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Show Howl Broke IntoThe Into I IThe B The MoviesCopyright Movies B BCopyright Copyright by bV Hal C . Hernrn Herman HernrnBY .J J . Herman.J _ BY CORINNE GRIFFITH GRIFFITHY - /T T / Y CHOICE of ot a screen career was wasreally wasreally wasreally 1 1T My really more or less accidental nccidentaL . I Ididn't Ididn't Ididn't Ididnt didn't didnt ' ' grow row up with any Idea of goIng goIngInto goinginto goingInto Into motion pictures , , as so many olher other olheractresses otheractresses otheractresses actresses have hnve done . I always ahvus aIwnys ) loved lovedthe lovedthe lovedthe the theater tht'ater thtater ' , and always had a strong stronginterest stronginterest strongnterest interest ( In the silent drama ; : but It itwas Itwas was \ \ 'is is ' an Impersonal sort of ot feeling I Inever Inever Inever never associated assotlated either of them then wIth wIththe withthe withthe the thought of ot a career for myself . Music was to have hllve been by means of ofself ofself ofself self e expression eepresslon ' < presslon While I wai Wll"l Wlll wan " still sUU at- at atlending at attending - . tending lending school In New Orleans I had hadmy hadmy hadmy my heart set on a n thorough musical musicaleduc1tlon musicalethic musicaleducation educ1tlon ethic ltion I was to have studied In InNew InNew InNew New York under the best te\chers te chers teachers teachers.and teachersand ' \ . , and then take tale , several years abro'ld abrold abroad abro'ldWhether abroad1Vhether abroadWhether ' Whether 1Vhether I could hive h'1ve h1ve have ' done anythingwith anything anythingwith anythingwith with this art professionally I really reallyIon reallydon reallydon Ion don ( t know I was not considerIng consideringIt It from the point of view of earning a aliving aliving aliving living at Ilt the time-merely time merely time - merely as a sort ot of otsublimated ofsublimated ofsublimated sublimated sideline sldellDe . . But nut before any nny of these rose roseate roseatedreams roseatedreams ute utedreams dreams of travel trwel and music musl'C muslC ' In the cap caplUlls capItals capItals lUlls Itals of the " - world orld could come true , my myCather myfather myfather Cather father Buffered sulTered suffered severe se"ere seere sefere " business buslDess re reverses reverses reverses verses and the family resources col collapsed collapsed collapsed lapsed Suddenly , and without much much"arnlng muchwarning muchearning "arnlng arnlng warning " . , It was W'lS WlS ' not only necessary to tonbandon toabandon toabandon nbandon abandon my Ideas but to go out and andeam andBain andeain eam Bain a living Hving Like Llhc many gills , I was waswithout waswithout waswithout without any pal paiticular particular ticular tiaining bnmlng tiatning for forbatt1mg forbattling forbattling batt1mg battling the woild wOlid tvoild I had not Dot pro progressed progrossed gressed ressed far enough with my music to tomahe tomake tomake mahe make It provide for me , and I lnew knew lnewnothing knewnothing knewnothing , nothing else that seemed to offer olTer a ameans ameans ameans means of ot earning a livelihood hvellhood livelihoodI hvellhoodI I had relatives In Californli Cahfornh California andwent and andent \ent ent went \ < \ cnt there The West was wac ; certainly certainlykind certainlykind certainlykind kind to me ; f for r I 1 had been on the thecoast thecoast ! CO'lst COlst coast ' only a short time when an luei tuci tucident lueiI lueident IncIdent I dent trh trls trhlal lal in itself , , bla7ed blared aVa a way \ wa \Va Va , } * ( ' fa fai1 t ' 4/r 4 r 4rLT / Q QJ J V Vi i LT LTw w ' Y'y Yy v vfa i1 * : rt } ' J y ax yax axy /y y / 4 J 7 l4rc l4rcc l4rcL l4rcri c L ri % < ; x t k kLiILAII LiILAII LiILAIICorinne Connnc Corinne Griffith . for me just when I most needed neeed ( ] it 1 I 1was Iwas 1was was dancing one evening at a Santa SantaMonica bantaMonica nnta nntaMonica Monica ballroom with some friends I Idid Idid Idid did not e\ e es e\en e en een \ en know at the time bme that a abrunette abrunette abrunette brunette beauty contest was beIng beIngheld beingheld beingheld held , but presently I heard my mme name mmecnlled namecalled namecalled cnlled called out During the process ot of otelImination ofelimination ofelimination elImination I won the contest-much contest much contestmuchto contest - muchto to my surprise and nnd somewhat somewhnt to my myamusement myamusement myamusement amusement * ' I had no Idea that It Itwould itwould Itwould would lead to anything But among amongthe amongthe amongthe the judges was Rollln Hollin Itollin Sturgeon tben then thena tbena a director for Vltagraph VItagrapb Vitagraph ; ; and he heolTel heolfeied heoffcied olTel olfeied ed me a small part Needless to tosay tosay tosay say , , I accepted acceptedI I played one or two ' ' bits " with Vita Vitagrnph Vitagraph Vitagraph grnph graph and then appeared in lD two pIc plc pIctures plctures picturcs tures with Earle Darle Barre Williams 1Vllllams and one onewitli onewith witli \ \ lth Harry Morcy Morey They cast me In Inwild inwild inwild wild ' 'vamp vamp 's'tmp stmp ' . 'Imp Imp ' " roles at tll flist st ; which was wase wase"celient wasexcellent e"celient ecelient e " cellent training as I have since np ap nppredated appredated appredated predated , for without previous stage stageexperIcnce stageexperience stageexperience experIcnce experience itould It would \\ould ould \ have taken much muchlonger muchlonger muchlonger longer to get 0\ 0 o\er o er 0er oser \ er my stiffness an and andawkwardness andawkwardness ( ] nwh\\ardness nwh ardness awkwardness \ before the camera espe espe- e especially especially pe- pe pedally - - cially dally now that talking tnlklng pl'CtUl plCtUl pictut pictuies ' es are areIn arein arein In vogue But nut those tbose thoseamp "ramp ramp " \ . \amp amp amp ' pal parts partsproved paitsproved ts tsproved proved just the light iight thing thlDg to loosell loosen loosellme loosenme looserme me up and make me forget torget m myself myselfI self selfI I 1 remember In one of them IvOll I \vOll- vOll tvou- tvou vOllmy tvoumy \ WOK-my WOK my - my first long train , with a mingled mingledfeeling mln mingledfeeling led ledfeeling feeling of pride and worry It looled looked looledvery lookedvery lookedvery , very decorative , but also vciy VClY very danger dangerOUS dangerous dangerous OUS , and I was in continual continunl fear at atfirst atfirst atfirst first lest I trip on It and embellish embellishsoml embellishsome embellishsome soml some ' highly dramatic scene with ani and andinglorious aniInglorIous anInglorious ] InglorIous fall that most cert.llnl certllnl certainly certainlywould certainlywould . v vwould would ha\e ha e hate ha \ e changed the pictuie's pictuies pICtUlC'S pICtUlCS picture's pictures ' tern ternpo ternpo ternpo po from drama to burlesque ' After Atter very few of these roles I 1 was wasfortunate wasfortunate wasfortunate fortunate enough to be sent east ani and andstaried andstaned ! stan staried cd In my own right rate Cate was wasgood \ wasgood as good oo to me , and tlie the winning of that thatbeauty thatbeauty thatbeauty beauty contest ' undoubtedly saved sa.ed saed satied . me memany memany memany many heart breaking months of dls dis dlsLom disLoutagement distouiagement Lom Loutagement agement in the extra lists (0 0 ( i ( ? Dy By Ia10 111 lIal [ * a 0 . . Hermtn Herman ) |