Screenland (May-Oct 1931)

66 Sally and Hoot! The Gibsons gave a real rodeo and invited all their friends, the Hollywood stars, out to their ranch. See hoots rodeo show with Grace Kmgsley A' RODEO and supper at Hoot Gibson's ranch ! Good old Spanish hospitality !" exclaimed Patsy, the Party Hound. "And won't it be fun !" We traveled out to Saugus, to Hoot's ranch, where we found some thirty thousand people on the bleachers, at the rodeo, but we managed to thread our way to Sally Eilers' box. Sally was looking too cute for anything in a white duck riding suit with a big, ten-gallon white sombrero on her bronze curls. Hoot, of course, was in the arena directing events. He was riding the handsome cream-colored horse, Palamaris, and looked awfully handsome. Patsy was especially enamored of his carved leather riding boots, black and white and beautifully made. In the boxes all round, we discovered a lot of celebrities, including Reginald Denny and his cute wife, Bubbles; Sue Carol and Nick Stuart; James Gleason and Lucille Webster Gleason and their son, Russell, who seems to be the latest aspirant for Marguerite Churchill's favor, as he had brought her, and was very attentive ; Lew Cody and Phyllis Crane, that cute Arline Judge and a lot of others, all looking charming in sports clothes. We heard a wild hurrah from the crowd and discovered that the horse Tumbleweed, a wild broncho that had never been ridden, although numerous aspirants among the cowboys had tried, was being brought into the ring. Cecil Henley, a Washington cowboy, mounted Tumbleweed, and amidst deafening cheers, kept his seat, though Tumbleweed tried his best to unseat him, bucking and rearing and pawing like mad. Arline judge, re cently from New York, decided that she had fallen in love with. Cecil, although she said she had a hard time imagining a cowboy named Cecil ! And Russell Gleason owned that he had a yen for Mabel DeFreest, the pretty cowgirl, who really was very chic. But he said he didn't know how to write a mashr note to a cowgirl ! While we were chatting, in came a new line of cowgirls, all picturesque in their short skirts or riding breeches, with their bright kerchiefs around their necks, their slender bodies swaying to the motion of the horses. But next moment there was a cry, then a horrified silence. One of the bravest and prettiest of the cowgirls, Juanita Ortega, who had been urging her horse forward into the procession, was hurt. Her horse had in a flash risen on his hind legs, fallen backward and crushed the girl beneath him ! The ambulance rushed in, and there was a report that the rider's back had been broken, and she was hurried to the hospital. That put a sad quietus on events for a while; but nevertheless the show went on, as shows will, and we were fascinated in seeing Everett Bowman establishing a record at steer decorating. In just five and a half seconds cowboy Bowman had managed to get a rubber band arOund a steer's jaws ! Somebody exclaimed: "Oh, there's Bill Hart!" And sure enough, there sat Bill in a box. Some one near him sent the word around that he was to be introduced. Hoot introduced him, and Bill rose and took a bow from a cheering crowd, that Hart had made as one of his best (Cont. on page 115) Some of us remembered Marguerite Churchill went to Hoot Gibson's rodeo and was greeted by some of the cowboys who have worked with her in pictures. She's a good scout — and she really can ride. No doubles need apply.' Russell Gleason, son of Jimmy and Lucille Gleason, escorted Marguerite. Russell is very attentive to Miss Churchill, but so far they haven't been reported engaged — they are both too young!