ABSTRACT
The year before I joined the Turnabout Theater in 1943 was a total disaster. I had not expected that anything like that could ever happen. I had been sailing along so easily, and suddenly I was stranded. How was that possible? I had just signed with one of the best managers, Paul Schiff, the head of the former Suddeutsche Konzertdirektion who had emigrated to America. Two of the finest artists he represented were Artur Rubinstein and Wanda Landowska. It had seemed like a miracle when he added me to his small group of clients. But Mr. Schiff died before he could become active in my behalf, and I had to learn a lesson I was not prepared for: in America, although you don’t have to give up when you are down, you can’t feel secure when you are up. In spite of all the acceptance I had found in this country, I had to prove myself all over again. It seems now that my biggest mistake was not to hire a publicity manager when I had gotten so much attention in the press. I thought that would be very unethical. To blow my own horn! I suppose I was just naive about it all. After all, my profession is called show business. But I still feel uncomfortable about that whole matter.
