The Baritone and His Lady….

…after the stockings were hung

by the chimney with care….

…what were they doing?…

….and where were they doing it?

Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy were the most beloved and successful singing team the screen would ever see and their celluloid romances captured the hearts and imagination of America. Off screen, they fell in love, too, but their temperaments, careers, outside circumstances and the wiles of a manipulating studio head interrupted the happy-ever-after.

But, although they foolishly separated and married others, the love they shared never died.

Part II….

“Naughty Marietta ” began filming in early December and while the weather was balmy outside, it was a bit frosty on the set. Nelson was annoyed with the heavy makeup, itching under the period costume and at odds with the director. Jeanette was in a prima donna mood making her own changes to the wardrobe and also at odds with the director. The only one at peace with the decisions that were being made was…the director! And one thing that director Woodbridge Strong (Woody) Van Dyke II was learning fast…. Nelson and Jeanette were in love with each other!

W. S. Van Dyke II

But they just weren’t acting like it. After unsuccessfully trying to get them both on the same page, he decided to try a surprise attack by skipping right to the love scenes. Without warning, Nelson and Jeanette were literally thrown into each other’s arms! It worked and suddenly the romance was again in top gear and evident to everyone on the set. Nelson sent flowers to Jeanette’s dressing room every day and even bought her little gifts of jewelry. Jeanette, on the other hand, fought to get him more dialogue, more songs and equal billing. She also bought him a dog they named “ Sheba ”.

Meanwhile upstairs behind a big white desk, L. B. Mayer was fuming, determined to stop this budding romance and put a permanent crimp in the baritone’s career. But when the movie opened, it was a spectacular success and any plans Mayer had to jettison Nelson had to be dropped. Nelson Eddy was an overnight sensation. The picture topped all the popularity polls and even won an Oscar nod for Best Picture (it lost to “Mutiny on the Bounty”). Fans clamored for more. Nelson and Jeanette were now “ America ’s Singing Sweethearts”!

Louis B. Mayer

But the romance was again on rocky ground by early summer. Nelson proposed but tacked on an non-negotiable clause….he would continue his career but Jeanette would retire from the screen to be his wife and raise their family. Jeanette turned him down flat. Her career was very important to her. She was a star and she had worked very hard to get there. So again they began to date others (Nelson with Frances Marian and Isabel Jewell, and Jeanette with Gene Raymond, another blond actor). And they were both miserable.

 

 

Isabel Jewell

Gene Raymond

But the studio realized that professionally they had to be teamed again to take advantage of their new popularity so a script was quickly decided on…..a Rudolph Friml-Herbert Stothart operetta titled “Rose Marie”. It was to filmed on location near Lake Tahoe in early September, 1935.

Even before filming began Nelson and Jeanette were back together again. They just didn’t seem be happy apart. Nelson proposed again and this time Jeanette said yes but with a non-negotiable clause of her own….she would continues working until the planned family came along and then limit her work to one film a year and concerts. Nelson gave her a huge emerald ring surrounded by diamonds and tried to get her to elope. But Jeanette wanted a big church wedding. She also wanted the engagement kept secret from everyone but Woody until they had time to tell their parents( his mother loved her, her mother hated him) and the studio. She also remembered the so-called morality clause in her contract that required her to have L. B. Mayer’s blessing on any marriages or pregnancies.

They enjoyed their off-time together walking, canoeing or just talking. Jeanette always said it was the best weeks of her life. But before filming was ever finished, their lives took another turn….. Jeanette found out she was pregnant.

 

 

 

To Be Continued……

The mountie and his lady

Next issue…the aftermath of Lake Tahoe , the making of “Maytime” and one unfortunate marriage.

...but is you can't wait, you'll find the whole story in Sharon Rich's book "Sweethearts"!.

 

For more information, thake thee to http://www.maceddy.com

From out of the archives …(use icon to click on slideshow)
our presentation of “Naughty Marietta ”!

* We would like to thank our gracious staffer Joan Woolley for restoring our outdated floppy collection with DVDs plus many more new pictures of Nelson and Jeanette you will see in future issues. Joaner, you are a gem!

 

 

Here are two of Joaner’s contributions!

"That's some wall hanging!"

Nelson gets shorn of his "Marietta" hair!