Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-09-09
CONFESSIONS
OF 4 STAR
As Told to
IlVEZ KLUMPH
CHAPTER XVI


~ go to at least one motion picture
exhibitors convention, II seems to me
certainly they'd learn things about
human nature that they'd never sus-
pected before.
The one to which went on my way
to New York was held in the Coliseum,
in Chicago-an immense place 1t is, yet
when went into It that swcltcring day
II seemed small and crowded. There
were booths all around the sides Of the
huge hall, as well rs in aisles down
the middle, all of them jammcd with
reople, and hung with photographs and
Gil paintings and all the rest Of the
paraphernalia of the motion picture
publicity Office. These booths had been
taken by the various organizations that
make movies-and you would realize, IL
you saw such collection Of them. that
you d never heard OF n good many Of
them--aud by all sorts of companies
that had, anything Mt all to do with the
movies. Makers of projection machines,
photographers, fan magazines-thc
fan" being an ardent supporter of the
movies--in fact. everybody and every
thing that could profit by publicity
given to motion pictures was there.
And in the very center was q huge
stage, reached by a gangplunk TINT ran
Of at the back of the galleries. 1t was
above the heads Of the crowd that kept
milling about beneath It, so that the
persons who stood on it could easily be
seen all over the hall. And there tho
actors and actresses who had come to
make personal appearances would stand
and talk to the crowd-not that they
could be heard and then 60 back tn
the booth owned by the company for
which they worked, and meet the people
who wanted to shake hands with them,
and autograph their photographs, and
all that.
That platform was really almost like
OH auction block. Those whose popu-
larity was waning were likely to get
an inkling of it, when they didn't get
as much applause as some young and
rising star did. And IL somebody who
wasn't very well known came out, and
the public liked them awfully well,
they'd know it, too.
remember so well Mae Murray's
appearancc-sh arrived there the day
did. She was q 'comer" then, but
hadn't had much opportunity yet to
show what she could do. She had on a
white suit and a scarlet tam, and she
was the prettiest thing you ever saw.
The crowds simply shouted for her
they were all ready to like her in pic
lures even before they'd seen her on
the screen.
Of course, the display of enthusiasm
on the part of the great crowds that
thronged the building was an important
| thing, from the point of view of the or
ganizations selling pictures. You see.
there were hundreds Of exhibitors there
the very men to whom those pictures
must be sold, or who, II they already
Lad contract to show certain COM
papy's pictures, must be kept in the
| right frame of mind to keep on showing
them. That explains a rather funny
thing that happened the day was there.
There was to be huge ball the next
night, and popular vote was to decide
who would lead the grand march. Bill
Hart. who wasn't even there, was well
In the lead-he has never been more
popular than he was then. There were
two other male stars, who were there
in person. who wanted the honor-one
a man whose popularity was waning,
the other younger man who had just
made the best picture of his career.
The older man came out on the plat
form in the afternoon, and was given
an ovation; he had been one of the
pioneers of picture making, and was
really popular. Besides, he'd always
had his fan mail answered, and done
all he could to let the public know that
he appreciated their favor. AS it hap
pened. he might have had enough votes
to make good showing in the contest
for leading the grand march, but he
wanted to be sure of it, so he bought
l don't know how many votes for him
self.
The younger man heard of this, and
was furious. He knew that the older
one had been given good contract
with big organization not long before,