YOUR FRIEND AND MINE, ANDY DEVINE, A MEMOIR OF A
FATHER AND HIS SON
By Dennis Devine
A Book Review
A son, leaving his father’s death-bed in Long Beach,
feeling he’s disappointed his parents, can’t bear to go home and face his
mother. So instead he takes a train into
Hollywood. A man notices his size, asks
if he plays football, and almost before he knows it, he’s playing a bit part in
a movie, along with a pair of USC students, Marion Morrison (later John Wayne),
and Ward Bond. The three will be
co-workers and friends for life. You’d
never put that story in a script – too contrived – but that’s exactly how Andy
Devine entered the movie business.
One of the most interesting sub-groups of
biographies is the life-story of parent by offspring. Some are heartbreaking, epitomized by
Christina Crawford’s MOMMY, DEAREST, and some are revenge pieces, like B.D.
Hyman’s MY MOTHER’S KEEPER, which may have given Bette Davis a stroke. But when the relationship isn’t awful, such a
tome can provide a unique perspective on the life of a public figure. My favorites of this sort have long been
GYPSY AND ME, by Erik Lee Preminger, secret son of Gypsy Rose Lee and Otto
Preminger; and GLENN FORD, A LIFE by Peter Ford, son of Glenn Ford and Eleanor
Powell. (you can read my review of that one HERE ) To that duo I happily add YOUR FRIEND
AND MINE, ANDY DEVINE, a fascinating story of both a movie star’s life, and the
experience of growing up in his shadow.
The beginnings of father and son could hardly have
been more different. Andy was born in
Flagstaff, Arizona in 1905, the son of a Tipperary, Ireland-born hotel
operator. In 1939, his son Dennis would
start being born at The Brown Derby, where Carole Lombard would command a fleet
of eight taxis to take the Devines, herself and husband Clark Gable, and all
their Hollywood friends to Cedars hospital, to enjoy drinks and Cobb Salad
while Dorothy Devine gave birth.
Devine is a novel choice for such a biography. While certainly a money-making star, the
raspy-voiced comic actor – the result of a childhood accident that lodged a
curtain-rod down his throat – was never a leading man, and rarely if ever a
lead. But he was a recognizable and
beloved character actor with 191 credited screen roles, as well as years of
experience on radio. And he lived like a
star – my mother-in-law went to school with Dennis’s older brother, and he was
the only kid to go to and from Van
Nuys High in a chauffeured limousine.
Andy starred on TV in ANDY’S GANG for five years, and on WILD BILL
HICKOCK for seven. He took the role of
‘Jingles’ after Burl Ives turned it down, and got paid more than Guy Madison,
who played Wild Bill!
You know you've made it when your
face is on a cereal box!
One of the surprise revelations is the negative part
his long-time studio, Universal,
played in his career. Devine was always
hoping to be loaned out to other studios, who gave him big parts in important pictures. At his home lot, they were so eager to have
all of their contract players working that they’d cast him in anything as anything,
no matter how unsuited he was. When,
after the war, Universal wanted to
cut expenses, they tried to humiliate Andy into quitting. They gave him a horse costume, and Lon Chaney
Jr. a bear costume, thinking they’d be mad enough to quit, but they wouldn’t
leave until they’d been completely paid off.
From there he moved to Republic, sidekicking four
times for Wild Bill Elliot, and nine times for Roy Rogers; he was billed under
Trigger, but so was everyone except for Roy.
The book brims with wonderful
inside stories about the making of STAGECOACH, CANYON PASSAGE – where Dennis
and his brother appeared with their dad, and LIBERTY VALANCE. Dennis’ analysis of the ages and experience
of those in VALANCE is fascinating.
The author pulls no punches in his opinions about
some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Columbia Pictures President Harry Cohn:
“Cohn was…a rude, penny-pinching bastard.”
Republic Pictures President
Herbert Yates: “For financial security, Dad liked contracts, so he signed with
the knowledge that Herbert J. Yates had a terrible reputation.” Director John Ford: “…Ward Bond unexpectedly
passed away in Texas. At his funeral,
knowing that Bond was a Ford favorite, the press asked director John Ford to
comment on Bond’s passing. (He) replied,
‘Now Andy Devine is the biggest asshole I know.’”
Some of the best ‘worst’ stories are about Bing
Crosby, whom he describes as, “…a loner, a drunk, and a sociopath, but (who) could
be extremely charming when necessary.”
Bing’s wife, Dixie Lee, was a friend of the Devines, and once threw a
party at the Devine ranch in Van Nuys.
“She called it the ‘Crapped on by Crosby’ party. It included everybody who had been cut off or
betrayed by Bing throughout the years.
The event had quite a turn-out.”
Dennis Devine doesn’t hesitate to include his
parents’ shortcomings as well. They’re
both portrayed as self-centered and uninvolved in their son’s life. Mrs. Devine, who was the beautiful actress
Dorothy House, met Andy when they were both in the Will Rogers/John Ford movie
JUDGE BULL, and she gave up her acting career after they married. Dennis was furious when she moved her lover
into the family home under the guise of ‘tennis teacher,’ and when Andy
wouldn’t face up to what was going on under his roof, son forced father to kick
the lover out.
Dennis was a driven athlete, a breaker of records,
and nearly an Olympic swimmer. One can’t
help thinking much of the drive was a desperate need to receive his parents’
approval. Yet his parents weren’t
completely useless. Dennis was friendly
with his father’s gay publicity agent, Stanley Musgrave. “One night Stanley invited me to have dinner
with himself, Rock Hudson, and Cole Porter.
In passing, I mentioned this to my mom.
She hit the roof. ‘You’re not
going to dinner – you are the dinner!” She
made sure that meal never happened.
Dennis was closer to his father during the end of
Andy’s life, when he had a sensational success playing Captain Andy in various
productions of SHOWBOAT. Andy’s decline
and death come in slow and saddening detail.
The main interest in the book is Andy Devine’s life, and it seems at
times that Dennis spends more time detailing his own real estate dealings than
necessary, but again, so much of Dennis’ drive and ingenuity seems to come from
largely raising himself that it is enlightening on its own terms.
YOUR FRIEND AND MINE, ANDY DEVINE, is a highly
enjoyable, well-illustrated book from Bear Manor Media, priced at $19.95. You can order it HERE.
‘MAGNIFICENT 7’ REMAKE GAINS CAST, DIRECTOR
Antoine Fuqua, helmer of TRAINING DAY and THE
EQUALIZER is set to direct the MGM remake of the 1960 classic, THE MAGNIFICENT
7, which was directed by John Sturges from William Roberts’ screenplay.
The new script is by John Lee Hancock, who wrote THE ALAMO (2004) and
wrote and directed the Oscar-winning THE BLIND SIDE.
In the
original film’s story, poor peasants hire gunmen to protect their town from the
depredations of a pack of bandits, led by Eli Wallach. In the new version, the villain is a
gold-mine baron taking over a town. The
widow of one of his victims hires a bounty hunter, and the six men he needs, to
get her justice. The bounty hunter is
Denzel Washington. The widow is Hayley
Bennett, who worked previously with Washington and Fuqua in THE EQUALIZER. Two of the remaining Magnificent 6 will be
Ethan Hawke, fresh from his Oscar nomination for BOYHOOD, and who previously
worked with Washington and Fuqua in TRAINING DAY; and Chris Pratt, of ZERO DARK
THIRTY and MONEYBALL.
The Round-up had reported in December 2013 (see story
HERE) that much-promoted star Tom Cruise was out, as was the screenplay by TRUE
DETECTIVE creator Nic Pizzolatto. THE original MAGNIFICENT 7 is itself a remake of Akira
Kurosawa’s 1954 classic SEVEN SAMURAI.
THAT’S A WRAP!
Leonard Nimoy in CATLOW
Sad news this week, to learn that we lost Leonard
Nimoy. Although he will always be Mr.
Spock to most of us, he appeared in one of the last of the Republic serials,
ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE, in many 1960s TV westerns, and in 1971 starred
with Yul Brynner in the western CATLOW!
Next week I’ll have updates about the Santa Clarita
Cowboy Festival and TCM Classic Film Festival, and other cool stuff. Have a great week!
Happy Trails,
Henry
All Original Contents Copyright March 2015 by Henry
C. Parke – All Rights Reserved
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