How he really feels about today's kids?
By May Bern
A father in real life and on TV (always!), John Forsythe minces no words as he reveals
Sometimes a man "looks back in anger" at the days of his youth; sometimes in despair at certain mistakes he made that seriously affected his whole life. Handsome John Forsythe looks back with a broad grin, a roguish twinkle in his eye, and something resembling affectionate disbelief, viewing himself as he was then almost as a separate person, altogether different from the kind of man he became in maturity.
"I was a loose-jointed young man about many things," he confessed, grinning. "I had no sense of responsibility. I wasn't a very serious fellow. Now I have a better sense of proportion about work and hard discipline."
Definitely that "loose-jointed" youth is now lost in the limbo of time past, yet John Forythe's very considerable personal charm is rooted in his younger self. It is a flashing of wit, of laughter, lightheartedness, a mercurial magic of lights, halftones and shadings that relieve and give depth to the man grown serious now and very aware of responsibility, with a commitment to and involvement in the major issues of the time—including the concern of most parents about today's young people.
This latter question has been brought home to John Forsythe perhaps more than to most actors, since he is both a professional and personal "father." There has been some discussion as to the influence television has had on youthful viewers, but one wonders how much it may influence the very people who work in it.
In Forsythe's case, having been a father for five years in the Bachelor Father series, and now going into a second season as the father of three children (Susan Neher, Melaine Fuller-ton and teenager Joyce Menges, with him on previous page) in the CBS-TV series To Rome With Love, it has brought parenthood up close in all its complexity.
In real life Forsythe (by his first marriage) is the father of a son, Dall, now going for his Ph.D. in political science on a fellowship at Columbia University; and (by his present marriage) two daughters: Page, 20—whom Forsythe describes as "a raven-haired gypsy poet, a brilliant writer who can't add two and two"—and Brooke, 16, "neat, blonde, disciplined and a genius at math."
According to John, it should be recognized that each child is an individual. "Page and Brooke are quite different from each other, yet they were brought up the same, in the same household. I'm very partial to kids," he added, "though I'm no authority on raising them. Naturally, I hope mine will turn out well. Youngsters are subject to outside influences, so you fill them with your standards and try to set them a good example. You have to respect and love them and push them 28 out of the nest."
Forsythe believes that discipline should begin early—always benevolent, and always with that good example.
"In a good household there should be mutual love and respect either adult to adult or adult to child. If one of my children defies me, I will apologize if I'm wrong. If not—if it's a borderline case—then I am the final arbiter. My wife has had a tremendous influence with the girls and has contributed enormously to the success of the family. Raising kids is always a two-parent job."
Questioned on his ideas of suitable discipline for children, John said: "Well, I never hit my kids. That's a bully thing to do. My own father believed in 'spare the rod and spoil the child.' Consequently, I feared him and we had a cold and distant relationship until he was quite old. My mother was just the other way. But I do remember, when I was 11 years old, my father said something that stayed with me: 'I don't worry about you, John. You will always take care of yourself, you'll be all right.' "
Forsythe amply fulfilled his father's confidence in him. "I've really never had any trouble in life," he stated. "Only the small personal tragedies— like the death of my parents—but everybody has those."
Careerwise, John eventually distinguished himself as an important star on Broadway, in movies, and in television. It all began because he was an avid baseball fan and got himself a job as sports announcer at Ebbet's Field—mainly so he could see the games for free. It was a natural step from there to radio acting, which decided his choice of a career as an actor.
But there is a period of apprenticeship in "becoming an actor" that often includes a lot of things besides the opportunity to act. In Forsythe's lean days he worked as a waiter at Schrafft's in New York—along with an unknown named Kirk Douglas. He joined the Claire Tree Children's Theatre troupe, where he not only performed on stage but also drove one of the company's trucks, and served as assistant stage manager. It was a long and winding tour back to Broadway. His first appearance on the Great White Way was in the Jose Ferrer starrer, Vickie. Then came Yankee Point, during which he was signed to a contract by Warner Bros, and made his first Hollywood movie with Gary Grant in Destination Tokyo.
Following this he entered the U. S. Army Air Corps, and flew right into the cast of Moss Hart's famous musical, Winged Victory, which featured such Air Corps personnel as Mario Lanza, Gary Merrill, Edmond O'Brien, Karl Mauldin and Lee J. Cobb, all of them unknown at the time.
Out of the service, John returned to Broadway in It Takes Two, and then replaced Arthur J. Kennedy in a notable play, All My Sons. This period was also the Golden Age of live TV drama, and Forsythe appeared in such programs as Studio One, Kraft Theatre, Philco Playhouse, and many others. He played the Henry Fonda role in Mister Roberts, both in the road company and on Broadway. Then came his outstanding stage triumph as the original star of Teahouse of the August Moon.
Subsequently, Forsythe came to Hollywood and made his versatile mark in both comedy and dramatic roles in a long list of important movies. There was Hitchcock's The Trouble With Harry, Madame X, In Cold Blood, and Topaz, to name but a few.
In 1956, television claimed him to star in the Bachelor Father series, which ran for five years. Later he did The John Forsythe Show. In 1968, producer Don Fedderson offered him the starring role in To Rome With Love. This happy series,. created by one of TV's better writers, Joan O'Brien, fought and won the battle of the ratings. This season came the great news that To Rome With Love has been renewed for next season. Thus again, professionally, the problems of parenthood are brought close to John Forsythe.
"When I was in Bachelor Father" John said, "I used to get literally hundreds of letters, such sad letters, from teenage girls, saying 'You're so kind and good and sympathetic.' I sometimes wondered if my own girls were writing to Robert Young! The TV concept of complete understanding on the part of parents is not real. In life, there is always friction.
"But today's kids are great. They're more aware, brighter, more committed. Of course, education now is much improved, and television has been of great assistance, both good and bad— mostly good. Kids now have a more defined and heightened interest in what's going on in the world. They know about social justice, the problems of minorities, and they're going all out on ecology. The great majority have gotten a bad name because a small percentage of young people are doing peculiar things.
"I love kids, both my own and those in my TV family. Children are like a clean blackboard. They have such a wonderful potential in this unscarred time of life. They learn so quickly that life is not all jollies and joy. They reflect so much of their parents, their early schooling and church training.
"I have become very attached to the kids on the show.
"At the end of filming this last January, we had a final-day party. We didn't know if the series would be renewed, and we said goodbye not knowing if we'd ever meet again. I've been through this before. You say goodbye and don't see them again for years. With the kids it's a very sensitive, lovely and touching thing. They're so concerned at parting. For them, it's really the possible dissolution of a family."
Happily, they will all meet again when filming resumes in late summer. Meanwhile, John is strongly involved in charity work as a national officer of the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Mental Health. He makes fund raising speeches and travels to other cities to emcee special charity events. Lately he's been busy at the "Stop Smoking" clinics.
The other John Forsythe, or at least the part of him that remembers the young swinger he once was, loves fun. "I like a drink. I like to laugh, to dance. I play poker and golf and tennis, and I drive a Ferrari because I like a fast car."
John is a charmer with Pied Piper appeal. But cool it, gals. John lives in Bel-Air with Julie, his wife of nearly 25 years, and there's no way.