The New Movie Magazine (Dec 1929-May 1930)

The New Movie Magazine Home Town Stories of the Stars (Continued from page 47) always spent at the home of Grandmother Nagel, where in the big living room of the home there was the huge Christmas tree. Here Conrad, with his brother, Ewing, and his cousins, Richard Simpson and Mabelle Nagel, would dance around the tree, while his father played some of the old German Christmas carols on the piano. His grandmother was very fond of these old folksongs and delighted in the happy group gathered about her hospitable fire-side in the big house overlooking the Mississippi and pointing to the site of the old Fort Edwards, built to guard this part of Illinois from the Indians. ALTHOUGH he had shown a talent for learning poetry and prose passages and an unusual ability for reciting these, it was really his taste for music which put him into college theatricals and started him on his career as an actor. He had attended High School in Des Moines, and then entered Highland Park College, where his father was dean of the music department. His fine voice, inherited from his mother, a concert singer, and his taste for music inherited from his father, pianist and composer, made him a welcome addition to the college theatricals. His part in the first one was so outstanding that some professionals who attended the performance were struck with his ability and urged his parents to give him every opportunity to develop that talent. So insistent were these professionals of the stage that Conrad showed talent for this sort of work, that his parents entered him in the school of oratory at Highland Park College, thus definitely starting him on his career on the legitimate stage. His boyhood talent for reciting laid the foundation, undoubtedly, for this career and his memory work stood him in good stead in memorizing his parts. It was his constant and untiring efforts to improve that brought him final success. He played in Des Moines in stock at the old Princess Theatre for a time, and then went East into more pretentious things. When he came to Keokuk, years later in "Youth," he was widely acclaimed by his old friends here, and his pictures are always greeted by a friendly audience, many of whom remember him as the bright-eyed, friendly little boy who toddled away from the old home here many years ago. CONRAD NAGEL'S mother died in 1921. Although she lived to see much of her son's success, she was not spared to see him in the full measure of his film popularity. That has been the fortune of his father, however, who is now living in Hollywood. Dean Nagel was a familiar figure in Keokuk for years, for, like his son, he visited here frequently. His best years were spent in Des Moines, where he was one of the well-known musical critics and composers of the state. Memories of Conrad, the youth, are shared by many people through the entire community of Keokuk. Perhaps no young star of the stage has had more quiet interest shown in his career than this young man. There has been little of the "hurrah" and "hubbub" type of maudlin hero-worship given him from these old friends in Keokuk and Warsaw, who recall the sunny-tempered little lad of other days. But they have watched him succeed with a quiet pride indicative of real interest in him and gratification over the fact that the boy they knew has his name emblazoned in the rolls of those who have climbed the dizzy mountain of achievement and reached its summit without losing their dignity or poise. Who Is THE AMAZING MOTHER of Hollywood? Next Month Adela Rogers St. Johns will tell you all about her and how she reared her now famous screen family. It is an astonishing and moving story — of absorbing interest to motion picture fans. WATCH FOR IT NEXT MONTH! ernes 5 to 9 ROOMS $366 Summer Cottages Garages $92 and up DIPECTfrcm AIADDINMILLS atWhclesalc Prices Save up to $1,000 Price Includes all lumber readicut, millwork, windows, doors, interior woodwork, hardware, roofing, glass, nails, paints, varnish and stains. All materials shipped in a sealed buxor direct from the big Aladdin Mills by prepaid freight. Safe arrival guaranteed. Aladdin's Read i-Cut System Revolutionizes Home Building Methods and Costs Save 18' i lumber waste and 30fo labor cost. All lumber is cut-to-fit at the Mill on huge labor saving machines, instead of on the job. where labor and lumber waste costs dearly. Complete instructions and drawings enable you to build an AljJJin yourself if you are handy with tools. FREE— Beautiful New Catalog in Colors Address nearest office today for FREE Book of Aladdin Homes, Summer Cottages and Garages. Ask for latest Catalog No. 1120. Send NOW! No obligation. THE ALADDIN CO.. Bay City. Michigan Wilmington, N. C. Portland. Ore. THE ALADDIN CO. (Address nearest office) Bay City, Mich. Wilmington, N. C. Portland, Ore. Toronto, Ont. Can. Send at once, without obligation. FREE copy of the beautiful new 1930 Aladdin Catalog of Readi-cut Homes, Summer Cottages and Garages, No. 1120. Name . Address. City State 11£