Kirk Douglas the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, which gave him a special scholarship. One of his classmates was Betty Joan Perske (later known as Lauren Bacall), who would play an important role in launching his film career. Bacall wrote that she "had a wild crush on Kirk," and they dated casually. Another classmate, and a friend of Bacall's, was aspiring actress Diana Dill, who would later become Douglas's first wife. During their time together, Bacall learned Douglas had no money, and that he once spent the night in jail since he had no place to sleep. She
Joan Barry (American actress) was not associated with "Shadows", but won Chaplin's favour for the part following an "excellent private reading." Indeed, Chaplin spoke highly of her acting abilities, as David Robinson captures in his biography, where he notes "Chaplin’s sincerity in believing that he could make Joan Barry into an actress…. [as] she had ‘all the qualities of a new Maude Adams’ and told his sons, ‘She has a quality, an ethereal something that’s truly marvelous…a talent as great as any I’ve seen in my whole life.” Other sources, including FBI case records and Chaplin autobiographical writings, indicate the young actress to have