DONNA
REED
DEPARTS
It is the end of
the last day for The Donna Reed Show—after eight years,
the last good-bye—and on Stage 5, Screen Gems’ studios
in Hollywood, producer Tony Owen, husband of the star, is giving a
farewell party.
The party is for
cast and crew, but in Hollywood a star is a star, and she makes her
entrance, still wearing makeup but changed from working clothes into
a suit of her favorite color—pink. “Oh dear,” she
says, eyes brimming, “I vowed I wouldn’t cry.”
Even when Steve
Blauner, Screen Gems vice president, arrives bearing a gag gift for
Owen, Donna Reed remains the center of attention. She does the unwrapping.
The gag: a hockey stick. Owen had been trying to get a National Hockey
League franchise. (Unsuccessfully, it turned out.) There is a popping
of flash bulbs.
The party draws to a close.
She says her final good-byes—to makeup man, hairdresser, grip,
gaffer, fellow players. Then, on her husband’s arm, she heads
for home.
Her plans for the future?
“Oh, rest, travel—fun, fun, fun!” As for the others,
it will be other shows, other seasons, other tearful TV end-of-production
parties.
