The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 57

Sunday, January 1, 196T Akron Bracon Journal 3 CtaeoO Patricia Harty Decided Long Ago That She Would Become A Star can't make the audition," she explained, "but I'm an awfully good dancer. Could I see you later In the day when you're not so busy?" The trick worked. Patricia got the job. Her jol)s in the early months included the Andy Williams Summer show, the Pat Boone Show, the Garry Moore Show, and more than 100 commercials. "I USED TO DO a commercial on While Patricia Harty projects cuteness, it's not the kind of itsy-poo cuteness you get from a Sharl Lewis or a Mario Thomas or a Mary Tyler Moore.

Patricia is cute the way Audrey Hepburn is cute stylishly and with sophistication. It is Miss Hepburn's road to success that Patricia Harty hopes to follow. The person in charge of driving her down that road is her husband and manager, E. Thomas Kearney, called by many the biggest reason Patricia Harty will achieve stardom. Keamey is one of those guys who Just doesn't take "no" for an answer.

He is the careful watchdog who is determined nothing bad will ever happen to his wife's career. TOWARD THIS end Kearney has established certain rules no Playboy layouts, no beach party pictures, no Elvis Presley movies, no deodorant or undergarment commercials, and no prostitute roles unless their source is a literary classic. These rules are just now being put to a test, and thus far Keamey has stuck to them. A few days ago, for example, Patricia was offered $50,000 to do a movie, but it wasn't the "right kind" of movie, so Kearney turned it down. Kearney's determination Is matched by Patricia's.

She began planning her career at 12 when she was growing up In North Miami, Fla. She took dancing and singing lessons, studied long and hard, and was graduated from high school at 16. Then, with 51,000 in the bank, she went to New York. THE TEEN-AGER was no babe in the woods. She went in boldly and with a cunning far beyond her years.

She got her first job in a matter of days as a dancer on the Perry Como television show. Patricia admits to. using all sorts of tricks. Once she found herself among 600 dancers waiting to audition for three jobs. She left, but then phoned the show's dance director.

"I By JACK MAJOR Patricia Ilarty is going to be a big, big star. Lota of people think so. Especially Patricia. "There never was a time I didn't know exactly what I wanted," she says. And what she wants exactly Is to be a big, big star.

MOST PEOPLE who have seen her perform or have met her are convinced Patricia will make it. She holds some people under a weird kind of spell. I actually heard one woman refer to Patricia Harty as "Destiny's child." In 20 years, this woman claimed, Patricia will be the most famous actress in the world. The 24-year-old actress may never become that big a star, but she is moving in that direction. This season she's starring in the NBC comedy series, Occasional Wife, a contrived bit of nonsense that has absolutely nothing going for It except the performances of its stars, Michael Callan and Patricia Harty.

ITS A TRIBUTE to their ability that the show will likely return for a second season. If two other performers were doing the show, it probably would have been canceled weeks ago. But one show does not a career make. Countless actresses from. Polly Bergen to Abby Dalton have grabbed honors on TV and then fallen far short of their goals elsewhere.

Why is it that Patricia Harty has been singled out for success total, whopping, bigger-than-life success? A BIG REASON is Patricia's enormous talent which she can channel In any direction musicals, comedies and dramas. Another i-eason is her image. She is tiny cute and not va-va-voom voluptuous. "Old ladies look at me in a bikini and still think I'm a nice girl. To show how innocent and harmless I look In a bikini the New York Times ran a picture of me In one.

And how many times have you seen a girl in a bikini on the pages of the New York Times? "Sure, sometimes I envy girls who are, you know, built" and Patricia drew an outline with her hands that measured about 46-23-36 "but then I look at the roles they play, and I'm glad I'm the way I am." WHAT PATRICIA is is skinny. Well, almost. Let's say slim. She's five-foot-six and probably doesn't weigh 107 pounds soaking wet. When she approaches you from a 25-foot distance, you immediately figure her for a 12-year-old.

As she gets nearer, she gets older, but even when you're face-to-face you're sure she couldn't be more than 17. "A couple of years ago I played the ingenue in 'Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Momma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So In the third act, the girl seduces a young man. "One night a woman left a complaint at the box office. She wanted the producer arrested. She thought there must be a law against anyone as young as I appearing in a seduction scene." Dick Clark's American Bandstand every Saturday.

For this I had to take a train to Philadelphia every week because the commercials wore done live. One Saturday I couldn't make it and so they agreed to tape the commercial. Well, after that I was 'busy' every Saturday and they had to tape all of them. After all, that was a bit much riding to Philadelphia and back to New York just to do one commercial." One of Patricia's commercials is still shown occasionally. She's a stewardess who drops a tray when she sees one of the passengers brushing his teeth after his meal.

"Hardly anyone recognizes me," she says. "I had dark hair then." Those commercials were valuable In many ways. "For one thing, the money was great. I made about 000 from that toothpaste commercial. 1 also learned a lot about acting and about make-up.

You really don't know how important make-up is until you've been around awhile. You can change your appearance completely when you know how to handle your make-up." PATRICIA MADE her acting debut in those commercials and in a few comedy skits on the Carry Moore Show. "I had never acted before, not even in high school." She deliberately left acting to last in preparing her career. "I wasn't worried when I got to New York. There are always jobs available to girls who can sing and dance.

I figured I'd be able to act later. Too many young girls try to work in reverse. They go to New York or Holly, wood hoping to act, and then discover the best opportunities go to girls who can do musicals." Patricia was making $275-a-week as a dancer and part-time comedienne for Garry Moore when Kearney advised her to quit and take a $95-a-week job as dancer and understudy in the Broadway musical, "Fiorelle." She took his advice and eight months later was playing a principal role in the show. Noel Coward saw her in It and signed her for his musical, "Sail i Away." IT WAS DURING the Philadelphia tryout of this show that Patricia accidentally demonstrated her quick wit. She was wearing a bikini in a dance routine when the bra strap snapped.

She smiled, told the audience, "Excuse me," and without missing a beat, danced into the wings and returned a moment later wearing a man's sport coat. Her quickness and Intelligence (Continued on Pag 7) -i 5 --h; -it i l'S iM t.4r 4 tMy --w i tf i PATRICIA HARTY IS A DEFINITE ASSET TO OCCASIONAL WIFE tiie series might have been cancelled.