 Lux presents Hollywood. Lux Radio Theatre brings you Gary Cooper in The Pride of the Yankees with Virginia Bruce and Edgar Buchanan. Ladies and gentlemen, your producer, Mr. Cecil B. DeMille. Greetings from Hollywood, ladies and gentlemen. Tomorrow afternoon in New York's Yankee Stadium, the exciting cry of play ball will begin another world series. In the clubhouse under the grandstand, as game time comes near, the players will be pulling their uniforms out of the lockers, and there'll be jokes and horseplay because four players are like that. But one of those lockers will not be open tomorrow. That locker has never been used by anyone since the day in June 1939 when Lou Gehrig hung up his glove for the last time. Lou Gehrig is one of baseball's immortals. His records are on the books for all to read. But Gary Cooper is here on this stage not to bring us a baseball story, but a drama of human courage, the story of a man who knew his destiny and faced it without flinching. That story is the one told in Samuel Goldwyn's fine motion picture, The Pride of the Yankees. And starring with Gary tonight, we present Virginia Bruce and Edgar Buchanan. Lou Gehrig is in the great American tradition, and there certainly is no better choice than Gary Cooper to play the part. I've called on Gary twice in pictures to play heroes from that same tradition. And he's busy with the third one for me now in the story of Dr. Wassel. You know, this evening is a real occasion on this stage where it was just nine years ago that Lux Toilet soap presented the first play in the Lux Radio Theatre. And do you remember what was happening then? The Italians were marching into Ethiopia, and Mussolini's army was considered one of the strongest in the world. The first thin man picture came out that year, and skirts, believe it or not, were being worn just above the ankle. Nine years ago, millions of you were already using our product. Since then, scientists have made Lux Toilet soap even better, and millions more have joined our family circle. Now here's the anniversary curtain going up on the first act of the Pride of the Yankees, starring Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig, with Virginia Bruce as LA, Edgar Buchanan as Sam Blake, and Elsa Johnson as Mom. ["Long Son"] Long son, I will say to your face, you are good for nothing, Lou Gehrig. All baseball players are good for nothing. Lofa's in short pants. ["Long Son"] That of what Lou Gehrig's mother told him the day she found out he was a ball player. She was all against it at first, but she came around later. By the way, my name's Sam Blake, and I'm a sports writer. I was kind of a special friend of Lou's, so I know a lot about him. That's what I'm here for now. I want you to know him, too, the way I did. Yeah, Lou's mother had great plans for him. Even when he was just a kid, she had plans like the afternoon he came home after a game of sandlock baseball. Told his mother he'd like to quit school. How can you say that? Look at your papa. Look at me. We didn't go to school, and what are we? A janitor, a cook. I want you to be somebody. Sure, Mom, sure. Like your Uncle Otto, Louie. Don't you see, Louie? That's why I'm cooking up at Columbia College. So you can go there some day and be an engineer like your Uncle Otto. But Mom, maybe I ain't cut out to be an engineer. What do you want to know? I want to be a... Gee, I don't know, Mom. An engineer, I guess. Lou went to school, he even went to Columbia. Worked his way through waiting on tables in a fraternity house. He'd been playing ball all the time, made diversity. Then one evening he showed up at home for dinner wearing a pledge pin. Hiya, Mom. What? I just said hi. All right, hi. Uh, notice anything, Mom? I notice Popeye's laid and the soup's getting cold. Sit down, Louie. Mom, look, I'm wearing a pin. Sigma Alpha Psi. Oh, Lou, they took you in. Yeah, this afternoon. Oh, Lou, everything's going so fine now. Well, this is just a pledge pin. I got the real pin before long, and when I get it, I'm supposed to give it to my best girl. Are you still my best girl, Mom? Always. Well, it'll mean you'll have to go steady with me. You can't even look at anybody else. Not even Papa? Hmm, all right. Papa. I didn't know Lou then, but I heard all about those days from his mother. First time I ever ran across him was up at South Field. I was sitting in an office one spring afternoon talking to the Columbia football coach. Over on South Field, they were practicing baseball. Well, Sam, I'm going to build my football team around a new man next fall, a great halfback. That's so? Yes, sir, one of the most promising kids I've ever... What the? Well, you can stand for a man to fix that window. Somebody gunning for you, Jim? Well, there it is, a baseball. Baseball? Yeah, come over here to the window. See that fellow trotting around the bases? That's the halfback I was telling you about. Lou Gehrig, a line-plunging fool. Football? For a kid that can hit a baseball this far? Well, Sam, there's a pretty stiff wind blown in this direction. Yeah, well, that wind could blow him right into the Major Leagues. I got hold of Lou one afternoon a few days later. I told him Miller Huggins of the Yankees would like to give him a chance to play ball. He looked at me like he was going to faint. Yankee? You mean... you mean the New York Yankees? I don't mean the Chillicothe Yankees. Oh, thanks, gee. Well, that's wonderful, but I'm going to be an engineer. Engineer? That's what he told me. And I guess he would have been an engineer except something happened. Get in philosophical. It was one of those corners you turn in life. Just a little twist in the road. Up dinner ready yet? Lou, listen, mommy's sick. What do you mean, sick? Mama? Yes, she never said anything, but now she's sick. Well, get a doctor. I'll go right away. No, no, he's here. He's in there with her now. She didn't want him because it would cost two dollars. Well, what's wrong? What did he say? Here he is. Well, Doctor, is it serious, Doctor? Yes, it is. Oh, we've got to get your wife to the hospital immediately. The General Hospital is rather crowded just now, but I'll see if I can make arrangements. There must be room in one of the wards. Wait a minute. Mom's not going to a ward. She's going to have the best of everything. A good room in a private hospital. Lou, beggars can be choosers. A private hospital costs money, and where are we going to get it? Well, I know where I can get it. I'll get an advance on my salary. On what? My salary. I've got a chance to join the Yankees. Oh, nurse. Yes? Nurse, can we see Mrs. Garrick now? I think so. We're going to take her downstairs for another treatment, but you can only stay a moment. That's all right. I've got to catch a train. I see. We'll bring her right out. Wait here. Thank you. Well, Pop, did you read that contract? It's wonderful, Louie. Wonderful. So now you're a real baseballer, huh? Sure. But signed by Miller Huggins. He's the Yankees manager. Louie, there's one thing I don't understand. If you're going to be with the Yankees, why are they sending you from New York to Hartford to bring you back to New York? Well, they're sending me to play with the Hartford team for a while to give me the experience I need. That's the way they work it. Uh-huh. How are you going to work it? Work what? Mama, you're going to tell her? Well, sure. Sure, she'll understand. Yeah, yeah, sure. I think I'll go for a walk. Well, you stay here, Pop. There she is. Hello, Mom. Look, I'm like a baby in a carriage, Louie. Well, you let them wheel you around here till you're all well again here. How's my best girl, Mom? Fine, fine. Well, how are they treating you? Wonderful. I can't get over how much they give you here for nothing. Well, that's great, Mom. Now, look, I want to tell you something. Excuse me a minute. I'm going for a smoke. Come here, Pop. What's the matter? Well, it's nothing, Mom. Really, I... Well, I'm going away, that's all. I'm going to Hartford. Harvard. Harvard College. Oh, that's wonderful. You are going to be a great engineer, and Harvard Engineering School is good, huh? Well, you see, I'm... I'm afraid we'll have to take her now. Oh, well, I'll tell you about it later, Mom. Goodbye. Rick, Paul, Bill Haver, Hartford. But look, Louie, suppose Mama finds out. What about me? Well, protect yourself and the clenches, Pop. So long. Wait, what about me? I'll suppose Mama writes you. Well, well, she'll write the letters, but you'll mail them, see? But what about the money you will be sending me? How will I explain that? Well, tell her you got a job. A job? Who, me? You. Goodbye, Pop. Louie, wait. What kind of a job? Well, that's up to you. Goodbye. What? I got a job. But what? Ha. I know politics. Mrs. Gary. Good morning, Mrs. Roberts. Come on in. Hello, Mr. Gary. Good morning. Well, you saw the papers this morning. Papers. The one says white, the other black. I never read them. But you must be very proud of your son. My Lou, of course, but I just can't get over how wonderful everything is with my husband, Mr. Gary, you know. You want to know when he leaves for work, when he feels like it. Political at $25 a week. Wow. What is it, Papa? Wow what? Nothing, just wow. Oh, now, now, who's that? Oh, Mrs. Fadbini, good morning. Oh, I could have waited for you to come to the door. Isn't it exciting? It's in the paper all about Lou. Gee, isn't it great? Shut up. What's going on? Wait, wait, wait. What is it all about? What did you read in the paper about Lou? Paper Lou? Here it is, read it. Gary, recalled from Hartford by Yankee? Mama, we'll talk it about it later. We'll talk about it now. Hey, Mom. Hello, Mom. Congratulations. Congratulations. Yeah, thanks. Hey, look, if you don't mind, I think there are a few things I ought to talk over with the folks. Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Well, how's my best girl, Mom? What's the matter, Mom? Well, I'd better go, too. Where? To work? I'll be right back, Louie. Mom, Mom, about Hartford, I didn't go there just because I wanted to play baseball. I went because we needed the money. You were sick and the doctor said you might die. I wish I had died, rather than see you give up everything we planned for what? To play ball. Oh, a disgrace like that. Well, it's not such a disgrace to play with the Yankees. That's what we came to America for, so that you would play baseball after all my plans for you to follow after your Uncle Otto. Mom, people have got to live their own lives. Nobody can live it for you. Well, nobody could have made a ball player out of Uncle Otto and nobody can make anything but a ball player out of me. To my own son, I'll say it to your face. You are good for nothing, Lou Gehrig. All baseballers are good for nothing. Love us in short pants. Mom, you've never been to a ball game. Maybe there's something to it. Say, why don't you come out some afternoon and watch? Never, never. I don't see Louie. Where's Louie? He's not out on the field yet, Mama. The game hasn't started. You sure we came to the right base for half? Yes, Mama. Oh, and those men down there, they are not the players. No, Mama. They are getting the field ready, Mama. Oh, what do they do with the pillows? They are not pillows. They are bases. You slide into them, Mama. I slide into them? Just watch, Mama. Huh? Just watch. Get your scorecard. Get your scorecard. You can't tell the players without a scorecard, lady. My own son, I can tell. The others are none of my business. Your son playing? Sure. Lou Gehrig. Gehrig? Never heard of him. Substitute? No. Yankee. Well, Mom didn't get a chance to see Lou that afternoon. Not in action, anyway. It was a long time and a lot of baseball games later before he came up to bat. It happened at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Gehrig, get up there. Who, me? Yes, you. You're batting for Wally Pip. Now get a hold of one, kid. Oh, sure. Sure, Mr. Huggins. Lou started off the bench like a blue streak. Here was his chance. So what did he do? He goes right up to the pile of bats, slips on them, and falls flat on his back. There was a girl at the game that day in the field box just back at first base. Hey! It was Eleanor Quichol who started that. Angle foot, she said, and the crowd took it up like a battle cry. Well, Eleanor, you really started something. I did not. Dreadful, isn't it, Dad? Angle foot, whoa! I seem to have tied a label on that rookie. What's his name? Gehrig. He looks like a hitter, though, from where I sit. Oh! I guess he knows I started it. He's an awful mad ball player, isn't he? In Chicago, the Yankees used to have dinner in the same restaurant every night. After Lou's first game, I was there eating with him when Eleanor Quichol and her father came in. Hiya, Yankees, enjoying your stay in Chicago? Well, hello there. Hello, there, losers. Hello, Mr. Quichol. Tell your boys to bring their horseshoes with them when they come to New York next trip. Oh, you call hello, Mr. Black. Hello, Mr. Quichol. Say, how's the rookie, Izzy? Look out. Hey, come on, pick her up. Pick her up. Go to the chair. Hey, ha-ha! Angle foot. You okay, Mr. Quichol? Sure, I'm okay. Boy, what a brody. Well, that's all right, Mr. Quichol. A thing like that can happen to anybody. Mr. Quichol, this is Mr. Gary. Well, I'm glad to see you, Mr. Quichol. What's so funny? Oh, all right, we're even. Well, if we're even, maybe you'll sit down with me. Sure. Well, Mr. Gary guy here, this is your first game today. My first appearance, and am I glad to get out of the lumber business? Oh, but you wouldn't know what that means. That means... I know what it means. Well, what does it mean? Picking splinters off of your pants from sitting on the bench so long. Gee, you do know, don't you? How long do you expect to stay off the bench, Mr. Gary? Well, I'll tell you, I got a hunch I'm going to play for a long while. Uh-oh, Wally's hip must be awfully sick. Ha-ha. Hey, what are you doing with this Yankee? Hello, Sam. Hello, Mr. Quichol. This is my father, Mr. Gary. Hello, Mr.... How do you do? Oh, you're the Yankee's first baseman, eh? Yes, sir, at last. Well, I like the way you stand up to the ball, Gary. A lot of power there. Well, there, Miss Quichol. Your father knows a ball player when he sees one. Yes, he stands up to the plate five. Yes, he does. And he falls down on the bat pretty good, too, Dad. Tangle foot. Ha-ha-ha. Nice playing in those last two games, Lou. Hip is sick long enough. You'll have a good chance to show what you can do. Huh? Oh, yeah. Say, uh, Blake. What? Blake, you know a lot about women. Me? Oh, certainly. Well, uh... Well, what does it mean when a girl says you remind her of a newfoundland puppy? Oh, uh... Well, if it was an airdale, uh, that'd be bad. For a police dog, that'd be fatal. But a newfoundland puppy. I'd see her again if I was you. Ha-ha. Well, uh, she didn't say airdale. Thanks, Blake. I'll take your advice. And now, a young man and a girl who's made a hit. Gee, Mary, what a break to meet a girl like you. Look, I'm on a date tomorrow. I've only got a few days leave, and I sure want to see you some more. Yes, Mary's made a hit. And she gives the credit to her smart new dress. Of course. I know that shade of blue is just right for me. And the hat helped, too. But if you ask Bill what Mary wore that evening, I'm sure you'll find out. I'm sure you'll find out. And the hat helped, too. But if you ask Bill what Mary wore that evening, he'd tell you, oh, I don't know. Something keen, all right. The hat, it seems to me it was little. All I remember is how pretty she looked. Boy, what a complexion. Which proves again that a new dress is all very fine. But it's lovely skin that really does the trick. Yes, a soft, smooth complexion is the charm that wins. And clever girls know a quick, easy care that protects this charm. Helps skin to be fresher, more appealing. They depend on the daily beauty facials 9 out of 10 screen stars use. Active lather facials with Luxe Toilet Soap. Here's what they do. Just smooth the creamy lather well in lots and lots of it. Then rinse with warm water and splash on gold. Pat dry with a soft towel. Simple, but it works. Now, why don't you try Hollywood's beauty facials every single day? You'll find Luxe Toilet Soap's rich lather gives your complexion gentle, thorough care. Really brings it new loveliness. Active lather whisks away stale cosmetics. Every trace of dust and dirt leaves skin feeling satin smooth. Why not ask your dealer for Luxe Toilet Soap tomorrow? And if he's temporarily out of stock due to wartime conditions, he'll have more soon. Remember, Hollywood's beauty soap is worth waiting for. Now, our producer, Mr. DeMille. Act two of the Pride of the Yankees, starring Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig, with Virginia Bruce as Ellie, and Edgar Buchanan as Sam Blake. Yeah, Lou took my advice all right. Every time the team got back to Chicago, he went scooting out to see if he could find Ellen or Twitchell. He found her too. They got along fine. Yes, sir, especially the time Lou took her dancing out to a nightclub. That night was another turning point in Lou's life. Well, Mr. Gehrig, to your first World Series. Oh, don't say that, not yet. They've got six more cities waiting for us and anything can happen. Say, do you realize this is my last night in Chicago this season, and this is goodbye? Ah, well, I love them. Six more to go. Six more, goodbye. Six more of what? Well, you play in seven cities. When you're on the road, you must have a girl in every city. A ball player's like a sailor, isn't he? A girl in every port. Um, what's Miss Boston's name? I never had a girl in Boston. What about Philadelphia? St. Louis? Cleveland? Washington? New York? Hey, you forgot Chicago. Chicago? Who? Well, aren't you my girl? Oh, well, Lou, I don't know what you mean by your girl. Your best girl, is that what you mean? Well, I've seen you four days in a row and you're out with me here tonight, isn't that what best girls do? Uh, I wonder if I'm going to miss you. Can't you find out before I go? No, isn't that too bad? Why is it always like that? I have no idea. Seems silly, doesn't it? Oh, I like that tune, don't you? Will you dance with me? Sure. Lou. What? Lou, if I do miss you, I wish I knew how much I was going to. I wish you knew before I left. Shall I try? How? Well, shall I? Lou, where do you go from here? Detroit. All right. You see, I close my eyes and make believe it's tomorrow night that I'm dancing with someone else. Oh, yeah, I get the idea. All right, you ready? My eyes are closed. Are you in Detroit? Yep, I'm sitting in the lobby of the Stadler Hotel. Now, who am I dancing with? Let me see. Do I know Harold Chandler? Oh, Bill Talbot, Jim Johnson, Jack Austin, Bill Church, Sam Pye. Hey, hey. What? I don't like this game. I don't like it. I'm back in Chicago. And I'm laughing again. The Yankees won the pennant that year, played against the Cardinals in the World Series. One morning in St. Louis, just before the game, the boys went over to a hospital for crippled kids. The rest of the team left. Lou was sitting talking to a little boy, a little fellow who couldn't walk. Mr. Geary, do you ought to get my ball, too? Sure, let's see it. Babe Ruth's name there. He promised to get a Homer for me today. Well, what do you know? You're quite a fan, aren't you? I like baseball. I used to play a lot. And you play again, Billy. You know, there isn't anything you can't do if you try hard enough. I think so. Sure. Have you not got a Homer for me this afternoon? Well, you've already been promised one by Babe Ruth. Could you? Well, that's a pretty tall order. Okay. Could you knock two homers? Two homers? In a world series? Oh, Mr. Geary, you said that you could do anything if you tried hard enough. That's what you said. Well, yeah, okay. Well, I'll hit two homers for you if you'll hit one for me. Me? How? You've got to promise me that one of these days you're gonna get up out of this bed and go home on your own power. But how can I? If you want to do something hard enough, you can do it. Hey, we can both do it, can't we? Sure we can. Well, that's the idea. Well, so long, Billy. So long, Mr. Geary. Yes, make it Lou. Oh, so long, Lou. Where's Geary? Hey, Lou. Hello, Sam. The doctor's got a telegram for you, Lou. Here you are, Mr. Geary. Oh, thank you. That was a great thing this afternoon, Mr. Geary. Two homeruns in a world series. Love. What? Love, it says love. Who says? Hey, conductor, get me to Chicago. Wait a minute. Tonight. Say, how can I do it? Stop the train. Let me off. Well, you can change trains at Fenwood. Oh, listen, who says love? Who? Who? Look, I'm the one who's asking. Who? You know, Sam, you're a fine fellow. I like you. Goodbye, Sam. He's nutty enough to be on the Dodgers. Hello, officer. What are you doing around here? You don't live in this house? No. Well, what are you doing here then? Well, I was calling on the young lady. At four o'clock in the morning. What for? Well, if you must know, I was... I'm calling on the young lady that I asked her to marry me. I say. And who are you? My name's Lou Gehrig. Lou... Lou who? Gehrig. Gehrig. Hey, let me see you. Yeah. Ho, ho, ho. I didn't recognize you in the dark. My name is O'Doole. Oh, I'm glad to know you, Gehrig. What is it? Is Miss Twitchell home? Yeah, we want to see Miss Twitchell. A policeman? What's she done? Nothing yet. Wake her up and tell her Lou Gehrig wants to see her. Will you? Yes, sir. Will you come in and wait in the parlor? Yeah. Go on in, Lou. Go ahead. Ha, ho, ho. Miss Twitchell? Sit down, Lou. Sit down. Don't be suffocated. Oh, thanks, officer. Miss Twitchell, what is it? A policeman wants to see you. A policeman and a fella named Lou Gehrig. Lou. Lou. I got your wire. I came right away. Oh, I'm so glad. Look, it said love. Yes, love. Oh, lots of love. Eleanor. Oh, Lou. I miss you so. Well, I guess you don't need me anymore. Mrs. Gehrig, you must be proud. Louie should be home any minute now. I don't know what's keeping him. I love a surprise party. Look, it's Roy. Papa, stop watching with a fool. I give you the instruction. You said you would tell her for you got it wrong. You have ruined everything. I couldn't help it, Mr. Gehrig. I just delivered the cake. That's all. What happened? Look, the baseball player on top of the cake, they made Louie a right-handed batter. I didn't even know what it was. Mr. Appel just told me to deliver it. The only one in America that don't know that Louie's a southpaw and he has to be our bait. Maybe nobody'll notice it, Papa. A right-handed batter. Oh. Here he comes. Quiet, everybody. Quiet, quiet. Hide. Everybody hide. Oh, ma. That was my best girl. Oh, wonderful. Now, wait. I've got a surprise for you, too. Surprise? This is Ellie. I mean, uh, Eleanor Twichel. Hello, Mrs. Gehrig. And this is my pup. How are you? Mom, pup, there's something I got to tell you. I, uh, well, I guess there's only one way to do this thing. Mom, Mrs. Gehrig meets Mrs. Gehrig. What? I mean, as soon as we get married. Married. Congratulations, Louie. You are going to get married. Louie's done nothing but talk about you, Mrs. Gehrig. I'm sorry. I, I got some refreshments in the other room. Come on, everybody, fool. At the end of next season, you can finish up in Chicago, then come back here and get a little house and fix it up, and then we'll get married. I'm sorry. Oh, Lou, I think we're getting a general hint, but it's late. I better go up to my room. Okay. Good night, Eleanor. Good night. Oh, Lou, do you think your mother likes you? Like you? Well, how could she help like him? I just wondered. I guess I was wrong. What about? Oh, nothing. Good night, Louie. Good night. I must say, Miss, you have picked out the most beautiful number in the store. Yes, it's lovely. Ellie, if you are looking for a shipper room... Oh, I found it, Mom. Look. Just what I want. Isn't it beautiful? It don't look very practical, and it looks secondhand, too. It's an antique. Antique. Louie can afford to buy new stuff. I'll show you, Ellie. Look at this one over here. Strong and practical. It lasts a lifetime. But, Mom, I work out sort of a scheme. Because only you suggest. You see the rug in the bedroom. Oh, the rug. That reminds me. Look at this pattern, Ellie. You see? And the rug is exactly the right size for your living room. Oh, that's the pattern. Look at the flowers and the birds. It will go with any kind of drapes, because it's got so many colors. Well, I was planning on it. It's almost an exact duplicate of the first rug we had in our house. Only more so. That's why I bought it for you. It's your wedding present, Ellie. Oh, thank you, Mom. Want to make something, Ellie? Yes. Why do you want this shipper room, Ellie? Oh, but that's not the right shipper room. I asked them to bring it up, Ellie, to see how it would look. Put it down over there. But, Mom, you can live with it for a while, and then if you don't like it... I can turn it back. I promise you won't send it back. Not with a scarf on it. I guess they're in this room, Max. Oh, what's that? The bedroom paper, Max. Oh, I'm sorry. You've made a mistake. It's the wrong pattern. This is the one I selected. Ball would change this morning. Who changed it? I did. Isn't this one beautiful? Oh, but, Mom, this little rose pattern I picked up. I guarantee you wouldn't like it if you saw it on the wall. And neither would Lou. But Lou was with me when I picked it out. He liked it. Oh, men like anything. Where's Lou? He's upstairs. Just wait until he sees this paper. Like he had when he was a little boy. That's true, driver, will you, Pop? Louie, listen a minute. What, Pop? Louie, I never gave you much advice. First, you wouldn't take it. Second, I've been married 35 years, Louie, and I've learned one thing. Well, can't you read between the lines, Louie? It's not anything I can say in so many words. And yet, it's something that if you don't handle it right, I don't say anything about this to Mama, huh? About what? What I told you. What does it tell me? Well, can I be plainer? But you like this pattern, Ellie, I know. It's all right, Mom. It doesn't make that much difference. And if you don't like the chiffon roll, I'll probably get used to it. Oh, you are very sweet, Ellie. To admit you are wrong. Ellie. Oh, Louie, look, the same wallpaper you had when you were a little boy. Ellie, what's the matter? Nothing. I just... excuse me a minute. What's wrong with Ellie? Ellie? Nothing. What happened? Was it about this? The chiffon roll? Yes. That's not the one she ordered. She wanted a... It wasn't practical, not even mahogany. The drawers were too small. But she liked it. She liked the other wallpaper too at first. But I convinced her. Oh, she's very sensible, Louie. You are lucky to get a girl like her. That's right. Sit down, will you, Mom? What? Sit down, Mom, please. Yes, Louie. Ellie, I just had a nice talk with your future mother-in-law. What about? Oh, lots of things. Mostly about interior decorating. You know that wallpaper she picked out? Yes. It's very nice. Well, I saw it and it's terrible. And so is that chiffon roll. You mean the one that just came in? I mean the one that just went out. I told him to take it back. I'd have nightmares looking at that thing. Oh, Louie Garrick, I think I could learn to like you. But I hope you didn't hurt Mom's feelings. Well, I probably did, but she'll get over it. You can't run a baseball team with two captains or a household with two bosses. There's going to be only one boss of this house, so you'd better get that apron off and get your nose powdered. Why? Well, I just telephoned Sam Blake to get the mayor of New Rochelle over here right away. What for? Why? I thought you wanted to get married. You mean now? This morning? Yeah, and for the honeymoon, you know where I'll take you? Where? The ball game. Oh, darling, I love ball games. He went to the Yankee Stadium right after the ceremony. A great day in the life of Lou Gehrig. But there was another turn in the road that was coming. Only we didn't know it then. Lou and Eleanor were all smiles when the photographer snapped their pictures on the field. We'll get a great play on these pictures. Taking the day Lou won all three American League Championships. You got it wrong, fella. This is the day I got married. Lou was all smiles. That turn in the road was just ahead. That tough turn to take. And he was traveling toward it fast. Once Mr. DeMille presents Gary Cooper with Virginia Bruce and Edgar Buchanan in act three of The Pride of the Yankees. And now, let's listen to two very pleased young men. Hey, Joe, pinch me, will you? Rita Hayworth just lighted a cigarette for me. Think you're somebody, huh? Well, look me over, pal. What do you think I just had coffee with? Betty Gravel. That was no imaginary scene, Mr. Kennedy. It happened at the Hollywood canteen. And every night the servicemen who drop in are welcomed by famous stars like Rita Hayworth and Betty Gravel. Yes, Libby, screen stars give unselfishly of time and effort to make that canteen a grand success. Lots of them put in an evening there even when they've been working hard on a picture all day. And look fresh as days is too, Mr. Kennedy. Though usually they don't have as much time to rest as the average busy person. But here something may depend on to give them a real beauty pickup. Something to do with luck, toilet soap, maybe, Libby? But definitely, Mr. Kennedy. It's a luck, soap, beauty bath and it's a screen stars formula for quick refreshment after a long day. Rita Hayworth says she loves the creamy luck, soap, blather. The way it leaves skin fresh and sweet. Betty Gravel says her luck, soap, bath is so refreshing. She's keen about the nice perfume it leaves on a skin too. Well, Libby, that's a real Hollywood beauty tip. It's true that the lovely stars who use luck, toilet soap regularly for their million-dollar complexions find it makes a delightful bath soap too. Try it. You'll agree with the stars who say the creamy active lather leaves skin exquisitely fresh and smooth. Makes daintiness sure. Luck, toilet soap is hard milled so each fragrant white cake lasts a long time. These days when it's patriotic to save soap, that's important. And luck, soap will last even longer if you're careful to put it in a soap dish that's dry. So treat yourself to the real luxury of a daily luck, soap bath. You'll find it very inexpensive because Hollywood's beauty soap costs but a few cents a cake. And now, Mr. DeMille returns to the microphone. It's a long time since Gary Cooper has been in the Lux Radio Theatre and you'll meet him in person after the play. Now the curtain rises on the third act of the Pride of the Yankees, starring Gary Cooper with Virginia Bruce and Edgar Buchanan. I guess there never were too happier people in the world than Lou and Ellie Gehrig. No, sir, he was the proudest wife I ever saw. He used to stand in front of the cabinet that held all Lou's trophies just looking. The most valuable player in the American League. Oh, dad was right, wasn't he? He knew a ball player when he saw one. Hey, hey. It's a matter of Lou. Oh, it's funny. When you said that that Chicago restaurant jumped right up in my lap. But that wasn't yesterday, was it? Tangle foot? No. But I certainly didn't know what I was walking into that night. Mr. Gehrig meet Ms. Twitchel and I left my little world behind me. Your world? What do you mean? Oh, darling baseball, life's so different. Sort of a little world all by itself. You play it in the spring and the summer and the fall and you talk about it in the winter. You really eat, drink and sleep it. Yeah. Yes, you have had a dish of it. Look, say, how's this, Ellie? Those spring training trips must be pretty dull for a girl. How about you passing up Florida this spring? You know, take a little vacation for yourself? Oh, all right, Lou. It has been a long time since you've paled around with the team. Give you a little vacation, too. We have seen a lot of each other. Yes, it's an idea. Yes, it is. Well, let's settle it. Yes. Ellie, you don't want to stay here, do you? I didn't mean that. Neither did I. What did you say it for? You said it. Oh, Lou, that tickles. Hey, you're going to leave me, huh? Hey, get this, my hammerlock. Oh, dawning, the table. Hey, Uncle, I got your shoulders down. I got you. All right, I give up. Hey. Hey, you folk. Hey, what goes on? Just a little wrestling match, Sam. Oh, dad. Say, you just handed me my next story on a silver platter. How I beat my wife by Lou Gehry. Next. We'll kill him, look. You lay off our private life, Sam. And what'll I write about? Oh, about a half a column. Fine, fine. If I were in the middle of the Sahara Desert, dying of thirst, you'd bring me vinegar. Want some more, Lou? Yeah, yeah, they're great. Say, these are the kind of flapjacks Mom used to make. Mom's recipes, if you didn't know it. Anybody home? In here. Mom and Pop, they said they'd be over this morning. Hello. Hello, Pop. Hello, Ellie. Hello, Ellie. Hello, Mom. Hello, Louie. Hello, Pop. Hello, Lou. Hello, Mom. Eating breakfast? Yes, Lou's been raving about your flapjack recipe, Mom. I don't let him eat too many, Ellie. He'll get fat. What if I do? Then I can quit baseball. What? Louie, are you crazy? I've always had a hankering to go in for engineering. You know that, Mom. Engineering. The best ball player in the world waste his time like that. Well, Lou always told me that his uncle Otto. Uncle Otto. Schmotto. Sticking stitches. That's all he ever did. The world's full of autos. But how many Lugerics are there? Look at him, Mama, eating flapjacks on the most important day of his life. Important? Lou, don't tell me you have forgotten what day this is. I don't know, Ellie. Not your birthday is it? I'm surprised at you, Ellie. Today's the day Lugeric is playing his 2,000th consecutive baseball game. So what? So what? Look at him pretending he don't care. Come on, get a vehicle on you. The ballpark will be crowded and the fence will give you an automobile. An automobile? Maybe they'll give him a yacht. Sure. That better go, huh? Well, all right. That's the way you feel about it. But I warn you, all you'll get is a horseshoe of roses. Don't be a cynic, Ellie. A horseshoe of roses with good luck Lou Gehrig on a rhythm. They'll give him an automobile at least. I say a yacht. Sure, at least. All right, all right. But you'll come home with a horseshoe of roses. What's that thing? Well, this is a horseshoe of roses. The fans gave it to me. Well, what do you know? Set it down. Lovely, isn't it? Good luck, Lou Gehrig. No automobile, Mr. Gehrig? Uh-uh. No yacht? Uh-uh. No, I was lucky to get away with my life. I struck out three times. The last time, in the ninth, were the bases full. Oh, darling. Darling, I'd give you the Yankee Stadium. Well, I wanted to knock a home run for you today, but maybe I tried too hard. Good luck, Lou Gehrig. Good luck. They only knew what I know. They only realized what lies back of those 2,000 games you've played. Hey, darling. Here's a rosebud for you from me. This is for the time you had 103 fever and played a doubleheader. Well, this is one for you for having brown eyes. And here's one for you when you played 12 innings in St. Louis with a broken toe. And here's one for being the greatest fan a man ever had. And here's for the time in Chicago you got beaned and went on play. Hey, take it easy. Cut it out. Hey, look out, you're tickling. No fair. Hey. Hey. This has been not bringing home a yacht. Oh, stop. Hey. You want a wrestle, huh? Hey. Ellie. Ellie, wait. It doesn't matter. Come on. Now, don't pretend. I won. Fair and square. Oh, wait a second. No, what is it? It's... It's my shoulder. What's the matter with it? I don't know. It feels... It feels funny. I must have sprained it or something. It felt kind of stiff of the game, too, maybe. Hey, maybe that's why I struck out. Come on, darling. I'll get the aluminum. It was more than a sprain. A sprain would work out in a week or so. This thing went on. It wasn't only the shoulder, either. The move began to slow down. It didn't seem to run out a sure hit. The feeling went haywire. He finished out the season, though, and he started with a team again the following year. He was getting worse all the time. Then came the afternoon when... when he used to be taken out of the game. Your attention, please. Placing down... 2,130 games. 14 years. Place just routine, Lou. When a place like this, they give you x-rays, the cardiograph, the metabolism, the fluoroscope, the works. Then they're liable to tell you you got dangerous. It's happened time and again. I had a friend of mine came here once. Got any chewing gum, Sam? Yeah, here. I had to talk to the doc the other day, Lou. He said he never ran up against a better physical specimen. Stronger than Alex, he said you were. I talked it over with the x-ray guy, too. Boy, what a send-off he gave you. Hard okay, lungs okay, everything okay. Lou, I'll bet you tend to... Here's the doc. How ya, doc? Well, uh, how did I do, doctor? Mr. Garry, I'm afraid you'll have to give up baseball for a while. Go ahead, doc. I... I'm a man who likes to know his batting average. I've only made his superficial examination of the tests. We'll need some new x-rays. Give it to me straight. Am I through with baseball? I'm afraid so. Any worse than that? You heard what the doc said, Lou. He's got to go over the tests again. Oh, wait a minute. Is it three strikes, doc? You want it straight? Sure I do. Straight. Is it three strikes? I see. Doc, I've learned one thing. All the argument in the world can't change the decision of the empire. How much time have I got? Well, pardon me. Yes? Oh, have Mrs. Garry come in, please? Look, doc, I don't want Mrs. Garry to know ever. I understand. But the newspapers? Oh, Sam here can take care of that, can't you, Sam? Well, sure, sure I will. Yeah, leave it to me. I'll cook up something. Hello. Hi, Ellie. Well, darling, the verdict's in. I'm not such a bad ball player. I really got something, haven't I, doc? What is it, Lou? Well, I'd be cured of it by the time I learned how to pronounce it. Can you pronounce it, doc? Well, we really haven't concluded all our tests. I'm along with Mr. Garry. They're waiting in the X-ray room. Just one more for the record, huh? Sure. Right back, Ellie. Sam, what did the doctor tell Lou? Say, Ellie, you never get all the pictures they've taken of him into that scrapbookie, or you think he was a glamour boy. What did the doctor tell him, Sam? Nothing. Nothing at all. He posed some little thing with a long name and some kind ofitis. I don't know. He'll have to lay off for a while. So what? He'll be back next season for the season after. Tell me the truth, Sam. I am telling the truth, Ellie, honest. I swear it. I swear on a stack of bibles. You heard what the doctor said. When is Lou going to die? Ellie, who told you? Nobody had to tell me. I could read it in your eyes, all of you. Oh, it's all right, Sam. You'll never find out that I know. He's so young yet so strong. It's a sad thing to watch Lou and Ellie hiding from each other the thing they both knew. Whatever one in America knew. It was never mentioned. Even when it got so bad that Lou couldn't lift his arms to fix his tie, Ellie had to do it for him. There you are. You look beautiful. Thanks, Ellie. I never could die a bow tie. You know what? This is Lou Gary's day affair. Personally, I think it's a come-on, a bally-hoo to get more money out of the Yankees next season. That's it. Hey, we're going to knock them dead when we come back, huh? Do you think we can get 50,000 out of those tight wards? Not a cent under 100,000. Why, Sam, to reason, Lou, you'll be twice as good after you've had a rest. But you know, we'd never had a honeymoon. Why shouldn't we have one now? Sure. Better late than never. Hey, what about Niagara Falls, huh? Sure. And then we can go up to Northern Canada and go fishing. You know what I've been thinking? Maybe we could take a trip around the world. Yeah. All the things we've never had time for. We've all the time in the world now, haven't we? Yeah. We have all the time in the world now. Oh, here. I've got something for you. What? Open it up and see. It's a bracelet. I had it made up from some of the hardware I've collected. Like it, Ellie? Lou, I adore it. I'm telling you, I remember when you got every one of these medals. That's the one I get the most kick out of. The batting championship. I won the year we were married. Here, Ellie. Are you crying? No. I've got a right to cry a little. It's so beautiful. Well, I wanted you to have it, Ellie, because you've given me so much. You've been so... you've been so... Darling, are you making love to me? You bet I am. Lou Gehrig, Daisy called it, and 60,000 people jammed the Yankee Stadium to fame tribute. On the way to the field, Ellie walked alongside Lou. He had to stay close to him now, holding his arm, trying not to let him know that she was helping him to walk. Then a kid came up to Lou. Young fella about 18. Well, Mr. Gehrig... Oh, yeah? Mr. Gehrig, don't you remember me? You knocked out two home runs for me one afternoon. Oh, sure, sure. I remember you. How are you, son? Just great. I've been waiting here all afternoon because I had to tell you something. I just got in town today and I had to tell you. I did what you said. I tried hard and I made it. Look, I can walk. Well, gee, that's great work, kid. That's wonderful. Hey, have you got a ticket for the game? Yes, sir. You bet. Well, so long. So long, Mr. Gehrig. 60,000 people come there to show Lou Gehrig what they felt in their hearts. They fare well to the pride of the Yankee. Mary LaGuardia was there. Babe Ruth, Postmaster General Jim Farley. There were speeches about Lou, and Ellie was listening the way off there in the shadow of the player's entrance where she could cry without anyone seeing her. She was waiting there to take him home, to sit with him, help him around that turn in the road that was coming to Sue so soon. Then Lou came up to the microphone. He was all choked up, and the crowd rose to its feet and they told him they loved him. I played with these men on my left, 1927, playing with these men on my right, the luckiest man on the face of the earth. He sat up behind home plate and over back at first base and out on the beaches. That's the day Lou Gehrig said goodbye. And here in the Lux Radio Theater we'll always remember the sincerity of Gary Cooper, Virginia Bruce, and Edgar Buchanan. Thank you, CB. Glad to be back here. You know it's a funny thing about Americans. You can take a boy and put him in a jungle on New Guinea or somewhere, and he'll still want to know how the bore game came out. Yeah, and if the fellow's from Brooklyn and he's carrying a gun, you better tell him quick. How are you and Mr. DeMille along with the story of Dr. Wassell, Gary? Okay. All right, I think everything must be going well, Edgar. They tell me Gary turned up at the Paramount Portrait Photographers the other day to have his picture taken. And there's probably not a man in the United States who hates to have his picture taken as much as Gary. It must have been pretty important. Well, after the photographer was revived from the shock and discovered how important it was, he went to work. He set up a lot of lights, found the right camera angle and made a really artistic portrait. What did you want it for, Gary? A fishing license. I guess you and CB must have pretty exciting picture coming up. Same old DeMille. How's that? Big bathtub scene. Beautiful girl? Yeah, no, me. Gary, Cooper and a DeMille bathtub scene. Isn't there just one thing I want to know? What kind of soap did you use? Is that more than one kind? That's all there is for me. I've used Lux soap for years, and I think it's grand. Really helps to keep one's complexion just right. Well, if you give credit to Lux, Virginia, there's no doubt about it. Well, what are you figuring on for next week, CB? A screenplay that's a hit all over the country right now, Gary. It's the 20th Century Fox picture Heaven Can Wait. And our stars will be Donna Nietzsche and Marina Harrah. This is a delightfully original story of a man who all his life had a certain amount of trouble with women. Heaven Can Wait has drama and it has comedy, the kind you expect from an aunt's luggage picture. And that means you will have good entertainment next Monday night. I know your audience will like that, Mrs. Mill. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. See you on the set, Gary. Ladies and gentlemen, your peacetime community chest has become a war chest. And the nationwide appeal for the National War Fund of $125 million begins today. The money will be used for organizations like the USO, working with the armed forces, to help American boys who are prisoners of war and to relieve suffering among people in the path of war and to help the unfortunate in your own community. We hope every one of you will give generously and a little more to the National War Fund. My sponsor, the makers of Lux Carlet Dope, joined me in inviting you to be with us again next Monday night when the Lux Radio Theatre presents Ghana Michi and Moreno Harrah in Heaven Can Wait. This is Cecilia Miro saying good night to you from Hollywood. If you haven't heard George Burns and Gracie Allen this year, you've been missing great entertainment in some of the season's biggest laughs. They're on the Columbia network every Tuesday evening with a great cast, Jimmy Cash, Felix Mills and his orchestra. So here, George Burns and Gracie Allen tomorrow night at the same hour over your Columbia station. Gary Cooper is now appearing in the Paramount picture for whom the bell tolls. Virginia Bruce is currently making the RKO picture International Zone. Edgar Buchanan is working in the 20th Century Fox production Buffalo Bill. Paired in tonight's play where Elsa Janssen as mom, Griff Barnett as pop, and Hugh Bleece, Ken Christie, Robert Harris, Bobby Larson, Joe Pinario, Eugene Forsythe, Stanley Farrar, and Boyd Davis, Norman Field, Eddie Marr, Leo Cleary, and Charles Seal. Our music was directed by Louis Silvers and this is your announcer John M. Kennedy reminding you to tune in next Monday night to hear Ghana Michi and Moreno Harrah in Heaven Can Wait. Mothers in spite of food shortages vitamins and minerals your family needs. Get VIMS. VIMS give you all the vitamins government experts say are essential. Balanced in the formula doctors endorse. All the minerals commonly lacking too. VIMS cost only a nickel a day in the family size at your drug it. Remember it's VI for vitamins, double MS for minerals. Get that VIMS feeling. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.