Photoplay (Jan - Jun 1941)

GUEST EDITOR TOMMY BOND i DEAR JUNIORS: I've been reading Movie Mirror Junior for years now, so it's quite a change to be writing it myself; and I'm awfully glad that now I have the chance to write you a letter, too. and maybe have you write to me. The last picture I played in was "A Little Bit of Heaven" and I was Gloria Jean's boy friend in it. I think I enjoyed that picture more than any other because Gloria is one of my favorite actresses as well as being a .simply swell girl, and Butch and Buddy are a lot of fun, too. I came out to Hollywood six years ago when I was 7, to play in the Our Gang comedies. You see, we lived in Dallas, Texas, and my sister Jane, who's four years older than I, was going to dancing school there. They lilanning to put on a play at the school and asked if I'd sing something, although I wasn't connected with the school. So I sang "Now's The Time To Fall In Love" and luckily a talent scout from Hal Roach studios was in the audience, so lie told my family to bring me out to Hollywood My grandmother came out with me and then the resl ol the family followed about three or four months later. She took me right to the Hal Roach studio and Mr. Roach put me light in the "Our Gang" comedies and there I was in pictures. After two years of that, they thought I was getting too big to continue in -'In •>. (in-, Edwards was having an audition over at KFWB for his "Schooldays of the Air" over the radio, so I tried nut for it and got on the program as master of ceremonies. It ran for thirty-six weeks. Then I uot the part of mascot on Nelson Eddy's team i lie." Mr. Eddy is a swell person to work with and thai picture was fun. Alter thai I wenl into "Hideaway" with Fred Stone and then Columbia signed me up to play Joey in the "Five Little Peppers" series with Edith Fellows That was swell and we all had a lot of fun. I Bat ton was the director and he was wonderful to us. 60 E MIRROR I ^f5M I'm in the 8A grade and go to school in Encino near where I live. We live on a ranch in Tarzana which is about ten miles away from Hollywood. We've got an acre of ground, with walnut trees and peach, plum, lime and other fruit trees, and two cocker spaniels. Jane has a white horse which she calls April, and Rocky is my horse. He's a cow horse and jet black. IT'S swell going to public school. But the arithmetic we have to do gets me down. I'd like to go to college if I could manage it without having to drop out of pictures. When I'm working, I have to go to school on the lot. m', but I'm on the Encino volley ball team and the football team: so they gel a substitute for me when I'm al the studio. B •■ we moved OUl to the ranch, we lived in Brentwood, in one of the canyons. But after the rams Hooded ml hack in L937 we de< gel to a hide more level ground. It was very exciting and pretty dangerous, It rained for several days and the water just poured down the canyon and finally it came up to the house and started coming m through the door, at which time v. red and rushed out to the car. The water was almost up to the wheels and it wouldn't start, so we had to gel out ! Tommy Bond, Hollywood correspondent. Arithmetic gets him down — way down again and wade up to a big house higher on the hill. All the lights hac gone out, but the people there took us in until finally much later a tax was able to get through so we coul< go to a hotel. When it stopped rain ing we went back home again. The house wasn't damaged much, bu mud had piled up three feet in thi yard and all around the house. I was certainly an awful feeling, strug gling through the water to get some place where it was dry. It was the most exciting thing that ever hap pened to me. Writing you this letter makes m< feel as though I knew all you Junior very well. Thanks for reading it. Your friend, TOMMY BOND P.S. — How about writing to me, too If you'll write and tell me what's tb most exciting thing that's ever happened to you, I'll give ten autographed photos to the ten boys or girls writi in the most interesting letters. Mi Betty Turner will help me judge the so please write to me in care of Mo Mirror Junior, 7751 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, California, but be sure to mail your letters before January 251 1941. ■i. Owing to the great volume of contributions received hy this deportment io« regret that it is impossible jor us to return unaccepted material. Accordingly, toe strongly recommend that all contributors retain a copy oj any manuscript submitted to us. MOVIE MIRROR announces the following winners in the Movie Mirror Junior-Dickie Jones contest: iisc Thacker, Kissimmee, Fla.; I .i-l.i Peel. 1616 Dos Moines Ave, Portsmouth. Va.; Angelina Mojodo, San Xavier S ium, Tucson, Den Mullin. Ah. I No. 1L'. Vincennes, Ind.; Danny Luongo, 5 Webstei Si . Newark. N. .1 I Fuel klyn, \ V Dollie Nelson. Omar. \V. Va : Jeannette Gamer, General Deli\ Norvell, Mich.; Marj Cobery, 10 Chauncej Ave., Lowell. Mass . Helen J2, irpl< s St . Burlington, N. C. rtbined trifh movie mihho» .