Evening star., 1960-07-03

GENE FOWLER
-AP wirephoto
it. They're too interesting.
| They must be in Heaven.
God would want to have them
there. Why entertain the
devil?"
Mr.. Fowler's many friends
included celebrities who filled
the pages of his books: Barry
more CGood Night, Sweet
Prince~, w. c. Fields C"Min-
utes of the Last Meeting"O,
New York's Jimmy Walker
cBeau James, and Jimmy
Durante c"Schnozzolaw.
Like many another success
full writer, Mr.. Fowler always
held the romantic notion that
he was first and foremost a
newSpaperman. He made his
fame and fortune in other
fields, but the reporters blood
courSed through his veins. He
enjoyed prowling with police
patrol cars around Los Angeles
streets. And though he could
make much more money in the
movie studios, he took time out
to write biographies of friends
and those who interested him.
Mr.. Fowler was born, to use
his own words, ION the west
bank of Mullins Ditch" in Den
yer, on March 8, 1890. His
father, Charles Francis Devlan.
and his mother had separated
two months before the event.
After divorce, Genes mother
married Frank Fowler, who
adopted the boy and provided
a new name.
His mother died when he was
13 and his grandmother, strict
woman, continued his upbring-
ing. One day, he took the inter-
urban car from Denver to
Boulder where he intended to
study medicine at the Univer-
sity of Colorado. En- route to
the campus, he met a journal
ism professor who interested
him in a newspaper career, be-
cause that's the business
where you'll see life firsthand. "
After a year of college, Mr..
Fowler left for a cub reporters
job on the Denver Republican
at $6 per week. That paper
closed one night two years later
His next job was with The
Rocky Mountain News. He later
served for four years on the
Denver Post, then guided by
Harry H. Tammen and Fred
erick G. Bonf1ls, whose vigor-
Gus lives he recounted in Tim
berline."
LOnged for New York
Although he enjoyed his Den
yer acquaintances, who in
cluded Paul Whiteman, Jack
Dempsey and Buffalo Bill Cody.
the young newspaperman
longed for New York and took
advantage of the offer of a
free ride for accompanying a
coffin. But he recalled that he
met some revelling friends in
Chicago and didn't reach his
goal on that trip.
Finally landing in New York
in 1918, his first job was on
The New York American and
ne quickly made friends amone
his colleagues, who admired his
Rocky Mountain vigor. Said
Ring Lardner: Fowler is the
last of the bison."
He became sports editor of
The New York Daily Mirror in
1924 and managing editor of
The New York American in
1925.
Mr.. Fowler held such other
positions as editor of the New
York Morning Telegraph, press
agent for Queen Marie of Ro-
mania and manager of fighters
and wrestlers.
After he became editor of
the Morning Telegraph in 1928
he began Turing reporters away
from rivals by salary increases
of 5000 a week. Then his pub
Usher discovered that his pay
roll reSembled the governments
and Mr.. Fowler ceased being
editor.
! Went to Hollywood in 1881
In 1880 he began writing for
| himself and produced a faintlv
autobiographical novel, "Trum-
pet in the Dust" In 1881 he
moved to Hollywood, where he
worked on many screen plays,
including, What Price Holly
wood" States Attorney" "Un-
ion Depot" The Mighty Bar
num-" Call of the Wild"
Jesse James" and Earl of
Chicago"
But he never allowed Holly
wood gold to swerve him from
his literary efforts which often
proved a costly luxury. He esti-
mated that his favorite novel,
Illusion in Java" cost me 18
months of work, $25,O00 in
travel expenses and contracts
for 100000 worth of movie
work that I turned down. 1t
brought me in the equivalent
of two weeks salary-$4,000." :"
His Other Works
Among his other works were
the biographies, The Great
Mouthpiece," about lawyer Will
liam Fallon and Father