Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1930)

C^Thcy Think Alike/ He Likes Jazz Records Garbo and Chan ey, the Sphinxes of Culver City, are mystery twins By Cal York She Doesn't Wear Jewelry OF all the people in the world whose names would be brought together in analytical comparison, it would seem that Greta Garbo and Lon Chaney would be the very last. And yet, strange as it may seem, they are curiously alike in so many respects that a weighing of their enigmatical personalities is inevitable. To begin with, Garbo and Chaney occupy the most unique positions in the motion picture industry, both having carved niches of their own, won fame for characterizations so individual and distinct that their names have become dictionary synonyms. Garbo neither answers fan mail nor sends fan pictures. Chaney doesn't even read his fan letters. Both Garbo and Chaney are as much a mystery in Hollywood as in Grand Rapids. They attend no parties. Shun premieres. Make no personal appearances and see their own pictures only by sneaking in and out of darkened theaters to avoid recognition. Garbo guards her private life jealously. Yes, her parents were obscure Swedish people. But that is all that is known of them. Chaney's parents were deaf mutes. And that suffices so far as he is concerned. When Garbo finishes her day's work and leaves the lot, no one has the least idea where she may be found ten minutes or ten hours later. Chaney takes off his make-up and, so far as the studio knows, vanishes in thin air until due on the set the next day. o n Ch Greta BOTH look entirely different off the screen and could walk, side by side, down Hollywood boulevard in broad daylight without being recognized. Chaney, always modestly attired in a conservative suit, horned-rimmed glasses and a peaked cap, might be taken for a shipping clerk. Garbo strolls in a rakish felt hat with a wide, turned-down brim, and cloaked in a mannish balmacan that — have worked on the same lot for five years — shun publicity and public appearances — answer no fan mail — admire each other's work — drive the same kind of car — love the sea and solitude — dominate every picture they appear in — live in rented houses And Are Only Bowing Acquaintances! might proclaim her a nurse out for a breath of fresh air. Both live in rented houses. Both are thrifty, living economically, indulging in few luxuries not available to any working man or woman. Both abhor ostentation. Both are devastatingly frank in conversation and mince no words. Both say "No" frequently and "Yes" seldom. Both are more interested in work than anything else and are sticklers for punctuality, in arriving on the set promptly — and leaving promptly. Both choose their friends outside of motion pictures. Both are fond of the ocean. Both keep entirely out of Hollywood news happenings. Both are credited with enormous publicity space and neither has a press agent. Both make themselves up and sit in story and costume conferences for iheir pictures. Both like jazz phonograph records and newsreels. Both drive the same kind of car. Both are amateur photographers. Both like raw spinach salad and anchovies. Both are dog lovers. Both are avid readers of good books. Both study languages. Both have secret telephone numbers. Both hate jewelry. n ey arbo a n G CHANEY cannot, by any imagination, be called handsome and Garbo's famous profile is not beautiful according to accepted artistic standards. Yet both possess magnetic personalities that overwhelm any physical disparity. It is a known fact in motion picture circles that Garbo and Chaney alone are perhaps the only two stars who dominate every picture in which they appear. No matter the Story, [ PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 130 ] 49