Independent from Long Beach, California • 146

Top-rated TV shows are among Four Star properties. Here, Robert Culp (as Hoby Gilman) and Jean Howell in Trackdown. Walter Pidgeon, one of many film stars hired, plays the role of a blind sheriff in play on Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre. THREE WISE MEN continued Meetings often are held by long-distance telephone of which thes are the sole stockholders, owns the following programs: I The Rifleman on ABC. Trackdown on CBS, 3 lane Grey Theatre on CBS.

4 Black Saddle on 5 Wanted Dead or Mire on CBS, 6 Richard Diamond on CBS. 7) The Darid Niven Anthology Shou on NBC. 8 Captain of Deter tires or The Robert Taylor Show (title as set undecided) going on ABC. In addition. thes have reads tor presentation this fall The Inlie London Show.

Stagecoach West. The Outrider and halt a dozen others as set unannounced. Their old Four Star Plo house films, which thee sold for a controlling interest in another company. Official Films, are currently sundicated throughout the world. in mans places for the sixth and seventh times.

Part Time Jobs Conservatively, the assets of Four Star Films range in estimation from $20.000,000 to $25.000.000. In the words of Dick Powell, its 54-vear-old president, "We don't know how much we're worth. Just sav. 'Not bad for three In fact, business is so good for the trio that thes are mulling over the idea of busing outright the old 20th Century-Fox lot in Holly wood, of which Four Star at present is the sole occupant. The lot houses seven large sound stages plus numerous production buildings.

The company also has bought the extensive Hertz- Topanga Ranch, in the San Fernando Vallev, for location work. It employs upward of 500 actors and technicians a season, and the 330 -hour films it will turn out this vear make it a more productive film company than most of the film giants. Since Powell. Bover and Niven each has a major job besides television, the question is: How do these guys do it? Bover is currently starring on Broadway opposite nating every four weeks on a TV drama program. The first four stars lined up for the project were Rosalind Russell, Charles Boyer, Dick Powell and Joel McCrea.

Before the series got underway, Miss Russell and McCrea bowed out. Powell, however, convinced from the start that TV's future was limitless, joined forces in a partnership with Boyer. Then Sharpe sold the Four Star Playhouse to the Young Rubicam advertising agency, at which time Four Star consisted of only two stars. Powell then flew to New York, told the agency not to worry, that he would deliver the two additional stars. He Sold Himself Claudette Colbert in the comedy hit, Murriage-GoRound.

Before that he starred in half a dozen motion pictures both here and abroad. Niven has just finished Separate Tables and. Am Girl, and is scheduled for three more films in a row. Powell, having completed The Hunters, is producing Casino for 20th Century. Who then actualls runs Four Star Films? David Niven blithel reseals, "For the first few sears of its existence, the business of Four Star was conducted like three drunks in a telephone booth.

We never had a meeting until a crisis arose. But now. he sass proudly, "we're doing it like real businessmen. Dick completely reorganized the business a few sears ago and assigned particular duties to each of us. He takes care of sponsor relations and is the liaison with the William Morris Agency, which handles our sales.

Charles is in charge of the finances. Ind I'm in charge of publicity. "We have board meetings once a week now, evers Monday night at 8 sometimes by long -distance call and we discuss whatever problems may be imminent. For some strange reason I haven't been able to figure out, we never fight. I think it's because we're all only too glad to delegate our duties to the other fellow.

Or maybe it's because, being actors, the only voice we pay attention to is our own." Frustrated Tycoon In truth the guiding hand of Four Star belongs to shrewd, handsome, indefatigable Dick Powell. Always a frustrated business tycoon, the one-time musical film star explains, "I got tired years ago of holding in my stomach for the camera. I always thought I'd like to handle the business end of things." In 1951 a bright agent and show -packager named Don Sharpe suggested the idea to Powell of four bigname stars forming a companv, with each star alter- "I got Joan Fontaine to do one show for us," he recalls, "and David Niven to do another. David then talked Lilli Palmer into doing one. In the process he talked himself so completely into believing his own sales pitch on the future of television that Boyer and I decided to take him in as a third partner.

That's how the company began. We never did get a fourth star although we used Ida Lupino for a while. "Our first vear in business," Powell admits, "cost us $60,000. But we took a long-range view. We decided that anybody could make money the first time around in a TV series if he wanted to chisel the viewers and the sponsors with a poor production.

I promised in 1952 that we would deliver a quality product on Four Star Playhouse, and that's what we delivered. "All of us, Charles, David and myself, have operated on one simple rule: We will not make or appear in any TV series that we think is going to haunt us later. In short, we're determined to be proud of any film that bears the Four Star trade-mark. In TV' you don't make money on the first runs. The money comes in on the second and third and fourth.

That's when it's gravy. But the secret of success in this business lies in giving the public what it wants, a high-class production with high-class performers." But where does one get the high-class performers? This is the $64,000 question in TV todav. Powell's advantage is that he has worked in show business for 29 vears, is on friendly terms with performers, executives, technicians in every echelon: he can speak to them in their own language. One of Four Star's most recent successes is Powell's corralling of veteran screen star Robert Tavlor into the TV fold. "We had one of those -the fence conversations," Dick savs, "and I told Bob that movie actors nowadays have to face realities.

The -picture business isn't what it used to be. I gave bim my own case history as a sample. I was getting a picture for vears; then suddenly the bot tom dropped out, and the most anvone would offer me was $65,000. Bob's a sensible fellow. He listened, so got him the best detective story script I could get, and we sold the show.

It's going to be a whale of a series. He's happy, and we're happy. "Matter of fact, I've never been happier even though I'm working harder than ever. As an actor I never felt was contributing anything. Now, as a businessman, I know in my heart that I'm contributing employment, materials, value to the economy.

I feel I'm in the swing of things- -not an. oddball actor the whole world is looking at." Do partners Bover and Niven feel similarly? Both agree they feel great, but for different reasons. Boyer says he's happy "because I'm working, and our company is making money." Niven says he's happy "because now I am in the very heady position of being able to employ invself. No actor can ask for more." Parade March 15, 1959.