The Gold Rush 1923 1925 1926 next previous
The Gold Rush Clippings 105/363
Ivan St. Johns, Photoplay, New York, September 1924.
Ivan (Ike) St. Johns, 1913, Looking For Mabel
& Charlie Chaplin, Lita Grey and crew members on the set
of „The Gold Rush“ on location, Motion Picture Stills,
University of California Los Angeles
„Oh, you promised me“
Editorial content. „Chaplin‘s New Find
A rare beauty who has blossomed from a skinny
youngster of a few years ago
By Ivan St. Johns“
Photo Lita Grey. „Born on the spot that in her eighteen
years of life has become the film capital of the Pacific coast,
Lita Grey, typical beauty of old California-Spanish
stock, has been selected by Charles Chaplin as his leading
lady. She is the second one he has ever had, Edna
Purviance having filled the role for seven years“
CHARLIE CHAPLIN has had but one leading woman since
he became a screen star. For seven years, whenever the world
saw Charlie upon the screen, it saw that lovely, dimpled
blonde opposite him – Edna Purviance.
The situation was a unique one in the world of Hollywood.
No other combination has ever lasted so long, endured
such periods of hard work and idleness and achieved such
heights together.
But when Charlie directed A Woman of Paris with Miss
Purviance as the star – everybody knew she would no longer
be his leading woman.
And the general question was: ,Who is going to be
Charlie‘s new leading lady? Who‘s going to get this prize in the
motion picture game?‘
Rumors flew here and there. First, it was a dark and
beautiful vampire, well known upon the screen, who
was mentioned. Then a blonde ingenue – formerly a star, but
somewhat in the background. Then, finally, a girl
unknown and unsung.
The last was right.
Charlie‘s new leading lady is Lita Grey. She has appeared
upon the screen but once – when she played a bit
in Chaplin‘s The Kid. And Chaplin not only says she‘s going
to knock ‘em cold with her rare beauty, but that she
has ,the spark.‘
Here‘s how it all happened – and every girl in the world
who dreams of some day becoming a screen star,
or who longs for screen laurels, will read the story of Lita
Grey‘s amazing luck with a lot of excitement.
Lita Grey was born and brought up in Hollywood.
Can you imagine that? She is absolutely the first screen
discovery who was actually born upon the spot
where later grew the capital of the film industry. More than
that, she must have been one of the very first babies
who ever saw daylight for the first time within the circle of
Hollywood‘s poetic hills. For eighteen years
ago, Hollywood was a couple of stores, a few streets
of California bungalows and a few fine old
Spanish estates.
It was upon one of these estates that Lita Grey arrived
on the screen. She comes of old California-Spanish
stock and she is a typical beauty of her race. She has all
the characteristics of the famous Spanish beauties
– her ancestresses – who were belles in the days of mantillas
and guitars.
Her longing to be an actress led her mother to allow
her to play a bit when it was offered her The Kid.
Later she attended a dramatic school in Los Angeles and she
had just graduated from that school when one day
she visited the Chaplin studio again.
Charlie was in the midst of making screen tests
of almost every available or possible beauty in Hollywood.
,Oh, you promised me, when I was a little girl,
that when I grew up I could be your leading woman,‘ said
Lita Grey blushing.
Chaplin looked at the radiant and dusky-haired
young beauty who had blossomed from the skinny youngster
of by-gone days.
,Did I?‘ said he. ,Well, that‘s one promise I‘m going to keep.‘
Ten minutes later a test was made and the contract
was signed.“
Redaktioneller Inhalt
The Gold Rush 1923 1925 1926 next previous
