Two Birds, One Feather: The Lives and Times of Lorewyn & Rhianyn in America by C.J. Pearson

Author:C.J. Pearson [Pearson, C.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-08-03T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

Lorewyn’s last project with Fox studios came in 1951 with the filming of Deadline – U.S.A. starring Humphrey Bogart. Lorewyn, as Alivia Chambers, was called in to double in a few scenes for lead actress Kim Hunter. Hunter was smart, savvy, and politically quite progressive. She had done a number of films up to that point, including A Streetcar Named Desire with Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando for which she had earned both Academy and Globe Awards the following year, and was a founding member of the Actor’s Studio. Lorewyn liked her the moment they met, and they got to be friends on the set. Lorewyn learned a lot about Hunter’s life and work, and while Lorewyn herself was candid with regards to her career for the previous two decades, she was obviously very cautious about details regarding her personal life and upbringing. Hunter seemed to understand and didn’t pry.

“Some things a lady doesn’t tell,” she merely said. She had just married fellow actor Robert Emmett shortly before the studio started filming, her second marriage. She had suggested that the success of a second marriage rested largely upon a woman not revealing everything about her first marriage.

“I think I like her too,” Rhianyn mused as Lorewyn told her more about her conversations and interactions with Hunter.

“Good,” Lorewyn stated, “because I want you to meet her. She’s been the closest thing I’ve had to a real friend in this business since Olivia de Havilland.”

And so, they set up a date. The premiere showing of Streetcar was in September, just days before the filming for Deadline – U.S.A. was expected to be completed. Hunter got VIP tickets for Lorewyn and Rhianyn and invited them to join her for the premiere. They were having drinks afterward when Hunter dropped the bomb.

“It must be very hard,” she commented sympathetically. “I don’t know what it’s like personally, of course, but I know people… several here in Hollywood… who have to be discreet. For such members of the community, the acting can’t stop when the camera stops rolling, unfortunately.”

Lorewyn and Rhianyn looked at each other, not quite sure at first, but fearing she might be referring to…

“You don’t owe me any explanation, either one of you,” Hunter said again. “I’m just saying that I can imagine it’s difficult, and that engenders a great deal of respect for both of you. Like I told Liv a while back… some things a lady doesn’t tell.”

A month later, Hunter got the news. She had been blacklisted on account of suspicions of being a Communist by the HUAC. She didn’t get a chance to defend herself. She was effectively banned from films for the next four years. No studio would work with her. Lorewyn was furious.

“McCarthy!” she seethed to Rhianyn shortly after it happened. “This Cold War… what a name for it, Cold War? Is that because we’re fighting it in the snow? Well, if this is how they engage in their dirty warfare, then I’d rather they just

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