OVER THE WALL...

Radio Record, 13 May 1938, Page 13

OVER THE WALL...

Knowing the Best People Wont Get You Into Hollywood

7 woll was 25 feet high and armed policemen guarded it... lt was said that two tipsy sailors had scaled | | that wall eight times in ane year-but Doug. . : Snelling, New Zealand commercial artist, did — not feel like emulating them. Yet that wali surrounded a Hollywood film | studio, a goal which Doug. Snelling had come ' a long way to reach . This, among other things, is the story of | how he got inside.

A "Record" Interview by

GORDON

MIRAMS

I* you are setting out tu break into Hollywood, it isn’t sufficient to know someone who knows sonieone else who knows a film producer. That, at least, was the experience of Doug. Snelling, a young artist who once ran conimercial art studios in Wanganui and who was educated at Hamiiton High School. He recently returned from a seven months’ visit to the Modern Mecca, and you may have heard him talking from 2ZB about "Hollywood As It Really Is.’ He was given the chance to find out, for he sketched many of the most famous stars, and was

given a "build- jup"’ by the publicity departinents of the studios as a very famous New Zealand artist. But that is to anticipate. ROM New Zealand, Doug. Snelling sent some of his work to Walt Disney. He hud met an American wlio knew Disney’s niece, and shz suggested it. Disuey Was interested ; olfered him a job if he came to America. As it happened that job didn’t eventuute. Doug. Snelling is rather glad now that it didn’t. If it had, he probably would not have got the "lueky break"? whieh enabled him to erash the gates of Hollywood. He arrived in Canada, and was held up for three weeks before the Ameriean immigration authorities would let him eross the border. At last he was allowed into the Promised Land, leaving behind a bond of 506

dollars and an undertaking not to accept a permanent job. Exit hopes of Disney. They Shall Not Pass LN California, he made some influential acquaintances. He met Adolph Zukor, head of Paramount Pictures, and the scarcely less notable Jesse Lasky. But he gained nothing from these men except the pleasure

of meeting them. "Breaking into Hollywood is one of the toughest things in the world to do,’ says Doug. Snelling. Like many another aspirant for employment and fame in the studios, he circled the walls of his Jericho; but found that the only thing which will cause those walls to fall down is not a trumpet blast but the production of a pass signed and stamped by someone in authority. .For no special reason, Doug. Snelling chose the studios of RKO Radio, which are right in Hollywood itself, as his particular Jericho. He stepped into the reception office, and for 30 minutes he studied the procedure. He saw that every persoz without a pass who wanted to get inside was ruthlessly eross-examined by the reception clerk. If the applicant could not mention any special business, the clerk would say: "Sorry, the person you want is out." They (Contd. on page 38).

Over The Wall SECURING MAGIC PASS (Continued from page 18.)

paid her 25 dollars a week for saying that.) "Call again or make a written application" was the formula for dealing with visitors who persisted. If one really did have legitimate business inside the studio there was a form to be filled in and considered "in due course." From the reception room a locked steel door led into the interior of the studio. It could only be opened by the reception clerk pressing a button. When the door opened, a buzzer sounded to put the studio police on the alert. AFTER observing this procedure for 80 minutes, Doug Snelling realised that his chances of being passed by the clerk were remote enough to be considered non-existent. He tried elsewhere. He went to the office of RKO’s publicity director in Hollywood, Nick Ermolieff, Gaining an audience with Mr. Ermolieff was not easy, but at last he managed it. The visitor mentioned that he knew some RKO executives in New Zealand. "Oh, yes, let’s see now," said Mr. Ermolieff. "That would be So-and-So and So-and-So" (stringing off some fictitious names). Mr. Snelling intimated that he had never had the pleasure of meeting these gentlemen. "Of course not. I remember novw. They’re in India," said the wily Mr. Ermolieff. "But of course you know So-and-So?" No, he didn’t even know that So-and-So, replied the visitor. "What am I talking about?’ said Mr. Ermolieff. "Why, of course, he’s our man in China." Whereupon Mr. Snelling mentioned the names of several people who really did work for RKO in New Zealand. Mr. Ermolieff seemed satisfied. He intimated that he would like to se@ some of Mr. Snelling’s sketches. And then, says Mr, Snelling, yon could almost see somcining go click in Mr. Ermolieff’s brain as the Idea came into it. Almost in a flash it seemed he had a campaign worked out to build up Dong Snelling as a famous New Zealand artist and get him to do sketches of the stars fo1 publicity purposes. The first assignmenc was Jack Oakie. You can see a reprofuction of the result at the beginning of this article. "T suppose only one person in two 9r three million would have got the lucky chance I did," says Mr. Snelling. "And Vd bave been thrown out quick and lively if I hadn’t been able to sketch fairly well." AFTER that, the going was fairly easy. Mr. Snelling was able to secure the magic passes which enabled him to pass within the zealouslyguarded walls of the studios-not only those of RKO. He hitched his easel to the stars and sketched many famous people-including Paul Muni, Spencer Tracy, Joan Crawford, Errol Flynn, Myrna Loy, Clark Gable, and New Zealand’s own Ra Hould, now known as Ronnie Sinclair. He sold his sketches to the stars, and secured copyright over them for reproduction in magazines,

Even when you get inside a studio you can't just stroll about as you wish. A visitor has to be going somewhere to see Someone or do something specified and if they find him wandering off his course, they promptly put bim on it again. One might be inside the studio walls all day and not gee a single film star, or a single picture be ing made, says Mr, Snelling. This is the reason, he thinks, tor the widely-spread story.that film stars in real life look quite different from what they do on the screen. Visitors §0 to Hollywood expecting to find the place teeming with famous familiar faces, Actually, the inhabitants of Hollywood see very few stars, he says. Paramount RKO and Columbia are the only studios in Hollywood itselfthe others are miles away. Consquently, according to Mr. Snelling, the average visitor to Hollywood-disappointed in his star-hunting-makes up the story about the stars being different in real life and on the sereen-more or less in self-protection. EFORE he went to Hollywood, Mr Snelling had also heard many times the story about how hideous film players have to make themselves with maketp When acting before the cameras. This likewise, he says, is fallacious. Certainly the make-up is very thickly upplied, the idea being to fill up the pores of the skin in order to present a perfect surface. Except in colour films, the shade of make-up used doesn’t matter much. Usually it is a deep orange Actors before the cameras may look unpatural, bnt they don't look ghastly. ALTHOUGH there is plenty to write about, journalists in Hollywood have a hard time, says Mr. Snelling. To secure entry into the eiudios, 1 journalist must be the accredited representative of a paper, and the paper must be considered important enough fo have a representative, Corresponents must visit the studios a certain number of times each year; their tour3 must be conducted ; and they must prouee satisfactory results. There are only one or two correspondents reprasenting each country, and their work is syndicated. Mr. Snelling found thar it costs a lot of money to live properly in Holly-wood-at least £13 a week is needed, he says. But most wages are in proportion to the high cost of ling. Motor-cars are cheaper to buy, bnt much more expensive to run, because distances are s0 much greater. One hundred miles a day is considered nothing. Anything less than that and fou havn't been anywhere. It is quite the regular thing to go tu a show somewhere and then travel 20 miles just for supper. YW ULLE in Hollywood, Mr. Snelling met Deanna Durbin and ner parents and came to know them fairly well. He also met Herbert Marshalland discovered that the peculiar slant of his shoulders, which you may have noticed on the sereen. is due to his efforts to disguise his wooden leg. And he met the man who wag the voice of the Big Bad Wolf. He is a Cuban, much in demand for parties, Some day, in spite of the high cost of living, Douglas Snelling wanta to return to Hollywood and draw some more stars, But next time he hones that the walls ronnd the studios will he less of an obstacle,