Berkeley Square

[Leslie Howard as Peter Standish in
Berkeley Square, Lyric Theatre, London]

After years of disappointments on Broadway, Leslie Howard finally had a string of successes. It had been ten years since Howard made the decision to "try" acting and he was finally seeing the rewards. Howard had received rave reviews for The Green Hat and Her Cardboard Lover and was now an actor in demand. He got his first chance to star in a purely dramatic role in Escape, touted (due to a misunderstanding) as the last play John Galsworthy would ever write.

William Gargan - This post is dedicated to Leslie Gargan

[Leslie Howard with good friend Bill Gargan, along
with Fred MacMurray, W. C. Fields and George Arliss]

In William Gargan's book, Why Me? An Autobiography, Gargan enjoys recounting his memories of times spent with his good friend, Leslie Howard. One of the traits Gargan found amusing about Howard was his "frugality." This trait in Howard was also noted by Howard's daughter, Leslie Ruth, in her book, A Quite Remarkable Father. Leslie Ruth tells a

Serendipity

After filming had finished in Hollywood for British Agent (1934), Howard, who hated to travel alone, convinced his friend and co-star, William Gargan, to accompany him on the train to the east coast where he was to meet his wife, Ruth. Ruth had already made the trip east with Gargan's wife, Mary, and was waiting for Howard to arrive so the two could board the Majestic bound for England where Howard was to begin filming The Scarlet Pimpernel (released in the United States in 1935). Apparently, Howard and Gargan had such a good time on the train that Howard convinced the Gargans to continue the journey to England, even though the Gargans had no cash. Of course, Howard paid their way. He wanted to make sure he had good company on the crossing.