Evening star., 1939-07-30
Misfortune
Brennan's
Fortune
Store Teeth Have
Helped Walter
To Film Fame
By Harold Hefernan.
HOLLYWOOD,

HOLLYWOOD.
This Is the story of plucky man
who made misfortune pay dividends.
Five years ago he was nobody
in Hollywood's scheme of personality
rating.
Today he's the most sought-after
actor in pictures. In 1886 CCome
and Get It") and again in 1888
("Kentucky') he was cited by the
industry for outstanding screen per-
formanceS.
"They Shall Have Music" eight
studios pleaded for his services.
We've got to have him." the cast
ing directors chorused. "We can't
get along without him."
They weren't talking about Gary
Cooper, Joel McCrea, Robert Taylor,
Enrol Flynn or Tyrone Power.
They were asking for a bean-pole
of a man with store teeth and very
little hair-a man without an ounce
or GLAMOUR man named Walter
Brennan.
Brennan hasn't been in demand
very long. There was time few
years back when nobody wanted
him. Then Samuel Goldwyn gave
him a break in wedding Night"
followed it up with another in Bar
barry Coast" and the Brennan stock
scared sky-high.
The shrewd Goldwyn's investment
in Brennan has paid itself off many
times over. The character has be-
come the most frequently lent player
in town. No matter how much
Goldwyn pays him each week, the
chances are about 20 to l that Sam
makes a couple of hundred per cent
on every one of these loan-out ar
rangements. This summer he is on
Montana locations for the role of
Hunk Mariner in M. G. MS North
west Passage"
The misfortune on which Bren-
nan capitalized came as a result OF
being gassed in the World War. He
lost all his teeth and began wearing
plates.
When he first came to Hollywood
he kept quiet about his bridge
work because he was relatively
young man-in his early 20s. One
day while he was being interviewed
for a bit role the casting director
heard an odd clatter and asked
Brennan to take his teeth out.
Brennan did-and he's been capi-
talizing on his teeth-or lack of
them-ever since. That lack is the
basis of his greatest characteriza-
ton. When he plays characters
like Old Atrocity in "Barbary Coast"
he goes toothless His speech
changes and his face takes on an
Did and sunken appearance.
He has played a great variety
of snaggle-toothed characters and
for these he must have special sets
of dentures made. Brennan is the
only player in Hollywood who gets
all his dental work done at the
expense of the studio. If he hasn't
set of false molars in his kit
to suit the part, down he goes to
his favorite dentist for new i'm
pressions-and the studio gets the
bill. For his role in Stanley and
Livingstone" he had a set of badly
battered teeth made. A couple were
missing in front and the rest out
of kilter.
Of screen Brennan isn't exactly
an ugly duckling. But you wouldn' t
call him handsome. He's tall-6
feet and l inch-and very thin.
What's left of his hair is sandy.
Certainly he's no collar-ad man.
Seeing him for the first time you're
unimpressed. You wouldn't guess
that he has a couple of Oscars
those gold statuettes awarded each
year by the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences-on his
mantel.
Brennan has been an actor for a
long, long time-but never a sue
cessful one until he lost his teeth
Born in Swampscott, Mass, he was
educated at Ridge Tech, in Cam
bridge, being graduated in 1915.
Then he went into small time mu-
sical comedy and vaudeville. From
the first, despite his youth, he spe-
cialized in old man parts.
During the war, he served with
the 26th Division and when he
wasn't fighting he was putting or
regimental shows. But, returning
to America, he decided to give ur
the stage. heard that money was
being made in pineapple-growing in
Guatemala and went down there
In four years he had made enough
money to retire and came to Los
Angeles. There was a real estate
boom going on and he got in the
(See HEFFERNAN, Page F-2)