riding high; In 1974 Peter Bogdanovich was living with Cybill Shepherd, the stunning star of his upcoming film Daisy Miller.

Byline: Peter Bogdanovich

When I look at this lovely photo Eva Sereny took of Cybill Shepherd and me (from Vogue, July 1974), all I can see is everything that I didn't know. There was so much. Cybill and I were living together openly-at that time, believe it or not, still an uncommon celebrity practice-and the short article that went with the photo used a few quotes of mine, like "Living together is so much sexier." Remarks like this, and even more obvious ones, are what Cary Grant was talking about when he called me one afternoon during that period and said quite emphatically, "Petah, for God's sake, will you stop telling people you're happy?! And stop telling people you're in love."

"Why, Cary?"

"Because they're not happy and they're not in love!"

"But I thought all the world loves a lover. . . ."

"Don't you be-lieve it!" And then, with great intensity, he said, "Let me tell you something, Petah-people do not like 'beau-ti-ful people.' "

I remember finding this very hard to believe at the time. Of course, the vibe I was feeling constantly during those years-after I had had three extremely successful movies in a row and had left my first wife to live with Cybill-did certainly make me inordinately uncomfortable, but I couldn't place exactly what it was. Envy and jealousy often arrive cloaked in smiles and even praise, especially in Hollywood, where things are the same as everywhere else in the world, only a lot more so.