Since BK talks about NIAGARA and actor Casey Adams in his blog today, I thought I would take the opportunity to post this brief excerpt from my forthcoming (late October/early November) 2nd memoir, LIFE, LIBERTY & THE PURSUIT OF HOLLYWOOD: More of My Wacky Adventures in Tinseltown.
I stepped into an elevator one day, and immediately recognized the
only other occupant. He was an actor, Casey Adams, who had played
secondary, albeit key, roles in many movies of the 1950s. Perhaps he is
best remembered as Jean Peters’ husband in the classic Marilyn Monroe
thriller, Niagara.
In the early 1960s, Adams reverted to using his real name, Max
Showalter, professionally, and since I had his undivided attention in that
elevator, I decided to ask him why he would drop “Casey Adams” since he
was so well established in the business under that name.
“I hated that name,” he said with a guffaw. “I was under contract to
Fox, and they chose it. So, when I went freelance, I went back to my own
name because I’m ‘Max Showalter,’ not ‘Casey Adams’.”
“Didn’t that hurt your career?” I wanted to know.
“Not at all,” he said. “Casey Adams was never a star, and producers
and casting people knew what I could do.”
As Max Showalter, the former Casey Adams played the stage role of
“Horace Vandergelder” in Hello, Dolly! more than 3,000 times opposite
such ladies as Carol Channing, Betty Grable, Ginger Rogers, and Betsy
Palmer, and also did television and films, most notably playing “Grandpa
Fred” in Sixteen Candles (1984).
Barbara Hershey, who was a publicity client for a few months about
the time her breakout movie, Last Summer (1969), was released, also
changed her professional name for a short while to “Barbara Seagull,” but
that didn’t work for her. Unlike Showalter, Barbara was a star and, aside
from her magnificent acting abilities, producers who hired her were also
paying for a star’s name to advertise on their marquees.
“Barbara Seagull” was a virtual unknown; therefore I can only assume
that the reappearance of “Barbara Hershey” was a practical decision
on her part.
