SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE EAST—"Hi, Budd, how's everything?" said Frederic March to Cpl. Ralph C. Budd of Hollywood, Calif., as the actor arrived here recently.
Budd, a former valet to Fred Astaire and the Alexander Kordas (Lady Korda is Merle Oberon), has run into several stars he knows since he was shipped to the Middle East.
The GI's job is to serve as a charge of quarters of a penthouse reception room at the airfield here, where the commander of the USAFIME theater welcomes notables of the political, military and entertainment world coming through.
Budd says he doesn't mind seeing old friends like March, Nelson Eddy, Jack Benny, Lt. Bruce Cabot and Luise Rainer, but he'd gladly trade the Pyramids for a quick glimpse of Hollywood Boulevard right now.
Jack Benny and Carole Landis on a USO tour of the South Pacific. Pictured here on Bougainville.