Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1938)

He's moody . . . libs Turkish baths . . . loathes ch ampagne BY JOSEPH HENRY STEELE HE is constantly putting up a show of bravado but actually he is utterly lacking in confidence. His stepmother was Mary Pickford. He loathes the taste of champagne. He suffers from a bad case of nerves. He was married to Joan Crawford for five years. His name is Douglas Fairbanks, Junior. He thinks time-saving devices have not increased the American capacity for happiness, and he hopes double-billing will be abollshed. He gets bored with the perpetual sunshine of Southern California, and dislikes highly spiced foods. He likes the smell of a stable. He thinks modern furniture endurable only if comfortable He considers as his worst picture, "Loose Ankles," made by First OF A YOUNG MAN LOOKING AT LI A sharp etching of the Fairbanks who hates being called Junior, but admits liking public adulation and spaghetti National in 1930. He thinks judicious use of perfume on men is 311 rignt. As a boy he didn't get along very well with girls. He never wears a hat in the evening, and speaks German badly He is twenty-eight years old. He is not flattered by autograph hounds but he recognizes them as an indication of his own cinematic value. He thinks very few women look well in mannish clothes He is a collector of old maps, and does not like lapel watches Douglas Fairbanks, Junior hates being called Junior He feels, rather vaguely, that someday he would like to have children, but fears that he is unfit for such responsibility because ot his own youngish attitude towards things." He enjoys the radio only when he is driving; drinks very little water; sleeps very restlessly. He wears neither belts nor suspenders. He plans to marry again. He is a believer in mental telepathy. HE thinks that, although it is embarrassing at times, he would be a hypocrite if he said he didn't like public adulation. He is six teet, one-quarter of an inch tall. He would rather have been a writer than an actor He is fed up with screwball comedies, and his only pet is a mastiff pup. His favorite sandwich is made with American cheese He does not think the average man as happy today as he was before the World War. He does not like colored shirts, and smokes too many cigarettes. He is given to moods, easily depressed, cannot listen to sopranos. He likes to eat alone because he likes to read while eating He signs himself "Jayar" when writing to his father, which is the pronunciation of the abbreviation of Junior. He is quite blond ott screen and resorts to a hair tonic to make his hair look darker on screen. His wit is not above average, and he prefers sweet wines He would rather listen to the singing of Richard Tauber than anyone He cannot eat shellfish of any kind. He thinks the most interesting street he has ever seen is one in Zurich, Switzerland. Its name he cannot remember. He was born in an apartment house at Seventy-Eighth Street and Broadway, New York. He does not like swing music He thinks, generally speaking, that Hollywood people are unhappy. At horse races he always bets on four or five horses in one race He is not superstitious, and does not read the comic sheets The younger Fairbanks has been happiest in England, and although he is not systematic or orderly he is insistent that those about him be. He is not punctual. He does not like cats. He never takes care of his money. His famous father always comes to him for advice on personal and business matters. He is an easy victim of colds, and derives great pleasure from playing "Indications." He cannot dance the tango or rhumba. He speaks French fairly well, and never sticks to an outdoor sport long enough to be good at it. He got only as far as the twelfth grade at school. His eyes are blue. He calls his father Pete. He still has stage fright on the first day of every picture and his favorite cocktail is a Stinger. He does not keep a scrapbook, and he flunked consistently in arithmetic at school. He carries a lighter and wears a gold wristwatch. He misses most the lack of individualism in Hollywood. He (Continued on page 85) 22