Hollywood (Jan - Oct 1934)

OO^HVHS UEUTH Sparkling, authentic notes concerning doings of the stars at work and at play presented by our star reporter by HAL WOOD . Roger Gets a Thrill There Is a broad contrast between reel and real-life kisses, if you can believe Roger Pryor. For six weeks, Mae West had been kissing Roger before the lenses for It Ain't No Sin. Then came the final fadeout and the disbanding of the company — the latter an off-stage ceremony featured by Mae's move in planting a hearty smacker on her screen lover's lips. "I'll say that good-bye osculation was different!" Roger admitted. Who's Who With Mae I MAE WEST has Filmtown guessing in the matter of her current heart throb. Reports were that Jack Durante had succeeded Jim Timony in Mae's affections, then Murray Fiel came out from New York and the villagers had cause to question their earlier judgment But the other fight night, Mae strode down to her ringside seat on the arm of Timony, and next evening she dined out in the company of all three — Durante, Fiel and Timony. Fate's Cruel Blows Hollywood Was still mourning the sudden death of beloved Lew Cody when extras heralded the news that beautiful young Dorothy Dell had met a tragic end in an automobile crash. Dorothy, the nineteen-year-old lass who scrimped to buy the $2.98 bathing suit in which she won the title of Miss Universe, stood out in the van of the current crop of new film beauties. Her vast store of dramatic ability had carried her to stardom's gates with bewildering speed. Dr. Carl Wagner, who was piloting the car at the time of the crash and whose demise followed Dorothy's by a few hours, was the actress' hero, due to the fact that -tirrt Lungwort!: 1 irghiin Pine, Chicago heiress, lakes time off from the studio to icon the teild «• a r e s at the heach. Her latest picture i.« Damps only two months earlier he had carried Dorothy's mother, Mrs. Lillian Goff, through an almost fatal siege of pneumonia. Had Collected Bonus ONLY a week before her tragic end, B. P. Schulberg of the Paramount organization was looking all over Hollywood for Dorothy to present her with a $2,500 bonus in appreciation of her outstanding portrayal in his Little Miss Marker, On the very day Schulberg launched his search, Dorothy had set out for a trip to San Francisco in her inconspicuous little roadster. The jaunt was her idea of a rest from her strenuous labors in Paramount" s Shoot the Works, in which she had just completed the lead opposite Ben Bernie. May Re-make Picture Paramount executives were given serious consideration to the question of re-shooting all scenes in Shoot the Works that included the late Lew Cody when word of Dorothy's death reached them. Lew had a featured spot in the production. Two days before the tragedy, Dorothy had confided to her intimates: "Lil Tashman died, then Lew Cody. Deaths always come in threes. I wonder who'll be the next!" Hubby Makes Good R. EUGENE FRENCKE, Anna Sten's legal mate, is a versatile fel Finding time heavy on his hands while wifey was working day and night on Nana, Frencke induced Sam Goldwyn, Anna's producer, to finance him in making an independent picture. He wrote, directed and cut The Girl in the Case. The film drew such raves from eastern audiences that Universal immediately contracted with him to produce another. Players Get Break Ami Seeing Dr. Frencke's experi*» ment, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, famed authors turned producers, signed Jimmy Salvo, star of the Frencke opus, to a five-year contract, while Universal grabbed Dorothy Darling, college lead in the Doc's film, on a long-termer. Joan No Hi-Hat! JOAN CRAWFORD is going to open her backyard theatre to the public just as soon as she perfects her own stage technique. HOLLYWOOD M low. The screen star had been considerably burned by charges of ritziness hurled at her since she launched her footlight experiment before invitational audiences. "I feel that I'm not yet ready to launch myself upon the stage," she explained. "It is a new medium for me, and I need a great deal of training. When I am ready, the doors of my private theatre will be thrown open. Meanwhile, the friends I have chosen to invite have been selected because I know I can depend upon them for loyalty and honest criticism," Chief among Joan's select circle of spectators have been Franchot Tone and Lynn Riggs, playwright. Franchot Stock Soars Joan Crawford faces another heartache over the boy friend, Franchot Tone. Joan, 'tis reported, was considerably upset when Metro assigned her favorite to emote opposite Jean Harlow. Then she gave beautiful Madeleine Carroll the icey nod when Fox borrowed Franchot for Madeleine's first American talkie. And now, making matters still worse for Joan, Warner's have been successful in borrowing Franchot for the principal male role in Oil Lamps oi China. Alice Visits Rudy THE minute Alice Faye completed her most recent Fox role, she dashed for New York— and Rudy Va'lee. The blonde star will forget her talkie career for the next two months while she busies herself with real-life romance. Rudy would have spent the summer in California with Alice had it not been for Fay Webb's annoying divorce action, still pending in the Los Angeles courts. Incidentally, Fay's legal campaign against the radio star caused him to reject Warner Brothers' offer of the stellar role in Sweet Music, a yarn based on the life of a radio crooner. Reconciliation Nears? Ken Murray is a most dejected fellow these days, what with the girl friend, Sue Carol, floating about the late spots on the arm of hubby Nick Stuart. Only a few months back, while Ken was negotiating with his estranged frau for the decree that has since brought him marital freedom. Sue was tearing hither and yon with him, picking out furnishings for his new abode, and everyone thought she would Reno it ere this Now her intimates are telling that there's a mighty good chance of Sue and Nick patching up their differences, and again trying the double harness. SEPTEMBER. 1934 HOT FROM HOLLYWOOD . . . Last minute telegraphic news Foreign Affairs George Arliss' annual sojourn in England this year is anything but a vacation . . . the veteran star is portraying the title role in Wellington for BritishGaumont, and he's drawing the heaviest salary ever paid a film actor over there . . . Felix Ferry, one of Europe's most amazing theatrical producers, is trying to snag June Knight for his forthcoming musical production behind the Monte Carlo footlights . . . When Hollywood appeared to have lost interest in Laura LaPlante, the blonde star hied herself to London . . . Warners' English studio cast her in The Church Mouse, and she was such a hit, they've signed her for two more pictures before she goes to British International under a long-termer . . . Joe E. Brown and the Mrs. are back from their tour of the South Sea Islands and the Orient . . . playing baseball with the Japs was his biggest thrill ... A pal of Chic Chandler's over in Italy has sent him an Italian queen bee . . . Chic raises bees as a pastime . , . A Paris plastic surgeon has offered to make over Edna May Oliver's face for a mere $10,000 ... but Edna wrote back that her countenance was her fortune, and that she wouldn't part with it for a $1,000,000 check . . . Genevieve Tobin is in London for a rest, but she may combine business with pleasure and do a talkie . . . Constance Cummings and hubby Benn Levy are building a costly mansion in Chelsea, a London suburb ... in fact, they had an American architect draw the plans for a Colonial home in England! . . . Evelyn Laye will leave London for Hollywood in October . . . and when she arrives, she will go into On Your Toes, a Metro musical. National Mae Murray is doing a Broadway comeback via The Milky Way. having replaced Gladys Mar Munn A Drue Lfyton, lovely ucreen newcomer, will he teen in Charlie (|,,,„\ Coorue and The World Move* On. The nheltpink transparent velvet negligee in in her perianal irardrithe 27