Picture-Play Magazine (Mar-Aug 1925)

93 I The Nicknames of the Stars Few players are so dignified that they have escaped having pet and nicknames fastened upon them by their families and friends, and a number of them are here set forth and explained. By A. L. and Dorothy Wooldridge A MOTION-PICTURE star may wear a halo about her head when she's working at the studio and crowds may struggle to get a look at her when she makes an appearance in person, but when she gets home and a young brother happens to address her, the halo vanishes. "Shucks !" he says, just like all kid brothers, "that's only 'Sis !' " Imagine, if you will, the queenly Irene Rich entering the front door and being greeted by a chilly "Good evening, Miss Rich!" as she had heard herself adNever ! When the queen in "Rosita" presence of that brother, she is con dressed all day walks into the fronted with : "Hullo, Bean! How goes it?" And when Mary Astor, she of the auburn hair and smiling face, gets home, Mother Astor says cheerily: "Well, Rustv, how'd things turn out to-day?" ct "Rusty" and "Ginger" and "Peggy" and "Pat" and "Polly" are nicknames affectionately bestowed upon the screen celebrities at their homes or by intimate friends at the studios. Mary Astor's mother says she calls Mary "Rusty" because she is not. Margaret Livingston and Jeanie Macpherson both acquired the nickname "Ginger" because they are so full of . life. Harold Lloyd, to his dad, has always been "Speedy" because he is just that. Betty Compson, ever since she was a baby, has been called "Chuckles" by her mother by reason of a low chuckling laugh she developed in her cradle days. Then there's Phyllis Daniels; ever hear of her? Phyllis is one of the most widely known motion-picture stars in America and her name appears in electric lights at all the theaters where Paramount pictures are shown. She was christened by that name but her restless energy and talent for "making things pop" brought her very early the nickname "Pep." Then one day, her grandmother, reading Ouida's "Two Little Wooden Shoes," was impressed by the character of a "bebe" appearing in the story. Bebe is Spanish for baby. Thenceforth and thereafter Phyllis and Pep were discarded for Bebe and Bebe Daniels has become known to all the cinema world. It is pronounced in two syllables. In their homes or at the clubs in the screen colony of Hollywood, here are the appellations often heard: Astor, Mary — "Rusty." (She has auburn hair.) Baby Peggy — "Shrimp." (That's what her daddy calls her.) Bedford, Barbara — "Babbs." (So many B's.) Bellamy, Madge — (Margaret became lidge," "Peggy," then Piggy.") Bronson, Elizabeth Ada— "Betty." Tr.— "Buster.' Elizabeth.) Collier, William, boyhood days.) Compson, Betty — "Chuckles." laugh.) Daniels, Phyllis — "Bebe." (Spanish for "baby.") 'Madge," (Abbreviation of (A memory of (Her childhood the (So named by (Applied by mother girl Dean, Priscilla — "Pee-dee. round-the-world fliers.) De la Motte, Marguerite — "Pegchums.) De Milk, Cecil B.— "C." (Name used by to distinguish him from his brother William.) Devore, Dorothy — "Puddy." (She couldn't say "Pretty" when a child.) DuPont, Miss — "Pat." (Source unknown.) Fazenda, Louise — "Mandy" and "Miss Fazoola." (Selected by herself.) Frederick, Pauline — "Polly." (In common use by Paulines.) Gibson, Edward — "Hoot." (He doesn't know why.) Hamilton, Lloyd — "Ham." (It couldn't be anything else !) Continued on page 108