The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-06-08
HOLLYWOOD l
By Paul AsFFIsoN

 | plumber named J. c. Chalmers makes all the bottles, window panes and champagne glasses with which movie actors and actresses come in- to violent contact, and he makes them out of sugar.
 \ If you see & comedian Ilnscrew { Q light bulb and calmly proceed to 1, eat it, the chances are that it is antoher product of the versatile Chalmers.
 Whenever something has to be broken in the presence of screen \ players and there is danger of their being cut by flying glass, an order is sent to Chalmers and the article is duplicated in sugar. Occasionally they're even cut by his reproduc- tions in brittle sugar, but the frag- ments dissolve rahmlessly and the studios don't get involved in dam age suits.
 a As Q plumber, he had made enough money to retire when he got to helping his wife in candy shop she had started for the fun of 1t. \ Also for the fun of it, he began making tricky items in edible sugar. and soon became the favorite con- fectioner of the studios.
 One of his most popular prod ucts is hollow bOnbOn supplied for slim actresses who have to eat candy in movie scenes and are fearful of extra calories. The chocolates are so thin that they dissolve immediately, and thus don't impede 8 players enun- citation.
 $l,158 Pound
 His biggest order was an entire side of whale, made from candy so that some Hollywood Eskimos coul dfeast on 1t in Man of Two Worlds" The job weighed 750 dollar a pound.
 Not all of his confections come SO cheaply, though. He once was paid at the rate of 1,158 a pound for some hollow pills which were used in the Fox fantasy, "Just Imagine" IN These were supposed to be con- centrated food pellets, yet so thin and light that they'd float like soap bubbles if dropped. Chalmers had IA girls working four and half days to turn out the 700 pills need ed for the, picture.
 Once he got request from the Hal Roach studios for five bars of candy soap, each bar to have a diff ferent flavor. The soap was to be used in on "Our Gang" comedy, and the director wanted each of the kids to register different expression when he bit into one.
 They were variously sour, sweet, bitter, delicious and just plain awful as Chalmers made H them. They got the reactions, all right.
 He makes hollow golf balls H which on the screen you see con- meeting with the heads of poste- riorD of comedy victims. They're so light, though, that they don't even leave bruise.
 Tacks to Neckties
 Chalmers is very proud and equal ly Secrttive about his method of making hollow spheres without a trace of an opening. He is also proud of his scheme for rolling out huge sheets of imitation plate glass that's almost perfectly clear. It's puite edible.
 Only thing about it is that il must be used within three days Oi manufacture. After that it begins to crystalline, and the glass looks frosted. Also it turns yellow, and will not photograph properly.
 When 8 director finds that his script calls for fruits which are out of season, he sends a hurry call tc Chalmers. The latter makes the fruit out of candy, and the standard price is $82 pound.
 Also produces the neckties, razor blades, tacks, matches, candles straw hats and other odd articles whcih people eat in pictures.
 Once he created an entire
 flower garden in candy for War
 ner Brothers SO that 8 goofy
 actor could wander around
 munching on geraniums and
 nasturtiums.
 Frequently he's called in by the movies miniature experts for tiny reproductions of things used in special effects photography. One of his best scenic efforts was the candy creation of an ice-choked river. Locker absolutely realistic. .. Mostly as a matter of pride chalmers also turns out some fancy eating candy. Of course there's mol much money in that kind, but he likes to humor his friends, the stars