Ladies & Gentlemen

Of all Hollywood's chambermaids of the press, none picked up more telltale bits of underwear from the Franchot Tone-Barbara Payton-Tom Neal muss-up than did Florabel Muir, Hollywood tattler for the New York Daily News and the Los Angeles Mirror. Last week Actor Tone, who lost the fist fight but won the girl, took revenge. He spat squarely in Florabel's face.

Their encounter took place in Ciro's, an expensive Sunset Strip night-eyrie. Tone walked in with his wife and her maiden aunt, a Miss Fay Redfield of Cloquet, Minn. Barbara had just returned to town for three personal appearances, two in theaters and one before a federal grand jury which was interested in a dope-peddling murder (she had supplied the suspect's alibi). Franchot stepped to Florabel's table.

Then, related Florabel: "He says, 'Hello, Florabel.' He took my hand as if to shake it and he held on, he didn't let go. . . He started to kick me in the shins. I thought . . . he might be clowning. You know how it is in Hollywood. You never know.

"Then he turned to Denny [her husband] and he said, 'Who's this, the doctor?' I said, 'My husband.' He said, 'Are you married? How long have you been married? . . . Have you got a marriage certificate? . . . You know, you don't have to be married to sleep together.' 'That's so,' I told him, 'but I'll have it photostated for you if you're interested.' He says, 'I couldn't be less interested, Miss Florabel Manure. And then I notice his eyes were not focusing. 'Why, you act as though you were mad -- I mean angry -- Franchot!' He says, 'I am mad. I am so goddam mad I want to spit in your face' . . . and he did. I jumped up and slapped his face. I don't have red hair for nothing-

Florabel, once winged when she was following Racketeer Mickey Cohen, and he was fired upon by business rivals (the News then let her put a bulletproof corset on her expense account), had Tone arrested and jailed for assault. But, though she is an old tabloid hand, she didn't think the fuss was Newsworthy until the paper wired her to write it up.

Next morning in court, Franchot Tone pleaded innocent to Florabel's charges, later dictated an apology to Florabel to other newsmen, but still threatened to sue the News for Florabel's stories. Florabel's reply was to wave a wire from News President F. M. Flynn: "He can't do that to us. Remember the old newspaper motto: 'Print the news and raise hell.' I'm for you."

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