Hi
Dear Friends, 
My gosh! It is almost Spring! My daughter Jane’s birthday! March 21. Perhaps it is a phenomenon that occurs as we get older, but time is moving at an unusually fast pace it seems. I do stop to meditate and slow down and sometimes ask myself two questions that a friend taught me recently to get into the present time zone, instead of the past or future where our minds often seem to roam. “Where am I?”....Answer....“Here”......”What time is it?” Answer,”Now”.......But as soon as I am back in the Now of the world, I find I am doing a number of things at one time. Do you suppose it is the electronic world that is propelling us along at such a speed? Phone, FAX and computer seem to be bringing instant answers to questions and we are sailing on to another question and “busyness” prevails. On the back of my calendar I promised to tell the story of the picture of Leo the Lion and me (which I used for the month of March ). Since this is March, perhaps I should tell it to those of you who check in on my monthly letter. One day, many years ago, when I was under contract to MGM, the studio decided to give a grand luncheon on one of their huge sound stages for MGM affiliates from all over the world who were visiting and being entertained by the “Big Whigs”. All of the contract players were summoned to make an appearance at this festive occasion.As I walked through the door onto the sound stage, I noticed far off in the left corner behind a curtain, there was an interesting activity taking place. Cameramen were busy clicking away as the affiliates were having their picture taken with the new young “Leo the Lion.” Leo was the logo for MGM studios. Their films would open with the magnificent Leo roaring, and then the title of the movie would appear. Leo was known world wide. The older Leo was being retired, and this youngster was making his debut at the luncheon. Quite a public relations coup. I decided I wanted to have my picture taken with him as well! I love cats. Actually, I love most animals that I can think of. So I started over toward the corner of the stage, and as I progressed, Dore Schary (who was the head of the studio at that time) happened by, and I guess he saw the gleam in my eye. He said, “Don’t you dare!” I smiled, and as he disappeared in the crowd , I proceeded on my course. You see, I was young, like Leo! The photographers greeted me happily, eager to get a shot of an actress (we women were called actresses in those days, not actors, though who ever heard of a doctress? Oh well.....that’s another subject!) Leo was just gorgeous up close, and I couldn’t wait for my turn to be next to such a fabulous creature. He was wonderful with all the men who individually stood next to him for a picture they would proudly take home. The trainer beamed from the sidelines. Finally, it was my turn, and I eagerly sat on the stool, introduced myself to Leo, and the cameras started to click. But strangely something happened to Leo’s demeanor. He began to make little odd guttural sounds, similar to those heard at the zoo when the big cats know it’s near dinner time! Quite suddenly I was enveloped by the hot pungent smell of large cat’s breath, and for some reason Leo’s teeth were resting on either side of my head along my temples! I sat stone still! The cameramen stood stone still! A couple of weeks before this I had done a layout with two Bengal tigers. During that shoot, I had turned my back, and one of the cats lunged for me. The trainer interceded and then gave me a lecture. He told me never to turn my back on a large cat, and if I were ever in a situation where a cat grabbed me with his mouth or his claws, to stay perfectly still. He explained that big cats were just like domestic cats. If you pull away, they dig in deeper. ‘Glad he told me! Here was the test. I could hear Leo’s trainer, as if in an echo chamber, in a sort of a sing song voice crooning, “Nice boy, nice boy........let go, let go.” Leo was taking his own sweet time. I think he was trying to get the point across that he was tired of this photo sitting (or in his case, standing). He had center stage. He licked the top of my head with his rough tongue. He dawdled and grunted. Then very slowly he opened his mouth and moved his head toward my right ear, caressing my hair with his tongue and flipping it this way and that! He continued his strange sounds as his breath still invaded my nostrils. Continuing the ritual of grooming my hair, he finally reached my ear and his sandpaper tongue lapped at it. It tickled! One of the photographers couldn’t resist grabbing a shot at that point. Lucky for all of us that the flash didn’t upset Leo! He lingered at my ear for a torturous moment, as the trainer continued to intone,“Nice boy..nice boy.” Finally, he retreated! The breath and vocalizing were gone at last, and the trainer decided, quite wisely I thought, that the photo session was over for that day!I was amazed when I saw the picture of us later to see that I was laughing. ‘Probably just as well, because they say that an animal can sense fear. I guess I just didn’t have time for fear. Some months later the picture was used for an ad in Variety magazine. A full page of Leo and me that said, “Leo tells Anne Francis about the new pictures to come at MGM.” Sure!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dore Schary never said a word to me about my disobedience. I really appreciated that. So, I used the picture for the month of March in my calendar along
with a poem I wrote to go with it, the title of which is, “Lend
an Ear”...... |
Copyright © 2000 Anne Francis