Picture Play Magazine (Jul - Dec 1929)

92 Continued from page 32 The late Charles Emmett Mack was a prop hoy for D. W. Griffith. He'd been working at that studio for months before the famous director, as if seeing him for the first time, suddenly realized what a poignant face his prop hoy had. Griffith gave him the second lead in "America," the role of the heroine's brother who was killed in the war. That poignant face was an asset ; Charles Mack was assigned one role after another. Nearly always he played the boy who was killed in the war. And then the tragic final fadeout of his career, when he really was killed in an automobile accident. Ironically enough, just as he had finished a film called "The First Auto." Eddie Nugent is another whose story runs from prop boy to featured actor. It was Eddie's ingratiating personality which made stars and directors notice him. There was always a quip on the tip of his tongue. His wit and good looks made him so Strange Roads to Stardom popular that soon the general sentiment around the studio could be described as "Give the little boy a big hand up." And so opportunity came to Eddie. The country is full of Eddies, with looks, personality, wit. But that lucky chance hasn't come their way. One sixteen-year-old Chicago boy decided not long ago to create his own lucky chance. His name was John Loeb, and he thought he was a comedian. But how was he going to prove that he was right ? How get inside the magic gates of a studio to show his stuff? He devised an ingenious scheme. And one day the officials at the Hal Roach studio were astonished when the American Express Company delivered a long, wooden crate labeled "Statuary." "It doesn't belong here," they said, refusing to accept it. "We didn't order any statuary." So the driver, a little puzzled, took the mysterious crate to the company's local office to await further instructions. To the astonishment of all the clerks, the crate was suddenly pushed open from the inside, and out popped a sort of replica of Charlie Chaplin. Big shoes, trick mustache, baggy trousers, grease paint. Johnny Loeb of Chicago, no less, would-be comedian, who thought he was inside the Hal Roach studio, and was all prepared to show astonished directors what he could do. The sequel to this story is that the police were called in ; the living statue had violated some statute about misrepresentation. But the Roach studio executives, touched by his plight, have agreed to give him a chance when the police get through with him. Just a screen-struck boy, attempting a quite new road to stardom. The roads to stardom are many and strange — but that is the strangest of all! Continued from page 53 have been reached on a revue type of production. "When in doubt turn the show into a revue" is the newwatchword of the producer. The Whiteman excursion has already cost the Universal company a good $250,000, but they are into it so heavily they might as well spend a few hundred thousand more. They have engaged John Murray Anderson, of Greenwich Village "Follies" fame, to stage the Whiteman film. That, too, costs a pretty penny. "The King of Jazz" is still the title of the picture. Oh, Aileen, Aileen! Alterations in the color of a star's hair mean little or nothing, nowadays, unless the changes become a regular habit, but when Aileen Pringle, after remaining a deep brunette for a lifetime, suddenly emerges as a blonde, the movie world stands still. It would be hard enough to reconcile such a departure with Aileen in any event. Still, she has done it — has become a blonde with the hope of furthering her career. "My career seemed so ill-fated recently, that I decided I would have to do something really drastic." Aileen told us. "So I have gone Hollywood and become a blonde." And believe us or not, Aileen is a really beautiful blonde; her appearance is most unusual and striking. Mary Brian Bobs. Mary Brian is another star who has taken a revolutionary step as re Hollywood High Lights gards her coiffure. She has bobbed her hair. She had to do it to play in "The Children," and it was an ordeal, because she had beautiful hair of the long variety that reached to her waist. Mae Glamorous Again. Mae Murray's return to pictures may be duly celebrated, and she is reviving one of her most popular starring productions — "Peacock Alley." Tiffany-Staid engaged her to do a talking version of this, with supporting players including George Barraud and Jason Robards. Needless to say, Mae will dance and wear elaborate costumes. Her speaking voice registers excellently, because of her vaudeville and picture theater engagements. Gallic Stars Thrive. Maurice Chevalier's absence in Europe has made many people ask whether he will return. It depends a good deal, we believe, on the success of "The Love Parade." Chevalier has not been a big hit everywhere, though he won friends in many places with his work in the very poor "Innocents of Paris." It is curious that the French are exhibiting more adaptability to the talkies than the Germans, who so dominated the silent form. It is curious, but explainable by the fact that the southern European has more of an understanding of the lighter sort of musical entertainment that is now being proffered, than the more dramatic Teutons. Lily Damita has prospered with "The Cockeyed World," and just lately Fifi Dorsay shows signs of becoming a sensation. She was so good in "They Had to See Paris," starring Will Rogers, that she was immediately slated for a big role in a production directed by Raoul Walsh. And oh, what fascinating eyes this little mamselle has. She sang with a true Anna Held manner at a luncheon given at the Fox movietone studio, and all the boys were throwing their hats in the air. Songbirds In Favor. The welcome sign is out to the operatic singers. In the beginning it looked as if the films didn't care anything about them, feeling that they were too highbrow. But the engagements of several have been announced. Jose Mojica, one of the tenors of the Chicago Civic Opera Company, is among the Fox contract players, and Elsa Alsen, Wagnerian soprano, is to take a part in "The Rogue's Song," with Lawrence Tibbett. She is a noted and beautiful singer, who has spent the summer concertizing on the Pacific Coast. Tito Ruffo also gave out the word from abroad that he expected to go into the talkies. And Tibbett, already completing his first feature, is to film another. Her Joy Fateful. Ronald Colman has lost his mother. She died a few weeks ago in Australia. The circumstances sur Continued on page 104