(Interview has already started at beginning of tape.)
Ginger: Thank you. (Laughter)
Rosetta: I remember the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers dance team. Now tell me, first
of all, Ginger, how did you get into show biz? You’ve been a super star a long time, but
how did it all start?
Ginger: Now are you asking me to give you my history, is that what you want?
Rosetta: Well, not, the history that…
Ginger: Oh, do you mean in a capsule you want me to give it?
Rosetta: Yeah, in a capsule tell us.
Ginger: A history capsule. Uh, a girl, who was going to school, who was named
Virginia Catherine McMath, by step-father Rogers, won a Charleston contest. The prize
was four weeks down the interstate circuit in Dallas, in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio
and, uh, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Texas. And after that, after those
weeks in performing to receive the prize that she already won, she was seen by agents
who asked her to go out on the road, which of course you know, is, can be any amount of
time that you want to accept road show, road showing, such as all of the very famous
people that you and I have known for years have always done, like a Jack Benny, George
Burns, Steve Allen, et cetera, et cetera. I was invited to do that; did it. Came to New
York, was seen doing this, asked to show. I did it. It turned out that the people who saw
me, wanted to test me for tele…, for motion picture. I did the motion picture, got a
contract, and thereby hangs the tale. Is that capsule enough?
Rosetta: Well, almost too much. We always hear that you have to have a connection;
someone to talk to, someone to reach before you can actually be discovered.
Ginger: That’s not true.
Rosetta: That’s not true. And in your case it wasn’t true. Good.
Ginger: This has never been true in my case. I have known a lot of people and not any
of them have ever done anything for me.
Rosetta: That’s interesting. Tell us about Hollywood when you went to Hollywood.
Hollywood during the glamour era. You were there, Ginger, when it was really just….
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Ginger: It was a very beautiful time. Actually, the, it was the way it should be. The way
it isn’t now. And the atmosphere was one of beauty and…
Rosetta: Luxury.
Ginger: And glamour and luxury. And desire to do the very best and have the best of the
best. And I mean in performance and storytelling, in camera work, in sound, et cetera.
That’s why so many of the perfections have come out. They’ve come out of that
particular age and time when they were striving to have better sound, better cameras,
more, uh, more of the best. And it did come forward. So I have experienced the best
time in the motion picture industry, yes, I feel so. Of course, I don’t say that today is not
a most marvelous day, I do say that, too. I do think that the productions of motion
pictures have lost their storytelling ability, because they’re telling things, the grimy things
of life. And that isn’t the way it is, at all. I mean that isn’t just at your corner of your
street. It is not. It’s only in a very small corner of the world where all of this is
happening. This violence and this ugliness and this nudity and profanity, and immorality.
This is not happening on every street on every corner of this United States.
Rosetta: Well, that’s true.
Ginger: And they are performing it as though, “this is the way it is, kids. Why don’t you
do it, too; everybody does it.”
Rosetta: Don’t you think it has a definite influence on how we live? People who would
not think of doing things like that.
Ginger: That’s why I’m saying this. This is not the case, but they’re, you know the
influence is terribly subtle, and if one doesn’t watch out, and pay attention, you have just
gotten yourself a card for all the violence, immorality, and all, you’ve just bought it. And
the thing is to keep yourself neat from all of this nonsense. Because it is nonsense and
the day of retribution does come, let’s face it.
Rosetta: Now with people like you in the industry who’ve been there a long time, who
are recognized and have prestigious position in the industry, do you voice your opinions
to others now in the industry? How do they feel, how do they accept your opinions and
your feelings because others I know who’ve gone through another era in Hollywood feel
as you. What happens when you say these things to those who are producing this kind of
film?
Ginger: Well, of course they already know it by the fact that I’m doing this television,
this radio show for you, that they know my feelings because they’ve heard it. So they
don’t, they turn they’re back when they see me coming. They don’t want to hear what
I’m saying. You see, truth never, I mean error never wants to hear truth speak, ever.
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Rosetta: That’s true. Why is it then in your era music was a big thing and musicals were
big shows and the dance and the singing? It was true entertainment, enjoyable
entertainment. Is it our times that have changed the movies? Do you think times are
tougher now? You know during World War II we still had fabulous musicals.
Ginger: Yes, of course we did. But I think it’s because the, you know the inflation has
been in the past 25 years, inflation has. Everyone seems to think it just happened
yesterday. It didn’t. The past 25 years inflation has been growing and growing and
growing. I don’t know why we all think it just happened, started just after Christmas. But
it didn’t. And so, movies have cost much, much, too much. And everything seems to
cost much too much. There’s, they say the reason they don’t make movies is because
they cost 25 or 35 or 75 million dollars to make. It isn’t necessary. But it seems to be the
case because of, we’re all striving in the entire world without earning our place in the
sun. We want the money that goes with what we think is our place in the sun. But I
think in the human life we do have to prove our way along the way. And I think that’s
the way you do earn your rights for the things. So I’m a fernenster, you see.
Rosetta: We’ll end on that, thank you very much Miss Ginger Rogers.
