Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1937-06-12
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New York, June 12-Cuff Links:
The death of Jean Harlow will sad
den many -. met her once, at
movie party, several years ago =.
She had chameleoned from platinum
blonde to titan and someone asked
her what color hair she would affect
next -. "Oh, green or yellow or
something. There are plenty of col
ors. Then, as a surprise, I'm saving
my natural color for last. She was
full of life and high spirits and the
Hollywood flub-dub amused her -.
Secretly, she wanted to write -. De-
spite the role of sophisticated gamin
which she played so we'll on the
screen, she was bored by the glitter
ing playboys who would have given
her a grand rush had she let them
49, Instead she preferred older and
wiser men; William Powell, one of
the most intelligent of the celluloid
mines and a collector of first edi
tons, was her good friend -. I am
told that not long before she died,
after she had signed her handsome
$500 weekly pact, some one-prob-
ably a callow reporter like the COM
poser of these lines-asked her what
her greatest ambition was -. ITO be
literate," she replied, with highly
un-Hollywood twinkle.
There are a number of books on my
shelves devoted to the New York that
was -. None captures the flavor and
stately cadences of New York of half
a century and more ago like Life
To-
able gem -. Indeed, 1 discovered him
long after the uppity set had uttered
its polite amens over his work 80. 1
was afraid of him, because of the
character of most of his admirers -.
] feared a dose of overweening whim-
sy the stuff so popular in the smart
charts of the last decade -. But fin
ally tackling Life with Father" I
found there the first tender and hill
arious, knowing and superbly written
chronicle of a New York childhood 1
had ever seen -. Old Day, ST., self
reliant, kind and ruggedly individual
istlc gentleman to warm the heart
in short one of the vanishing Amer-
tans-should rank with yWhistlerE
mother as one of the greatly memoir
ialized parents of all time.
Human nature note: the device
which is causing the greatest interest
at the Inventors Congress, now in
session here, is a fearless onion Slicer
=. lVisitors-unless they be small
boys-yawn over the dirigibles cap
able of flying from San Francisco to
London overnight, the Rube Goldberg
aousetraps and the perpetual motion
machines
And since we're on the subject of
books-the Writers Congress" has
been in session in Manhattan lately.
Now all the art sare regimented into
guilds and Congresses and Forums
and c. I. O.'s of one stripe or anoth-
er...I don't know exactly what the
Writer'S Congress seeks to accomplish
but it appears the idea is to herd all
scribblers into some sort of union,
! which will crack down on the publish
ers and perhaps have gay picketing
bees -. A gentleman by the name of
Allsberg, who seems to be a high
monkeymOnk in the WPA writers
project but who is unfamiliar to me
in his capacity, if any, as author, ad-
dressed the Congress hotly demanding
unionism for scribblers -. Ho, hum
-. If 4there is one profession in
which success cannot be torn willy
nilly from reluctant world with the
aid of marching songs, picket lines
and placards proclaiming envious in
dignation, it is that of literary COM
position 49,. No, Mr.. Allsberg =. You
| cannot even censor the mails adj
| dressed to luckier scriveners and re-
move therefrom the cake of talent -.
There is only one trick which will
beat the publishing princes of plenty
and that trick is tightly involved
with the art of applying the seat of
the pants to the seat of the chair.