Brice briefly worked for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios designing sets and painting ‘masterpieces’ for their films, creating ersatz Cézannes and Rembrandts.

Brice married Shirley Bardeen on August 23 in Las Vegas. The couple was driven there by Fanny and her then-boyfriend, actor John Conte.

On October 12, Brice enlisted in the Army Air Corps. One of his responsibilities was to paint murals in officers’ mess halls at military installations in the western United States.