Mail Bag

I am 92 yrs old.  Saw Jeanette in person  at concert in Pittsburgh in 1944.  She was so beautiful and sweet and she mentioned that her husband had just been promoted to Major.  At the time we thought she was happily married to Gene Raymond and since reading your books we realize she was actually with the man we hoped she was in love with.

My friends had adored Jeanette from our first glimpse of her and I had purchased all her records old 78s and Mother and I went to all her movies.  For the concert in 1944 it was wartime and we all had to pool all our gas stamps since it was approximately 40 miles from our home in Latrobe PA.  The concert was unbelievable and we couldnt believe we were actually seeing our idol in person.  She was more beautiful in person and her sweetness shone through her songs.  Her singing was so lovely and we were all saddened when the concert was over.  After reading your books [ and they were so well written and revealing] that I almost wish I had not read them because I had always thought she had a fairy tale life which she richly deserved and to find that it was completely opposite saddened me.  For Gene I have the utmost contempt but even Nelson though no doubt loved her with utter passion had many liaisons which hurt her deeply.  To think Gene put his hand on her in anger!  Why didn’t anybody realize she had a serious problem with her heart and get her help much sooner.  How she performed and made movies with a weakened heart just blows my mind.  Thank you again for the books as I read them constantly and play her music in my car and at home. I know she is being treated like the star she is in heaven and she is high on my list to see after my family.

-Marion Statler

PS Thank you for responding to my Email.  I just needed you to know how much her fans love her forever.

Dear Marion, thank you for the wonderful email. In answer to your question regarding Jeanette’s health: they did not have the medical technology to handle her heart in earlier years.  The nurse that I interviewed who tended to Jeanette in Washington, D.C. in 1957 said they did do some sort of surgery but found they could not help . She was the one who said that Gene was there at first and then left.  In theory, the arterial transplant done by Michael DeBakey in 1963 should have given Jeanette a longer life but she was already quite weakened by then and spent almost 3 months in the hospital. It is my belief that if Nelson had remained at her side she might have been able to regain her strength and bounce back (to some degree) yet again but it was not to be. – Sharon

From Harriet Baker:

If I fall asleep at work today you are getting the blame.  I curled up in bed at 9:15 and read until 12:25!!!   I read the Tahoe letter 3 times and yes I had kleenex at my side.  I cried at the first page with the quotes from Irene Dunne, etc.  Lady, you are a great writer!!!   You are such an easy writer to read.

If I have one complaint, it’s that this book isn’t long enough.  I have read Sweethearts 1,565,998 times and I knew immediately what sentences were new.  Keep going Sharon.  Please keep going.

I asked our one and only club member from India to write us a little about her interest in Jeanette and Nelson. Here was her reply:

Dearest Sharon,I thank you once again from the core of my heart for your genuine concern. It is indeed a great honor for me to share my feelings regarding Nelson and Jeanette with someone like you who is keeping their legacy alive.

My interest in Nelson and Jeanette started due to a younger cousin brother who is very different from other boys of his age. His life revolves around Nelson, Jeanette, Deanna Durbin, Arthur Tracy etc. and books.

It all started when he was in school. While his friends were interested in the modern gadgets and external extravagance, he was busy collecting old gramophone records. This interest was noted by an old Anglo-Indian teacher who had some records of Nelson Eddy. During Christmas time, this gentleman invited my brother to his house. He gifted those records to him and what better gifts could he expect for Christmas? Ever since, songs like At the Balalaika and Song of the Volga Boatmen became his national anthem. Nelson Eddy became his source of sustenance.

My brother is not a techno-savvy person. He seems to be from another planet. One day, he requested me to gather information about his favorite personalities from the internet. He made me listen to Nelson Eddy and I was awe-struck. My husband too, was enchanted and my mother-in-law was mesmerized. We decided that we would set up a library of our own where we would collect old books, music and movies. We named our library Rainbow Home Library celebrating the myriad colors of life.

This is how our affliction with Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald started. We have just adored your writings on Nelson and Jeanette. My brother is a great fan of yours. He has read your books on Nelson and Jeanette several times. Your book Sweethearts is like the Holy Bible to him. My husband is very fond of Farewell to Dreams which you have written along with Diane Goodrich.

We can proudly say that we are the only ones in India to be madly in love with Nelson and Jeanette. Life without them would be a drudgery for us. It is a great privilege for us to be associated with you and we aspire to add to our collection with your aid in the coming days. May God keep you hale and hearty and flood your life with everlasting sunshine. Please accept lots of love and greetings from my brother, mother-in-law, husband and myself.

With lots of everything that is good,

Rituparna

Hugs to you and your family, Rituparna, and maybe in the future we can have a truly international get-together online (on Skype, perhaps) where our members from around the planet can meet and chat in real time!