May 19, 1941: Lee Shippey announces his return, thanks the guest columnists who filled in for him and says he doesn’t plan to answer the get-well cards he received, despite the entreaties of his secretary.

Tom Treanor, who was killed covering World War II for The Times, witnesses the inauguration of Venezuelan President Isaias Medina.

COLUMBIA'S "TEXAS" SET AT A GLANCE: A score of gun-totin' desperadoes playing gin-rummy off set, and another in a far corner manicuring his nails … Veteran film gunman George Bancroft teaching newcomer Glenn Ford to twirl a six-shooter on his trigger finger … Bill Holden: "Easy life, eh? Look! Because my shirt's open in this movie, I had to shave the hair off my chest. Try that when the thermometer's at 90 degrees!"

May 18, 1941: Nazi sky fleet?
 
Lee Shippey returns for a Sunday column.

Tom Treanor says: Americans are here developing Venezuela's oil resources for just one reason. They have the capital and the know-how for oil production which the Venezuelans lack. The Venezuelans take advantage of American knowledge to get the oil out of the ground with great profit to Venezuela. The Americans take advantage of Venezuela's greatest natural resources to make themselves rich. But what will happen when and if the Venezuelans learn to get the oil out of the ground themselves?

Jimmie Fidler says: The other day Paramount chiefs summoned new foreign find Eva Gabor (Hungarian) to the front office and suggested that she change her name because it sounds like a steal from Garbo. "Change my name?" shrieked Miss Gabor. "I was born with mine, and her real name is Gustafson. Let Garbo change hers!"

May 17, 1941: Allen Rivkin fills in for Lee Shippey with a column about problems at the post office in Westwood. Notice that even in the glory days of the streetcars, traffic was still a problem.

Tom Treanor, on a press junket to Venezuela, attends a benefit for British Relief at the Caracas opera house featuring the Jooss Ballet.
 
Sensational if True: Veteran press agent Mike Newman's claim that he recognizes Rudolf Hess — that Hess, under another name, was once Mae Murray's stage dance partner, Jimmie Fidler says.

May 15, 1941: Harry Bedford-Jones, “one of America’s most prolific writers” (and no, I’ve never heard of him either,) is filling in for Lee Shippey, who is recovering from surgery.

Nobody lives in Texas anymore. They've all come to Venezuela, says Tom Treanor, who is on a press junket sponsored by U.S. oil companies.

Dorothy ("Citizen Kane") Comingore, after furnishing a new home, must move out because of her hay fever, Jimmie Fidler says.