Lucky Moments

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 862, 4 January 1930, Page 21

Lucky Moments

CHANCE INCIDENTS THAT LED PLAYERS TO FAME IN HOLLYWOOD

INTRODUCTION IN A LIFT Many are the roads that lead to Hollywood. Luck plays its part, by no means a small one, in opening the studio gates to newcomers, according to the reminiscences of the stars. Colleen Moore was riding in a lift with her uncle, a newspaper editor, when the latter casually introduced her to D. W. Griffith. Richard Barthelmess was about to depart on a long sea cruise when Nazimova invited him to play a part in “War Brides.” Charlie Chaplin was playing in a vaudeville skit at £ 8 a week when Mack Sennett persuaded him to take a chance. Billie Dove was posing for magazine covers when she attracted the attention of a producer.

Alice Joyce was posing for the slides used to illustrate songs v/hen a cameraman told his director he knew just the girl for a certain role.

Rex Ingram met Jack Mulhall on the street one hot day in New York when the latter was wondering what to do next, and asked him why he didn’t try pictures during the summer lull. Jack did, and has been there ever since.

A publicity man who wanted to write a story about an extra picked out Irene Rich who was playing a maid and who answered quickly when the director called for a volunteer. A month later she was leading woman for Dustin Farnum.