20th Century Fox Close-Ups (Jun 1937 - Jun 1938)

CLOSE-UPS 5 Publicity Houndfil: By DOROTHY ARDEN WHEREIN the caprices, the idiosyncracies, ingenuities and weaknesses of the publicity-workers are revealed without malevolent intent — but with just a dash of whimsy: • Jack Mulcahy (with visions of a great uncovered territory) once tried to sell a boatload of brassieres to the innocent maidens of Bali. The men ran him off the island. • Ray Dannenbaum, a former Fuller Brush salesman, used to recite poetry to the more suspicious housewives. A liberal copyist after the classic poets, he sold most brushes when he recited Lucrece. Milt Howe, you will be surprised to know, punched cows (but not bulls) in South Dakota. • Johnny Miles once spent $8,000 trying to bring the Blarney Stone to the United States for exhibition purposes but the Irishers drove him out and the London cops got him. Some years later he tried to bring the Wall of China in pieces to the United States, but this time the asylums got him. • Les Vaughn was an ephebian — enough said! • Bernie Schermer used to fit high hats on Hollywood swell heads until sizes above 8J4 ran out. DOROTHY ARDEN Ruth Dunlap was a cub reporter on the Minneapolis Journal. • And Frances Deaner was with the Red Cross during the war, giving smelling salts to frightened second lieutenants. • Charlie Raudebaugh used to average two bedrooms a week as San Francisco’s leading stealer of intimate and candid newspaper pictures. • Jim Denton was a journalism professor. He found out, at last, that it’s more profitable to practice than preach. • Cordon Cordon exploited the Mexican Indians as an explorer. His findings are gathering dust — somewhere. • Doc Bishop used to pare the toenails of ailing Forest Service pigs, cows, deer and skunks. He really was the lowest form of doctor, a veterinary. Troy Orr used to hoof in pictures, the dear boy. And so did Margerie Hockley. Charlie Goldie mismanaged an orchestra on an European trip. Jack Woods took up newspaper photography in order to meet more divorcees. • Jack Cooper used to sell second-hand wedding rings. Jerry Solomon still is the perennial schoolboy. Annarea Maher used to stretch for high c’s. Sonja Wolfson was a toe-dancer in Hoboken. • SWEETNESS AND LIGHT DEPARTMENT Jack Mulcahy and Doc. Bishop should have a fat telephone list when they finish securing hostesses for the convention. Dick Skidmore rented two Boy Scouts to take on his yachting trip. He was going to buy a compass but found the boys were cheaper. Then too, he could rub them together when he needed a fire. Report has it that George Weiss has worn out three more Paris girdles and has fallen away to a ton. Ever notice how hard it is to get a picture of Jack Cooper? In this latest candid shot, Jack had just spent his entire savings hiring the Bennett car and ‘Ty’ Power to chauffeur so he could impress his latest “Mimmie.” Bob Doman’s been sued by the old Thanhouser Company for stealing catch lines from their 1904 production of “Strawberry Nell Rides Again.” Now we know what those musty old books are that he has been pouring over so ardently. Norm Manning’s wearing "tails” to the convention banquet so he can be distinguished from the waiters. Charlie Raudebaugh has changed his socks for the season! And Jim Mitchell is too young and innocent to have a past. (to be continued in the next installment).