Inger on Katy and Men

Inger was a gifted singer and musician, as seen
here in this photo that accompanied the article.

In a TV-Radio Mirror interview with the cast of The Farmer's Daughter, Inger shared her thoughts on the character she played and the enjoyment among the cast on set. Inger said:

The odd thing is I've learned so much about myself since I started playing Katy. We're so much alike. We've both grown this past year. And, just like Katy, I'm much more relaxed that I've ever been. Perhaps it's the success of the series, but I'm not having fits over my career anymore. I look at it more objectively. I realize there are more important things in this world than acting. Hollywood may be the center of my life at present, but let's face it: It's a dot on the map, considering the world at large.

Another point. My sense of humor has sharpened up since I became Katy. Either I've gotten more "hep" or else it's because of associating with Bill Windom, Cathleen Nesbitt and Peter Kortner, all of whom have keen senses of humor. This is so important in a running series like ours. When things go wrong on the set—and believe me, even the smoothest show has its bad days—we can always find something to laugh about. Suddenly the gloom evaporates. Thank Heaven for that! It must be murder to work with grouchy people you don't like.

I think the feeling of warm friendliness somehow carries over to the viewers. I get loads of letters asking whether Bill and I are really in love, "because it sure looks that way on the screen." Naturally, we're flattered that our acting is so convincing, but we certainly aren't in love. Bill, as a matter of fact, has a lovely wife and three children. He also has many qualities I admire.

Inger also talked about what type of man attracted her. Inger's statements about finding the perfect man to journalists during the 1960's are always interesting to read. We know now that Inger had already found a man named Isaac Jones and was married to him, but that fact was oblivious to all but Inger's close circle at the time. The most revealing part to me is when Inger says, "I honestly believe I could handle both a home life and a career. In a sense, I'm doing that now." Yes, she definitely was and more than "in a sense!"

It's so easy, you know, to get romantic about your leading man. You're both playing people in love with each other, and you have a tendency to start living the part. It happened to me in my first years in Hollywood. The men were single, unattached and attractive, in all but two cases, and these two might as well have been bachelors for all the loyalty they showed their wives. Both were later on caught up in scandals, and I now realize how lucky I was not to take them seriously.

I like the more mature type of man, and I draw no line with respect to age. I was married once before—to a Broadway agent Tony Soglio—but it lasted on six months. I was only nineteen at the time and had very immature expectations. I realize now that no man could have lived up to my standards at that time. It's taken me ten years to grow up as a woman. I feel sure now that I'm at last ready for marriage. I honestly believe I could handle both a home life and a career. In a sense, I'm doing that now.

I'd like to feel secure and confident that I was joining my life to the right man's. The right man? Well, he'll have to have these two qualities that are a must for me. They are a good sense of humor and the ability to respect me as a person and win my respect, at the same time.

Source:

Emmons, Beatrice. Inger Stevens: The Man Who Stopped My Wedding." TV-Radio Mirror. January 1965