Top Speed (Warner Bros.) (1930)

Jack Whiting Was A Famous 1s Broadway Star Before F. N. Snatched Him For “ Top Speed’ A FUNNY DRAWING OF A FUNNY MAN! ty Cut No. 16 Cut joc Mat roc Joe E. Brown, The Clown Prince of Comedians, as he is seen in a character sketch by Hirschfeld, the famous cartoonist. one of the leading roles in “Top Speed,” soon to be shown at the oe ae eee eee nen ene Theatre. Biography of JOE E. BROWN Joseph Evan Brown was boru in Holgate, Ohio, July 28, 1892, of Welsh and German parentage. His father, Mathias Brown, was a contractor who had a difficult time providing for Anna, his Welsh wife, and their seven children. The family moved to Toledo where Joe attended grammar school. At the age of nine he became the youngest member of The Five Marvelous Ashtons, a troupe of aerial acrobats who were the star attraction with Ringling’s, Robertson’s, and other large circuses. He usually played through the summer and went back to his home in Toledo for school in the winter. He never admitted to his mother that the leader of the acrobatic troupe beat him because he was afraid that she would not let him go back. Although the manager received a fair sum from the circus he kept most of it himself and gave the boys just barely enough to keep body and soul together. The Ashtons were filling a vaudeville engagement in San Francisco at the time of the earthquake of 1907. Brown was fiftten years old at the time and enjoyed the whole thing as though it had been staged especially for his personal enjoyment. The next season he worked for another manager who treated him even worse. He stayed with him two years until one night Joe was told that if he didn’t do a trick fall just right he would be punished in a way he would always remember. The next night he made the same error and the manager, the ground man in the act, let Joe fall on the stage. His leg was broken. He later tried professional baseball, starting with the St. Paul team when he was 17 years old. He was last with the New York Yankees. More vaudeville bookings followed during the ensuing seasons. Brown decided he wanted to be a comedian id abandon the acrobatics. His first portunity came with a New York que show. From that it was ledding to reach the position ‘ured comedian in Broadway ‘ons, However, once arrived, ents came thick and fast un % til he was elevated to stardom. Brown’s outstanding work as a comedian was done in “Listen Lester,” “Jim Jam Jems,” “Greenwich Village Follies,” “Betty Lee, “Captain Jinks” and “Twinkle, Twinkle.” Joe was playing in Los Angeles with the “Twinkle Twinkle” company when he was offered a role in “Crooks Can’t Win,” an FBO picture released in 1928. There followed “Pie>: Cireus:. Kad,’ — “Hit=.of the Show,” “On With the Show,” “Song of the West,” “Sally” and “Hold Everything.” He has just signed a contract with First National Pictures for a series of comic roles in special productions. Joe EH. Brown is five foot, 8 inches tall, weighs 143 pounds and has brown hair and blue eyes. Mrs. Brown is a non-professional. They have two sons, Don who is thirteen years old, and Joe E, Jr. who is eleven. Rapid Advancement Mervyn LeRoy, director of “Top Speed” which is coming to the eS at aee Theatre was a hoofer before entering pictures. He got his start in the cinema center .as a gag man for Colleen Moore. He is one of Hollywood’s youngest and ablest directors and has a long list of successes to his eredit including “Numbered Men,” a reent picture on jail-breaks. Joe E. Brown, Bernice Claire, Laura Lee, Jack Whiting and Frank McHugh appear in “Top Speed” which is a First National and Vitaphone Picture. What a Difference! Joe E. Brown who stars in “Top Speed,” now playing at the Theatre owns a $30,000 DuPont automobile in which he rides to the studio every morning. Bernice Claire, Jack Whiting, Frank McHugh and Laura Lee support him in “Top Speed” which is a First National and Vitaphone Picture. In contrast to Brown’s $30,000 auto, Bernice, Claire drives to work in a Ford. Brown takes Ae a TE een Seen te eee ee Public Still Has Its Peculiar Ideas About Movie Stars Bernice Claire In ‘Top Speed”’ Good Example Of Actress At The Top Of Her Profession It is usually thought by those people who are not connected with motion pictures that movie actors and actresses have a retinue of servants, fine automobiles, a beautiful home in the city, another in the country and |} This | | still another in the mountains. may be true for just a very few and that’s all. Take Bernice Claire. Miss Claire, who is now playing in First National and Vitaphone’s “Top Speed” at the Eee Theatre, and who has done leads in some of the biggest First National pictures, is a typical example of a successful actress who does not go in for extreme lavishness. She lives in a modest apartment. She does not have a butler or cook. |A maid who helps her with wardrobe and make-up on the set is her only servant. Miss Claire frequently cooks her own meals and admits that she is mighty handy with a can opener. She drives her own car—and it’s a Ford! Bernice Claire still studies singing with the same teacher who started her on the road to fame, Miss Alice Eggers of the Oakland (Calif.) High School. Miss Claire is handy with the needle and designs many of her own clothes. She is thrifty and saves her money. She does not employ a manager, but has made a thorough study of investments. Miss Claire does not like to go to Hollvwood premiers. and has never | wand_— yet seen the inside of the Montmarte, Hollywood’s most fashionable cafe. Joe E. Brown heads a tremendous cast in “Top Speed” including Bernice Claire, Jack Whiting, Frank McHugh and Laura Lee. Singer, Dancer and Actress Cut No. tro) «Cut 15sec) =~Mat 5c¢ Although she studied to be a dancer, Bernice Claire, leading lady of “Top Speed” has never played a daneing role in any of her many sereen characterizations. She earned fame as a singer and is considered one of the finest sopranos in Holly “Numbered Men?” was her aes =a Sse ad) first Tn “eqop Speed” she sings several duets with Jack Whiting, a former Broadway Laura Lee, Frank MeHugh, Rita Flynn are also in the cast. non-singing role. star. Joe E. Brown Has — Loudest Wardrobe In Hollywood Displays Some Knicke, “Top Speed” That Yell For Themselves Joe E. Brown, who comes to the Sher theater on in “Top Speed,” is noted for having the loudest wardrobe of any actor in Hollywood. The comedian has gathered the i}! wardrobe during a period of years, and picked up some of his choicest possessions in smaller cities during tours on the road while he was still on the legitimate stage. “Freak clothes are the hardest things in the world to buy—believe it or not,” says Brown. “I have always worn loud clothes on the stage. But when I come to Pb ~~ wardrobe I find it tremendousl to get noisy clothes. It is in ble at good stores, because wi¢y don’t carry them, or won’t show them if they have a few freaks in stock. However you can often pick them up in out of the way places, or in cheap clothing stores in the poorer parts of town.” The only Hollywood actor who has a noisy wardrobe comparable to Brown’s is Sam Hardy, who has also been gathering freak suits for years. Louise Fazenda has_ the strangest woman’s wardrobe, numbering more than a hundred dresses that have long since been out-moded. In “Top Speed,” which is a rollicking comedy, Brown wears Hollywood’s loudest pair of golf knickers. Bernice Claire, Jack Whiting, Frank McHugh and Laura Lee also in this wrhieah hoe haon. hoilsadsa—-— aS” WCCIt Tiare ra atuen Pprucure, the logical successor to Brown’s funmaking film, “Hold Everything.” Mervyn LeRoy, who also directed “Show Girl in Hollywood,” * this Vitaphone production for Wsiicm “| National. Hold Everything! Here Comes The Year’s Greatest Laff Feast! Cut No. 3 Cut 60c Mat 15¢ with JOE E. BROWN BERNICE CLAIRE JACK WHITING Laura Lee — Frank McHugh Directed by Mervyn LeRoy A FIRST NATIONAL & VITAPHONE PICTURE Everything.” ever seen. hold your chairs—hold your sweeties —here’s a funnier picture than “Hold girl’s love, with laughing gas in the engine and cupid on the bow. Music, comedy, romance, speed, wrapped Hold your sides—hold your breath— into the swellest bundle of joy you’ve Speedboats race for a