Picture-Play Magazine (Jul - Dec 1930)

22 Between the Stars and the Fans man) people tr\ to see him. Don Lewis, his secretary, has his hands full in keeping the way clear of people wanting t<> sell things, or give things, or take things: and girls wanting to know it' any feminine attractions are permitted on the Cooper ranch in Montana. It' not, they suggest a good reason why there should be some. Before undertaking to sequester Gary from the world at large, Don was with Maurice Chevalier. Frenchmen, or persons claiming that nationality, besieged the Paramount fortress and gave all sorts of arguments as to why they should sec Mr. Chevalier. The same thing happens while Don manages Gary's affairs. A woman in the Easl sefH a warning letter slating that there was a plot to kill Gary. She was on the inside of this, and for ten thousand dollars she would stop the infernal scheme. She is inside a lunatic asylum now, writing warning letters to her heart's content. Perhaps Dolores del Rio's secretary has as hectic a time as Daisy de Voe. Chala Brown is a very clever young girl from Chile. Her father was an American. Four years ago Chala decided to do something in life. She came to California and went to a secretarial school. Luckily she obtained the position of secretary to Miss del Rio three' years ago, and is now like one of the family. Chain's bilingual accomplishment stands her in good stead. Numerous Mexicans besiege the Del Rio home, wanting to see their compatriot. Chala declares that at first she hardly knew what to say. or how to deal with all the callers. Xow she says she has become hardboiled. A secretary has to be. One of the most persistent solicitors is a strange fellow whose aim in life is selling, or trying to sell, Oriental goods. He refuses to give up the struggle with this annoying secretary who prevents him from seeing Miss del Rio.' "J wonder which of us will give in first," Chala moans. '"One morning I felt sure I had managed to convince him of the uselessness of trying to see Miss del Rio. I told him that she and her mother were in Honolulu. Just as he was packing up his Oriental goods. Miss del Rio put her head out of the far doorway and said, 'Chala, come in for lunch.' The look I received from my old foe with his ( Oriental stuff was enough to kill. "There is also a voting college hoy. He insists that he will sell Miss del Rio some insurance. Just as insistently 1 maintain that he will not. And so we face each other. And I realize I am making another enemy. "They are so unreasonable. All these solicitors see only their own side of things. If a star does not wish to buy insurance, why should she. just to hel]' some fellow who asks he Dolores del Rio helps more people than outsiders would believe. And Chala, in spite of admitting she is hard-boiled where solicitors are concerned, is too hard on herself. Xot long ago a Mexican boy of twenty called at the 1 )el Rio home. "At once I could tell he was deserving, whatever he meant to ask for." Chala related. "He was clean, his trousers were pressed, and he was convincing in everything he said. A secretary, you know, develops a sixth sense. She can tell at once if a caller is speaking the truth or lying. "This young hoy is a splendid musician. He gave me a song he had composed for Miss del Rio. Also a letter written to her. I let Miss del Rio see them. She took an interest in the young man. and helped him to get a position in which his musical talent earns him a good salary. "What I liked about him was that he was so eager to do whatever he was told. If I sent him to the other end of the town to see some one, he'd go without a murmur. Again, he could not get his present position unless he belonged to the union. It cost fifty dollars to join. He didn't have the money. He told me this, and that was all. He did not hint at borrowing as others have done. I told Miss del Rio, and she gave me the money to give him. But even then he would not accept it as a gift. He insisted on giving Miss del Rio his note, in which he agreed to pay back the loan, with interest, in six months after he started work." His father in Mexico has written gratefully to Miss del Rio, mentioning how his son praises her kindness to him. In the song he composed, called "Dolores." he ends the liquid strains of Latin emotion with, Hay can tares Luces, colores y rosas Pero Ilci'o en el alma Dolores. I can readily believe this. But in the meantime I leave Chala, the clever and interesting secretary, to cope with her many distracting callers. Another Mexican star, Ramon Novarro, is lucky in having all requests caught in the studio script department before they reach him. The head of this department is Edith Stalwart Gary Cooper employs Don Lewis as keeper of the home latchstring to determine who will be admitted within the gates and who sent away muttering strange oaths against all secretaries. Farrell. Miss Farrell sorts out the sensible from the ridiculous letters, and lets Novarro see the results. When Ramon went to Europe last year, he stopped in Chicago to change trains. One old lady had written him for a long time and sent him little things she had made. Miss Farrell believed she was doing the right thing in saying that Mr. Novarro would he changing trains at Cont. on page 97