SOME "DIRT" ON BETTY GRABLE

From Lypsinka:

From the bio "Ethel Merman" by Brian Kellow:


"The company for DUBARRY WAS A LADY was wacko - completely wacko," recalled Lewis Turner, a member of the show's dancing chorus....The "wacko" group of players also included Betty Grable, the vivacious blond dancer making her Bway debut after a discouraging nine-year stint in Hollywood...During a long run, a play's ensemble effort always deteriorates, and DUBARRY was no exception. One cast member whom Ethel observed from a somewhat critical distance was Betty Grable. Over the years Ethel would acquire a reputation for being tough on the beautiful girls in her shows. But it wasn't Grable's looks or popularity with the rest of the cast that unnerved her; it was her fondness for cutting up onstage. "Grable was happy to have a job," remembered Lewis Turner. "But she hated doing the same thing every night. It was just so boring to her. She would try to make everyone screw up somehow." One night, in the middle of a scene, Grable whispered in Lahr's ear, "How would you like to stick your cock up my ass and make some fudge?" Turner recalled that Lahr "couldn't remember the next line. The audience didn't know what was going on. He was hysterical."