Picture Play Magazine (Mar-Jul 1929)

43 Occasional!)? You Find a Lady An investigation of this startling statement only serves to show that our blase reporter has an annual enthusiasm or two, his latest being Hedda Hopper. By Malcolm H. Oettinger PATIENCE is a virtue and perseverance a jewel, just as Doctor Cadman has always contended. There may be something in these hand-tooled wall mottoes after all. At least this fact remains. Meet enough of the Hollywood stars and comets, and you will some day come upon Hedda Hopper. I had been told, many times, that if I were a good boy I might meet her. But it never came to pass. As the years rolled by, I began to think of Hedda Hopper as a lovely myth — that last without a lisp. There was always a chance of being introduced to her at a party, or on a set, or at the beach, but invariably she had failed to come, or perhaps had just departed. It grew to be a minor tragedy. She was clever, I was told, and witty, sophisticated and gay. Then she came to New York. The rest is history, as soon as this is written. If you are interested in statistics, you may stop here. I do not know where Hedda Hopper was born, when she decided to act, what Mr. Hopper said when he proposed, or any other vital bits. I do know and depose that this is the first lady of Hollywood, a duchess with a swell sense of humor, a grandc dame who does not confuse the grand manner with a summer hotel, an actress who is determined to look upon her work as a profession, rather than a divine prerogative. Among the mature artists all this borders upon rebellion. La Negri the stately Ferguson, the languorous Miss Griffith — these stellar bodies permit you to keep your enthusiasm well in check, when you are reporting their idiosyncrasies. . The Hedda Hoppers are as few as they are far between. Thus it is that after you have patiently chronicled Evelyn Brent's bored indifference, Jetta Goudal's Delsarte manner, Clara Bow's chameleon coiffure. Norma Shearer's ingenuousness, and you come upon Hedda Hopper, you decide that duty has its bright moments. Hedda Hopper was first established on Broadway as a legitimate actress with a flair -for high comedy, appearing under the aegis of Arthur Hopkins. Then for a change she turned to Hollywood, where her success was immediate and permanent, though never sensational. Her defense of Hollywood surprised me. "Laugh at Hollywood though we will," she said, "we natives love the place. Probably because we appreciate the slanders it suffers. Of late, you know, it has become the thing for some of our best, or at least best-known, authors to jaunt to Hollywood, drink themselves into a state of coma, then return to write that it is a stupid, wanton combination of Sodom and Gomorrah. This is in bad taste. Moreover, it's untrue. "As a matter of fact, we flourishing landowners encourage the colorful reports that bring sight-seeing tourists to town. If we let it be known that at ten o'clock at night you could bowl oranges down the Boulevard, without hitting even a cop. who would want to see Hollywood ?" Mrs. Hopper left the New York temples of drama some years ago to essay what was then the silent stage. She has graced dozens of pictures, lending charm, distinction, and elan, to say the least, to otherwise commonplace offerings. This state of affairs has been a source of wonder to followers of things filmatic. Why have the Hopper talents remained comparatively undiscovered by the important producers? How did she herself explain it? "Who can explain it for me?" she asked, with a quizzical smile. "Independent producers have been kind enough to keep me jumping from one picture to another. If a quickie needs a touch here and there, I am engaged to provide it. It has become a habit. You see, I am not temperamental, I wear clothes rather well, and I dare say I am a reliable creature. "The picture concerns me not at all. I am earning an honest living. What gal could do more?" While Hedda Hopper hides her blushes of modesty behind her shapely hands, let it be said that there is no one currently being photographed who can better play the lady. Patrician types are rare on Park Avenue, and Continued on page 96 The world owes Hedda Hopper a debt for introducing the youthful mother to the screen.