Jean hazlewood talks about meeting her future husband Richard widmark at Lake Forest college (IL)
“I met Dick on a blind date when I was being rushed by a sorority (Gamma Rho Delta) at Lake Forest College, in Lake Forest, Ill. Dick was a football hero and a big shot on campus. A member of the sorority arranged the date hoping I’d be impressed. I was a freshman, and he was at junior. The meeting, I should explain, was a put up job. The gals in the sorority wanted to get me the most attractive date on campus for a certain barn dance. Another girl and I were in the Commons one day, discussing the problem, when Dick walked by. He, like the rest of the football team, was waiting tables. He looked very nice. So when the other girl said, ‘How would you like that one as your date?’ I nodded emphatically. I was impressed and joined the sorority that had provided such a desirable escort. How they persuaded him, I don’t know, but that night we whooped it up in the best barn dance traditions.“Dick and I dated every night for two weeks, going to movies and parties. I assumed he was falling for me, as I was for him. Dick was the prom king that year, and naturally, the famous sorority wanted the queen to be someone from its group. When the sorority sister mentioned this, I waved a complacent hand. ‘Don’t worry,’ I remarked, sure of myself, after a fortnight of dating, ‘I’m a cinch!’ Then the bow fell. He stopped calling.”
“That was the day before Dick suddenly switched girls, the day before he invited the most gorgeous wench on the campus to go to the prom with him. I said to my sorority sister, ‘What goes? I thought Dick liked me.’ She assured me Dick didn’t want to go steady with any girl, and that no girl lasted more than two weeks with him.”
