Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1930)

Intimate Portrait of a Man with Black Hair HIS hair is black and he parts it almost in the middle but slightly on the right. His eyes are dark brown and large and moody. His forehead is wide and high, and his chin cleft. His ears are set back against his head, and his lips are firm and crook down to the right. Upon meeting him once or twice or a hundred times one remembers most vividly his eyes and his crooked smile. His name is Richard Semler Barthelmess. His body is strong and solid, and he catches cold very often. His voice is baritone; he speaks in low tones and although not a singer, will, on occasion, burst into "White Wings." He fought stubbornly against theaters advertising his "golden voice." He dresses inconspicuously, and in summer likes to go without socks. He attends formal functions in an opera hat. play tennis, plays often, but does not play well, marksman with rifle and pistol. He is equally drawing room and camp. By Joseph Henry Steele He likes to He is a fair at home in HE dances well but modestly and does not indulge in the latest ballroom gyrations. He cannot tango. Richard Barthelmess plays no musical instruments and will not have a radio in his home. He is a Wagner addict. He numbers among his friends Joseph Hergesheimer, Beatrice Lillie, Jascha Heifetz, Ronald Colman, Gertrude Lawrence, Elsie Janis, John McCormack, Paul Whiteman, George Fitzmaurice, Gloria Swanson, Florence Vidor, John Colton, William Powell, Ethel Barrymore, Lois Wilson, and "Shorty" English, a lovable oaf and world-vagabond. His friendship for Shorty dates back to Barthelmess' pictures under D. W. Griffith when Shorty was a property boy. He travels whenever the opportunity affords and has visited Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Bermuda, Hawaii, France, England, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Egypt. He likes Paris and Havana best of all. He has no luck in gambling. He usually loses bets. He likes horse-racing, football and tennis. He plays bridge only fairly. He likes to drive a car. He is a good horseman and enjoys riding. He does not own a horse. He is not a flying enthusiast and flies only in an emergency. In 1925 his pilot was found dead at his controls upon landing. The shock of this incident has never quite left Barthelmess. He has epicurean tastes but his favored dishes are ham and eggs and pork and beans. He never wears spats, and very seldom wears suspenders or st arched collars. Frequently he goes to the studio dressed in a pair of old flannels, sweat shirt and sneakers. Whenever possible he avoids people who confide to him their troubles — and expect him to remember them. He dislikes the gaudy display of motion picture openings and attends them only under duress. His favorite beverage is good beer. He hates to pose for portraits and dislikes being interviewed. He smokes cigarettes, occasionally a pipe, but never a cigar. He wants to do the story of the young Napoleon on the screen. He considers "Tol'able David" his greatest picture and "The Drop Kick" his worst. He avoids crowds and refuses to make personal appearances. He is inept as master of ceremonies and after-dinner speaker. HE likes sailing and owns a 49-foot schooner. He is fond of dogs but is unable to keep them as they are either lost, strayed or stolen. He will not have in his home a canary, parrot or monkey. He never plays poker but occasionally will roll the bones. His literary inclinations run to biographies, histories and satire. He collects rare and first editions and has no use for poetry. Richard Barthelmess would rather have been a writer than an actor. He plans some day to be a director-producer. He never wears plus fours and does not play golf. He hopes light wines and beer come back. [ PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 144] Three happy musketeers of the studio, loose aboard the Barthelmess yacht, singing Dick's favorite song, "White Wings." The warblers are, left to right, Ronald Colman, Bill Powell and Dick i 39