The New Movie Magazine (Jan-Sep 1935)

I ! Mildred Lloyd and the two girls are just above. At the right, over the picture of their daddy in "The Cat's Paw," are all three of the children, Peggy, Harold Jr., and Gloria, in the grand playhouse Harold built for them. 24 The Most Uninteresting MAN in Hollywood About the most dramatic moment in Harold Lloyd's life comes when he mends the lawn-mower. But don't let our title fool you, please ! By WHITNEY WILLIAMS HAROLD LLOYD, from a strictly editorial standpoint, is the most uninteresting man in Hollywood. Nothing ever happens to him ... he never becomes involved in scandal, or even rumor . . . effect and the spectacular hold no place in his mind or actions ... his life progresses at such an even tenor that it resembles nothing so much as that of the average young business man. Yet, he is one of Hollywood's wealthiest citizens ... his popularity is surpassed by no man or woman in the world of entertainment. Nowhere in the whole film colony will you find a more affable or charming gentleman to meet or pass the time of .day . . . and to newspaperman and star, studio worker and man in the street, he is "one regular guy." Garbo, though silent, if she were to talk; Colman, long considered the hardest man to interview in the motion picture capital; Barthelmess, who gets jittery every time he sees a writer, even from afar — all these provide founts of color and inspiration, compared to this young man whose rise from obscurity to the loftiest pinnacle of cinema success was dependent upon two elements alone, Ability and Hard Work. Starting out as an extra — he forced his way into a studio many years ago by donning grease-paint and joining a crowd of actors as they walked through the gates — Lloyd met another young chap who also was destined for great things in the picture world. This lad's name was Hal Roach, and together the two rose to fame and great fortune. Harold always had wanted to be an actor. Indeed, his parents had moved to California from Nebraska for the express purpose of indulging their young son's ambition. But his wish was no mere whim ... he had acquired training in summer stock companies as a boy, a great dramatic coach (a friend of the family) had drilled him for years in the art of acting and expression. So it was with considerable knowledge of what he wanted that Harold tried his luck at the studios. When he met Roach, the future producer was eking out a precarious existence as an extra, along with Harold. Ambitious, with an eye to the future, Roach inherited a small fortune and decided to make pictures himself. He offered Lloyd a job at forty dollars a week. Needless to say, Harold accepted, for that sum seemed like a mint to him. From their chance meeting on a set, Lloyd and Roach rapidly developed in the short-subject production field. The former began his comedy career with a nondescript character he called Willie Work. From that, he progressed into the Lonesome Luke character, and years as this be-mustached, tight-trousered figure advanced him to the top of the heap in slapstick. Then Lloyd initiated the wearing of horn-rimmed glasses in his comedies. His first four pictures proved his judgment correct. From one-reelers, he went into two-reel comedies, and then three's. Of these, "Never Weaken" will be best remembered. Finally, he made his first feature, "A Sailor Made Man." His daring and good judgment were further vindicated when he filmed "Grandma's Boy." Even Hal Roach predicted failure for him in attempting anything so ambitious as to portray a story on the (Please turn to page 52) The Neiv Movie Magazine, February, 1935