Chicago Theatre Review

Daily Archives: January 18, 2014

Back to the Golden Era

January 18, 2014 Comments Off on Back to the Golden Era

Mr. Shaw Goes to Hollywood

Shaw_4George Bernard Shaw and his lovely wife Charlotte have decided to stop at Hollywood’s MGM Studios for a luncheon meeting as part of their 1933 round-the-world tour. The day was apparently fraught with all kinds of difficulties, from their emergency airplane landing on Malibu Beach, hitching a harrowing ride with a young UCLA student and exchanging barbs, zingers and clever witticisms with John Barrymore, Ann Harding and Louis B. Mayer. The luncheon, hosted by William Randolph Hearst and his young actress/mistress Marion Davies, also included Clark Gable and Charlie Chaplin but neglected Shaw’s dietary requirements. GBS was a strict vegetarian and Miss Davies was hard-pressed to find a vegetable anywhere on the MGM lot; however, even though it was during Prohibition, there was plenty of bootleg booze flowing throughout the day.

Read More