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VOLUME 13
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, MAY 1,1970
NUMBER 7
Chiu Wills, whose long acting
career embraces more than 60
movies and quite a number oi
television appearances, once
told us this ^ory and swore It
was the absolute truth.
At the time we were 40 mUes
out In the Gulf Stream, fishing
with a notable lack of success
in the Blue Marlin Tournament.
Four other membersof the par
ty were seasick and had taken
refuge in the yacht’s cabin. We
were seated on the stern of the
craft, swapping yarns.
"Jim Arness (Matt Dillon) is
the most appreciative man I’ve
ever seen,” drawled Chill.
“You can give him a stick of
chewing gum, and he’ll chomp
down on It and say it’s the best
stick of gum he’s ever tasted.”
So, when Wills discovered a
dressed duck of forgotten vin
tage while exploring the refrig
erator, he naturally thought of
Arness. “Honestly,” Chill ad
mitted, didn’t remember
putting the thing in my ice box,
but it had to have been there
a mighty long time.”
Chester wasn’t around to take
the indefinitely deceased fowl to
Mr. Dillon, so Chill made the
delivery himself. He didn’t
hear from the gift until a week
later, and then only through
Jim’s agent.
“I tasted your duck Monday
night,” the agent ruefully in
formed Wills, Then added,
“and I was still tasting it
Thursday night.” Considering
the duck’s unquestioned antlg-
ulty. Chill was willing to ac
cept the agent’s declaration as a
statement of fact.
The fishing jatmt we happen
ed to be on, as an Invited mem
ber of the press, also included
Beaufort’s menhaden multi-
millionnaire HarveySmith,one
of Chill’s most admired
friends. To look at Harvey,
you’d think he didn’t have a dime
to his name.
Putting out to sea was old
stuff to Smith, so before we
reached the Gulf Stream, he
dozed off. There he sat, across
from the two of us, and we both
took note of the fact that one of
his shoes had a broken string
that bad been knotted for fur
ther use. He even snored like
a guy without money, although
of course this editor doesn’t
really know how a millionnalre
is supposed to snore.
“Look at him,” said Chill
with limitless affection. “Ain’t
that something. You know, he
goes up north to make a deal
with them smart Yankees, and
they poke fun at him behind his
back. They think they’ve fleeced
him,.but after he’s halfway
back home they realize who
really got took.”
Wills and Smith first met at
a Masonic gathering. Where it
was we don’t recall, possibly
in Texas. Anyhow, it was inevi
table that they would become in
stant friends. Harvey always
had loved western movies, and
Chill was one of his favorite
performers-
Maybe it was at this first
Masonic affair, or a later one
attended by the pair from coast
to coast, that the Beaufort mil
lionnalre did what a lot of you
have probably yearned to do.
And maybe if you did it, after
dinner speakers might strive to
be more entertaining.
According to Wills, they
were at a banquet that ran
(Continued on page 8)
SUDDEN STOP — What happens when an automo- crash near Vanceboro early on a recent mornina
bile traveling at high speed leaves the road and tell the story. The driver was killed, Hw othe? ?eSn
crashes Into a sturdy unyielding pine tree? These agers Injured, and the car completely cut Into two
photos, snapped by Trooper R. B. Miller at a fatal pieces of mangled metal. f lo iwo