The Baritone and His Lady…..

…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 III….

Jeanette and Nelson were still on location in Tahoe for “Rose Marie” when Jeanette realized that her spells of nausea and dizziness were not a result of the mountain air or overwork. She was definitely pregnant. Nelson was thrilled and wanted to marry her right away but Jeanette reminded him again of that insidious little clause in her contract. She couldn’t marry, divorce or have a child without studio consent…in other words, the express permission of L. B. Mayer. Nelson reluctantly agreed to wait until she told her boss (unlike Jeanette, Nelson never regarded Mayer as his boss when it came to private matters) but he wanted to leave as soon as possible for Reno to get married.

Lunch on location

Mayer was livid. He disliked Nelson and this didn’t improve his mood. He insisted that Jeanette get an abortion and stop any further relationship with “that baritone”. When Jeanette told Nelson about Mayer’s answer and suggested that perhaps it might be better to wait and have children later, he hit the ceiling and later,when she tragically miscarried, he wrongly assumed the worst and walked out on her. It would cost him dearly. Grief-stricken Jeanette turned to their mutual friend, director Woody Van Dyke and then to a constant visitor to the set, Gene Raymond.

“Rose Marie” had to be finished with the two stars barely speaking to one another and never noticing that Mayer was busy getting even with his most unfavorite person. He had Nelson’s scenes chopped up or axed completely, his make-up sabotaged to make him look artificial and the promise of Technicolor was scrapped for black and white. But there was one thing Mayer couldn’t control… the fans that couldn’t get enough of Nelson and Jeanette. “Rose Marie” was another smash hit!

In January, 1936 with the picture wrapped, Nelson took off on his annual spring concert tour and Jeanette began a solo film with Clark Gable titled “ San Francisco ”. Gable was giving her the cold shoulder, blaming her for the breakup with Nelson. But when Nelson got back and visited her on the set, it was evident they still loved each other. Co-star Spencer Tracy said “ They get more out of one look than I get out of the whole sex act!” But the reunion only brought more heartbreak. A career and a lost child still stood between them. In August, 1936, Jeanette’s mother announced her daughter’s engagement to Gene Raymond.

Gene, Jeanette and her Mama!

The first "Maytime"

But the fans wanted more of their singing sweethearts on screen and less of Gene Raymond off screen. The mail kept pouring into the studio and finally Irving Thalberg, the boy genius at MGM decided that Romberg’s “Maytime” would suit the duo very well. It was to be Nelson and Jeanette’s first Technicolor picture (again) andthey would do the duet from the second act of Puccini’s “Tosca” as ell. The picture was almost finished when the young producer died of pneumonia and all his projects stopped. L. B. Mayer gleefully scrapped the whole thing and had the movie rewritten and recast except for its two leads….and once again, it was to be done in black and white.

The filming was agony for Nelson and Jeanette. They had tried to recapture the magic but it continued to elude them. They were still hopelessly in love but unable to bridge their differences. The “Will You Remember” scene under the tree had to be re-shot again and again because Nelson couldn’t sing to Jeanette without tears and then she would cry, too. So director “Pops” Leonard told Nelson to look over her head at a prop tree while he was singing. It worked with a bit of cutting and editing but the camera still picked up some of their tears in the final cut.

"Will You Remember?"

“Maytime” opened in theaters in March, 1937. It was another mega hit. Jeanette began filming “The Firefly” with Allan Jones in mid-April and planning her wedding to Gene Raymond. Nelson came back from his spring concert tour to find an invitation to her wedding in his mail box along with a command from Mayer that he sing at the nuptials. He tried to see Jeanette but when he finally did get past Mayer’s spies, the same old problems bubbled up.

On June 16 th, 1937 in a Hollywood wedding worthy of an Academy Award, Jeanette MacDonald married Gene Raymond.

To Be Continued….

Next Issue: More about the wedding and its aftermath, the filming of “Girl of the Golden West” and “Sweethearts”, and another foolish marriage.

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

From out of the archives…

… our presentation of “Maytime”….

More from Joaner’s Collection…Nelson and the Animal Kingdom!

A friendly discussion!

Another mouth to feed!

Yep, he bought a horse!