LONGER SCREEN LIVES FOR HOLLYWOOD STARS

Southland Times, Issue 24163, 27 June 1940, Page 11

LONGER SCREEN LIVES FOR HOLLYWOOD STARS

Research Department Makes Interesting Discoveries

Actors and actresses who win fame in Hollywood these days can look forward to a longer “star life” than at any period in the history of the industry—if they are lucky. Interesting facts about the screen lives of stars are revealed in an official survey. Charles Spencer Chaplin, who takes such long rests between his comedies that some of the rising generation have difficulty in identifying him as a movie personality, is the player with the longest consecutive starring record in Hollywood. “The Dictator,” which Chaplin is now completing, marks 26 years of overtitle billing for the funny little man who hopes to make totalitarian nations and their leaders look ridiculous in his new comedy. i The shortest-lived star on Hollywood’s charts is Jane Bryan. Two

weeks after Miss Bryan was officially elevated to stardom by Warner Brothers she married and retired from the screen.

These and other “Star Life Expectancy” figures came to light recently when Paramount’s Research department completed a survey which will be used as background for a kaleidoscopic story tracing the development of the film industry from its earliest days. Screen stars today have a greater professional “life expectancy,” the statistics show, than at any time since the industry began. Eight years was the average duration of a star’s heyday before movies began to talk. Today the probable career expectancy of a player achieving top billing is estimated to be 10.7 years. And they say the average is still going up—an encouraging note for talented boys and girls who have been shunning Hollywood because of the unstable means of earning a livelihood in the film colony. Next to Chaplin in starring service is Harold Lloyd, who only recently announced his retirement from acting to become a producer. The antics of the bespectacled comedian were worth star billing over a period of 24 years.

The third place on the list goes to Ronald Colman, who is credited with 19 years of stardom. Among feminine players none can approach Joan Crawford’s record for sustained starring appearances. Now appearing in “Susan and God,” Miss Crawford is entering her 16th year as a star performer! She was elevated after a short apprenticeship at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio and “Sally, Irene and Mary” was the picture to turn the trick. Greta Garbo comes next to Joan Crawford. The former Swedish bar-ber-shop latherer, now recording her 14th year, recently displayed a flair for comedy in “Ninotchka,” and is still going strong. . Close to them is Norma Shearer, who entered movies before either, but did not acquire stardom until 1927. Other women stars of today—including Myrna Loy, who first broke into pictures in 1925, and Constance Bennett (1925) —are mere babes of Hollywood by comparison. Gary Cooper is another old-timer among the male stars. He first captured the spotlight in 1927, when he was co-starred with Clara Bow in “It.” Now, 13 years later, he is going stronger than ever, heading the imposing cast Cecil B. De Mille has gathered around him for' “Northwest Mounted Police.”

Many served long years in the ranks before the magic box-office wand waved over their heads. William Powell has been a star for only about 10 years, but a screen actor almost 19. His piquant team-mate, Miss Loy, has been getting top billing for only seven years. Warner Baxter, regarded as the first feature player to achieve stardom in the talkies, was a prominent screen figure for nine years before his elevation.

Pat O’Brien made his debut in the leading role of “The Front Page” 11 years ago and has been a star ever since.

Joan Bennett, her sister Constance, Claudette Colbert and Barbara Stanwyck have been stars about the same length of time.

TEN YEARS OF STARDOM Stars of a decade include Carole Lombard, Marlene Dietrich, Loretta Young (a Wampus “baby star” of 1929), Douglas Fairbanks, jun., and Ginger Rogers. Fairbanks starred in “Stephen Steps Out” when he was only 17, but that experience did not count because he obtained the part strictly on the strength of his father’s name. He quickly faded, and did not come back for several years. Paramount starred George Raft immediately after the hit he made in a supporting role of “Scai’face” eight years ago, and, incidentally, it was “Scarface” that put Paul Muni’s name well in the lights. Spencer Tracy and James Cagney won distinction about the same time.

Clark Gable had been in pictures two years before anybody took notice of him. “The Secret Six” gave him his first important opportunity, and immediately he was lifted to leading roles. But it cannot be said his name meant much at the box office until “It Happened One Night” was made six years ago. Bette Davis had been in films for four years, two of them in feminine leads, before the role of Mildred in “Of Human Bondage,” made her famous.