Some hoofers I’ve known

 

It was not a secret, but not many people in the Valley really knew that the famous former Hollywood columnist, Rona Barrett, used to breed Paint horses here.

“They were running Paints, which have races in Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky,” she told me, “and they were hoping to merge into California.

“In our breeding program, we used artificial insemination, which was then in its earlier stages. I really didn’t have a lot of luck with it, but I spent a lot of money!” she said.

“With the horse business, it was the foaling process that I enjoyed the most. It is such a thrill for someone who had always lived in a big city to be with the babies. I just couldn’t wait to wake up early in the morning and go out to the barn to be with them,” Barrett said.

 

“But even though I had twelve brood mares,” she recalled, “I finally realized that to be successful in that business you had to run a much larger operation and really promote it. So, finally, I sold all but two, which I gave to some lovely people who agreed to keep them together forever. One was a mare named War Paint, which was named after Bo Derek’s proposed cosmetic line, and the other was Moon Jet, whose sire was a very successful running Paint racehorse,” she said.

For a while, she and her good friends, the John Dereks’, also experimented with establishing a new breed called Paintalusians by crossing Andalusians with Paint Horses. The idea struck the Dereks’ while researching the history of Andalusians, which they raised and dearly loved. They had found that, long ago, some Andalusians used to have patches of color, but that those were culled to keep the breed monochromatic. They decided to try to bring those pretty horses back.

But, again, breeding horses, which have a gestation period of eleven months, can be costly and time-consuming. And the technicalities of establishing a new breed are daunting. Finally, the plan was set aside.

 

During her long career in Hollywood, Barrett has known a lot of hoofers with just two feet — and they were famous for their dancing. Among them was Cyd Charisse, whom Barrett saw recently at a party.

“Those legs are still beautiful!” she told me.

Another acquaintance was the early film hoofer Ruby Keeler, who starred in “Forty Second Street.” Ruta Lee is a long-time close friend of Barret’s, and she is still hoofing on the stage when she appears in “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” or some other musical. So, apparently, hoofing contributes to a long and healthy life.

“Debbie Reynolds is another friend,” said Barrett.

 

“I wrote her a letter when she married Eddie Fisher, congratulating her and telling her about starting my career at thirteen years old working for Eddie’s fan club. And, sometime later, I got a gracious letter back, and I finally met her and have known her for years,” she said.

“It was Debbie and Hugh O’Brien who started the Thalian Club that was one of the most important charities in Hollywood. It helped mentally ill children and gave millions of dollars to medical research. Ruta Lee and Debbie take turns being president and vice-president of this fine organization. The younger generation of movie actors have gone off on their own quests, but the Thalians are incomparable,” she said.

Of course, there was one of the greatest hoofers of all — Ginger Rogers.

“I remember that when I went to her home for an interview,” said Barrett, “She had an enormous soda fountain in the playroom. I was interviewing her for a big television special that she was doing and she was going to be acting as well as dancing. She had so much talent and she worked very hard trying to get the right roles.

 

“I also met Fred Astaire, and he was always immaculate and beautifully dressed, which even included wearing an ascot. While Fred was an elegant — almost ballet type — dancer, Gene Kelly was an athletic dancer — very masculine. Gene was very smart and well-read, and he could talk about a lot of different things,” Barrett said.

“This was at a time when I had a syndicated column and would interview many of the film stars that were transitioning into television. At first, the movies were the leaders and television was the sister, then it reversed, and I’m not sure just what we have now. But having seen these big stars on the silver screen and then being able to interview them later for television was really a big thrill for me,” Barrett said. “I was thinking the other day how so many of these people are still my good acquaintances and friends. I’ve been very lucky to have such a wonderful career.”

One of treasured memories in Barrett’s colorful life with the glitterati is her friendship with Judy Garland.

“One night, as I was coming off the air, I was in the newsroom, some one told me that there was a phone call for me. The caller said she was Judy Garland. I was skeptical, but answered anyway, and sure enough it was Judy!” she said.

 

“She went on to tell me how much she admired me and hoped we could meet sometime. And sure enough we did. However, Judy died a few years later; but I became friends with her daughter, Liza [Minnelli], and she did one of my first big television specials. It’s interesting that this became a turning point in what kinds of questions interviewers asked celebrities — more cutting edge questions of a personal nature,” Barrett said.

“This was in the ’70s, and the first four big celebrities that I interviewed were Raquel Welsh, Liza Minnelli, Cher, and Ann-Margaret, and when you think about it they all started out or became hoofers,” Barrett said.

One of the great dancers of later times is John Travolta. Barrett remembers doing a very early interview with him.

 

“I’ve never really talked about this,” she said, “ but I remember saying, ‘John, where in the world did you get those moves?’ He immediately said, ‘Hold on, stop the tape. What do you mean where did I get them?’ I said, ‘Well, was there dancing in your family? Where did it all come from? The rhythm that you have is extraordinary!’ Then he said that it was just something that he had inside of him. The interview was a bit difficult because John was not used to being interviewed,” she said.

“Then, one year later, his new film was being released, but on the day of the interview we found that his mother had just passed away and asked if he wished to reschedule. He declined and appeared at the designated time and we started the interview. I absolutely didn’t recognize the man from the last time I had interviewed him one year before.

“There was a tremendous difference in his demeanor. He had no idea what I would ask but there was no hesitation and he was very sharp. I think it was after he had found Scientology,” she said.

“There were so many adventures that it’s hard for me to remember a lot of specific stories. But my notes will go to the UCLA Film and Television Library some day,” Barrett said.