The Washington times., 1936-11-26
BILL HART HERO
IN NB0YH00D OF
FILM LOVER
Biography Reveals Him
As Sensitive In
Childhood
BY LYDIA CALVERT
CHAPTER 4
,hert Is five wears old.

charm, the piqusnt indifference.
With a tolerant politeness he al
lows his admirers to pat his cheek,
kiss the back of his neck, bounce
him on their knees.
His hair is black as coal and
ruffled by the prairie winds. his
cheeks are red as apples and his
sturdy little body is as full of vital
ity as young colt turned out to
pasture. The out-of-doors, which he
loves, has built him up into q
splendid little animal. Looking
back now you know that even then
his little foot was firmly placed
on the first rung Of the ladder of
success.
Aided BY Luck
In the wings Lady Luck, too,
had fallen in love with him and
had begun to groom him for his
part. In her book she wrote: Rob-
ert Taylor, aged five, destination:
Hollywood. In her mind there was
no doubt. In his there was nothing
but brimming happiness in the mo-
ment.
AS for being a heart-breaker,
Taylor won't tell you q thing about
it-even about when he was five
but there were ways of finding out
He ScoffS:
"The Heartbeat Of America!
No, that doesn't thrill me. Oh,
they call me all sorts of names
some 1 can't repeat-but I
don't care just so I get along"
When Robert was five his father
had become a full-fledged medicc
and started to practice in the busy
town of Fremont. His popularity
was immediate and bit puzzline
to the young doctor until he found
that his fame as "the man who
saved his wife" had gotten there
before him. People had an almost
fanatic faith in DR.. Brugh. The
| little family knew complete hap
piness here in Fremont. The
mother was almost entirely well
the child was healthy, the hus
band successful-all was right
with the world.
Life Wonderful
But life was to be even more
wonderful. Bob says:
"About that time my father
met a distinguished physician Of
Beatrice, DR.. p. Y. GaSs. In a
year he and dad were working
as professional associates. When
DR.. Gass was called to another
post in San BernadinO, Cal,
father carried n the practice in
Beatrice. Beatrice was q big city
to me in those days" .,
After Filley and Kirksville it
was really metropolitan. Twelve
thousand inhabitants! The little
boy was wide-eyed seeing the
people coming and going, the big
buildings, the noisy, dirty motor
cars banging up the street like
tractors. He started to school
there. Here his character really
began to form.
His mother, recalling those days
had told him:
"YOu were . very sensitive
boy, high strung as they come.
If anyone spoke to you harshly,
you couldn't sleep or eat until
it was settled"
LAUGHS NOW
Robert laughs at this now. He's
still sensitive but not to hurts
He's sensitive to sunsets much
more than sunrise" and to noun
tains. "Oh, especially mountains
they give you a build-up" and tc
beautiful music.
AS he met other children he
learned to be independent. He
started to think for himself. He
went to movies as often as hi
mother would let him, but II
; wasn't the heavy lovers that gol
him. 1t was the two-gunned, hard
shooting, hard-riding Bill Harts
tearing across the prairies in 6
cloud of dust, taking canyons II
their stride, swinging their lariat
like cruel whips.
Rode With Hart
Hunched in the dark movie
theater with his eyes turned to tn.
big screen almost over his head
devouring it all, the piano goinl
madly to the tune of the horses
hoofs, the little boy rode will
> Bill Hart and Tom Mix. He lassoec
Indians and shot two guns at
time, he vaulted canyons on flying
horse flesh, swan streams, Scalet
mountains. He never dreamed tha'
, some day he would be on tht
, screen, more famous than Har
or Mix, and that thousands woulc
be held enthralled by his artistry
He told me:
81 still want to do blood and
thunder things. 1 want to do
'ScaramOuche' and The Four
Horsemen' and things like that.
"Of course / suppose we all
want to do things we aren't best
;; suited for. Chaplin, for instance,
would like to do drama.
But, gee, period things scare
3 me to death. Hand a guy cape
and a cane and a t0p-hat and he
wants to chew the set down. I'd
. much rather wear q pair of
SlackS and shirt"
To be continued