PERSONALITIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 August 1938, Page 5

PERSONALITIES

JOE E. BROWN, wise-cracking comedian with the world’s most expansive smile, who played the star role in David L. Loew’s hilarious screenplay, “Fit For A King,” was born in Holgate, Ohio, the seventh child in the family. His first childish ambition was to become a circus performer, and he accomplished it at the age of nine, becoming the youngest member of the Five Marvellous Ashtons, a troupe of aerial acrobats featured with Ringling Bros. Five years later the troupe was playing a theatre engagement in San Francisco, becoming victims of the great earthquake and fire on April 18, 1906. The troupe was disbanded, and Brown joined another acrobatic act. After two years he took up professional baseball. He afterwards appeared in vaudeville for four tyears, and eventually became featured comedian in musical comedies. He played in "Listen, Lester,” “Jim Jam Jems,” "Greenwich Village Follies”’ “Captain Jinks,” and "Twinkle, Twinkle.”- Later the play took him to Los Angeles in 1928, and he made his screen debut in “Crooks Can’t Win.” He still considers this his worst film venture, due to inexperience in the new medium. Brown is Hollywood’s greatest sports enthusiast and actively supports every branch of j athletics. He is the adopted father of ' the U.C.L.A. football' team, and is the I

most inveterate ringsider in the film capital and is called on for more “bows” than any other four stars and he always obliges with his famous smile. Family- consists of Mrs Brown, two strapping sons and two young daughters. Appropriately, his favourite colour is brown. Has brown hair and blue eyes, likes travel and though he is always the comedian, lie takes his work seriously., HELEN MACK. . beautiful young screen actress, who is playing the feminine lead in RKO Radio’s “Fit For A King,” claims thirteen as her lucky number. She was born in Rock Island. Illinois, on November 13, 1913. Her desire to be an actress was realised in training at the Children’s Professional School. Her first appearance was with Gloria Swanson in “Zaza,” when she was seven. The next ten years were spent in school and in a few plays and short pictures. By this time she had graduated from child roles and stepped into juvenile and character roles on the stage. She was busy with a character role in “Subway Express" when she was recalled to the screen by RKO Radio for a character part in “Sweepings,” in which she scored a hit and was then put into “Melody Cruise” as an ingenue. Mark Sandrich, RKO director, told her that a “good actress can play any part,” and since then Miss Mack has accepted all proffered parts and with amazing success. In the current RKO Radio poduction

she plays the feminine lead opposite Toe E. Brown. Her recent pictures include “I Promise to Pay,” “Milky Way,” “The Return of Peter Grimm’ □nd “She.” Miss Mack is five feet tall and weighs ninety-five 'pounds. She has large, dark brown eyes and dark brown hair, and is an ardent sports enthusiast, from the standpoint of a spectator.