Frankie Vaughan writes about the people I meet . Elvis , Sammy Davis , Billy Eckstine , Gogi Grant , Pat Boone , Vic Damone . every time I visit America I seem to meet many interesting people . my last was no exception . the most surprising , though , was Elvis Presley - I almost literally bumped into him ! I was leaving the restaurant at the 20th Century-Fox studios a few days before I flew home from Hollywood . I noticed a football flying over a wall between two lots . not the sort of bloke to miss a chance , I went to trap it with my foot . another fellow was running after it , too , and we collided with what , for me at any rate , was an almighty bump . some others came over from their game and helped me to my feet . one of them said : you &apos;re Frankie Vaughan , are n&apos;t you ? yes , I am , I replied , and you must be Elvis . with some friends he had been playing a version of American football during his lunch break . as we chatted a car went by , with the driver shouting at Elvis , telling him off for being in the roadway . you should have seen his eyes goggle when he realised who he had been telling off ! I found Elvis a very likeable young man . he seems to have lots of energy and a great enthusiasm for life . Juliet Prowse , my co-star in the right approach , the film that had taken me to Hollywood , had worked with Elvis in GI blues , as you know . she told me how nice he had been to her when they were making that picture together . my last visit was very much a working trip . there was n&apos;t much time for fun . we made the right approach very quickly , and it was hard work . I was on the go seven days a week . even when there was no actual filming at weekends , I was busy learning my lines , having costume fittings , rehearsing or meeting the publicity people . no place in the sun . I missed getting into the sun - there just was n&apos;t the time . the right approach gives me my toughest part so far . I play a real rat . when Gary Crosby is auditioning for a cabaret engagement I have to show off in front of a girl and I mess up his routine . after interrupting his song I take it over completely halfway through , much to his annoyance ! apart from this , I have three other songs which I filmed by myself . but do n&apos;t think the picture is a musical . it is a drama , but the songs are fitted into it naturally without affecting the action . I made time to meet several old friends during my time in Hollywood . Stella and I went to Billy Eckstine &apos;s opening at the Crescendo , and had dinner with him afterwards . we also dined with Gogi Grant and her lawyer-husband . Wilfred Hyde White , who was in let &apos;s make love with me , was also back in Hollywood - making a film with Danny Kaye - and we saw quite a lot of him and his wife , Ethel , who is shortly expecting her second baby . Pat Boone was at the 20th Century-Fox studios making warm bodies . I have known him for some time and looked him up again . he is a really nice person . so is Buddy Hackett , the comedian , who was in the same film . Dana Andrews was also at the 20th Century-Fox studios making Madison Avenue . before I began the film , I played my second season at the Dunes Hotel , Las Vegas . while there I spent a lot of time with Sammy Davis . he was appearing there , at the Sands , but he managed to come in to my late show - the third of the night . I frequently joined him at his hotel later . he used to organise film shows in his suite . often there were a lot of friends there and they were always great fun . the shows lasted about two hours , after which I had some breakfast and then went to bed ! it meant keeping crazy hours , as it was often past noon when I got up again . but then , that &apos;s Las Vegas ! Basil Tait , who is now my accompanist and musical director , was making his first trip to Vegas , and I had to show him the sights . I soon had him familiar with all the ropes . we went into the mountains taking private movies and went out into the desert for some fishing from a lake . Vic Damone was another singer I met during my stay . Betty Grable and her husband , bandleader Harry James , were both appearing in Vegas , but at different venues - Betty at the Sahara and Harry at the Flamingo . a future in films for Russ Conway Britain &apos;s keyboard king . Russ Conway &apos;s injured hand has given him time to think - and the result may well be that a new field of entertainment will open up for him in 1961 . it was towards the end of November you may recall , that Russ had to withdraw from the London Palladium revue stars in your eyes . a fall in which he had suffered a severely bruised hand and wrist was the cause . no one was more disappointed than Russ , even though it meant he could have a holiday a little sooner than he anticipated . for about a month he was out of action , but put that time to good use - for he has now decided that he would like to make a name in films ! at about the same time as Russ withdrew from the Palladium show , he filmed his contribution to a British comedy film , weekend with Lulu . this was his second exploit with the celluloid screen - he previously appeared in climb up the wall . now Russ is quite open about his hopes for the future - he has taken such a liking to film work that he wants to branch out in this side of show business , and he is already discussing a project to make a movie during the summer . he admitted : I suppose I have really got a bug about film making . I enjoy it very much - particularly as the method and medium are so different from television . do n&apos;t think , though , that the versatile Mr Conway is going to desert variety , TV and discs . a taped ATV series , with a scheduled start of January 5 , has been keeping him busy for some time , as well as talks and policy-making meetings for his future . he excited a lot of curiosity by announcing his intention of taking a holiday in Australia this month , particularly when he stressed that he was determined not to let it develop into a working trip ! the truth is , of course , that the Australians are great followers of Russ , and Conway realised that overtures might be made to him to make at least a token appearance on a big TV show . his plan , however , is to consider any offers that come his way from Australian promoters and agents - but with a view to working there some time in the future . the reason he is so serious about making this a holiday-only trip ? this could be the last vacation I shall have for several years , he explained . what can we expect from Russ in 1961 ? well , on his return from down under at the end of next month , he will begin to prepare for his starring appearance in Coventry Theatre &apos;s colourful ( not to mention star-studded ) spring show , which opens on Easter Monday . as previously stated , a film could follow this , taking Russ into the middle of the summer . what will happen after that , even Russ does n&apos;t know ! one thing is certain . many artists would be terrified of a sudden month-long break in their career - it could spell disaster and eventual ruin . but Russ Conway is the sort of person with whom that indefinable creature Success , and her elusive companion Luck , always stay . why , his even more party pops disc moved into the charts during his absence from the public eye , and sold in a large enough quantity to ensure that there will be thousands spinning his discs this Christmas . perhaps the nicest thing said about Russ was by a hardened music publisher as he paused to talk to a friend in Tin Pan Alley - London &apos;s Denmark Street . what a shame about Russ Conway leaving the Palladium show , he said . still , even if he &apos;s got a swollen hand there &apos;s no danger of it spreading to his head ! the Shadows &apos; private lives . what do the Shadows do when they are away from the hustle and bustle of theatres and showbusiness ? what are their hobbies ? to find out the answers to these questions ( incidentally , favourite queries from fans ) , hit parade asked each of the chart-topping group to reveal a little of their private lives . Jet Harris , bass guitarist and leader of the group is a keen racing driver . he has an ambition to race in the Monte Carlo rally , though he is not set upon winning it . I would enter just for the thrill , he says . he has other part-time occupations , in addition to his race driving . for instance , he is a keen archer and snooker player . he is not often taken seriously when he says that he would like to emulate William Tell &apos;s famous feat , but he is practising hard for an achievement in this direction . in snooker , he has another aim - to play former world champion Joe Davis ! of course , it &apos;s natural that Jet should have composing as an additional hobby , for no matter how hard you try , it &apos;s no simple matter to break away from showbusiness entirely . writing , too , takes up his time . once he wrote a book with poet Royston Ellis - titled driftin&apos; , it sold some 300,000 copies - and no wonder , for it was about Cliff Richard ! Bruce Welch , perhaps the best-known of the group in the composing line , spends a great deal of time with his music . he has written two of Cliff &apos;s hits - please do n&apos;t tease and I love you , and he worked on many of the numbers for the me and my shadows LP . he has n&apos;t always been successful in this direction , though , and he has some stories to tell about his early days in showbusiness that are hard to believe , compared with his present-day success . does it surprise you to know that Bruce and Hank Marvin when they first moved to London from Newcastle sometimes were on the verge of starving ? in fact , according to Bruce at times we were so hungry we stayed in bed to conserve our energy and to save ourselves the frustration of seeing shops full of eatables that we just did n&apos;t have the money to buy . Hank Marvin , who was voted into third place in the new musical express 1960 poll for the instrumental personality of the year section , has similar interests to Jet , although he prefers go-kart driving to rally driving . but he has one unusual hobby - he collects swords , guns and other curios that interest him . like the others he is a keen archer , but really prefers plucking the guitar string to the bow-string . I practise four hours a day whenever I am able , he says , but I find that the mad rush of showbusiness does n&apos;t always allow this . it is true to say that I practise as much as I can , though . drummer Tony Meehan , youngest of the group , is a serious musical student , and is responsible for most of the Shadows arranging , as well as a little composition . he has yet to have a composition published . he loves reading and is a bookworm in the true sense of the word . his reading matter encompasses Freud , historical novels and text books on music . now that the Shadows have formed their own publishing company - Shadows music - in association with Aberbach , it is probable that some of Tony &apos;s compositions will be used . in addition to all the spare time interests they have outlined , the boys like nothing better than to get together for talks covering all sorts of subjects - ranging round religion , politics , Elvis Presley and the charts ! 