HORSE IN HOTEL

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20923, 30 September 1939, Page 17 (Supplement)

HORSE IN HOTEL

GENE AUTREY IN LONDON 3 POPULAR WITH THE CROWDS 1 2 Gene Autrey rode his horse in the - baLroom of the Savoy Hotel, London, during a recent visit to London ; on a singing and personal appearance tour. Not since Tom Mix rode his horse in the Savoy has a star visiting England been as lavishly and enthusias- ■ tically received by his employers. I And this is the more notable be- ' cause Autry, hero of the world’s ; children and favourite in the “small ■ halls,” is all but unknown to Londoners and, smart city filmgoers. , The whole affair was a sharp les- - son to some who are apt to assess , popularity by what the West End likes. It was a smack in the eye for screen sophistication. The reception was a publicity [. jnan’s dream. ' Watched by Crowds 1 Crowds gathered off the Embankment to watch Autry unload his magnificent horses from their luxury • travelling stable. i Crowds gathered afterwards, off [ the Strand, to see him photographed ; on his horse, Champion, outside the : hotel, surrounded by admiring pages. Inside the ballroom, Gene put Champion through his paces across the very expensive carpet, coaxed him to eat sugar off ,a table for the . photographers. The two little sons of a well-known film critic were given a big thrill by being snapped on the horse, being shown their hero’s gun by their hero himself. During an interval between ques--1 ! tioning, Gene demonstrated with his ■ six-shooter the art of “fanning.” Nothing Too Much Trouble Nothing was too much trouble for him. He posed quietly for the wildest pictures photographers could devise, answered the silliest questions with patient politeness. He proved a much nicer person than you’d expect a singing cowboy to be. He is genuinely modest, talks easily and interestingly with a pleasant Western accent. His most vehement express.ion is “doggone.” Much more slightly built than you would imagine from his films, he is ; wiry and quick in his movements. i Obviously he worships his horses and I treats them like children. j Wouldn’t Have as Much Fun j He always wears cowboy clothes, : because the youngsters expect it. He doesn’t smoke—again because of the kids. He talked to the two or three children present as equals. Most significant and revealing remark he made was; “No, I wouldn’t want to do anything else. I might make more money doing more ambitious films, but I wouldn't have as much fun.” Warners announce that they are to j make an American “Zola” in their j film “Forgotten Eagle,” the story of I John Peter Attgeld. a nineteenth- i century Governor of Illinois. ]