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Show Birth of a Blues Singer ( ; :..v.v.": 'St-v-' . -. .: ' by I got one of the greatest kicks of my life out of an idea that occurred recently to a close friend of mine from my home town of Weatherford Texas. Back in 1936 I ran a dancing danc-ing school in Weatherford and once a year I invested practically practi-cally my whole bankroll to get to Hollywood, allegedly to learn the latest dance steps but actually to see if by accident I could step into a picture. Universal finally gave me a test but I overdid it a little. Some- body gave me a pair of false eyelashes that were so big you could almost do a fan dance with them by opening and shutting your eyes. They made me blink and weep. And when Buddy DeSylva, who-gave who-gave me the test, saw the results, he wept too but offered me a job as a singing and dancing teacher. I This lasted about twenty minutes and I was plenty disgusted so much so I took a job in a Hollywood nightclub. As luck would have it, an influential New Yorker by the name of Donald Shaw introduced me to my first chance a chance to sing a song called ' "My Heart Belongs To Daddy," for Lawrence Schwab, all because the star who was to play the lead, June Knight, dropped out of the cast to get married. I I believe that I always will regard June Knight's marriage as one of the happiest events of my life. After the critics and public were so swell to me in "Leave It To Me," Paramount offered me a contract in Hollywood, and since then I have been constantly in film work. Remembering all too well the heartaches, the countless days, weeks and months of discouragements and the hopelessness of sitting alone on a dock waiting for my ship to come in when my; friend from Weatherford recently suggested that I finance a vocal' scholarship with my teacher, Helen Cahoon, for some unknown ' in a chorus, nightclub, modeling or other professional fields, I! hopped right on to the idea. As a result, by the time the new Bing Crosby picture "Birth I of the Blues" opens at the New York Paramount Theatre (I ami also in the picture) some girl from the hundreds who auditioned, in this contest will be introduced from the stage and will be pre-' sented with this scholarship before the most important showmen,' newspaper critics, movie and radio talent scouts in the nation. She will have an opportunity to cut down the number of heartaches heart-aches she otherwise would have to go through to get this splendid' recognition. So to will the other girls who compete in this contest be heard over the New York radio station WMCA, and sixty', other stations through the courtesy of Radio Newsreel. For while only one of the girls can win the contest, many of them will win recognition and jobs, and will be given a chance! to parade in the spotlight before people who can do much for them,! and maybe finally can achieve their ambition. In my next story' I will tell about some of the girls who have been auditioned j what they do, what they hope to do and what they hope to be; some day. |