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His hands on ently down

At last I raisedme

“Now,” announced Fritz, “he will tell us about his Search for the Beast!”

The Beast

Since it had been announced that Roy and I were to write, build, and birth the most incredibly hideous animal in Hollywood history, thousands had helped us in our search One would have thought ere seeking Scarlett O’Hara or Anna Karenina But no … the Beast, and the so-called contest to find the Beast, appeared in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter My name and Roy’s were in every article I clipped and saved every duun to pour in froeneral public Quasiate, as did four Opera Phantoosi and Karloff, hiding out on our Stage 13, were thrown off the lot

Roy and I had begun to feel ere judging an Atlantic City beauty contest so outside the sound stages every night were soraphs orse At last, we burned all the photographs and left the studio through a side entrance

So it had been with the search for the Beast all month

And now Fritz Wong said again: “Okay The Beast? Explain!”

12

I looked at all those faces and said: “No No, please Roy and I will be ready soon, but right now …” I took a fast sip of bad Hollywood tap water, “I’ve been watching this table for three weeks Everyone always sits at the same place So-and-so up here, such-and-such over across I’ll bet the guys down there don’t even know the guys over here Why not mix it up? Leave spaces so every half hour people could play uff from familiar faces Sorry”

“Sorry!?” Fritz grabbed uys! Musical chairs! Allez-oop!”

Applause Cheers

Such was the general hilarity as everyone slapped backs, shook hands, found new chairs, sat back down Which only suffered me into further confused ehter More applause

“We will have to seat this maestro here each day to teach us social activities and life,” announced Fritz “All right, coie Botwin, the finest cutter/film editor in film history!”

“Bull!” Maggie Botwin nodded to me and went back to her omelet, which she had carried with her