Picture Play Magazine (Sep 1925 - Feb 1926)

How One Girl Built Up a Fan Club that only a very emotional child can know," she said. "I remember writing to an editor for my idol's address, confiding to him that 1 should be happy and ready to die if I could only possess her true signature ! "Well, it came! That phase gave way to photo collecting, and that was followed by a foolish desire to help her. Please don't smile at that impulse — I was so much in earnest! "And that opportunity came through the publishing of a letter of mine in the column of 'What the Fans Think.' A wee note it was, with a very frightened signature attached, but it brought letters of friendly greeting from other Norma fans. I was thrilled to the core, and every other thought was a wonder if she had seen it ! "Then an idea took shape as I saw the mail man staggering under his load each day: why couldn't all these admirers of Miss Talmadge be brought together in some way? A fan club! I had heard of such things but had not the faintest notion how one should be organized, or what to do first. I went right ahead anyhow and, all aquiver with excitement, told my girl pals what I had in mind. "They liked the plan, too, so we proceeded to ask every one to join our club, just as if it had been a longestablished reality. It took some patience, I'll admit. We had to take some kidding, too, from some of our friends. But we persevered, and at last — we had a member ! That girl will never know she was our first, either. It was nearly two months before another was enrolled — weeks so full of dreams and plans that there was no time to worry about our slow progress. "Thrill number two came with the announcement that a real photoplay star was coming to town in person. It was Charles Ray, and I liked him heaps, with his fleet, but catching smile. My brain was atingle as I left the theater, but I made myself a dare and took it. No wonder my friends and relatives gave me up for lost, for it was my firm intention to write to Charles Ray and invite him to join our club. It took a great deal of courage, and more time than I'd like to admit, to compose and mail that letter. But the important thing is that Charles Ray answered it, and what's more, he joined the club. "The next thing that happened was 'Secrets.' By the time that film was announced for its Cleveland showing, our club had two dozen members. We were regally calling -ourselves the Norma Talmadge Correspondence Club, and we thought it was about time Norma knew about it ! "A timid, tiny group we were when we met to write a letter to Norma to tell her of our plans, and to invite her — I almost said implore — her to become our honorary president. A week or more of silence, then the registration card was returned, signed by an unknown— a prop boy, perhaps, I imagined in my disappointment. "We tried, however, to be Pollyannas. What more could we have expected, we reasoned. Norma is so popular, so famous. Why should I have dared hope she would answer, or even bother to read, my letter when it came to her with a thousand others? What should I tell my scoffing friends ? Thank goodness they had already laughed all they could, anyway. Just the same I couldn't still the faint, singing hope in my heart when I peeked into the mail box again the next day. Disappointment again — just a photomailer ! "I had decided to hide my hurt behind a mask of pride over at least receiving a photograph from her, when all of a sudden, I discovered the words 'First Class' written across the outside. That meant a letter —from HER! "So our Norma did write, and she did express herself as pleased with our venture, and she did accept our invitation to become honorary president. "Of course, with 'Secrets' showing in Cleveland, our club received its first official recognition. We were honored with bewildering lobby and window displays, photographs and newspaper stories, and best of all, Norma herself telegraphed seats for Cleveland club members, and there never was assembled a happier, prouder group than we were, when the theater manager ushered us into our places of honor !" A brief excursion to Columbus, Ohio's capital, brought forth another round of triumphs for the growing young club, Miss Riquer relates. "Secrets" was showing in Columbus, and the president and her associates were invited to help with the publicity campaign. "That manager's wishing was weak beside mine," she said, "and when mother said I could go, I could scarcely contain myself. With the aid of our vice president, who lived in Columbus, I attempted to tell every boy in that city that there was a Norma Talmadge Club. "We had displays in store windows, theaters, and near the State House Square. I went to schools, and the theater entertained for us, and altogether, we were feted quite a bit. We had a gorgeous week of it, all to the glory of Norma. We returned to Cleveland all agog with excitement, and with a determination to work harder than ever. The fruits of our labors were beginning to shpw. "One by one, came letters from the big screen stars accepting our invitation to become members of our club. We have quite an imposing list now. I can cite at random the names of Thomas Meighan, Norma Shearer, Eugene O'Brien, Anna Q. Nilsson, Ruth Roland, Adolphe Menjou, Hope Hampton, Glenn Hunter, Constance Binney, Julian Eltinge, Ethel Grey Terry, Alice Calhoun, Alberta Vaughan, Mabel Ballin, Dorothy Dalton, and ever so many more. "A handwriting expert would find their letters of acceptance interesting. The collection we have in our files shows every sort of letter, from the one-sentence 'accept-with-pleasure' type, to the long, gushing, ultracomplimentary variety that make me blushingly wonder what I could have written them. There were also handwritten confidential notes, and there were the dictated, scholarly masterpieces of eloquence. But I am happy to say that every star has expressed himself, or herself, as happv to be associated with our organization." iiiiiin TO A STAR By Lowell Kayne P^U, lady of the languid glance, Perhaps your sorrow has been caused What sadness have you seen, By something no one knows ; That in your eyes its traces lurk, Perhaps by unrequited love ; Where joy should dwell serene? Perhaps— it's just a pose!