Ginger's Susan Hayward Message Board: To reach If You Knew Susie by Trish Sharp, click the profile photo at www.facebook.com/susanhaywardclassicfilmstar and you will see the link.
Ginger: I think I'm the only person in the U.S. who doesn't have cable TV, so I bought the A&E bio of Susan Hayward. I've watched it several times and still cannot understand Charlton Heston's comment regarding Susan as a "public actress."
Hi Gloria...Well, with Heston, I have a hard time, in recent years, wondering WHAT he means...LOL
But...I think what he meant on Susan being a 'public' actress is that she appealed to 'the entire public' where some actors are more liminted in who likes or dislikes them.
Some actors only have certain 'types' or 'classes' of people who like them. With Susan, there was always something there, in her performances, that drew all 'clases and types' to respond to her films.
Her performances were admired and loved by the entire public, which is high praise, since some actors never appeal to the masses.
Errol: I do think that Heston was jealous of Susan's getting top billing, too. He made a comment such as, "she was more experienced as a public actress, and I understood that." What exactly was there that he had to "understand."
Sounds to me as though he felt he should have gotten top billing. He seems to have overlooked the fact that the movie was called "The President's Lady."
I agree, Gloria...and the thing about Heston is that he has such an 'EGO'. Yes, a lot or most of them do, but his is waaay up there and I have never understood WHY he thinks he is so great! To me, he is not that great!
He should also remember that doing THE PRESIDENT'S LADY was a big boost and a take-off, in his career. He hadn't come that far, at this time. Biggest thing he had done, really, was THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH and RUBY GENTRY, which again...the title was the woman's name and JENNIFER JONES held that film together...not HESTON.
Could be that the EGO was so big, even then 1951-52 that he could only see HIMSELF as the TOP STAR of his films, when it was women, like HAYWARD and JONES that was building his career...not hindering it!