Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1929)

onny Ten years later another film hit comes to the Lee family, as little Davey follows Brother Frankie to fame By Tad Hastings THIS is a story about a little boy and his big brother. Credit for the little boy's discovery has been given to Al Jolson. It belongs, instead, to a woman and to an obscure casting director. The woman knew long before anyone else that this little boy was a remarkable child. It is not strange that she knew, however, for she is his mother. And mothers know a great many things long before other people know them, and often are not given credit for the knowledge. The name of the lad is Davey Lee. He will be four years old exactly fourteen days after this story goes on all newsstands — on the twenty-ninth of December, to be specific. So you see, he is a sort of combination Christmas present and New Year's greeting — one that people will cherish forever if he continues his present cinema pace. Davey plays the part of Sonny Boy in Al Jolson's new picture, "The Singing Fool." And he fairly tears the heart out of you, too, when, dying, he asks his daddy to sing him to sleep. The story of how Davey became Sonny Boy is one of those strange tales for which Hollywood is famous. It is part and parcel of the bizarre fabric that makes the town unique. It is another case where truth is stranger than fiction, where fact is more potent than fabrication, where the press agent's conception falls far below par. The real story is saturated with shattered hopes, with doubts and disappointments; it brims with heartbreak. For it is the story of how an older brother was called, but a younger brother chosen. Frankie Lee is the older brother. Frankie, the little crippled boy of "The Miracle Man" — not a real cripple, of course, just the youngster who acted the part. That was ten years ago. Yet it left an unforgettable impression, one that survives to this day. And the tragedy of this story is that Frankie was called first for the part that made his baby brother famous. But Frankie is now si.xteen. He has been going to Hollywood High for You'll be touched by little fouryear-old Davey Lee's sincere playing of Al Jolson's son when you see "The Singing Fool." As soon as Jolson saw Davey he exclaimed: "Come to Uncle Al" Of course you remember Frankie Lee as the crippled boy of the unforgettable "Miracle Man." Frankie is sixteen now and he goes to Hollywood High. The Warner Studio, forgetting that boys grow up, called him for the role in "The .Singing Fool" — but Davey walked right into the part several years. He is tall and gangling, and he does not even remotely resemble that whimsical Mttle fellow with the wistful smile in "The Miracle Man." Yet in the minds of producers and directors, Frankie Lee has never grown up. He is still, to them, " that little Miracle Man kid." Thus we see how indelible was the imprint of his work. Its eflfect upon memory produced a picture that cannot be erased. A SHORT time ago, Frankie was called to take a test with Lois Moran for "The River Pirate." William K. Howard remembered him. In fact, Howard proved himself the e.xception to the rule by actually daring to consider that possibly Frankie had grown up. He wanted Frankie, not for a child part, but for a full-fledged young man's role. Frankie, however, was a little too immature, so the part went to Nick Stuart. But that test put the celluloid virus back into Frankie Lee's blood with a vengeance. " Mother," he said, " I'm all steamed up and want to get back into the game." So mother, in the role of manager once more, undertook to restore Trankie's career. And here's where the heartbreak begins. Wherever Frankie went, he found himself surrounded by little children, kids often less than half his size — all called for the one part. It was most embarrassing. [continued on page 101 ] 29