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PHOTOPLAY NEW YORK, N. Y. MAR #55 H oneymoon V^^-^"**! (CofitVhUeiTfrom page 33) again and the desk clerk at the glands JiflteJLwas saying, "Your suite is fyyUVT" Mrs. Damone." Upstairs on the door hung a pink and L white sign. It read, "Bridal Suite." The P management of the Sands had outdone m itself. Inside, the rooms were of plush and r delicate decor and could easily have been the setting for a fairy tale. For the newly- J weds, it was to be a home for several J weeks. Soon it was. Before long, stuffed animals ! | and dolls, large and small, were lounging I ! everywhere, feeling perfectly at ease. A | golf bag stood in the corner. And there j was a note pinned to the curtain. It be- j gan, "I love you. Anna." It ended with ! an answering postscript. "I love you, too. Vic." "Our honeymoon," said Pier, returning J from her dream, "was the happiest time in my whole life. "Cloud Number Seven?" grinned Pier. "We were waltzing on it. But we also knew that we should be sensible and that this was a time to adapt ourselves to realities ... to the problems we would be facing, i j problems a couple should learn to solve I with thoughtfulness and consideration and j \ understanding." Mrs. Vic Damone leaned back upon the ! couch and spoke reflectively. "I remember," she said, "as I was walking down the aisle. I felt faint. There had been so much ! to do. So much excitement, i "The lilies of the valley that I carried ! were shaking. And all of the faces. They were blurred to me, but everyone seemed to be crying. I saw Debbie Reynolds and L there were tears streaming down her p> cheeks. . j-T'- "Then I heard someone sniffle and?·||||| . whisper, 'She's still such a child.' j "I suppose everyone believes that of a ||?║| bride on her wedding day," laughed Pier^;|||| ! "But I said to myself, 'I am not a child^^^B j I am a woman marrying the man she. |- *>, \ loves.' ^ft"ia^ "In my heart there was no doubt." Pier Angeli went into marriage with an open heart and an open mind as well. And with a wisdom far from childlike. "My mind has been pretty clear on marriage since I was fourteen or fifteen years old," she says today. "I grew up so fast inside. I didn't necessarily speak a lot, but I observed what was going on. I learned as I watched the marriages of others. I saw what a lack of consideration and un- j derstanding could do to a marriage. I saw a lot of people ruining what they had together by becoming overly possessive k and jealous. I learned that a sense of V, humor could save many a situation that f seemed impossible. And I knew that the moment I became a wife, I should never forget to recall these things." If the honeymoon was hectic, the Da- ?√ß mones could take it in their stride. And ; they could build a good marriage. As a matter of fact, the honeymoon I began with fairly long strides?╟÷up a hill. F?½ When Pier and Vic slipped away from their v-, wedding reception at the Bel Air Hotel, L. they climbed into their car to drive to [ their hilltop home. "You've been so calm j today," Pier was marveling. "It is amazing." | Then the carjaegan to sputter. And u, finally it z&E^^gjjfo. dead stop. "What U_ could it be$ViBfae*Isked. T "Your cool, r^lM<Stnd collected husband p?? . forgot t^|ffl*^tiife^ife:ij;ahk,w grinned Vic. h]| It took||MP^p|wlf minutes to trudge f the hill. ;"Wi"; were*loaded down," Pier remember^^jewelry and furs and many ^PWKM9fk%gings that we didn't want to^esNf^l.*5!^* car in the middle of a lonel/SW*: Kayon Yarns anawiyrofrcora ror nres ' m When they reached their housed ntfiey' called the hotel to see if one of the guests might come to their rescue. "They've all gone," said the manager. "However, we'll see if we can't locate someone." Before a half an hour had passed, five cars had arrived with cans of gasoline. "You'd have thought we were opening a filling station," laughs Pier today. "It was quite a beginning for a marriage!" Pier and Vic spent the first night at their new home and drove to Las Vegas the following day. Vic was scheduled to open at the Sands Hotel as the star of the show there. "We had our moments of tension. Both of us," says Pier. "Vic was very nervous about this personal appearance. He hadn't done a show like this since he came back from the Army. And he wondered about the reception he would receive from the audience. Before he went on, he j wanted to relax. "I had been out and when I returned, I didn't know that he was trying to sleep." Pier began knocking playfully at the door. "I must have knocked ten times at least," she recalls. "Go into the other room," Vic called out. "All right," replied Pier. "I am sorry. I i didn't know." The last thing in the world she wanted < to do was to disturb him at this time. "I go to my mother's room," she said, feeling very badly. Mrs. Pierangeli had come to Las Vegas for the opening, and Pier went to her. A few moments later, the phone rang. It Was Vic. "Honey, are you there.? What are you doing?" he wanted to know. In another moment, she was opening the door to find him standing in the hallway. She tried not to smile. He was still in his robe. "I'm sorry," he said. "I sounded so abrupt. I didn't mean . . ." "I understand," said Pier. "And I am not mad. I feel the same way when I am doing a scene. So I do understand. Honestly. And now," she finished, "you go and rest." "You come with me." "I will come and sew in the living room while you rest." Vic's opening was a real occasion. Pier prepared a surprise. She rushed down to his dressing room to be there before he arrived. And when he came in, he found that the lights had been turned off. He looked again. In one corner blazed a dozen sparklers. "It is our seven-day anniversary," Pier informed him of the fact he well knew. She was standing there, holding a cake. In the center were the words, "Vic and Anna, Love." "Would you mind staying backstage during the first show?" Vic had asked. "If you're out front, I'll be twice as nervous." And he added, "And if there isn't much applause, I wouldn't want you to know.'jl "It will be like thunder," predicted Pier. And it was. She listened backstage and when she heard the audience roar its approval, she rushed to meet him in the dressing room. She hurried so fast that she tripped and fell and two stagehands had to help her into the room. Then she was aware of Vic's voice outside. He was thanking his well-wishers and accepting congratulations. And he was saying, "The only person I want to see now is my wife." The words brought tears to her eyes. "Tears?" she smiles today. "To be honest, I was crying like a baby." Vic was beside her. "Hey, look, you're supposed to make me feel good tonight. Didn't you like the show?" "I loved it," she told him. And Mr. Damone tenderly dried Mrs. Damone's tears. The second show found Pier at a ringside table. And Vic singing to her, as he did upon eayen""&Lthe following evenings.