Groucho Marx, King of the Jungle by Ron Goulart

Author:Ron Goulart [Goulart, Ron]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2011-05-17T04:00:00+00:00

I was walking along the palm-lined street leading to the Writers Building when someone behind me called, “Wait up, Frank.”

Turning on the late-morning street, I saw a pretty young woman whom I didn’t recognize hurrying to catch up with me. She was wearing an open rayon bathrobe and a bright-flowered sarong. “Yes?” I said, trying to figure out who she might be.

The girl smiled. “I know, you don’t recognize me.” She held out her hand.

I shook it, admitting, “Afraid I don’t, miss.”

“I’m Polly Pilgrim,” she told me. “I was the costar on the Groucho Marx, Private Eye radio show that you wrote.”

“Polly Pilgrim? But …”

“Right, Frank. I used to be pudgy,” she said. “And, back when you knew me, I had a different nose and different cheekbones, and my hair wasn’t this reddish blonde. But that was over two years ago.”

“Polly Pilgrim,” I repeated, still surprised at the transformation she’d accomplished since she used to sing on our show. Groucho and I had cleared her actress mother of a murder charge, but since then I’d lost touch with both of them.

“I got myself a new agent about a year ago,” Polly explained. “He sort of had me streamlined. His idea was basically that while I had a great voice, I wasn’t exactly a knockout. I had to agree with him.”

“So now you’re a knockout,” I said. “How’s your mom taking all—”

“When I told her that Gene Thompson—that’s my agent now, Gene Thompson—when I told her what he wanted to do, she said, ‘This is Hollywood, honey. Do what you have to do, but try not to go to bed with anybody you don’t like.’ Sound advice.”

I nodded. “That it is, Polly,” I agreed. “You’re working at Warlock now?”

“Gene got me a three-picture deal. Everybody thinks I’m going to be Warlock’s answer to Deanna Durbin or maybe even Judy Garland.”

“Or Gloria Jean.”

“No, I’m going to do a heck of a lot better than she has,” she said. “Being pretty has really built up my confidence. What are you doing these days, Frank?”

“Working on the script for the latest Ty-Gor movie.”

“Seems like the movie’s going to go on just fine without Randy Spellman,” she observed. “How’s your wife?”

“Expecting.”

“When?”

“Any day now.”

“Gee, that’s swell.” She shook my hand again. “Please say hello to Groucho. Oddly enough, I miss him.” Leaning, she kissed me on the cheek and went hurrying away ahead of me.

“Polly Pilgrim,” I said yet again, reflecting on the miracles that Hollywood can work.

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