Bobby Darin is genuinely sorry he didn't receive the Sour Apple Award, the award given to the Hollywood personalities
who are considered least cooperative with the press. If he'd
gotten it he would of felt that the press was finally getting the idea. He doesn't care whether they like it or not--cooperation will
be on his terms.
Why this this defiance of a medium that is reputedly able to make or break a star?
First of all, this stand is actually taken against one area of the press, FAN MAGAZINES: those magazines which have evolved solely on the basis of giving the fans information about their favorite entertainers.
The problem lies splashed across the front covers of these fan magazines, and Bobby Darin does not treat that problem lightly. He has spoken out on this issue locally and when the opportunity arose to express his views
in print he prepared himself thoroughly. Part of that preparation included sending his secretary out to purchase, at random, eight or nine fan magazines.
When the interview began he picked up the stack and flipped through, chose one and began by saying that he hoped he was wrong;
that perhaps things had changed.
Then he looked at a few of the cover
lines: "Annette: I'll Be A Virgin
When I Marry," "How J.F.K. Taught
Jackie The Courage To Go On,"
"What Really Happens When Liz Is
Alone With Dick." "Out of line!
All of it is out of line? Nothing has
changed."
"So many people get their impressions of Hollywood
from the headlines on the covers of magazines on
the stands. They don't even read the
articles. In fact the article may completely refute what the cover line says,
but the man, woman or child who
only saw that cover will go on thinking that the line was the true essence
of the article.
"And it's not just the lines. Some
magazine will take two different pictures, crop them, and use them to
give the impression that a situation
exists that may never really have occurred at all. How can you try to
explain this to some kid in the Midwest who thinks a crop is purely for
harvesting?"
All of this seems to be done with
malice aforethought on the part of
the magazine. Their intentions are
strictly sensationalism and this is the
kind of thing that Bobby refuses to
allow himself to be dragged into.
"I feel that these magazines infringe
upon the characters of the people in
this business and by doing this they
are defeating the very purpose of
the business. The old cliches become
more true all the time. Those worn-
out sayings about biting the hand
that feeds you and looking a gift
horse in the mouth.
"The magazine shouldn't smear and
mar an industry which has enough
trouble of its own at times . . . without which industry the magazines
wouldn't be in business in the first
place. Their sole existence rests upon
the very industry they deglamorize.
The people they abuse are the very
people they should protect and
glorify."
On an occasion previous to this
interview Bobby mentioned the old
fan magazines, how they used to be fun and entertaining.
They may have exaggerated a bit, but their intentions
were favorable. They worked to build up the image of the glamorous movie star, to take him out of the ordinary but not to make him seem abnormal. After Confidential left its imprint, the Hollywood magazines started to follow the scandal sheet approach but they are even more dishonest than Confidential, because they purport to be something they are not.
"At the rate most of these magazines are going, the nudie magazines have a more honest approach; at least they're directed at an adult audience, and they don't try to sell themselves
as anything other than what they are. With the fan magazines,
the simple line 'this is hearsay' or 'this is what we hear' would at least remove some of the stigma. And, since most of the magazines come out on the stands about two or three months after the articles are written, that should be indicated too. What is true in January may be wholly untrue by March.
"I think that the editors of these magazines should sit down in conference and say: 'We have an obligation to the people we write about and to the people who read what we
print. What can we do to fulfill that
obligation?' "
"I know that many publishers have
more than one magazine on the
stands. Why can't they put out their
regular fan magazines with complete
honesty and then publish one more,
call it 'Scandal' and fill it with the
unfounded stories they hear around
town and label it as such?" This may
not be the solution but at least it
would be a step in the right direction.
It may be impractical, but it is something to think about.
Bobby Darin knows that he is essentially a young people's commodity
and as such he feels an extra sense
of responsibility. He thinks that other
performers who play essentially to
young audiences feel the same way.
"I know were not perfect. That's all
the more reason to make certain of
what is printed about us."
This feeling of responsibility to-
ward young people is heightened
when Bobby goes on tour across the
country. One part of his public rela-
tions program includes High School
Press Conferences. There might be
anywhere from 150 to 300 students
at these conferences. Very often they
ask more pointed questions than the
working press. This brings to mind
another of those cliches . . . out of
the mouth of babes.
Their first question is usually:
"Why is the Hollywood divorce rate
so high?" Bobby's answer is the same
one that Hollywoodians have been trying to get across for years. He tells
them that the Hollywood divorce rate
is not necessarily any different than
the divorce rate in Cleveland, Ohio,
or wherever he happens to be. It's
just that local divorces don't get into
the headlines, they don't rate front
page space the way Hollywood divorces or separations do.
How can any entertainer expect to
explain away in one quick, mass interview the questions that must pop up
in inquisitive young minds when they
read: "What It's Like To Love A
Woman Like Liz"—nothing more
than a collection of alleged quotes
picked out of the stories that have
been appearing since Cleopatra and
the whole Burton-Taylor saga began.
But the line intimates that Mr. B.
and E.T. love to sit around telling
fan magazine writers the innermost
details of their love life.
One article suggests it's going to
tell ALL about the hidden life of a
star when what it really says is that
this star insists upon keeping her
private life private.
Another, about "The Night Liz
Couldn't Find Burton," turns out to
be a story about what a man's man he
is. He wasn't out with Sue or Ava
or Deborah as is intimated. He was
out having a drink and indulging in
the old-fashioned pastime of man-to-
man conversation . . . getting away
from the girls for awhile.
One that naturally struck closest to
home was: "Sandra Dee's Pregnant!
The word that made her weep." This
cover line intimates that Sandra would
be very unhappy if she was expectant.
Yet when Bobby turned to the story
it was quite different than what he
or any reader would naturally anticipate. The inside title, somewhat altered, now suggests that she wept
because she was not pregnant.
This kind of cat-and-mouse attitude toward his private life is what angers Mr. Darin.
"Want pictures on the set of a
movie? Shoot! Want pictures while
I'm on stage at a night club? Shoot!
But you haven't seen pictures inside
my home and you haven't seen pictures of my son . . . and you won't.
That's private."
"Part of the problem is that people here in Hollywood think that because
they know a story or a gossip item is false or slightly shaded, it is thereby harmless.
"Our collective knowledge here doesn't alter the impression left on youngsters
who are avid idolizers of the movie stars. Whatever is reportedly
done in Hollywood leaves a
an indelible imprint upon the minds of
those kids. If they read that Debbie
Darling is really quite a racy kid, an
they know that she is rich, beautiful
and well-liked, how can they help but
think that this is the way to go?
Unfortunately, they are getting a picture completely out of proportion.
They are given the impression that
there's some sordidity about this town
and its inhabitants that doesn't exist
anywhere else on earth."
Darin is a strong believer in parental responsibility. In the area of
censorship he would like to think
that liberal-minded parents could see
movies and then decide, on the basis
of their own good judgment, whether or not this is a movie they will
allow their children to see, and then
enforce that decision. But he understands their dilemma.
"I can't blame parents for having
qualms about Hollywood products.
How can the prospective audiences
make a decision about a film if the
forerunning advertisement and the
public's knowledge of the people involved is all based on false statements
and facts out of context as presented
by the fan magazines?"
Darin's realization of his own responsibility, not only as a parent himself,
but as an entertainer that other
parents must say yea or nay to, is
indicated by this little verbal illustration he drew between big business
bosses and entertainers. "General
Motors is a huge business. Everyone
is aware of its existence and is influenced by its product.
Yet no youngster starts off answering the forever-
recurring question, 'What do you want
to be when you grow up?' by saying
'President of General Motors.' They
all have a dream, no matter how fleeting, of one day being a movie star."
"Because children do want to be
movie stars, or at least like movie
stars, great caution should be exercised by parents, by publications, by
writers and most of all by the source
of that imagery, the celebrity himself,
to make certain that the image is
clear, that the picture is honest."
Its been about three years now
since Bobby Darin began his crackdown on what is printed about him.
The way he sees it is, the press probably felt something like this about
his attitude — the first year it was
"Who does he think he is?" The
second year it was "Looks like he
might be serious." And now they
are beginning to accept that seriousness. They're getting the idea . . .
Bobby Darin will cooperate his way.
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