Stephenville Empire-Tribune (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 58, No. 41, Ed. 1 Friday, October 3, 1930 Page: 4 of 12
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THE STEPHENVILLE
TEXAS
FRIDAY,
Likes and
of Lon Chaney Are]Toldu
in Biographical Sketch
(Quoted from
Harry T, Bfun- did his own driving, and did not
didge’e Book on Film .-Stars) m h
Back in 1869 a little boy, who
lived in Colorado Springs, Colo.,
learned to talk with his fingers.
His deafmute mother was ill, and
he had to be near her bedside to
attend her wants. He learned to
cheer the invalid with his talk in
the sign language. Then by bits
of pantomime he enacted and made
graphic the stories told her. The
father of this little boy also was
deaf and mute, but the children of
the union were all possessed of
UwtReuttJes of speech and hear-
ing.
. SSiVS&SS Ess
the carpet laying and paper hang-
.... aper
ing trades and later became a
stagehand in a theater, a dancing
comedian, a member of a vaude-
ville troupe, a cowboy, “extra" in
the movies, a director and finally
the greatest character actor of the
screen.
His name was Lon Chaney.
Greatest of All
Chaney, enigma of the screen,
who defied all rules and preee-
employ a chauffeur.
Was worth about 82,000,000.
Had many pet charities, mostly
among the stage hands and un-
successful players, but refuse<T to
talk about these charities.
Wore a cap and dark glasses
on the street, and, because few
persons knew what he really look-
ed like, was never bothered by
sightseers.
A Grandfather
Had a married son, and recently
a tpi'urwlfui hon
a^
Had been made an honorary
member of the police department
dents of the picture making,
reigned as the greatest box office
. attraction in the industry and was
also an enigma in real life.
He was called the star who liv-
ed like a clerk and this was true.
He probably was the worst-dress-
ed man in pictures.l , He never
went to Hollywood parties, nor
to the great picture “openings” at
•the big Hollywood theaters, where
thfe mob went to pay him tribute
in his films. Chaney remained at
home with his wife on such occa-
sions. * \ '
Here are a few outstanding
things o f interest about this
strange man:
He hated interviews.
. Owned thnifc automobiles, but
JACK MOSS
ABSTRACT CO.
PROMPT SERVICE
REASONABLE CHARGES
Stephenville State Bank
Building
Was aft" authority on penology.
Liked mechanical or mathemat-
ical puzzles.
Was a gifted musician and or-
chestra leader.
• Author of the preface of Cecil
Holland’s textbook of screen make-
up and author of the chapter on
this subject in the Encyclopedia
Britannica.
As a boy Lon Chaney attended
school in Colorado Springs earn-
ed vacation jponey by driving a
milk wagon, played football and,
in fact, pursued most of the activ-
ities of the average youngster.
His ability to “talk with his hands”
was the only thing that made him
different from his fellows.
Chaney, resting between scenes
on a set at the Metro-Goldwyn-
Mayer studio, where he was mak-
ing “East is East,” with Lupe
Velez, the Mevican Madcap; as his
leading woman, turned his dark
piercing eyes upon the writer and
grinned. He disliked to be inter-
viewed and cared not a hoot for
publicity. The writer had pur-
sued him and kept on his trail in-
cessantly, and so finally the story
was extracted from him.
Was Not Unhappy
“It isn’t true that I had an un-
pleasant childhood,” he aaid. “I
was a pretty good football play-
er and played a fair game of base-
ball. I had a lot of friends, too.
For some reason people want to
sympathize with me, having got-
ten the idea that I was an un-
happy kid. That’s the bunk. I
don’t think any childhood is real-
ly unhappy, for youth has bound-
less optimism and an infinite
capacity for achieving happiness
under any and all circumstances.
“It’s the same way today. A
lot. of fools seem to assume that
I am lonely because I don’t go to
parties in Hollywbod, because I
don’t show up at openings, and
make personal appearances, and
perhaps, Because the roles I play
seem a little out of the scope of
other actors. But that’s bunk,
too. My wife and I have a very
v,
STEPHENVILLE
CONTINUOUS FLOW DRY CLEANING
and PRESSING
“ON SCHEDULE TIME”
Tiro Complete Cleanings Every -Day—10 a. m.—2 p. m.
PHONE US ANY DAY—441—8TEPHENVILE, TEXAS
naan retail mxrchantb association
close circles of friends, end we
have great times. Just because
I would rather peck my kit and
duck into the mountains and fish
or hunt than attend one of the
grand movie openings is no sign
that I*m a morose sort of cuss.
I’m not.” i
“Fishing is your fsvorite rec-
reation?”
"Absolutely, iv been fishing
for trout ever since I was s kid,
when I got a job guiding tour-
ists up Pike’s Peak. There were
some great streams up there, and
I learned to regard a mountain
trout as the greatest adversary
for a fisherman’s skill in waters
anywhere. I've never cottoned to
this deep sea fishing they .rave
about out here. Give me a moun-
tain stream and trout.”
Pike’s Peak Guide
“What about those days as a
Pike’s Peak guide?”
"They were very happy. Our
family wasn’t rich—not by a lot
of money, and we kids all pitched
in and tried to help. I got a job
guiding the tourists.
“I tnink m
y experiences in the
id as a paper hanger
mountains, an
helped me a lot in my stage and
picture career."
“Paper hanging?”
Yep, and if I ever get . to the
point where I can’t work in pic-
tures any more, ahd lose my mon-
ey, I can go back to that—it’s
one trade I really know. I can
hang paper and lay carpets as
well as any man. I learned the
trade in Denver. Say, the old
Antler’s Hotel in Colorado Springs
is one of my jobs and there still
is paper on those walls that I
hung.
“‘It was like this,” continued
Chaney, after Lupe Velez had
been chnsed from the immediate
vicinty. “I had gone to work for
nay brother, John, in the theater
at Colorado Springs, helping with
the props. I was just a youngster
and took this because it was the
first job offered. Then I began
to get interested in the show bus-
iness. I would watch from the
wings as some well known actor
played his role and I’d try to an-,
alyze his performance.
“But I was in the show busi-
ness for keeps and got a job with
a repertoire company that was
traveling toward Chicago. I was
the transporation agent, dancing
comedian, and helped with scenery
and eventually was made stage
manager, which in a traveling
show of that kind is a sort of
glorified property boy. Look (Lon
exhibited a card), I still carry my
card in the Btage employees’ un-
ion. I’m a life member, and proud
of it.”
The
Judge John Barton Payne, leaving
ic White House after discussing the
drought situation with the President
Judge Payne will, administer Red
Cross relief to sufferers.
___ _ _ ♦
---- responsibility. of. his job
led Chaney to start studying pro-
duction. He learned to design
scenery, coach ballets and work
out dozens of new steps and danc-
es 1yv choruses. Finally, with
vaudeville troupe he traveled West
and in San Francisco joined up
■ -..........-..............-
;
-
Now Is the Time to
Build Your Home
We want to call attention to an article which ap-
peared lately in one of our financial reviews:
“Savings bank heads say that right now
is a more favorable time to build a home
than we have had since the war. Building
materials are down, labor is plentiful,
mortgage money is cheap. Those who are
secure in their employment can probably
build homes now on more favorable terms
than 'they will be able to a year from
now.
The same authorities say that a man can afford to
tie up aa much as two years’ salary or income in a
home, provided he can get the payments spread out
over a long period of time, 6r from eight to ten
years.
We will be glad indeed to discuss this
with anyone who is interested in
builcling a home in Stephenville.
Money is easy to obtain on StephenvlHe residencTs,
and now is the time to build.
Clay Lumber Co.
with Kolb and Dill, a pair of Ger-
man comedians. Here one of his
closest friendships was formed.
He Met His Wife
“I became a great friend of
Clinton Lyle, the leading man,”
continued Chaney. “There were
two girls in the company and
became very friendly with one,
Lyle with the other. Today one
of ’em is Mrs. Chaney and the
other is Mrs. Lyle. And recently
Lyle left the stage to come into
pictures, so we are all united
again.
This was about 1912. Pictures
were something new. Chaney was
interested enough to find extra
work, playing cowboys and Indi-
ans and. other roles. Then he
played heavies for a time, and
eventually got screen credit as the
villain in “Hell Morgan’s Girl.”
“About this time,” continued
Chaney, “they decided at Universal
City that, because I had been a
stage director I ought to make a
good film director and they put
me to work directing Jack Kerri-
gan in some of his Western pic-
tures.
“Directing was easy eonugh but
I failed to see anything of great
promise in it. In fact, I’d begun
to figure out this picture racket
to see where I could click best in
it. My wife and I argued it over
a number of times.* I was no
longer a young man. Leading men
only last a few years, anyway.
Screen heavies, too, go out of
fashion.
Works Out His Future
“The big thing in pictures, I de-
cided, was character work—differ-
ent disguises, weird roles. It
doesn’t make any difference how
old • man gets when playing
these. I began to figure out tricks
of makeup I’d seen in the theatre.
Then George Loane Tucker offered
me a chance to play the ‘Frog’ in
that great picture, ‘The Miracle
Man,’ and of course I accepted.
“I sat down and figured out
that character, got my own idea,
and worked out a method of put-
ting it across. It worked. The ?
picture made everyone in it, in- 1
eluding Thomas Meighan, Betty
Compson and my self. Since then
I have always sat down and fig-
ured out every role in detail re-
membering how certain people
looked, worked up a composite of
them, experimenting on make-up
that would be different from the
conventional. It doesn’t pay to
slap on any old make-up as if it
were just another job. I guess
that’s the reason I’m still in pic-
tures.
“I don’t pose for straight pic-
d a
tures. When you and I had a
photograph made together, for in
When
»P
—lltu TOW .
cloth—but you can still tell It’s
me, can’t you?
Often Self Conscious
“I think that as long as the
public don’t know what I actual-
ly look like in every day garb
it’s good showmanship, because it
keeps ’em curious. And too, I
can walk down the street without
having curious people pointing to
me. I hate that and so does ev-
ery picture star. I get self-con-
scious when I'm stared at”
A
Lu H°V 1° f°U Uke wor*ing with
“She’s behaving herself.”
“Does she show up on time, or
is she late?”
“Say, I’m not temperamental
and I wont tolerate temperament
in other people. I’m .always on
time; if the leading woman isn’t
on the set I just walk off and take
off my make-up. Lupe and I are
getting along all right; she’s a
great little actress.”
“What are all those marks on
your face?”
“Artificial scars. In this picture
I play an animal trainer, engaged
in trapping animals in the jungles.
The scars are supposed to be claw
marks. I put them on with chem-
icals and you can believe me they
are painful, for the stuff I use
takes the skin off completely.”
“What kind of roles do you want
now?”
“Anything that has the human
element, and which can be made
convincing,”
Chaney defied his pet aversion
as “people who didn’t care to rec-
ognize me when I didn’t have a
dime—who ignored or high-hatted
me, and who want ’ to chase me
now that I am a star.”
He had built five houses in the
last few years and sold all of
them at a profit. He lived in
duplex which he owned.
Just what did Chaney look like
off the stage? It’s a hard questioit
to answer. He was homely and
poorly dressed. He did not care
wheth«
LOCAL GIRL 1
PLAY
Nellie Hill la
Neighborhood
Playwright 1
Production
Little Mias Nellie Hill of this
city deserves a real nice write-up
in her local paper for her recent
achievement in writing two plays
which were presented recently !>;
a cast composed of children of
her neighborhood. The stage was
the back porch at the home of her
P
mother, Mrs. J. D. Peveyhouse on
North Paddock street. Lanterns
were used to light the stage and
the audience sat about in chairs
placed in the backyard. The au-
dience numbered 82 people from
nine different families, the most
of whom were friends of the young
author. Two plays, “The Big
>*
News” and “Toby’s Misfortune/
were presented by the cast com-
posed of Sebern Eads, Lucille Mo-
ser, Mike Beard, Charles Hill, Tu-
dor Cobb, Gordon Hill, Thelma
Moser, George Brooks and the au-
uior, v
or, who also played an excellent
part in the presentations.
CONGRESSMAN BREAKS LEG
Frits Lanham Injured While Fish-
ing Near Milsap
Congressman Fritz Lanham hap-
pened to an accident Wednesday
while fishing near Milsap which
resulted in one bone in his right
leg being broken. He was with
*8.
R. W. Fender, banker of Fort
Worth at (jhe time, and it is said
that he stepped into a hole and
was thrown off his balance, the
result being a fractured bone. He
was taken at once to Fort Worth
and given surgical treatment at
a hospital, the injured limb being
set in a plaster of Paris cast.
Mr. Lannam’s friends here heard
with regret of the accident and
trust that he will soon recover.—
Weatherford Democrat.
Day Phone 81
B.LTREWOT&MR&B.LTREWOT
FUNERAL DIRECTORS AND EMBALMER8
Show Rooms and Undertaking Parlors at H. B. Hardin lumber
Company
Free Use of Our Large Chapel and
Waiting Rooms
MILLS START FEEDING
Dublin Company Ship8 in 600 head
of Sheep to Fatten
Dublin Mills Inc. again resumed
feeding operations early this week
when
lambs, were
Greenwood
head were fed out by. the mill last
year and the feeding operations
were bo successful that it is ex-
acted u much larger number will
•rations early uus weea w. r. dcujicw., iuh
head of sheej), mostly |henriUe^but now^oi
*of* Def Bio. Some 4000 son* and daughter-in-
mwbm—i■■■■
be fed for market this winter, in
fact, A. P. Ward, owner of the
plant, is in communication with a
number of large fanchmen and ex-
pects to close contracts that will
fr
nsure the feeding h^re of 26,000
head or more.
Yforkmen started Tuesday on
the erection of a feeding shed 12
feet deep and 600 feet long on
the Tom Hughes place just east
of town where the feeding opera-
tions are carried on, and this new
addition together with ample feed-
ing and housing arrangements
which the Mill already has on the
place will care for a large number
of sheep.
The ieed ration on which the
sheep are fattened is made with
tr
anut hay as a base and the Mill
a large consumer of the hay
which is raised in this section in
addition to all other feed crops
Dublin Progress.
W. F. Bennett, formerly of Ste-
but now of Mason, was
vtate^iitb his
I daughter-in-law, Mr. and
Mrs. Allen Bennett. He remained
until Wednesday and while here
was also a guest in the home of
his sister, Mrs. W. J. Bellomy.
Lynch
Shoe Shop
Better Work.—Where the
Price Is Right.
ALL WORK GUARANTEED
270 W. Washington
er his shoes were shined or
his trousers creased. His . hair
was dark and his face rather deep-
ly lined. He looked like an ath-
letic shipping clerk
“Do you know what the exec-
utives .here at MGM wanted to do
for me?” he asked the Writer as
he registered extreme disgust.
“No, what?”
“They wanted to give me a val-
et. Good night!”
Wife, Gas, Scare Man
In Dead of Night
“Overcome by stomach gas in the
dead of night, I scared my husband
badly. He got Adlerika and it ended
the gas.”—Mrs. M. Owen.
Adelika relieves stomach gas in
TEN minutes! Acts on BOTH upper
and lower bowel, removing old poi-
sonous waste you never knew was
there. Don’t fool with medicine
but let Adlerika give stomach and
which cleans only PART of bowels,
bowels a REAL cleaning and get
rid of all gas—Service Drugstore.
KONJOLA DID
'MORE FOR ME
THAN ALL ELSE
New Medicine Proves Real Boon
to San Antonio Housewife—
Earns Eager Praise
%
f
MRS. T. G. MOORE
Three years ago I began hav-
ing trouble with my liver,” said
Mrs. T. G. Moore, 314 Mission
streej, San Antonio. “I was slug-
ish, my complexion was bad and
had dark blotches on my face.
I was troubled with constipation
and forced to use laxatives and
purges almost daily. These con-
ditions made me very nervous and
I did not sleep well. I felt thor-
oughly down and out.
“My husband and I decided to
five Konjola a trial. After try-
ng this medicine out for a few
days-4 found it different than any-
thing I had ever tried before.
Now, after taking Konjola for
month, I am feeling better than
I have for a long time and am
more than pleased with the re-
sults it has brought. It has done
more for. me than all else 1 tried rr.
and I am glad to endorse it.”
Although Konjola does work
quickly, it is best to take this
medicine over a six to eight week
period in the average case. Its
record has made Konjola a house-
hold word in thousands upon thou-
sands of American homes.
Konjola is sold in Stephenville
at Perry Broe. Drug Store, and
by all the best druggists in all
towns throughout this entire sec-
tion.
Every Little Cell In
Your System Says Thanks
For Nourishment
You’ve seen "flowers in the rain, lift up their heads again**.
[Well! that’s how it is with hungry little cells when you
answer their cry for food. At first the call is a whisper;
you’re just a little restless, or languid and tired. This happens
at mid-meal hours; around 10-2 & 4 o’clock. Go then. Don’t
;wait. Drink a bite to eat and see how much better you’ll feel.
A little nourishment at such a time tides you over ’til another
meal; puts an edge on your brain and body; picks you up,
and puts you "on your toes.” Try it... at regular hours...
for just one week. No kidding! It works. Not a thing in it
<can harm you. It’s one good habit to get. Ic won’t get you.
MUKr rood for life)
AT IO-2 64 O'CLOCK
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Stephenville Empire-Tribune (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 58, No. 41, Ed. 1 Friday, October 3, 1930, newspaper, October 3, 1930; Stephenville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1120893/m1/4/?q=music: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dublin Public Library.