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— THE MOVING PICTURE WEEKLY
Tsuru Aoki, Universalis Newest Star
•pHE name of Aoki is as well known to the theatregoer of Tokio or Yokahoma as are the names of Barrymore and Drew to the playgoers of America. %
Tsuru Aoki, Universal's delightful star, known as the Japanese Bernhardt of the screen, comes from a family of Japanese actors. While her father and mother were not on the stage, her aunts, uncles, cousin and sisters were all actors. At the age of seven little Tsuru, who was bom in Tokio, began to act in melodramas and historical plays, playing child parts in support of her distinguished lelatives for two years.
Elducated in America.
When Miss Aoki was nine years old she came to America with her aunt and uncle, who brought a Japanese repertoire company to Califomia, the first of its kind that ever visited the United States. That was in 1903, and the oriental actors remained here for nearly a year, playing in San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Boston, presenting Japanese plays in the native tongue.
Tsuru accompanied the players only as far as San Francisco, and after the engagement in that city she was placed in a convent in Chicago, where she remained till she was fifteen years old. She then went to Colorado Springs where she spent two years in a convent and took a post graduate course in a finishing school at Pasadena, Califomia.
Wife of Sessue Hayakawa.
Miss Aoki's screen career dates back to 1913, when she appeared in a number of comedies under the direction of Fred Mace, followed by an engagement of two years wth Thos. H. Ince, where she played opposite Sessue Hayakawa.
Miss Aoki had become acquainted with Mr. Hayakawa during her school days in Chicago, as he was also attending school in that city. They were married in 1915, during their engagement at the Ince studio.
Miss Aoki recently signed a contract with Universal for a series of Japanese photodramas, the first of which "The Breath of the Gods," herafded as a most sumptuous produc
tion, will be released in the near future as a Jewel-Universal.
A Christmas Gift.
A teak-wood cabinet of great value and antiquity has been received at Universal City by Tsuru Aoki, at Christmas time, from an admirer in Tokio.
The cabinet was received by the star with only the following anonymous note as a clue to the giver:
"Your wonderful artistry in 'The Breath of the Gods' has further endeared you to Japan, the land of your birth."
The pretentious gift is elaborately hand-carved and contains many secret compartments. Its antiquity. Miss Aoki says, is indicated by the condition of the wood and is confirmed by the character of the carving.
So unique is the cabinet that it was taken from the star's dressing room at Universal City to the stage where she is now playing in "Locked Lips" under the direction of William C. Dowlan, and used in one of the settings.