Rosalind Russell and Frederick Brisson Here is a Q&A session with Rosalind Russell in Hollywood Magazine, 1942!
Q. Do you dress to please your husband?
A. No. To please myself.
Q. Do you take to people at first sight?
A. Yes. I like 98 per cent of the people I meet.
Q. Who has the last word at home?
A. _____________________
Q. Do you resent having your private life made public because you are a motion picture star?
A. My private life has actually never been discussed. I have never talked on love or about my husband—so I can’t say that I mind it at all!
Q. What would you say is your main idiosyncrasy?
A. I guess my friends could tell you better. But I DEFINITELY talk too much.
Q. Does your husband like your extreme hats?
A. Only if they are flattering.
Q. What famous person, outside of President Roosevelt, would you like to meet?
A. General Chiang Kai-shek.
Q. What photographic angle of your face do you consider your best? Worst?
A. Full face—with sleep. Full face—without sleep!
Q. Have you ever tried to disguise yourself to avoid fans in public?
A. Yes—for the sneak preview of The Women, I dressed as a woman of 80 with a gray wig, etc.
Q. Did you ever have an inferiority complex as a child?
A. I’m afraid not. I was always something of an extrovert.
Q. Do you mind candid camera shots of yourself?
A. No. I prefer them. I dislike posed pictures.
Q. If you couldn’t be an actress, what would you like to be?
A. I should like to be in the merchandising world.
Q. What type of clothes do you like most to wear?
A. Suits. I think I wear them better than other things.
Q. What do you notice first about people?
A. Their eyes. Most eyes are good. There are some (few, thank heaven) which I recall as “mean.”
Q. Do you like to fuss with yourself?
A. No. It makes me nervous to keep tampering with my hair and my face.
Q. W hich role was the most difficult for you to do?
A. The Citadel. I am not the “Arrowsmith” type. I mean by that, the wife in Arrowsmith.
Q. Would you like to switch from your screwball, fast-talking roles to the sympathetic character you were in The Citadel?
A. No. Not for the duration of the war.
Q. What do you consider the best picture you ever made?
A. His Girl Friday.
Q. Are you always impeccably groomed?
A. Not always. That would be impossible considering the wind, rain and so forth.
Q. Does your husband help you in your work?
A. My husband helps me in my career by keeping out of my career.
Q. What would you say is your greatest fault?
A. I procrastinate.
Q. And your greatest virtue?
A. I listen.
Q. Do you have an oft-recurring dream or nightmare?
A. I very seldom dream, and I’ve never had a nightmare that I can remember.
Q. Do you worry about what others think of you?
A. No. I have enough lines as it is.
Q. Have you ever missed out on a role you wanted?
A. Yes. Dark Victory.
Q. Are you stubborn?
A. Not particularly. I can see the other fellow’s side, but when I think I’m right, I’ll stick to my guns.
Q. Do you find it flattering or annoying to have autograph fans hound you?
A. It’s usually flattering.
Q. Do you wish you were shorter?
A. No. I find my height very comfortable and makes it easier to wear clothes.
Q. Do you find it difficult to combine marriage with your career?
A. Not at all; each has its place and my husband respects my work.
Q. Do you like to play games where you have to do silly things as a forfeit?
A. Yes. I like to act silly now and then.
Q. Do you talk as fast in person as you do on the screen?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you notice men’s clothes?
A. Yes; I’m very conscious of them.
Q. What is your pet peeve about them?
A. Careless linen.
Q. When have you deliberately tried to steal a scene?
A. Every time the camera turns over!
