The Washington times., 1937-01-23
Stars Like to
Play Jokes
And Rib

HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 23.-Firmly
bound together by the belief that
all Is too quiet and serene In Hol-
lywood, that peace should not ex.
iSt, Is moviedom'S band Of prac.
tical jokers. This corps Of prank
sters digs the pitfalls into which
plunge the royal families Of film
dom, who learn in their first week
In studios that they must watch
their steps.
Ingenuity of, these gag men
takes all forms. Leon Enrol likes
to play waiter and spill soup on
his friends; Vince Barnett adoreS
picking fights. william WellmRn
carries off chairs when people are
about to sit down, and Carole Lon-
bard deviSes unusual gifts, such as
the rattle-trap auto she gave Clark
Gable.
So plausible are some Of Holly.
woods famous ribs" that even the
most wary fall. LAlise Rainer
hunted induStriously in the wheat
fields Of ''The Good Earth" loca-
ton for the nest Of a sand bird.
which fowl, she was assured by the
property man, backed up by Paul
NUM-, made its home in Southern
California only, and laid pink. ocs
tagon shaped eggs in the sand.
After q few minutes, suspicion
changed to certainty and she gave
I'D the hunt amid the laughter
Of the company.
The prank Jack MacDermott.
writer, played on patrictan Flor
ence Vidor is Hollywood history.
He sent her a large boXlike affair.
When a coin was placed into it
whistles blew, bells rang, there was
an explosion, lights flashed, and
then . lone piece Of gum came
forth.
Carole Lombard, who gave Clark
Gable his Valentine Day auto, q
decrepit, multicolored flivver, Is
still paying off" on a trained
bear. It was used some time ago
in q picture in which Norman
Taurog directed her. She bought
the seven-foot animal and sent it
to Taurog's home as a gift. Taurog
sent 1t to a zoo, with instructions
to send the board bill to Carole,
which has been faithfully done
ever since. .>*
During the making Of "San Fran
cisco" on location at Sunland, d.
rector W. S. Van Dyke told
jeanette Macdonald the weather
grew so hot the squirrels tainted
and dropped from the trees. She
laughed at him, but the laugh
turned to concern short time
later when squirrels began drop.
ping. The property man had
climbed the tree to drop prop
shop" stuffed squirrels.
The running gag every Christ
mas, when w. s. Van Dyke and
John MILAN exchange gifts rang
ing from battered flivvers to
packs of mutt dogs, gives Holly
wood an annual laugh.
Nat Pendleton assured Ted
Healy his tame gopher snake was
made of rubber and Healy picked
it up. Healy's still thinking Of q
way to get even. Jimmy Durante
was placed in medieval costume
for an added sequence" and told
to wait at Hollywood Boulevard
and Cahuenga for a studio car
to pick him up for location. After
being stared at half an hour
Jimmy realized that he was
hoaxed-and mortified"
Chester Morris almost had
British Frank Lawton ready to
go on a "snipe hunt wherein
the victim holds sack and lantern.
while the jokesters, pretending to
leave to beat up the snipe, vanish.
wait" remarked Lawton. II
heard somebody telling about
spoofing a fellow about a badger
one is supposed to pull out Of
hole on a rope or something like
that!" The snipe hunt was off.
Hollywood's jokes don't work.
always. But when the fall guys
do fall, they usually do fall hard.