People: People, Oct. 7, 1946

(2 of 3)

Betty Smith, whose best-selling A Tree Grows in Brooklyn became a best-selling Hollywood movie, was off to the Alps to write a scenario for Swiss producer Lozar Wechsler. She had "no idea" what the story would be about, said she, but "I accepted Mr. Wechsler's offer because I like the kind of pictures he makes. His actors are not silly like Hollywood's . . . and there is none of this dreadful sex business in his movies."

Charles E. ("Commando") Kelly, famed Congressional Medal winner (40 dead Germans in a single engagement), decided to go into politicking, prepared to stump for the G.O.P. A converted Democrat (converted by the head of Pennsylvania's Young Republicans, who said they were only paying his expenses), Hero Kelly ditched his Pittsburgh filling station, hopes to find a business with more leisure, and later on run for some public office.

Lord Beaverbrook, in the U.S. on another visit, paid his respects to New York's Mayor William O'Dwyer before heading for a month's rest in New Brunswick. Publisher Beaverbrook also paid familiar respects to newsmen who tried to interview him. His utterances: 1) "It was a personal visit to see the Mayor and talk about his beloved Ireland"; 2) "Goodbye."

Lord Inverchapel, still aglow with the memory of his arrival as Ambassador last May, gave Manhattan banqueters an echo of his surprise at U.S. diplomatic conventions. "I presented a letter of credence to the President," said he, "and of course I had to have the speech that goes with it. It was full of clichés and would have been a terrible thing to read, but then I discovered that I didn't have to read it. All we did was shake hands. I presented my letter and the speech and then I found I didn't even have to listen to the President's reply. He gave me a copy of it and that was all there was to it."

Judgment Day

Paul ("King of Jazz") Whiteman had a new drummer: Paul Whiteman Jr., 21, who was making his professional debut in Manhattan. Papa's judgment: "Hep, sharp and slick."

Canada Lee, Negro pugilist-turned-actor, got into a wig and grease paint in Boston and made a little modern theatrical history by playing a white man's role opposite Star Elisabeth Bergner in The Duchess of Malfi. Critics' judgment: a success. In Wilmington, Del., history repeated itself: a theater manager disavowed racial prejudice but canceled The Duchess' engagement.

Henry Agard Wallace, who talked himself out of the Cabinet, got a consolation prize. The speech that lost him his job won him the Annual Oratorical Award of the Linguaphone Institute.

Flesh & Blood

John L. Lewis was "doing fine" after an emergency appendectomy at a Washington hospital. Interested witness to the operation: Johns Hopkins' Dr. John L. Lewis Jr.

General Mark Clark, suffering from ear trouble in Chicago, canceled a northwestern trip, hustled back to Washington, D.C., for treatment.

Ex-Ambassador William C. Bullitt, badly injured in a traffic accident in 1945, went into a Manhattan hospital for a checkup on his spine, possibly an operation.