A.C. LYLES: Well I knew Marilyn, and I knew her before she became famous, and while she was famous, and she certainly is, but you know, there are so many people in this business that I knew that stand out. Joan Crawford, Betty Hutton, and Claudette Colbert stood out (…) and Barbara Stanwyck, I don’t thing anybody was ever a more talented actress than Barbara Stanwyck, on top of which, probably in all of the studios, the most profitable actress, who every body loved. But in this business, I have great admiration for those who have the ability to entertain people, and see, the good thing about people like Joan (Crawford), and people like that, is that the men fell in love with them, but she didn’t intimidate the ladies, and that’s a big thing. And it’s the same thing with Marilyn (Monroe). The men fell in love with Marilyn, but she didn’t intimidate the women. The women loved her as much as the men did, and that’s a big asset.
BRUCE EDWIN: How do you think they achieved that?
A.C. LYLES: They achieved it because, Marilyn, and the people I mentioned, just appealed to every one, and any one and every one, and it wasn’t just the men, it was the people of all ages. And that’s why I say when people fall in love with some one on the screen. Like what I mentioned about Duke, when you’d see him on the screen, you wanted to be on his side, because his side was gonna’ win. It’s the same thing with the ladies, when you saw them, you knew that they were going to contribute to the people that were involved in that movie
BRUCE EDWIN: The modern day, biggest stars I can think of, perhaps at least in the music world that have lasted, are Michael Jackson and Madonna. I’m sure you’ve met them both...
A.C. LYLES: Yes, I did.
BRUCE EDWIN: What are your thoughts on them?
A.C. LYLES: I attended a Boy Scouts Dinner one time, and Michael Jackson was there, and let me tell you, he was so giving to that audience, and he had the great ability to be an icon, or a super star, and yet he appears so humble. He’s a very humble man, and I never saw him do any thing that registered of an ego situation at all, maybe a little eccentric, but a lot of people are eccentric.
BRUCE EDWIN: Right.
A.C. LYLES: But he is very, very giving.
BRUCE EDWIN: That’s great. The security gentleman that checked me in today, gave me some trivia. He said this building at Paramount here was haunted, and was supposed to be the most haunted of them all.