsomeness is a great segment of the acting art. Valentino to this day commands the attention of both men and women, and he had a minimum of talent.
“Bob knew he was regarded as one of the top box-office names—that his salary was one of the tops, and he wanted to deliver the best. ”
Lloyd Nolan summed up his friend very well when he said, Taylor did not realize that handsomeness was a segment of the acting art. Instead he regarded it as a detriment and spent too much time playing it down rather than concentrating on his talent. He went too far to cover up his face with beards,blood, dirt, hats or helmets.
There is no doubt that Taylor would have accomplished more in his career if he had allowed himself to use his good looks to their greatest advantage. Though he was able to adapt himself to any role, it was just impossible for moviegoers to dislike him. He could scowl, murder, demoralize,brutalize, irritate and curse, and yet he came across as a nice guy. If he hit a woman, that was all right, too. She deserved it! If he killed a man, that was all right, too. His victim deserved it!
In Ruth’s pitiful and prejudiced way, she was right. Her son was meant to be the playboy, the lover, the distinguished and gentle lover of a younger woman.

When Taylor said he was trying to figure out why he had been so outstanding in Magnificent Obsession when he didn’t know any better, he never did come to the right conclusion. He was meant to be Robert Merrick, the carefree doctor who fell in love with a blind woman. He was supposed to be handsome, rich and spoiled—the traits were written all over his face.
But instead he chose his own destiny. Never let it be said that MGM held him back, for Mayer would gladly have given him back the title of America’s Ambassador of Romance, even though Taylor’s movies always made money for the studio. It was Bob who wouldn’t allow himself to be greater than he was unless he did it his way—by not exploiting his widow’s peak and blue eyes.
Except for a guest appearance in The Youngest Profession, Taylor’s last film before enlisting in the Navy was the controversial Song of Russia.
He did not want to do this movie for political reasons, saying it was pro-Soviet, and if there ever was anyone who was pro-American, patriotic and hated Communists, it was Robert Taylor!
He had many meetings with Mayer, explaining he did not find it in his heart to do the picture.
“But it’s just a boy-girl story set toTchaikovsky’s music, Bob.”
“As far as I can see, it’s ‘Commie’ from beginning to end!”

Mayer sent for an aid to the late President Roosevelt who was the head of the Office of War Information’s film division to talk with Taylor.He said the United States Government was interested in having the movie made and wanted other producers to film similar themes in order to influence the American people in favor of Russia.
Taylor replied that he had been waiting for his orders to report for Navy duty and was more interested in getting in uniform than “trying to promote some ‘pink’ propaganda shit for loyal Americans to watch.”
Mayer tried to remain calm: “Son, it’s just a lovely story about an American symphony orchestra conductor who tours Russiaand fall in love with a Russian girl . . .”
“L. B., why can’t you get someone else? Why me? ”
“The role was made for you,” Mayer argued.
“It stinks and you know it. I’d feel more at ease playing Jack the Ripper or bleaching my hair and standing by as Shirley Temple’s double. And you know what else? I think you’re trying to delay my going into the service!”

“Therewill be a delay—if you do the movie!”
“No, I do not want any part of it and that’s it!”
The head of OWI, however, managed to convince Taylor that if it was important for the U.S. Government to step in, he should reconsider.
Reluctantly Taylor gave in, and Mayer won as usual. Taylor was supported by Susan Peters and John Hodiak in Song of Russia.
He was upset for the many reasons stated in Mayer’s office, but he also felt left behind since Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewartand Tyrone Power were already in various branches of the service and he was stuck in Hollywood.

Chapter 7
In February, 1943, when Song of Russia was released, Taylor was sworn into the United States Navy under the name of Spangler Arlington Brugh, even though he and Barbara legally adopted their stage name a few days before.
He applied for active duty but was turned down because he was thirty-one years old and too old for combat. Instead he was assigned to the Navy’s Aviation Volunteer Transport Division as a Lieutenant(jg), the customary rank given to men over thirty who have a civilian pilot’s license. Taylor had 110 flying hours to his credit.
“The day I was ordered to report for duty I walked into a barber shop and ordered a butch-cut and came out with about a half-inch of bristle all over my head. I left my own car in the garage and drove down to the Navy base in a beaten-up old station wagon.
“I figured I had two strikes against me before I came to bat. I was an actor and an officer.
“The CO had been tipped off I was coming and I’m proud to say that when I reported under the name, Lieutenant S. A.Brugh, the CO was the only one who recognized me.”
Taylor took his basic training at the Naval Air Station in Dallas, Texas, then was transferred to the Naval Instructors’ school in New Orleans as a student.
He feared he might not make the grade and refused comment or publicity until the tests were taken and he knew he had passed. When he graduated, again he asked for active duty and was told again his age made it impossible.

The Navy sent him to Livermore, California,to make seventeen training films for the Naval Air Cadets. During these few months he felt, because of his theatrical background, he was being used. He loved to fly, but he was grounded and in front of a camera.
When the films were completed, he tried for the third time to get permission to get into action, even if it meant transporting men or freight overseas, but was turned down. The Navy reminded him again that his age was the biggest drawback, but also they felt he was too valuable as an instructor.
He settled down in New Orleans and made several films to be used in the instructors’ training program. He hadn’t been flying for almost a year.
When this assignment was finished, he was told he would begin his regular duties as flying instructor and was asked to prepare to take cadets up in a plane the following day.
Taylor went directly to the Chief of Flight: “Do you think it is wise for me to go up there when I haven’t been flying for so many months? To tell the truth, I’m not too confident at this time. I request a refresher course, sir.”
“No problem, Lieutenant. I’ll get one of the boys to go up with you for a few days!”

Taylor looked a little embarrassed and said,“If you don’t mind, I don’t want to go up with one of those twenty-one-year-old kids and have them run all over the base telling everyone I can’t do a slow roll or inverted spin properly.”
The Chief of Flight said he would assign an older instructor to Taylor.“There’s a guy named Purvis. He’s about your age and he’ll keep his mouth shut about your being a little rusty. Think you’ll like the guy!”
Tom Purvis became Taylor’s co-pilot and this was the beginningof a lasting friendship between the two men.
“Taylor was nervous the first time we went up together,” Purvis said. “He was concerned that I was thinking to myself, ‘These handsome Hollywood stars don’t take anything seriously except their box-office ratings,’ and he was very quiet.
“We got up to five thousand feet in an open plane and I said, ‘Get ready for a right slow roll.’ It was perfect, but when we came out of it Taylor looked like he was going to throw up. I asked him what was wrong.”
“Hell, I just lost my cigarette lighter. It’s down there in the Mississippi River!’”
Taylor had forgotten to button his shin pocket of his summer khaki coverall. He told Purvis the lighter had been a gift from Barbara--a solid gold Zippo bearing a raised gold replica of his Naval Station Emblem and the date (1943).