By Jenna Leifso, Archivist
Last week we looked at whether James Bond was named after someone buried in Maitland Cemetery, today we are going to determine if Hollywood royalty came to No. 31 Air Navigation School (Port Albert).
Myth #2: According to a story told in the book The Story of Port Albert 175 Years one lucky Wireless Operator, while on leave, managed to fit in a trip to Hollywood. While he was there, he got married to the daughter of Louis B. Mayer “of M.G.M. fame”. As the story goes, “[h]e not only returned with a beautiful wife but a limo to match. Married persons were allowed to live off the base so not a lot more was seen of him.”
The Facts: Louis B. Mayer did have two daughters, Edith and Irene, however, it would have been impossible for the Wireless Operator in question to marry one of them because they were both already hitched! Edith married William Goetz in 1930 and Irene was married to Producer David O. Selznick. Around the time of WWII, William Goetz was the vice president of 20th Century Fox and David O. Selznick was a successful film producer and executive.
It’s possible that the Wireless Operator married another famous studio executive’s daughter but I haven’t come across any mention of the nuptials in the base’s various newsletters.