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Taylorology Issue 37
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* T A Y L O R O L O G Y *
* A Continuing Exploration of the Life and Death of William Desmond Taylor *
* *
* Issue 37 -- January 1996 Editor: Bruce Long bruce@asu.edu *
* TAYLOROLOGY may be freely distributed *
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CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:
Mary Miles Minter in Hawaii
Mary Miles Minter Moves Out
Minter and Chaplin
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What is TAYLOROLOGY?
TAYLOROLOGY is a newsletter focusing on the life and death of William Desmond
Taylor, a top Paramount film director in early Hollywood who was shot to
death on February 1, 1922. His unsolved murder was one of Hollywood's major
scandals. This newsletter will deal with: (a) The facts of Taylor's life;
(b) The facts and rumors of Taylor's murder; (c) The impact of the Taylor
murder on Hollywood and the nation; (d) Taylor's associates and the Hollywood
silent film industry in which Taylor worked. Primary emphasis will be given
toward reprinting, referencing and analyzing source material, and sifting it
for accuracy.
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Mary Miles Minter in Hawaii
Six weeks after Taylor's murder, Mary Miles Minter and her grandmother
sailed to Hawaii.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 15, 1922
SAN FRANCISCO CALL
Mary Miles Minter Sails for Orient under Assumed Name
Dainty Mary Miles Minter, comely motion picture star, sailed today from
San Francisco on the Matson liner Wilhelmina for Honolulu and an extended
tour of the Orient.
Every effort was made to keep her identity a secret. On the ship's
passenger list Miss Minter used the name Miss J. B. Shelby. Accompanying her
was Mrs. J. B. Miles, her grandmother. Shelby is her mother's name.
Passengers on the Wilhelmina did not recognize the motion picture star
as she strolled about the decks just before sailing time.
Attired in a jaunty tailor-made suit of lavender colored cloth and
evidently enjoying the situation of wandering about unknown, Miss Minter's
joy was short-lived when representatives of The Call approached her.
"Oh, and I had so hoped to get away without any publicity!" she
exclaimed.
"And to think that in twenty minutes more I would have been sailing out
the Golden Gate with nobody the wiser.
"Well, boys, I suppose I must be interviewed. Please don't ask me
anything about the Taylor case. That has been gone over and over. I want to
forget all of its horrors. I was an unfortunate victim of circumstances in
that case because of some foolish girl notes written to a man I admired
greatly as a friend. Please don't ask me to give any statement regarding
that case."
Miss Minter was asked where she was going on her trip.
"Both Grandmother Miles and myself are physically worn out with the
recent affair in Los Angeles. This came on top of many weeks of hard work on
a picture I am to appear in. We decided upon a rest and will go to Honolulu,
Hong Kong and other Oriental ports. We will be gone several months.
"On our return I will 'pitch in' on three pictures my contract calls
for. I hope to make three pictures a year. To do this I must be in the best
of physical and mental trim."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 15, 1922
OAKLAND TRIBUNE
......"This terrible murder of Mr. Taylor has fallen like a shadow
across my path. I must get away from America for a while, so people will
keep from talking to me about it. In Los Angeles my home is besieged from
morning till night by newspaper reporters and by mere curiosity seekers. It
is driving me crazy and I must forget. That is why I am going to Honolulu."
From behind the window of her stateroom Miss Minter so declared five
minutes before the vessel had removed from its dock.
Though her face still bore traces of the studio paint and rouge, the
youthful actress seemed sad and forlorn and her gray eyes had a haunted look.
Miss Miles stated that her granddaughter is also suffering from a severe
cold, which is troubling the family, and which they believe can only be
broken by a sea voyage and visit to Honolulu...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 22, 1922
E.D.B.
HONOLULU ADVERTISER
A dainty, sweet rosebud is Mary Miles Minter, winsome and petite, and
like a rose opening to the morning sun her large, expressive eyes gazed in
wonderment at the mountains and hills as the last rays of the Hawaiian sun
set them a-gleam when the Wilhelmina steamed into the harbor last evening.
The little screen favorite was more than interested in the changing
panorama of the Oahuan shore as the Wilhelmina passed by Waikiki, for she has
just finished a picture called "South of Suva," and that, of course, dealt
with the great Pacific, the South Seas, and the Hawaiian Islands are South
Seas to many. There was the tropical setting of mountain, valley, shore and
sea, just such scenes as are portrayed in "South of Suva." So her first
impressions of Honolulu were delightful.
Mary Miles Minter is a rosebud, but for the adornment of that bud came
trunks and trunks--all no doubt, filled with the dainty frocks which must be
just like dainty little Mary. She appeared on the deck as the vessel
approached the harbor, clad in a pretty outing suit of flannel and a fetching
droopy-rimmed hat, all seeming to blend charmingly with her fair hair.
"I have come to Honolulu because I have heard it is all so charming,"
said the screen favorite. "I came also because I know I can get rid of a
cold. I know that Honolulu will be a pleasant place for a sojourn, and if I
can, I hope to be able to learn how to ride a surfboard at Waikiki. Anyhow,
I'm here to enjoy all that I have heard so much about and to forget about
pictures for a while."
Miss Minter is accompanied by her grandmother, Mrs. Miles and the
grandparent showed just as much interest in the new scenes as her talented
granddaughter.
When the Wilhelmina docked and the band played many pretty melodies of
Hawaii, Miss Minter told Chief Engineer Forbes, who looks after all the young
folks on board the Wilhelmina when Captain Soule isn't crowding the spotlight
in that role, that it was just lovely.
When she came down the gangplank there were whisperings in the crowd
below. There were excited pointings.
"There she is, there she is!"
And then some one would dart out and throw a fragrant lei about her
shoulders. More leis came, and as she emerged from the wharf she was
plentifully adorned with these Hawaiian expressions of "Aloha."
But her ordeal was when she started for a motor car. The boys
recognized a favorite of the screen. They ran after her and crowded about
and became so dense that the car had difficulty plowing through the mass of
young humanity. At first the little actress wondered, and then began to
realize that it was merely youth interested in what to it are the greatest of
all people--those who delight them on the silver screen.
And then she was whisked out to the Moana, beside Waikiki beach. Who
knows but that Mary Miles Minter may use a little of all this in a photoplay
some day!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 22, 1922
Martin Connor
HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN
Hey boy! Page Madam Pele!
Miss J. Shelby is in Honolulu.
What's that? You don't know her?
Well, that's funny, for she is none other than Mary Miles Minter, famed
motion picture star, who arrived her yesterday on the Wilhelmina for a visit
in Hawaii.
And her real name is Shelby, but she is known to thousands the world
over as Miss Minter.
Mary had lots of pilikia--though she doesn't yet use that word--on the
trip from the mainland.
Chum, her dog playmate, missed the boat and had to remain on the coast,
forsaken and forgotten.
No, not forgotten, for Mary thinks of him every minute.
"Oh, if Chum isn't sent down on the next boat I'll have to return to the
coast," signed the beautiful screen actress, as she leaned over the steamer's
rail to catch a view of Diamond Head and Waikiki beach.
"I am not like most folks," explained the film star, "when it comes to
dogs. The majority of people like dogs, but I love them; and when Chum isn't
around I feel dreadfully lonesome; in fact I can hardly live without
Chum."[1]
"What are your future plans regarding films?" Miss Minter was asked.
"Please don't ask that question," entreated Mary, "for I can't answer it
other than to say that I am here to escape from the strenuous life of the
studio. Motion picture people work hard and the life they lead is strenuous,
and when they get a chance to play they want to really play and not talk
about films. I am here not on business, but for a rest. I can't say how
long I will remain in Hawaii; that depends upon conditions and how the beauty
of Hawaii charms me. Still, Honolulu looks beautiful after a week at sea.
I am sure that I can't learn to ride the surfboard, but I am willing to try
that sport."
Miss Minter is accompanied by her grandmother, Mrs. Julia Miles of Los
Angeles, a motherly woman, who won the hearts of every passenger on the
Wilhelmina during the trip from San Francisco. They will stay at the Moana
while in Honolulu.
When the newspapermen boarded the Wilhelmina off port yesterday
afternoon they saw many trunks just outside the stateroom of the pretty film
actress.
They contained--clothes.
"Yes, I brought along a few gowns," smiled Miss Minter.
Miss Minter was wearing a white sports suit when the Wilhelmina arrived.
She was reading a book when the newspaper reporters appeared. It was "Mr.
Wu," a weird tale of Chinese intrigue, by Sax Rohmer, and it had a snappy
yellow cover.
"Excuse me," said the film star, "I must return this book." She ran
quickly up the steps leading from the social hall of the steamer and in a
twinkling of an eye had returned to answer the questions of the reporters.
Miss Minter possesses beautiful blue eyes and a dazzling peach and cream
complexion. She has an animated expression and her eyes shyly rise and fall
when one asks questions that really interest her.
She is a charming little lady, as one of the stewards expressed it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 25, 1922
HONOLULU ADVERTISER
Garbed in the most sensational purple imported French model bathing robe
of the finest silk with the very latest "Hula" model bathing cap, Mary Miles
Minter yesterday afternoon took her first dip in the water at Waikiki after a
most enjoyable ride in a canoe piloted by Duke Kahanamoku, world champion
sprint swimmer. Waikiki bathers crowded and pushed their way toward the
attractive star of filmdom.
"Wow, but it was exciting. Honolulu is just full of surprises and
thrills and this was one of them. Your water is wonderful and I don't
believe I'll miss a day after this," said Miss Minter as she was helped to
alight from her canoe by Duke.
"Do you suppose I can learn to master the surf boards? I should just
love it."
[A photo taken on the beach, showing Mary and Duke Kahanamoku standing
by a surfboard, accompanies the original newspaper item.]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 26, 1922
Ruth Stacker
HONOLULU ADVERTISER
Mary Miles Minter, mistress of her own Los Angeles Company, and whose
pictures are released through the Lasky Famous Players, is visiting in
Honolulu and resting preparatory to returning to Los Angeles to do one of her
biggest productions.
for the benefit of Miss Minter's admirers, let me say that she is a real
blonde with a real complexion. The three freckles which she has already
acquired under the tropical sun of Hawaii and quickly eliminated with the
powder puff, but being a real sportswoman she doesn't care and wouldn't for
one moment give up a minute's pleasure for the sake of the much advertised
complexion. She has a smile which is deliciously refreshing showing an even
set of ivory white teeth. But her smile isn't in any way limited to her
mouth. Nope, it is much more evident through two Irish blue eyes, but the
Irish part I'll tell you about later.
Miss Minter, who by the way is registered at her hotel as Juliette
Shelby with her grandmother, Mrs. Miles, has often been said to have risen
from obscurity. She emphatically denies this. That is, since she was five
years old she has played on the legitimate stage, her first real success
having been in Mark Twain's "Prince and the Pauper." She has had a constant
string of success to her credit ever since and these successes embrace widely
different roles on both the speaking stage and the silver screen.
And she is not yet 20. She'll not be 20 until April.
"You know," said Mary the other day when we were up in her room looking
over the sea and she was trying on various hats for my particular benefit,
"some people think I've been 16 for eight years. But I really haven't. I'll
tell you how it happened. A long, long time ago, when I was about eight and
a half years old we were playing in Chicago where they had passed a law
whereby children under 16 could not appear upon the stage, I took the long
jump and was 16. I got by, but it's rather hard on me now."
But really, anyone who looked at her might know that Mary Miles Minter
(dressed up) and Juliette Shelby with the very feminine fondness for hats as
she appeared very intimately in a Paris model dressing gown, barefooted and
trying on those hats over undressed blonde hair might think that she had just
passed her seventeenth year.
"It was then that I changed my name from Juliette Shelby to Mary Miles
Minter, the name of my little dead cousin who had she lived would have been
16 that year, and the name stuck. You see, my real, very real name is just
plain Julia O'Reiley!" [sic] And that's where she gets the little twinkle in
her eye.
Mary Minter speaks French. She doesn't mince it, she really speaks it
when she isn't answering the telephone or arranging the masses of floral
tributes which arrive at the hotel daily, she sits down and reads poetry in
the original French. She loves bits of Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare, Milton and
Elinor Glyn and carries with her at all times volumes of each author.
"I love Madame Glyn awfully," said Miss Minter, after I had made
reference to one of Elinor Glyn's latest novels. "She's a perfect dear with
red, red hair and the most queenly air, and besides she wears her clothes
awfully well. She's a sister of Lucille, you know."
When asked if Hawaiian scenarios were passe and no longer consider
"possible" by the directors, Miss Minter said:
"Oh--I should say not. Very emphatically NO. In the picture before the
last, 'The Sultan of Suva,' we played a lot of South Sea location and I loved
it and think it one of my very best. It is to be released shortly. Everyone
loves the Hawaiian Islands, and Hawaiian atmosphere is always very popular in
pictures."
Miss Minter was asked what her very favorite role was.
"'Anne of Green Gables.' I loved Anne. Played it when I was 17 and
have never forgotten it. I write sometimes for magazines and when I do I
always use the name Anne and sometimes Anne Shirley, the heroine of Green
Gables."
Miss Minter's very best chum is her six months old collie by that name
...Then her next best chum is Jeanie McPherson, the star scenario writer for
Cecil B. DeMille.
"But my grandmother is my very best sweetheart, and as long as I have
her with me I can't possibly be lonesome."
And so Mary Miles Minter, the very "real thing," is in Honolulu and will
remain until May third when she will depart for San Francisco and then
immediately go out on location for the new production.
She loves Honolulu, Chinatown best of all, and declares that it is the
only place in the world that has lived up to her expectations. "It's
wonderful and I love it and some day I'm coming back to make a picture here.
"And before you go, won't you please thank the people of Honolulu for
their kindness and hospitality and particularly the very nice man who, in
behalf of Honolulu, put those joyous leis around my neck when I landed," and
then Mary, with her very sweet smile, closed the door and I went down in the
elevator and came back to the office just wanting to write the nicest story
in the world about her. Thank you, Mary.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 28, 1922
HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN
Movie Actress has Candy and Kisses for Dog
Love me, love my dog.
Flowers, candy, kisses and lovin'.
Chum, the beautiful Scotch collie belonging to Mary Miles Minter, was
the recipient of all of these goodies this morning when the dainty movie
actress met the Matsonia off-port and greeted her canine pal who was left
behind when Mary sailed for Honolulu a few weeks ago.
Mary got up before breakfast this morning to meet the Matsonia and Chum,
and even went out to the ship in a tug to hasten the happy reunion, climbing
the swaying ladder to the liner's deck with commendable bravery. Damage done
by tears and kisses bestowed on Chum was quickly repaired with powder puff
and lipstick.
"We are both very happy," Mary smiled through a veil of tears. "Chum
and I have been such good pals that I could hardly wait for the boat to
arrive. I know that Chum has missed me and I have certainly missed him."
Miss Minter was wreathed in smiles as she stooped down and patted Chum
and the manner in which the collie looked into his mistress' face as he
curled up at her feet showed plainly that Mary's affection was returned.
The little actress and her dog were alone on the steamer, as far as they
were concerned, and Miss Minter kissed her pal again and again. Chum was as
enthusiastic over the meeting as his mistress, and returned each kiss with
tongueful tenderness.
It was a big occasion for both and the rest of the world was forgotten
for the moment. Husbands were greeting wives who had just returned from the
mainland, and everyone on the deck was waving to friends on the dock, but
none of the greetings appeared more sincere than those exchanged by Chum and
his mistress.
"Yes, we will have to be separated for a few days more," Miss Minter
replied when reminded that Chum must be held in quarantine. The smile
disappeared for a moment and then her face lighted again as she said, "But I
can go down and visit with him every day. Of course Chum must go to
quarantine the same as other people's dogs do. There is no reason why I
should be given any special privileges. Everyone has been very kind in
helping me."
"Oh, by the way!" the little actress exclaimed suddenly, "I am meeting
you as a fellow newspaper representative today. I am your--what do you call
it now? Oh, yes! I am a 'sob-sister.' I went out on a small boat this
morning and met the Matsonia off-port, and they let me go aboard up the
ladder just like you newspapermen do, so you see I am a real, honest-to-
goodness newspaperwoman."
After this outburst Miss Minter turned to Chum again and the press was
forgotten for a moment.
"Oh, pardon me just a moment," Miss Minter exclaimed suddenly, and she
was gone again. She hurried along the deck of the Matsonia, down the
gangplank and opened the door of her car, which was waiting just outside the
dock. First several bouquets were lifted from the machine and then she
produced a huge basket of roses. She set them down on the ground and called
Chum.
Whether or not Chum really appreciates flowers is a question, but at any
rate he showed his good breeding by dancing around the bouquets and thanking
his mistress for her gifts with looks and actions which showed plainly that
he knew he was the guest of honor.
A moment later the quarantine officials arrived and informed Miss Minter
that the time had come for Chum to be taken from her again. Mary picked up
the dog and carried it to the automobile, but while saying farewell she
suddenly decided it wasn't necessary to part just yet and with a hasty "Good-
bye, everybody," she jumped into the machine and accompanied the officials to
the dog quarantine station.
Under the present regulations Chum will have to remain in quarantine for
36 days, according to the authorities, and even if the anti-rabies serum
arrived on the boat this morning, which could not be ascertained until the
mail was distributed, special permission would have to be granted by the
governor and the board of health before it would be possible to release Chum
from quarantine in less than the required length of time.
Chum enjoyed his voyage from the coast. He wasn't sick a minute and did
full justice to his chicken bones and dog biscuits three times a day.
And he didn't flirt with any of the girl passengers; he is a one-girl
dog, and the girl is Mary Miles Minter.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 29, 1922
E.D.B.
HONOLULU ADVERTISER
Mary Miles Minter (Miss Shelby), famed in the realm of the silvered
screen as an interpreter of "sweet-young-thing" and flapper roles, branched
out as a "stunt queen" at Honolulu's harbor mouth yesterday morning.
Encumbered by a heavy fur-trimmed cloak, and quite unused to the
eccentricities of the festive ground-swell, the dainty little picture star,
disguised as a "sob-sister," hurled herself from a rolling launch to a
Jacob's ladder suspended from the main deck of the Matsonia and made her
perilous way upward amidst the encouraging cheers of the incoming passengers
and a party of local celebrities on the small craft below.
And all for the sake of a dog!
..."I'm so afraid he'll have forgotten me," signed Mary, as she gazed up
the towering side of the Matsonia and waited for a chance to climb on board;
"he's such a puppy--only six months old--and I am not yet sure as to how
heartily he reciprocates my affection for him."
She knows now. Everything that an ecstatic canine with half-a-year's
experience in this world of ours could do to express his delight over the
reunion, "Chum" did--and then repeated it all several times over, lest there
by any mistake about the state of his emotions.
..."Don't you worry, baby," said Miss Minter at parting, "It will only
be for a little while, and then what romps we'll have in this wonderful
little place. I'll be down to see you every day, puppykins, and these nice
men have promised to take wonderful care of you when I'm not here!"
Whereupon "Chum" gave a final wiggle of his caudal appendage and
disappeared into the building set aside for the observation of visiting
canines...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 29, 1922
HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN
Mary Miles Minter, movie star now on a vacation here, made adoring
friends of 1400 children this morning.
"Oh, I just love them to death!" exclaimed Miss Minter as she clasped an
armful of little ones to her at the Kauluwela school, where she took part in
the morning flag raising exercises.
For several days the children had been studying unusually hard, having
been told by their principal, Mrs. Isabella L. Creighton, that if they were
good Miss Minter would visit them. The film star has been the chief interest
and topic of conversation at the school ever since her arrival on the
Wilhelmina last Tuesday. Now the children idolize her.
"Your singing is finer than any I have ever heard in any school or
church," Miss Minter said sincerely after the children had sung to her in
English and Hawaiian. "I love the school children in California but when
they sing it sounds like dish pans and whisk brooms. I have to stop my ears.
But your singing is real music and is magnificent.
"I am coming back to see you again and many times for I love your
islands."
The children lavished adoring looks at Miss Minter, many of them
speechless in their excitement. It was a never-to-be-forgotten day for them.
Duke Kahanamoku accompanied Miss Minter to the school and the two of
them posed for many pictures with the children and their teachers.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
April 13, 1922
HONOLULU ADVERTISER
Miss Minter Tells Women to Find Selves
"Every human being is endowed with full intelligence and there is
nothing you cannot accomplish if you make up your mind to do it," Mary Miles
Minter told members of the Business and Professional Women's club at their
meeting yesterday.
"Charles Paddock is an example of this. He found that he could run
better than he could do anything else and developing that talent has made him
the fastest runner in the world.
"Find the thing for which you are best suited and then don't let anyone
dissuade you until you have accomplished your purpose. There is something in
everyone of us to be expressed--no one is put into the world without a
reason, although sometimes it is difficult to find the thing which we can
best express," she said.
If any member of the club had any illusions as to the romance of motion
picture producing or novel writing Miss Minter dispelled them. She related
an incident in a conversation with Elinor Glyn, the novelist, in which the
author said that she did not write her books to be read but to make money.
And taking up the same theme in movies and the cry for uplifting pictures
Miss Minter said: "While everyone is talking about uplifting movies I want
you to bear one thing in mind. Movies are not being made for you or for me--
they sell best to the masses. When we make pictures we make them to please
'Lizzie' in the audience and she likes problem plays."
The actress gave an amusing account of the actual making of pictures
using some of the studio slang.
"It takes 30 days to make a picture," she said, "and it is seldom that
the scenes are taken consecutively--lots of times I fall off a cliff into the
water on Monday and don't get out of the water until Saturday, and then for
the 10 days during the taking of the picture I have to go about in wet
clothes.
"I do not believe that anyone but the extremely intelligent should be
allowed inside of the studios because the scenery and make-believe houses
seem so unreal, so false. The motion picture industry is just a giant child
which no one seems to understand, least of all those of us who are in the
business. It seems to be a mystery which fills a need in the world today."
Miss Minter said that she was a great "fan" of Rudolph Valentino who
appeared in the "Sheik" last week...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
April 14, 1922
HONOLULU ADVERTISER
Arbuckle Will Again Be Seen In Film World
Mary Miles Minter Believes He Will Regain Former Popularity
[after the announcement that Arbuckle had been acquitted in the Rappe
manslaughter case] "Roscoe Arbuckle has been done a grave injustice. I am
glad that he has been vindicated," said Mary Miles Minter over the luncheon
table at the Moana yesterday.
"I think that I am speaking not only for Filmdom, but for the whole
world in general, when I say this.
"His pictures, which have been of a wholesome, clean variety, have
brought happiness to millions of people, particularly to the children and I
am glad that we will have them back again. For, of course, we will. A
meeting of the producers may be held, but the public want those $5,000,000
worth of films, ready to be released, which have been held up for the past
few months, awaiting this final verdict of the jury."
...Mary Miles Minter left for Hilo on the Maui yesterday afternoon with
her grandmother, Mrs. Miles. They will visit the volcano and Hilo, returning
on Monday...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
April 14, 1922
HONOLULU ADVERTISER
Miss Minter Loses Present From Taylor
A little gold mesh bag with a diamond shaped top disclosing the initials
"M. M. M.," the property of Mary Miles Minter, has been lost sometime this
week, somewhere in Honolulu. Has anyone picket it up?
According to Miss Minter, the bag was first missed about a week ago.
A rigorous search of her suite of rooms at the Moana has not revealed it.
"It is not the bag. There are millions of them," she said, "but it is
its sentimental value. It is a little token of friendship given to me by the
late William Desmond Taylor, and I want it back very, very much."
If anyone has found the little bag which means so very much to the film
actress, will they please return it to the Moana hotel to her and receive a
reward?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
April 10-19, 1922
HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN
R-E-E-L L-I-F-E
A Series of Articles on "How to Break into the Movies,"
written for The Star-Bulletin by--
Mary Miles Minter,
Famous film star who is now in Honolulu
When The Star-Bulletin asked Mary Miles Minter to write a series of
articles on "How to Break into the Movies," the little star of the silver
screen was diffident.
"Do you really think that people of Hawaii would be interested in what I
would write about the movies?" she asked. "If you think so, I will be
willing to write a series of articles, for it has been one of my principles
never to refuse any reasonable request."
Assured that the people would be interested in what she might have to
say, Miss Minter replied:
"All right. I will write the articles on one condition. That I may say
just what I really think--that I may be sincere."
And that's why Miss Minter chose "Sincerity" as the title for her first
chapter.
by Mary Miles Minter
Chapter One--Sincerity
There is no royal road to learning and neither is there any royal
pathway to success in the world of motion pictures.
If there is any short cut to success in the film world I am not aware of
it.
Such is my sincere belief, and that is why I must affirm that sincerity
is one of the greatest attributes leading toward the achievement of success
in movieland.
Without sincerity one cannot succeed in anything, and this is
particularly true in the world of pictures.
While I do not pretend to be a "leading authority on how to break into
the movies," if I were asked to define just what is needed most by aspirants
to screen honors I would sum it all up in one word--
S-I-N-C-E-R-I-T-Y!
If you are sincere you will succeed, whether it be starring in the land
of pictures or selling shoes in a country village.
Nine-tenths of the qualifications needed to achieve even a modest
success in pictures may be totaled in sincerity and determination.
Express yourself. Be sincere. Don't ape another actor or actress for
you will fail to bring out your latent qualities and will become commonplace,
and if you become common there is no room for you in the world of pictures.
There is only one Mary Pickford, so don't attempt to become a useless
imitation.
If you are a flapper, be a real one. Don't flap mildly, but flap
wildly. Be sincere and express yourself.
If you are a burglar, be a bold, bold one. Even criminals admire
originality!
And if you want to be a motion picture player try to be a real one by
expressing your natural self.
In other worlds, develop your ego--it's the real Y-O-U and it will pay
thrice over, and I am not speaking primarily of material rewards, for the
sense of satisfaction that comes from expressing yourself sincerely far
exceeds in pleasure the monetary returns of life, regardless of all opinions
to the contrary.
Summed up, the first key to success in the world of pictures, is S-I-N-C-
E-R-I-T-Y.
Tomorrow I will talk about the part the Goddess of Luck plays in the
land of the movies.
Chapter Two--The Goddess of Luck
"'Tis all a Chequer-board of Nights and Days
Where Destiny with Men for Pieces plays:
Hither and thither moves, and mates and slays,
And one by one back in the closet lays."
--From the Rubaiyat
So said Omar, the poet.
The philosophy of a fatalist?
Yes, but who can gainsay the truth of his utterances?
Is it not true that fate, or the goddess of luck, plays the leading role
even in the lives of the most ordinary people?
Look back on your life for a moment.
Did not chance put you in your present position?
Or was it deliberate choice?
Be honest.
If you are sincere you'll have to admit that luck has dominated many
phases of your life as well as those about you.
And luck, or term it what you will, also plays an important role in the
lives of both successful and unsuccessful motion picture actors and
actresses, in fact, many film celebrities of my acquaintance have arisen to
the heights due to no other reason than that they were favorites of the
goddess of luck!
Trivial incidents often have proved the turning point in the lives of
most film stars.
I know a star of the "movies" whose whole current of life was changed by
her decision to walk down Main St. rather than down Broadway.
Many film favorites, on whom fortune has lavished favors, possess real
acting ability and probably would have succeeded regardless of circumstances.
Yet luck favored them and they rose quickly to fame and wealth.
Other film stars on whom the fickle goddess cast her favors did not
possess any talent whatsoever. They just happened to land a "job in the
movies" and stuck: luck did the rest, and moved them into the gallery of the
famous.
Sill other screen favorites got into the motion picture industry when it
was in its formative stage and naturally "grew up" with the business. They
merely followed the procession and it doesn't take "brains" to follow a
crowd.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am not trying to belittle the motion
picture profession. Far from that, for I am proud to be a member of the
profession that compromises so many gifted and talented people. What I have
to say in this respect applies to all lines of human endeavor, and I am only
speaking of the motion picture world in this connection because I know it
better than any other profession.
Incidentally I am attempting to explode the theory that film stars rise
to the heights by "sheer ability alone."
Ability counts, of course, but if you are lucky it's better than being
wise--in the film world, and elsewhere!
Examples? I could cite a score.
Take the case of Rudolph Valentino, the talented screen star who
appeared recently at the Liberty theater in "The Sheik." Mr. Valentino
sprang into fame overnight with his work in "The Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse." That's all the public knows; yet back of Mr. Valentino's
success is a story of sacrifice and heartbreaking disappointments. For weeks
at a time he haunted the studios asking for small parts only to be refused by
the directors. Just when he was on the verge of despair he was given an
opportunity to prove his worth. A short time afterward he appeared in The
Four Horsemen and the rest of his career is well known.
That was luck and not ability, although Mr. Valentino is an actor of
exceptional merit; but his first real chance was due to the Goddess of Luck,
rather than to ability.
And now you'll want to know how to acquire luck!
I cannot tell you how to acquire the smiles of the little goddess any
more than the scientist can explain the futurity of human existence.
I only know when one has luck and when one hasn't it!
So if you want to achieve fame or fortune in the "movies" you must at
least pay heed to the Goddess of Luck.
Chapter Three--Personal Appearance
Ever since the day Eve began to adorn her person with leaves, humanity
has laid stress on clothes, which, for the want of a better term, has been
called personal appearance.
Now according to my viewpoint, clothes, little or many, do not mean
"personal appearance."
By personal appearance I mean one's personality, for clothes are merely
the outward expression of your inner self.
They do not make personal appearance, but extend personalities. They
bring out the best or worst, that's all.
You have often met people whose appearance jars you. Perhaps you cannot
explain just why, but you feel uncomfortable in their presence. That's
clothes without personal appearance, nine times out of ten.
Such people are generally wearing clothes which do not express their
ego, character or personality. They are not to be blamed, for in many
instances they do not realize that personal appearance is distinct from
clothes, though they may be made to agree by the selection of apparel
suitable to their personalities.
The world today, that is, a certain element of it, is greatly perturbed
over the "flapper."
"What is to become of our daughters?" sighs the anxious parent. "She
wears such outlandish clothes. I don't understand her at all."
Yet the flapper is moving in the right direction. She is attempting to
express herself by adapting her inner self to her apparel.
And that is where I agree with the flapper. Let the modern girl flap if
she wants to, but see to it that her personal appearance is in keeping with
her clothes and vice versa.
Personal appearance plus clothes counts for much in movieland; in fact
it plays almost as important a role as luck does.
A film star who wishes to remain before the public must have a personal
appearance that commands respect and attention, for movie audiences are
critical. Such an appearance cannot be manufactured by modistes, though it
must be admitted that the fashion makers are of great assistance.
Personal appearance is your real self and what you wear is pretense, or
the feathers of the peacock. If the "feathers" harmonize with your inner
soul you'll have "personal appearance."
If I were not a film actress and wanted to get a start in pictures I
would study my personal appearance.
I would find out just what colors agreed with my complexion and use
them.
I would wear the right kind of hats, shoes and stockings.
I would wear nothing that "jarred" with my personality.
Then I would try myself out on my friends. I would parade before them
and watch for their approval or disapproval.
If they disapproved, and they will do so if they think you are "jarring"
athem, I would return to my room and begin again, until I had succeeded in
achieving a personal appearance that would attract and hold the attention of
the most critical person.
Chapter Four--What to Read
"It were to be wished that they who devote their lives to study
would at once believe nothing too great for their attainment, and
consider nothing as too little for their regard; that they would
extend their nature alike to science and life, and unite some knowledge
of the present world to their acquaintance with past ages and
remote events."
--Samuel Johnson.
It is a truism to say that books have influenced people to do something
worthwhile with their lives.
It is a statement that should be reiterated, for many screen aspirants
seem to think that success in pictures requires no mental effort; and if they
only had the face of a Gloria Swanson, or the physique of a William Farnum
fame would camp on their doorsteps.
Such is not the case, for nearly all the film people of my acquaintance
are students and have an insatiable thirst for the knowledge contained in
books.
What do they read?
Well, that is really not a fair question, for it doesn't really matter
so much what one reads as how you read, though in the final analysis one
should, at least, know something of Oscar Wilde, Shelley and Keats among the
poets; and Stevenson, Samuel Johnson, Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt and
Addison should be read for beautiful prose; Bacon, Spencer, Aristotle and
Omar Khayam for philosophy. And, of course, it goes without saying that the
would-be screen star should know Shakespeare, the master dramatist.
So much for the writers of the past. Let us consider the writers of
today, though I must confess that few modern authors really interest me.
Since the film actor or actress appears before the "masses" I would
suggest that a careful study be made of psychology, particularly as it
relates to the crowd.
Perhaps the most recent book, and one of the best I have read on the
subject of psychology is "The Behaviour of Crowds," by Everett Dean Martin.
It is an interesting book and is a truthful cross-section of how the
crowd mind works, acts, and reacts under certain conditions. It is
invaluable to the actor or actress or to any one who has to appear before an
audience.
Screen aspirants also should read textbooks on the technique of the
photoplay. Sargeant has written an excellent book on this subject though
there are other books on the photo drama equally as good, and the number is
constantly growing.
The list of authors mentioned in this article is not complete by any
means; in fact I might name a thousand books that would aid a screen aspirant
in the pursuit of his or her goal; yet space will not permit.
Summed up are ten rules, as I see it, regarding the use of books:
1. Real books that appeal to your ambition; to your inner self.
2. Make it a practice to read an hour each day.
3. Memorize stanzas from the best poems; not for display but for the
cultivation of your mind.
4. Learn the principles of psychology by reading standard textbooks.
5. Do not accept the statements of any author without reflection.
6. Do not read for entertainment, but for knowledge.
7. Do not waste life's precious moments by devouring trash--
Fitzgerald's "The Beautiful and the Damned," for example.
8. Avoid sex stories unless they are treated in an unoffensive and
truthful manner.
9. Discuss the books you read with friends. Such discussions challenge
your memory.
10. Read the newspapers for it is the history of each day.
Chapter Four--Happy Endings
I received a letter from a reader of these articles just as I was
preparing to leave Honolulu for a trip to the island of Hawaii.
The writer, who is apparently an ardent movie fan, said in part:
"Dear Miss Minter: I have read your articles in The Star-Bulletin with
interest, especially the first, 'Sincerity.' Believing that you are
attempting to give what you think is an accurate picture of studio life I am
taking the liberty of asking you two questions.
"1. When are the film producers going to stop turning out screen
stories that end happily?
"2. Have you ever appeared in sex photoplays, and what do you think of
them?
(Signed) "A FRIEND."
This letter appealed strongly to me for the questions asked in it have
been running through my mind for several weeks. They are "live" questions
and deserve better answers than I will be able to give in the narrow confines
of this column. However, I will attempt to set down what I think the answers
are.
Let us consider the first question: "When are film producers going to
stop turning out screen stories that end happily?"
Frankly, I don't know; but I hope that time will never come, for the
world needs screen stories that end happily.
However, I do not think that all screen tales should end with the hero
and heroine clasping hands at the "finis." Life, real life, should be shown
on the screen as well as romance, and realistic pictures, as a rule, do not
end happily.
But one must be practical in this age. The "film game" is a business
proposition. Producers want to make money and they must give the public what
it wants--stories that end happily.
"Broken Blossom," Which appeared here, I understand, some time ago, was
one of the best realistic pictures ever shown, according to the dramatic
critics. Several actors and actresses who appeared in this production told
me that they were actually inspired while acting in that picture. Yet
"Broken Blossoms" was not a financial success.
Such instances could be enumerated by the score, for many of the finest
pictures from a pictorial and acting standpoint have turned out to be
failures as box office attractions.
In the face of these facts, the film producers cannot be blamed for
making pictures that appeal to the popular taste, even if the stories do end
happily and are in reality "grown up fairy tales." It costs considerable
money to make a picture and film producers must cater to the popular demand,
or be forced to retire penniless.
The remedy?
Again I say I don't know, yet I believe that if the American people were
educated up to a point where they demanded "real pictures" instead of the
"stuff" that is now being shown I think that the United States would lead the
world in the production of real and beautiful pictures.
The American people, however, must be educated up to this point. The
minute the American public demands screen tales that are realistic in their
portrayal the producers will be more than willing to meet the demand.
Meanwhile we must not blame the producers for catering to the popular taste.
Now for the second question: "Have you ever appeared in sex photoplays
and what do you think of them?"
No, I never have appeared in "sex" photoplays. Nearly all my work has
been the portrayal of "the American girl." Of course, I have had offers to
appear in "sex" tales, but I never signed the contracts. Wholesome plays,
free of smut and free love stories, have been my vehicles regardless of all
reports to the contrary.
What do I think of sex photoplays?
Well, between thee, me and the gatepost, "I would hate to tell you!"
Chapter Five--Getting a Job in the Movies
The problem that presents itself for solution to the aspirant for screen
honors is not how to get a job in the movies, but how to keep it when
obtained!
During the time I have been in the land of the movies I have seen many
people come and go. Some of these people retained their positions for years;
others for moths, and still others were only able to hold on after a bitter
struggle.
Many other screen aspirants, after a few weeks as extras, became
discouraged and were swallowed up by the "herd" and were seen no more in the
studios.
Now there is no magic method that may be used in obtaining a position in
the movies. It is like other lines of endeavor. The motion picture game is
strictly a business proposition, devoid of romance, and the inefficient and
the week are crowded to the wall as in other lines of human activity.
Only the fit survive, and it is perhaps best that this is so, for there
is not sufficient room at the top of the ladder for all the talented
aspirants to screen honors.
So, in the first analysis, getting a job in the movies is quite similar
to obtaining a position in a shoe factory.
Most film aspirants that I have known have begun their careers as
extras. An extra is one who plays only in a few scenes. Others have started
in the business office of the film companies, and through contact with the
directors, have been given an opportunity to appear on the screen. If they
photograph well and can act, the chances of their remaining are excellent.
As I said before there is no magic method about getting a job in the
movies. Much depends on luck, though if you are connected in some manner
with the film industry, no matter in what capacity, and want to act, you will
find a way.
Pull, of course, like in other occupations, counts. I don't say that it
will make an actor or actress, but it will smooth the road to success. Many
actresses of my acquaintance have gained their positions through "pull,"
though such cases are rarer than is commonly supposed.
In my own case I was on the stage before I entered the motion pictures.
I was playing in Chicago at the time, and a very good friend of the family,
who was in the film game, suggested that I enter motion pictures. At that
time the movies were more of an experiment than a real business, and of
course I hesitated about accepting a position in a new and untried field. At
that time I was only 13 years old and my salary was sufficiently large to
keep me on the stage.
My mother was consulted and after several months of discussion it was
decided that I should take the plunge and enter pictures. I did so and I
have never regretted my first step, though I have had my ups and downs like
other screen aspirants. My first salary was $85 a week and I earned it!
Hard work was my portion, for I had some difficulty in adjusting myself to
facing ca camera rather than the faces of the audience.
I cannot tell you the title of my first picture! However, I will state
that one of the scenes in my first picture was that of a prison. It was the
first time that any picture of a prison had been taken for motion picture
purposes.
And that is how I got my first job in the motion pictures.
Chapter Six--Is the Day of the Film Star Waning?
George Randolph Chester, the author who of recent years has devoted much
time to writing stories for the screen, declared recently in the Saturday
evening Post that the day of the film star is waning.
His article is too long to quote here, but the substance of his article,
was I recall it, was that the public was becoming "tired" of seeing a star,
and were demanding more and more the work of noted writers. In other words,
according to Mr. Chester, the American public does not want to view "stars"
any longer, but prefers to see "literary masterpieces" produced on the screen
and played by capable actors and actresses. "The day of the star is waning,"
states Mr. Chester.
While I do not wish to enter into any controversy with Mr. Chester
regarding this statement I wish to say here that I do not believe that the
"day of the star is waning."
I believe that the star of the movies is here to stay, although one
cannot be too sure of anything in this world of changing conditions; still, I
think the American public wants, and will continue to want, the "star."
There are four reasons why I think the American people will continue to
demand the appearances of stars.
1. America is a land of hero worshippers.
2. The stage has its stars; why not the screen?
3. Leading personalities are needed on the screen because they appeal
to the ego of each member of the audience.
4. Box office receipts.
Let us discuss the first reason. Take baseball for an example. Time
was when the "baseball writers" declared that the day of "star players" was
waning. Is it true? No. Baseball has a stronger hold than ever on the
American public. Everyone knows "Babe" Ruth, the home run king of New York;
Hornsby and Ty Cobb. Imagine what would happen if the baseball managers
would issue a statement saying "The day of the baseball star is passed." The
howls of the fans would be heard the world over.
Now for the second reason. For years the growth of the legitimate stage
has been the progress of its stars. In fact there would be no stage if it
was not for the great actors and actresses.
It is generally recognized that the motion picture has come to stay. If
that is true, and of course it is, there is no reason why the screen cannot
continue to retain its "stars"; for, like the stage, the growth of the film
industry is the progress of its "stars." And that will continue to be true
for many moons to come.
The third reason is one of the best reasons of all, for it has to deal
with the ego of the crowd mind.
Everyone has a hero. Boys worship their fathers; girls their mothers.
As we grow older our heroes and heroines assume different roles; yet every
one worships "the ideal," the apparently unattainable; the person or thing
that we feel we could emulate if given a chance.
It is here the motion picture steps in. Each star represents a certain
type of crowd mind, a hero or heroine, if you prefer; but the result is the
same, for the public must be given its "star." Each member of the audience
recognizes their type on the screen, or the type of a person that he or she
would like to be in reality. If the present film stars were to pass away in
a day the crowd mind, or the audience, would create new stars. This is a
fact all producers and directors recognize.
Now for the fourth and final reason; the greatest reason of all--the box
office.
One may theorize until doomsday, but the box office in the film industry
is the barometer of public demand. When the day arrives, if it ever does,
when the American public doesn't want to see film stars the box office will
indicate it.
That day has not yet arrived, for the present stars are proving to be
bigger box office attractions than ever before and there is no indication
that the demand for special films with big stars has abated in the slightest
degree.
Chapter Seven--Dogs
Dogs!
Fat dogs, lean dogs, small dogs, pretty dogs, ugly dogs, crippled dogs,
medium sized, bulldogs, dogs of all colors, sizes and shapes.
I love 'em!
They are truly man's best friend.
It may seem a little out of place to discuss what a dog means to me in
this series of articles on "How to Break into the Movies," but I cannot help
it.
Anyway, The Star-Bulletin man told me that I might discuss anything I
pleased, and with the utmost sincerity.
So here goes:
There is something about a dog, even the worse kind of a canine that
catches hold of one's heart-strings.
Perhaps it is their sincerity, steadfastness and constant loyalty that
appeals to me. I cannot say for sure; for I never attempted to make a
critical analysis of a dog's affection for a human being.
One's best friends may fail in your hour of need, but a dog's friendship
burns steadily on like the rays of a lighthouse. A dog serves and never
demands.
Nations may rise and fall; men may succeed or fail; yet the love of a
dog changes not.
Patient, lovable creatures!
I love 'em!
In the face of these well known facts one might well ask, "Does a dog
use reasoning powers?"
Jack London, lover of dogs and author of that delightful dog story, "The
Call of the Wild," said in one of his last books that he thought dogs used
reason rather than instinct, as has been commonly supposed.
I agree with Jack London. I am sure that dogs, judging from my
observation, use reasoning powers.
The other day I was automobile riding along Beretania St. A few hundred
feet ahead of the machine was a dog trying to get across the street. As our
machine neared him the dog stopped and looked up inquiringly as if to ask,
"Which way are you going?"
I honked the horn and swerved slightly to the right of the street. The
dog looked at the machine out of one corner of his eye and then trotted
contentedly across the street to safety.
Now I contend that the dog used reason rather than instinct in this
instance. He gauged the distance of my automobile and then realizing that I
would turn to the right, stood still. That's how he reasoned it out.
I could cite many such instances, for "Chum," who has just been released
from the quarantine station, is my constant companion and I have observed his
actions closely for many months, and am convinced that dogs reason much like
human beings. Of course they use instinct a great deal, but so do human
beings! Instinct is something that is implanted in every animal that
breathes.
Just one other instance regarding the reasoning power of dogs.
One summer I was making a picture in the mountains of San Bernardino in
Southern California.
One of my friends had a dog called by that ancient name of Rover. Rover
liked to hunt; and so do I. So we were the best of chums. I never taught
him any tricks, but the reasoning-powers of that dog were wonderful.
Sitting on the veranda (Lanai in Hawaii) of the house one day I casually
remarked in the presence of Rover:
"Yes, I must go and get the gun. We need some game for dinner."
Rover jumped up, looked at me and began to wag his tail. I repeated my
words. Rover went wild with joy and barked loudly, and ran in the direction
of the woods.
Now I had never used these words before to Rover; yet he knew what the
word gun was and "reasoned" that I was going to go hunting. Surely one
cannot call such things instinct!
At least I don't think so.
What do you think?
Chapter Eight--My Philosophy of Life
No matter what station we occupy in the world each individual has a
philosophy of life, expressed or unexpressed.
In this, my last article for The Star-Bulletin, I am going to attempt to
set down what I think about this "sorry scheme of things" which men term
life.
I have three subject heads to my philosophy of life:
1. Sincerity.
2. Luck.
3. Egoism.
Sincerity, of course, sums it all up, for unless one has sincerity, as I
pointed out in my first article, one is likely to have nothing else. It is
the crux of my philosophy for I want to be sincere in everything I do.
However, in the first of these articles I outlined my "sincerity"
platform and there is no need to discuss it in this article.
I also have discussed the part luck plays in the life of every one,
including film people, and there is no occasion to add to it in this article.
This leads us up to the third and last subject heads of my philosophy--
Egoism.
Now when I speak of egoism I do not use the word in the common sense.
Egoism is a term often used to denote conceit or an inflated opinion of self.
I do not mean that when I speak of egoism.
The self philosophy, in which I believe, is nothing more that the
elimination of self--an acknowledgment that "I" is not important.
That sounds shocking, but let us look a little deeper.
It is recognized that life is a fleeting thing: a mere breath, despite
all opinions to the contrary. In other words our lives are so brief that it
hardly behooves any of us to worry. As the slang saying goes: "It will be
all the same in 100 years." And it's true.
In face of these facts how can anyone, regardless of position or birth,
exalt self? I cannot.
I may achieve success, as the world terms it, yet I know I am
unimportant, for I, like you, must soon leave this stage of life.
Comfortless philosophy?
Yes, perhaps so.
But is it not true? And let us be sincere at all costs.
However, this philosophy is not as gloomy as it seems.
Instead of sitting down and bemoaning our ultimate end, it is better to
wake to the realization that life is a fleeting thing at the best, and help
mankind to lift itself from the dregs, instead of exalting self because one
owns a fine home, automobile or what not.
Material things, including human beings, pass away; but things of the
spirit--truth, sincerity, love, kindness and virtue, live on and on.
Realize this and judge your conduct accordingly, for happiness will be
your portion, I am sure.
Strive each day to achieve the best in yourself by uplifting humanity:
by preaching the gospel of sincerity, kindness and brotherhood toward every
living creature.
Then, if man does live on in another world he need have no fear of it.
(The End)
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Mary Miles Minter Moves Out
When Mary returned from Hawaii, the friction between Mary and her mother
increased, and before the end of
1922 Mary left the family home and rented a
house where she could live alone. The following is the first public
interview given after she moved out, but before the public battle with her
mother erupted the following August [see TAYLOROLOGY #11].
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
December 28, 1922
LOS ANGELES TIMES
..."It has been reported that you and your mother have quarreled, and at
the end of your $1,000,000 Lasky contract you now find yourself practically
penniless and that because of all this you have left home and are going to
live by yourself. Is this true?" Miss Minter was asked.
Miss Minter fairly bristled. She bit her lip. Her eyes of periwinkle
blue flashed. Incidentally, her real name is Juliette O'Reilly [sic].
"Oh! Oh! Oh! These horrible people who start such rumors" was her
first utterance after she had regained her composure. She warmly defended
her mother from the "studio gossip."
"My mother abandoned her stage career in helping me gain fame on the
stage. All I am I owe to her. She's had some pretty raw deals put over on
her and she's had to be businesslike. But to me she always has been the
ideal mother. Before we had much of anything at Christmas times I have known
her to deprive herself of things so that we might be happy," she said.
"It's true we have quarreled, but they were only motherly and daughter
quarrels such as happen in any family. At the other house [Casa Margarita]
everything was in confusion from the carpenters. When I came home from the
studio and wanted by dinner, mother would say, 'Oh, yes, dinner!'
"So I told her I wanted a home of my own. I wanted a kitchen and a
bathroom to play with. I wanted a place where I could do the funny little
things I like to do; where I could give parties and plan dinners such as I
always wanted to eat. And so I got me one.
"I find a home awfully engrossing. Why, today the grocer called me on
the phone and said, 'Miss Minter, please we want our dough.' Then I
remembered I hadn't paid him for two months because the check book I god from
the bank didn't have any more papers in it. But I fixed that up right away.
"Mother and I are not estranged. Why, she was here the other night
helping me fix my Christmas tree. The other day when my check from the
studio had a lot of notations on it about clothes, hooks and eyes and needles
and thread I called her up right away and she straightened it out for me.
"I know who has started all this horrible gossip. It's a woman who
writes things. She has hated me and mother ever since the day I wouldn't
pose in the door of a laundry for her, so she could use the picture in a
magazine story she was writing," she concluded.[2]
Thereupon she displayed some of her Christmas gifts. A beaded bag
costly enough to ransom and king in these days of low-priced royalty gave up
an ebony cigarette holder, an octagonal mirror of platinum, a cigarette case
bedight with the same precious metal.
"But surely you're not going to live here alone," was the caller's next
cast.
"It is said that you are going to marry Gaston Glass," Mary was told.
"Yes?" was her rejoinder. "That's the second time I've heard that about
him. To tell you a secret, I'm going to marry him when I get rid of my
husband and seven children."
In all seriousness "M to the third power" then declared she intended
never to wed.
She three times refused to talk about what she intends to do when her
Lasky contract is terminated by the completion of her present picture. She
evaded the question as to her return to the stage.
Then she diverted the reporters by showing them her declared ideals of
life, that is two of them, the kitchen and the pantry. From the vantage
point of the porch she pointed out Los Angeles, the lights of which glittered
like costly gems at the feet of a queen.
"Mary Miles Minter says she has but one regret at leaving home. She had
to leave behind her Collie dog "Chummy." The owner of the place bars dogs,
it seems, and detected dog hairs in the texture of the living-room rug.
"I just adore collies. I love to run my fingers through Chummy's woozly
hair," she said in ecstasy at the thought.
Mary says she will be twenty-one next April. She enjoys handling her
own business affairs and declares she intends to do so from now on.
Mrs. Miles, Mary's grandmother, declares she is temperamental and moved
because she "couldn't stand the noise" at the New Hampshire avenue house.
But Mary now declares she is for the first time in her life doing the
"funny little things" she likes to do.
The late "Littlest Rebel," her first role of national repute, is openly
rebellious at the thought of maternal apron strings regarding her ideas of
kitchen, bedroom and bath. She loves the solitude of her Hollywood hillside
and declares she is going to continue to love it.
*****************************************************************************
Minter and Chaplin
Early in 1924, Charles Chaplin and Mary Miles Minter were on a date together,
when an altercation brought the evening wide publicity.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
April 1924
PHOTOPLAY
The monthly Hollywood sensation is Charlie Chaplin's victorious fistic
encounter.
Much to his own amazement and chagrin, Charlie was one of the principals
of a sensational fistic duel, fought in a well known Hollywood cafe, in the
presence of his former wife, Mildred Harris, and his own guest of the
evening, Mary Miles Minter.
The gentleman on the other end of Charlie's mighty right--and the other
end was the floor, believe me--was C. C. Julian, a well known oil operator in
Los Angeles.
It happened like this.
Charlie and Miss Minter and another couple were dining at the new and
very fashionable Cafe Petroushka on Hollywood Boulevard. This new eating
place is the latest favorite with the film colony--being run by a Russian
princess and cooked for by the chef of the late Czar Nicholas--and there was
a large crowd present on this Sunday evening.
Another party, a large one, which included Mildred Harris and Peggy
Browne, a friend of hers, came in and took the next table to Charlie and his
party. According to all reports the ladies had nothing to do with the
ensuing encounter.
Julian, it is stated by all witnesses to the affair, even the ladies of
his own party, was extremely boisterous, knocked over a lamp and did various
other damage, before, on one of his trips about the room, he knocked against
the chair occupied by Mr. Chaplin. The famous comedian asked him to be
careful, whereupon Julian assaulted him, striking him in the face.
Whereupon Mr. Chaplin arose and with a neat lift-right sent Mr. Julian
to the floor. Spectators declare it was a very nifty and forceful piece of
work.
Charlie, who is always a most gentlemanly and well-conducted person, was
much upset by the fight forced upon him and especially by the fact that
anyone might believe either Miss Harris or Miss Minter was involved in the
matter.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 3, 1924
AMERICAN WEEKLY
Charlie Chaplin's prowess as the champion of custard-pie combats and
slap-stick free-for-alls has been firmly established for some time, but it
took a real bare-fisted encounter with a wealthy oil magnate in a Hollywood
cafe to qualify him as a runner-up for the bantamweight championship.
Charlie launched his pugilistic conquests with a knockout in the second
round, despite the fact that his adversary out-weighted him, "out-stood" him
and out-reached him.
Occupying ring-side seats at the table d'hote arena in which the world-
famed comedian staged his first ring battle were a score of noted screen
celebrities, artists and musicians, who cheered the young battler as he
landed right and left punches to the jaw of his opponent with an unerring
precision that Charlie attributes to years of experience in hurling pies.
The famous comedian's sparring partner, according to a signed statement
issued by Chaplin, and according to numerous witnesses to the affray, was C.
C. Julian, millionaire young oil promoter. Julian, however, denies that he
was the man who crossed fists with the agile comedian.
Despite this denial the management of the Club Petroushka, exclusive
Hollywood cafe maintained by a group of Russian artists, in which the fracas
occurred, stated that the oil man's agents paid a bill for nearly $600 to
cover damage to musical instruments, spotlights and furniture that were
shattered by the combatants in their brief but furious exchange of blows.
In the sport writer's parlance Chaplin was the first to enter his
corner, accompanied by Mary Miles Minter and Mr. and Mrs. Carey Wilson.
Little did they realize as the preliminary dinner progressed that with the
serving of the last course they would be called upon to act as seconds for
the genial host.
It was some time later, shortly after midnight, to be exact, before the
Julian party arrived at the duellists' rendezvous.
Accompanying the oil man were Mildred Harris, former wife of the noted
comedian, Peggy Browne, film actress and member of an old Washington family,
two other men, one of whom is said to have been Julian's brother, and another
woman, whose name was not learned.
The Julian party, it was learned subsequently, had started earlier in
the evening at the Montmarte, another popular Hollywood cafe, and it was en
route to the Petroushka that Mildred Harris and Peggy Browne had rather
reluctantly consented to join the party.
Seated at points of vantage about the "ringside" at the time Julian
entered his corner, in addition to the notables in Chaplin's party, were
Nicholas Dunaev, Russian author and actor, as the guest of Prince and
Princess Narichkin, and Jascha Heifetz, world-renown violinist. Dunsev had
just returned to Los Angeles after a long illness in New York.
The preliminaries to the main event occurred simultaneously with the
arrival of the Julian party, when the host, in a hilarious and high-spirited
mood, collided with the stage spotlight.
Apparently resenting the inability of the adamant and inanimate object
to remove itself from the course the newcomer wished to pursue, he hurled it
to the floor with a loud clatter and crash of glass.
The incident, witnesses aver, may have been merely a demonstration of
physical strength conceived to strike terror into the heart of the diminutive
comedian who a few minutes later was destined to "cross swords" with the six-
foot promoter.
Stepping over the debris of the wrecked spotlight Julian and the members
of his party proceeded toward a table in an enclosed booth.
Attracted by the crash and lusty shouts of the new arrival a corps of
waiters and attaches of the cafe rushed forward in an attempt to be of
assistance and to smooth the apparently ruffled temper of the guest.
"Get out of here!" Julian shouted.
"Don't bother me. What difference does it make what I break up around
here?" the young oil millionaire continued.
Fumbling in his pockets the visitor pulled forth diverse wads of bills,
fifteen or twenty of them. They all bore $1,000$ on the face. Waving a
handful of the currency above his head he again addressed the assembled
aggregation of dumfounded waiters:
"Look here!
"I've got money enough to buy out this whole blooming place and a couple
more if I wanted to! Away with you!"
The "preliminaries" were fine, thought the spectators, who settled back
for another sip of coffee as Julian and his party were escorted to seats in a
booth directly adjoining the one occupied by Chaplin and his party.
Peace and quietness were not to have sway long, however. Members of the
Chaplin quartet turned occasionally to see where the hilarious din came from,
but Charlie says that at that time he was entirely unaware of the identity of
the occupants of the adjoining booth.
The square-off for the first round, without the customary formal
introduction, sans the smiling bow and sans the subsequent applause, came a
few moments later, when the new arrival arose somewhat heavily and lurched
against one of the women guests at the Chaplin table.
Chaplin looked up, plainly registering irritation.
Julian leered.
"Please be careful," said Chaplin in a low voice.
With that, witnesses aver, the first round started in a very
unceremonious manner.
For reply to the comedian's admonition to be careful, the newcomer is
alleged to have slapped the girl on the back and leaned on her chair.
"I asked you to please be careful," repeated Chaplin, warningly, in a
rising voice, filled with indignation at the intrusion.
"Oh, you did, did you?" scowled the intruder.
"Yes, I certainly did," retorted Chaplin. "I would appreciate it if you
would kindly leave."
In reply witnesses say Julian rapidly landed several blows on the
comedian before he had a chance to arise from the table.
Round one ended with the heavier adversary having a decided advantage.
Humiliated and angered by the sudden attack, Chaplin sprang to his feet.
As an opening move of round two Charlie, facing his opponent square in the
aisle, unleashed his "million dollar" wallop, catching the heavier man on the
point of the chin.
Plainly taken back by the comedian's ferocious attack, Julian swung
wildly at the agile Chaplin.
He missed, but Charlie connected with another stiff punch to the chin,
and the six-footer hit the floor for the count, a tiny stream of blood
trickling down his face.
By this time the cafe was in an uproar. Squads of waiters joined the
melee in an attempt to restore order.
Another member of the Julian party, said by witnesses to have been the
oil man's brother, also of athletic build, pounced onto Chaplin's back a
moment after the first knockout.
Again the film comic brought his small fists into a fast play and felled
the second assailant, while cafe attaches struggled to separate the other
combatants.
Nicholas Dunaev, by his own story, became a participant in the affray
shortly after Chaplin scored his first knock-down. While Chaplin was then
engaged in battling new adversaries Dunaev said he squared off with the oil
man after he had struggled to his feet, landed another stiff blow and sent
him to the floor for the second and last time.
When the din of shouts, curses, women's shrieks, thud of blows, and
crash of furniture had subsided, members of the Julian party quickly made
their exit, while cafe attaches began to take stock of the damage, which, in
addition to the crashed spotlight, included a valuable cello and several
chairs.
Mildred Harris and Peggy Browne declare they left the Julian party just
before the fisticuffs started. Miss Browne said Julian had been threatening
to "get" Chaplin in Miss Harris' presence and that Chaplin's former wife
pleaded with him not to create a scene.
The young actress declared that she and Miss Harris attempted to leave
but were observed by Julian as they slipped own a staircase, and that he gave
chase.
Frightened, Miss Browne related that the couple fled through a rear
door, scaled fences, and ran through underbrush to her home. When she
reached her bungalow, she bolted her door and sat up all night with a
revolver in her hand.
Immediately after the dust of battle had cleared away, Nat Arlock, owner
of the Club Petroushka, said he was given a check for $392 by a member of the
Julian party, covering "supper and damages."
The next day the cafe manager received $203 in cash from an emissary of
Julian for other damages.
"I saw the whole proceedings," said Arlock, "and am embarrassed that it
should have occurred in my place, which is a genteel establishment.
"Mr. Chaplin was listening to the music. He is very fond of Russian
music. Zamu Lenko, the Moscow violinist, was playing. Chaplin was very much
engrossed in listening to him when the trouble first started."
Princess Dagmara Saricheva, hostess of the club, and Mme. Malova, prima
donna, interposed themselves during the melee and attempted to hold Chaplin
back when he began to rain blows on his opponent.
Chef Spiridon Ignatowich, who was chef to Czar Nicholas II, of Russia
for twelve years, said he was too busy making borscht in the kitchen to take
part in the fracas.
Notwithstanding Chaplin's signed statement naming him, and the statement
of nearly a score of witnesses C. C. Julian, the oil magnate, has strongly
held to his denial that he was present or a participant in the affray.
Despite a subsequent admission that he was in Los Angeles on the morning
of the fight Julian has stoutly maintained that he was in San Francisco,
nearly 500 miles distant, when the now famous Chaplin combat took place less
than twenty-four hours later.
Other than to declare that he was in San Francisco with his wife Julian
declined to make any further comment, characterizing the reports of the cafe
row as "very amusing."
Miss Harris, recounting her story of the party, expressed deep regret
that her former husband had become innocently involved in the affair.
"Poor Charlie," she said. "I do hope my presence there will not be
misunderstood. I did not know Charlie was there and I am sure he didn't see
me.
"Charlie and I are perfectly good friends. Reports that the trouble
started through a quarrel over me are preposterous. As a matter of fact I
personally was not with Julian. I merely happened to be with my girl friend
who was a member of the party. Charlie is very sensitive. I sympathize with
him deeply in this affair because I know how dreadful it all must be to him."
Miss Browne's entry into the party came unexpectedly, she stated. She
was at home when Mildred Harris called her from the Montmarte Cafe, where the
Julian party started, invited her to join the group.
"Mildred and I were unescorted," Peggy declared. "We just went along
with the others because we couldn't very well get away after we joined them.
"After we arrived at the Petrouska, Julian told me I was 'too ritzie.'
I pushed back by chair and started to leave, but it wasn't any use. He
wouldn't let me go.
"All during the party Julian made scathing remarks about Mr. Chaplin.
Miss Harris urged him to discontinue his uncomplimentary utterances, and when
he refused a moment before the trouble started, she left the table. As soon
as I saw something was going to happen I became so frightened I ran down the
stairs to get away. I didn't see any blows struck."
Following the affair Chaplin issued a statement regarding his version of
it. The statement follows:
"In justice to the motion picture profession in general, I am compelled
by the seemingly unfair notoriety being forced on members of our industry and
myself to plead for fairness and justice from the press and public.
"The erroneous and flippant reports of the past incident in which I was
unfortunately present have placed me in the light of being a cafe brawler,
intimating that motion picture actresses were the cause of the affair. This
I wish to deny most emphatically, as it was the business men whom the press
have ignored but who were entirely responsible in causing the disturbance.
"I wish to state that I neither drink nor smoke.
"No one is more conscious or appreciative of my position with the
general public and the esteem and regard with which I respect them,
especially the children.
"I do not hold my position lightly and the obnoxious affair which was
forced on me in a public restaurant has compelled me to make this plea for
fair play in the press.
"The stories I have read report me as having stood on tables or
platforms issuing challenges to these men who attacked me. Nothing is
further from the truth and if it is necessary for the truth to be known I
will commence proceedings immediately.
"What actually happened was this:
"While I was dining with a few friends in a restaurant a party of men
and ladies arrived and seated themselves at a table nearby. The men acted
very boisterously, kicking over a spotlight lamp and generally conducting
themselves in a very loud manner.
"Later, one of the men, unknown to me but whom I am informed was C. C.
Julian, lurched towards me, striking at me while I was seated at the table.
"In self-protection I defended myself. He fell down. Then another
member of the party, who is said to be a brother, struck me from behind.
A general disturbance was caused until employees of the restaurant intervened
and quiet was restored.
"I am not a fighter, not a braggart of fistic prowess, as has been
reported. I have always endeavored to conduct myself as a gentleman and
appeal to the press and public to believe that my part in this affair was
forced on me and that I did only what any red-blooded man would have done had
he been in my place."
But meanwhile Hollywood boulevardiers are loudly singing peans of praise
to the fistic ability of one Charles Spencer Chaplin and greet him on all
sides with "How's the 'million dollar wallop'?"
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
NOTES:
[1] The dog, Chum, was given to her by William Desmond Taylor as a gift (See
TAYLOROLOGY #11), so it is natural that she would feel extreme affection for
the dog.
[2] The unidentified writer is probably Adela Rogers St. Johns, who at that
time was the Western editor for PHOTOPLAY. In the February 1923 issue of
PHOTOPLAY there was an article about investment property owned by film stars.
The fact that Minter owned stock in a laundry was mentioned in the article,
and a photograph of the laundry building was published with the article
(Minter was not in the laundry photograph).
*****************************************************************************
For more information about Taylor, see
WILLIAM DESMOND TAYLOR: A DOSSIER (Scarecrow Press, 1991)
Back issues of Taylorology are available via Gopher or FTP at
gopher.etext.org
in the directory Zines/Taylorology
*****************************************************************************
