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- TIME OUT –The Northern Star, Tuesday, June 20, 1995 – Page 27
Memories oftime with the stars …
Heady daysin the 50s and 60s rubbing shoulders with international film stars provideFrank and Gwen Dick of Mullumbimby with a bank of memories in retirement.
Frank waspublicity director (Australasia) for United Artists in Sydney for 14 years.
He broughtout to Australia John Mills, Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, Angela Lansbury,Ernest Borgnine and many other stars to promote their films.
“Those wereexciting days, with lots of big parties,” he reminisced. I remember Ava Gardneras one of the big stars who liked to swear and liked to drink,” he said.
Frank, whogained his pilot’s licence in 1935, took Mills and Borgnine up for a joy flightover Sydney.
“I was veryfond of Ernest Borgnine – we became good mates,” he said.
DouglasBadger was brought out to promote the film ‘The Battle of Britain.’ Afriendship developed between the two men on the promotional tour, which tookthem all over Australia and New Zealand.
There werenotorious characters like Maurice Chevalier, Victor Borge and Charlton Heston.Heston was a handsome giant of a man, according to the couple. “When he kissedme on the cheek, I didn’t wash was a week afterwards,” Gwen recalled.
Liz Taylorand Mike Todd were two of the stars they knew well. Gwen spent time with Lizbut Frank preferred Todd’s company to that of Liz’s.
A memorabletime for Gwen was being present, with the couple’s two children, on the set ofSummer of the Seventeenth Doll. Frank’s sister was the hairstylist for AnneBaxter and other actors on the set.
Through hiswork Frank was given small roles in Long John Silver and Smiley gets a Gun.This gave him an insight into the time consuming business of film making. Theywould shoot 4 or 5 takes for every angle – it went all day,” he said.
Both Gwenand Frank served Australia in World War II.
Gwen spent3 years in the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) doing paper workwith huge ledgers. This necessary work released an able-bodied man to go to thewar.
Frank, aNew Zealander, arrived in Sydney in 1936 where he met Gwen. “She was the firstgirl I met in Australia and I married her 11 years later,’ he said. Frank wasmanaging a silent picture theatre when he enlisted into the Royal AustralianAir Force (RAAF) in 1939. He received his commission as a pilot officer atParkes, then spent more than 2 years in England. As a navigator in BomberCommand, he flew long-range torpedo bombers in 8 trips over Paris, Cologne andHamburg.
Later, inCoastal Command in Scotland, he dropped torpedos off the Norwegian coast indaylight to knock out German battleships lurking in the fiords. A memorableassignment was in September 1942, when 32 bombers took off from the ShetlandIslands for Russia. Only 24 made it to Russia. We were there more than 2 monthssnowed in. I’ve never seen snow like it. We couldn’t return because ofprevailing winds, Frank recalled. During his 5 year service in the RAAF, anaverage of 2 bombing crews were lost each bombing raid. He finished the war inBorneo and after demobilisation, managed picture theatres in Sydney beforebeing appointed the publicity director for United Artists’ in Australia.
Frank 84and Gwen 76, recently celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. They bothdescribed their life as ‘glamorous times’/ We’ve had a great time together,with good health and lots of laughs, Frank said. With both Frank and Gwenhaving a ‘well-developed’ sense of humour, there is still plenty of laughter intheir household.
Known fordoing everything together, in retirement they play golf, read widely and enjoyold movies, where they recognise many of the stars they were involved with inthe 50s and 60s.
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1918 - 2007 (88 years)
[4, 5, 6] 
