The Washington times., 1936-09-29
THE VOICE OF
Broadway
By Louis SoboI
Observations at
Random!

o natural in a press agents office,
once remarked: Fame is the per
fume of heroic Deeds" but Aviator
Dick Merrill, who does not go in
for snappy sayings, probably ear,
marks it as a pain in the neck. {. d.
Dick has been one of the boys
who liked to relax at the bigger
cabarets by sitting at a table in
the rear of the room where he
could huddle with the other boys
and sip his coffee and watch the
prettieS from afar. Since his
flight, they now force him to sit
at a floor side table and sometime
during the proceedings, the emcee
interrupts the show to clear his
throat, hold up his hands and an
nounce solemnly, "Ladee-e-s n
gen-mun, it is wild dee greatest
pleasure n onor have dee rare
privilege to Observation-Disclosures
m gen-mun-the greatest aviator
of them all-none other n Dick
Merrill-Dick Merrill, LADIES' n
gen-mun, now les give Dick Mer-
rill a welcome back home" And
poor Merrill, shy, retiring eagle,
has to pop up and grin and bow
and die a thousand deaths within
Perfume" my eye!
Attention has been called to
the young opera singer who has
had principal roles with several
of the better opera companies
only to find herself out of work
So she got job in Bill
Hardy's Gay Nineties, where
amid the noisy and occasionally
melOdiOuS grind that character
ICES the place, she manages to
hold the attention of even the
rowdiest among the patrons as
she chants her divine cassie.
Her name is Lea Barberi-and
as I say, several of my cOnfrereS
have already mentioned the fact
But it occurs to me that here
we have almost the identical sit
uation which themes the picture
"San Francisco" The prObabil-
itv is that Miss Barberi will re-
turn to Opera-but there the plot
must switch. For in the pic
ture Jeanette Mcdonald even
tually finds her way into the
arms of the sslOOnkeeper, Clark
Gable, with matrimOny indicated
Miss Barberi's boss, Bill
Hardy, spoils the story by being
wed to the former Ziegfeld
beauty, Evelyn GrOves-and in
addition, New York doesn't go
in for earthquakes - not the
earthly kind.
Her own fan club, with the con
nivance of the picture company
publicity department suspect, has
arranged a welcome to New York
for Bride Joan Blondell Powell
that will equal the confetti greet
ing that confused Lindbergh-or
at least. so I have been Informed
.. There1l be something Of a pa
rade up Broadway. etc.-but Joan.
unlike Dick Merrill, who led oil
this column, will probably sense
the perfume" of fame. It's such
good business. Arrest That
Woman" which, I understand was
originally tagged "A Daughter OF
Cain" prophetic title, that moves
into Gains warehouse after a few
meager performances, and Miss
Doris Nolan. the star, can now go
back to Hollywood and complete
her cinema assignments, but what
of young Mervyn Williams, who,
Stoutly adhering to the actors
code, 1.-The show must go on" went
through his performance on open
ing night while his young bride
duelled with death as the sur
geons performed delicate Caesa
rean operation on her at almost
the very moment the curtain was
rising. The mother and child are
doing well, which is the one con
ISOLATION for the now jobleSS Actor
williams.
1t was such a pretty romance
and elopement, you may have re-
membered. When Natalie Tai
madge became Mrs. Buster Kea-
ton. Now the screen comic has
retained Legalist David G. Ber-
ger to defend him in the action
brought by Natalie who is no
ROOM AND B(