Not All Fun

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 358, 19 May 1928, Page 23

Not All Fun

To be Son of A Famous Father

■nOUGLAS FAIRBANKS, JUN., recently spoke seriously of the advantages and disadvantages of being the son of a famous man. It is the ambition of Junior to carve out a career for himself.

■ “I was a kid of 15 in Paris, where ‘ mother and I had gone because we could live more cheaply, and where I i was pursuing my studies and art work, when Jesse Lasky made me a good offer, financially speaking, to make a picture. “It advertised me as Douglas Fair- , banks, Jun. The idea of having such an experience appealed to me enormously, as well as the money, and I made ‘Stephen Steps Out/ “When that picture was done I hated myself for allowing my father’s name to be capitalised. By mutual consent my contract was dissolved and I returned to Paris, my studies, and sculpture. I did not like to think that I was not winning my spurs. “Then in 1924 I came back to Hollywood as a member of the Lasky stock company and played bits and small parts for some time. I was anxious to build my career as an actor slowly and painstakingly. I don’t want to be a young blond leading man with an aquiline nose and sfcinv white teeth. Free Lancing “Since then I have free-lanced. Everything I can find to help me with my acting I have sought greedily. I have studied with men such as Frank Reicher, George Marion and Jack Barrymore. Books by Sir Henry Irving and others have been text books to me. “I have tried the legitimate stage, trying to break away from being ‘Junior’ all the time. In ‘Young Woodley/ and again in ‘Saturday’s Children/ I have had highly emotional parts, hoping to gain some recognition for myself as other than a son. It’s pretty hard.” Young Fairbanks has the seriousness of youth in a marked degree. He isn't sure that his life work will be acting, as he leans also toward writing and art work. He is shortly to ! publish a volume of verse, which he {is illustrating.