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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 1921)
Marti Piclcford 'SSlJPH mss-' How D iV"ir; , - ; .y . Ji ll - y srw. ' till rKwm""- . i ,4 m v Mary Hera elf. fii On V&rcli 20 of thla Tear. Marr Pick-. H V 1 1 ford their first wreddlnr unlveraarr together. Only lmmedlat relatives and a tew Tery dar frlend were presenC . Thla zoomentoiw event wai otMerred Clletly at tbelr Beverly Kills liemi dream home of the Jcind that Mary haa aJwaya longed for. Her ambition to become erreat movie ctreeai waa alway aocondary to this yearn ing; desire for a home a home and babies. Mary, little Mary, haa mothered Jack and XiOttlo Plckford ever since she can remember, because she always had to another somebody. And in heir own life story, as told to Haydan Talbot, she reveals many things today that the public haa never known fcefore the homey, sincere ambltlona. that aUsclosa the real world's sweetheart under her XJler IKht makeup. ICepyrlsht, 121. by MeClare Newspaper Syndicate and Hayden Talbot. THE houso -where Mary Plckford and her husband, Douglas Fair banks, live Is situated on a high hill overlooking: lower hills and a broad valley In the distance. Tills valley Is a combination farm and residential section, intersected by asphalt highways and electric rail ways. Behind the Fairbanks home rise more hills, eternally- green in their close-grown raiment of stubby brush. It would be hard to describe the architecture of the house, unless one called it typically modern Californian. Jl combination of stucco and shingle. It crowns the hill in the form of an Xt Let us start in the basement and make a tour of the house in order that you may get an accurate idea of the Interior. Mary Baa Beautiful Tapestries. In the basement are storerooms, a fully equipped laundry, a bedroom and bath for the laundress. Stairs lead up to a hallway on the floor above. The house faces west and south, with the main entrance in the bend of the I The main hallway takes the form of an L, with stairs at one end wind ing up to the floor above. This hall way haa a blue and white tiled floor, on which are a few oriental rugs. The furniture is carved antique Ital ian, and there are some very beautiful tapestries on the walls. On the first floor are the living room, sun parlor, dining room, break fast room and kitchen. Also the but ler's pantry, a large back porch, with refrigerator, the butler's bedroom and bath, bade hall and the front porch, extending from the breakfast room around three sides. of the house to the main entrance. Wherever one looks the eyes rest upon original paintings by Frederick Remington, Dutton and Russell. An other very Interesting feature of the place is the books. The thing that Impressed me most about them was that they have all been read, which, ad to say. is not true of all libraries. Books Are Old Frtemda, Although there were many sets with beautiful bindings, none of these volumes have -uncut pages. They all have a well read appearance, and in cataloguing them they gave me the Impression that they were chosen not because they were classics or best sellers or on account of the bindings matching the scheme of decoration, fcut rather because each one was wanted for some special reason or because they were old friends. Another thing that I noticed Im mediately was that there were books in every room and not only in the bookcases that were made for them. There were books in the bedrooms, on the bedside tables, books in the hall ways, books in the sun room, and I believe the only rooms in the house without them were the kitchen and the dining room. There are a good many books personally autographed by the. authors and there are some very old volumes. There is, in par ticular, a set of Rabelais that would excite envy In any collector's heart. Tbe Living: Room for Projections. The living room is furnished in ma hogany. Perhaps It would be of in terest to note that there are five floor lamps in it. There is a grand piano of mahogany, numerous tables, a writing desk, built-in bookcases, three large davenports with luxurious pillows, a big fireplace, lots of com fortable chairs and a heavenly view from French doors. You know, of course, that this room can be transformed at a moment's notice into a projection room. There are oriental rugs on the floors. X think the breakfast room is par- and Zouarla. Klrbnka celebrated fl I , :wlCit " - rV - . t 3 I - ' . ' - ' v -; T &t ft ticularly attractive, with its painted furniture in cream color with bright flowers, and the chairs with their patent leather seats. It has long French windows opening out on the porch, is comfortably furnished with green wicker, and looks out upon a sweeping view below. The sun room is also very attrac tive, with Its gay cretonnes and wicker furniture and ferns and ca nary birds. It has a tiled floor, on which there are a few orientals. There are only two floors and a basement in the house. Upstairs is a main hall similar to the one below, furnished somewhat on the order of a living room. The Mikado's Sword. One of the most interesting things In it is a sword presented to Mr. and Mrs. Fairbanks by the mikado of Japan. Then there is a back nail, where the stairs come up from the floor be low, and off of which the bedrooms open. All told, there are five bed rooms, not including the sleeping porches. The bedrooms all have modern HOW RICHMOND, BIRTHPLACE OF MOVIES, MARVELED BACK IN 1894 IS RECALLED Charles Francis Jenkins, Clerk in Life-Saving Department at Washington, Went Home for His Vacation, Taking With Him a Queer Device That Now Serves to Entertain 10,000,000 Americans Daily. BY WILLIAM M. HERSCHBTiT RICHMOND, I-nd. Richmond was the birthplace of the movies' Here, on June 6, 1894. before an audience consisting of his par ents, brothers, other relatives and a few friends, Charles Francis Jenkins of Richmond made the first success ful -demonstration of a projecting machine for the production of life size motion pictures from a narrow strip of film containing successive phases of motion. Today $8,000 people are engaged in the motion picture industry and 10, 000,000 persons go dally to the theater to enjoy what are popularly termed the "movies." Cities comprising actors, scenic artists, electricians and stage mechanics have been built around the industry in order to en tertain the millions who. enjoy that form 'of amusement and thrills. Men and women have sacrificed their lives that the American soul might be stirred. Children cry for the movies, old folk go in wheeled chairs that they may see heroes and heroines of Movieland flashed on the screen. Broadway has its motion picture pal aces; the humblest village has its movie theater where Mike the Maul er used to maintain "The Red Onion" bar. And it all had its beginning in a Jewelry store in Richmond, Ind, IT. S. A. The invention of Charles Francis Jenkins has been mentioned before in print. but his recent development of a machine that carries the movies into the home has revived interest in this Hoosier genius. Homer Croy, writing in the New York Tribune, credits Mr. Jenkins with being the inventor of the movies, as does the Literary Digest. Mr. Jenkins today maintains a laboratory in Washing ton, where he is at work on other devices, some of which may complete ly revolutionize the motion picture industry. Born on Firm. Charles Francis Jenkins was born on a farm south of Richmond and his early boyhood was spent there and in Richmond. During young manhood ho spent periods is, .Earlham college THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, '& dTy Mary In the role of Asat, painted furniture. Some in gray, some in sage green, some in blue and some in black, all gaily decorated with flowers and. wreaths, etc A different color scheme is carried out for each bedroom, and the draperies and bedspreads are of taffeta to match the color scheme. Mr. Fairbanks' suite consists of bis bedroom, bath, large clothes closet, where his -suits and picture wardrobe hang in rows; hallway and sleeping porch. The furniture is sage green, and there is a'n enormous black wardrobe, -with brilliant parrots painted on it. Miss Plckford's suite consists of the most beautiful bedroom I ever saw. It Is done in lavender, with dull green furniture a color combina tion that reminds me of a pansy bed. Miss Fickford's quarters are not quite as extensive as her husband's, for the reason that it Is planned in the near future to build on a wing which will be for the little wonder lady's exclusive use. Besides the bedroom, there is a bath and sleeping porch. I want a home, and babies. All my life It has been my one and the old Sp Iceland academy. He had only little liking for farm life and during his youth went to Oregon to live with- an uncle, a carpenter. There the young Hoosier began mak ing his first experiments in an effort to reproduce motion through a cam-1 era. It was while in Oregon that thel idea struck him to try for a Job in j Washington, where he would be near the patent office and the newest de vices in photography. He took a civil service examination for a clerk ship. Winning that, he was assigned to a position as clerk in the life saving division of the government. After familarlzing himself with his new job in Washington he began laboratory work in a room at his home. In the summer of 1894 he came to Richmond for his vacation. A queer-looking machine came with him, a device on which he worked in stead of visiting among relatives and friends. He told his parents and brothers that he believed he had achieved motion photography. "Charles," said his good old Quaker mother, "I wish thee would quit thy messin.' " She did not understand what was In his heart. One day he went to the Jewelry store of hta cousin. To him he explained that he wished some place in which to test a machine that would project moving pictures on a screen. The cousin had seen many still pictures thrown on the wall by stereoptlcon, but motion pictures that was ridiculous. Toung Jenkins asked for an opportunity to try the machine in his cousin's jewelry store. The room was long and Jenkins saw that it easily could be darkened. The Jeweler consented to the test. It was In midsummer, business was quiet, and a few hours of closed doors didn't matter. Machine "Set Up." The young Inventor darkened the windows with black cloth bought at a nearby dry goods store. Then he "set up" the machine, a queer con trivance, the like of which the Jew eler had never seen. Electricity for operating the device was obtained from a trolley wire la the street. Home ream True at Last With Every thing That Could Be Asked, Such as Paintings, Books With Well-Read Appearance and Other Art Work. ? , and little Mary Rap. great desire to possess a home. Not a palace, mind you, with servants in livery and great big musty-smelling rooms built merely to overwhelm the eye with their magnificence. "What I always wanted was a real home, beautiful, of course, but a place wholly livable, done in quiet tones and furnished in exquisite taste. I wanted it to be situated on a hill, commanding an unlimited view of the surrounding country, for to me nothing stimulates the imagina tion more than to look out upon a broad sweep of landscape through unobstructed eyes. And after dreaming of Just such a home ever since I was big enough to build castles in the air, the dream has at last come true. But we still work hard, Douglas and I. When engaged in picture making our family retires at 9 o'clock. No photoplayer can succeed and. keep late hours. The one thing the motion ploture patrons must have in their heroes and heroines is youth. Theater goers demand It, also, but in the After some delay young Mr. Jenkins got the machine going. Then he sent for his relatives and friends a few of the chosen that he could trust. The mother and father came, each believing that their son had only been "messin " again. Newspaper men, among them Demas Coe, then a cub reporter on a local newspaper, also appeared to see what was going to happen. While working with the machine in his Washington workshop, Jenkins hit upon the idea of having Annabelle, a popular vaudeville dancer then ap pearing In Washington, dance for h'm in front of his new motion-picture camera. She was danclner the then popular butterfly dance. The experi ment with Annabelle was tried just before Jenkins started to Richmond for his -vacation. He brought the DIARY'S NIECE, LITTLE MARY RUPP, DOESN'T WANT TO BE A MOVIE STAR THE movies is sot a profession that appeals particularly to Miss Fickford's niece, little Mary Rupp, the daughter of Mary's sister Lottie. I asked tbe question of the little girl, now aged 6: "Are you going to bo a film star when you grow up?" The child looked up at me with sudden indignation registering in her expression. . There wasn't any doubt about It. lly question bad aroused in the youngster instant and utter contempt. For a moment ehe said nothing, and then with large em phasis and very slowly she said: "I should say NOT!" Later Miss Plckford endeavored to explain the reason for this tremen dous disapproval on the part of her niece for the profession which had meant so much to the Plckford ,clan: "She is a strange little creature. Often she says things that absolutely amaze you. but everything she says proves she uses her brain and figures out everything for herself before she speaks. "She knows enough herself, even at JULY 17, 1921 House 1 i ,58 theater it is easier to camouflage wrinkles than before the pitiless eye of the camera. And we all know, even in the case of etage stars, how often women and men go on and on long after their charm has left them always pitiful spectacles of desire triumphing over sense. Sufficient rest is absolutely neces sary, and by sufficient rest I mean at least nine hours. For myself I prefer ten. Of course, if it is between pic tures, then ws are not so regular with our hours. Often we remain up until midnight, especially when en tertaining. In saying that we are real home people. I mean the statement literally, for we go out very little. "When we do go, it is usually for an extended trip, consisting of a motor tour or perhaps travel abroad. In this fash ion we get the diversion required. But at home wo prefer to read or listen to good music. While neither Douglas nor I play an instrument, many of our friends do, and occasionally we have an orchestra come in from outside, usually when film with him, for he bad discovered that films were the only means by which motion could bo reproduced. Glass plates would not do. So Anna belle and her dances, reproduced on the film, traveled to Richmond. On the afternoon" of the first "movie" show ever presened, young Jenkins was the least nervous of all In that select little audience. He seemed to have a feeling of sureness about the experiment. Finally the machine began throwing tbe beauti ful Annabelle's moving likeness on tbe big white sheet in the north end of the room. Xt was a faint reproduc tion, broken by a constant flicker, but the audience saw the figure move, saw her skirts mount higher as she continued her amazing butterfly dance. Some thought it an illusion, others stood mystified, unwilling to believe their eyes. They did not know they were witnessing the birth of what is now America's fifth greatest Industry. The newspaper men asked Jenkins what be called his invention. "A phantascope." ho replied, which told them nothing. Jenkins went back to Washington and took his machine with him. The audience of that eventful day in 184 her age, to know that honesty and decency and every other good qual ity are present to as large an extent in every motion picture studio as in any other place in the world where men and women, recruited from all walks of life, are engaged together in a common task. It isn't at all that she has been taught any of the ridiculously unfair prejudices against film folk that makes her shy away from the idea of entering the pro fession. "It's simply that she knows from actual observation of what happens to me very often, and to my sister and brother when they are engaged in making pictures that to become a film star calls for a capacity to take punishment of the most gruell ing kind. Toung as she is, she has already learned that success on the screen can come only as a result of the hardest kind of hard work. "And any child of S who would wax enthusiastic over the prospect of downright drudgery at any task or for any reward would merit pity as Jjeing abnormal." . Came ',, , 1 , f . : i A I'll m - , r y 1 o1 Mary aaya that she and Douglas Fairbanks are Jtwt "home folks." Here they sure shown comfortably sad appareatly aapplly nettled down on tbe stepa of tbelr home, Beverly Hills. we have guests. Beside all this we have the phonograph and many fine records. There is hardly a book in our entire collection that is not well thumbed, for both my husband and I are voracious readers. From what I have said, I think you will get a fairly accurate impression of our homo life. It is very simple, and we try to keep it truly American, and above all, free from pretense or affectation. ' During the making of our photo features our stories are our only com panions, for we live with them always, night and day, trying to improve them, to perfect them, to polish them doing everything possible to give them the highest entertainment quali ties possible to devise. And in doing it all, we try to re main Just plain home folks. I am determined that I shall never face a camera after I get the first Intimation that my work is no longer pleasing all my public' The one good thing about it is that there is a definite way to determine, this. "When the box office returns from any pic ture of mine fall below the average earned by my last 20 pictures I shall disband my organization and go into a retirement that will never be marked by an re-emergence! It is possible and this is a little confidence I have never voiced for thought little more of what they had seen. Sclentifio men began talking about the novel device, and finally its inventor was called to show it before tho Franklin institute of Philadelphia. Singularly enough, 18 years after that showing Jenkins received the Elliott Cresson gold medal for having achieved motion photography. Later, In making a second award to Mr. Jenkins, the John Scott medal "To the Most Deserving," the institute committee showered the Inventor with praise that gave him rank with America's greatest inventive geniuses. It waa said that Jenkins received 12500 for his invention, but his broth er Will, living here, believes tho fig ure was double that amount. Be that as it may, the sum seems absurd when compared with aome of tho sal aries paid motion-picture stars for appearing in a single picture. Mr. Jenkins continued his experi ments, and the first movie show where a price of admission was charged was attempted In Atlanta some time in 1895. Tbe show was a failure. Gradually the motion-picture machine was improved and soon empty storerooms in the larger cities were transformed into motion-picture theaters where an admission fee of S cents was assessed. Tbe pictures were Imperfect, the flicker being deadly on the eyes. The shows con tinued to increase in number, how ever, and the flicker began to be less in evidence. Today the movie business Involves millions of dollars and there axe picture theaters even in the bom blest villages. Work of Other Inventors. Other inventors bent their brains to the task of improving tho Jenkins machine. Of course Improvements came, but there were many conflict ing entries In the patent office. An illustration of the growing confusion is interestingly disclosed In one ex perience Jenkins bad. Two big cor porations formed to produce motion pictures got into a legal controversy over the use of tho Jenkins machine and its improvements. One firm finally won a suit in the New York courts. That meant the exclusion of the other company. The losing cor poration appealed to Mr. Jenkins. "We'ro ruined!" the president of the defeated corporation said. "Oh, don't worry." Jenkins assured him. "It can be done in another way." Jenkins then went to -work on a second device and sold it to the com pany on Thursday.. On Friday he col lected, $14,000 foe bis work, On tbe -A Hi U Y- V I; . i -kV" publication before that after I make my last picture I may go back Into the theater and essay one role in the spoken drama. Of course I have a natural disin clination to follow in the footsteps of some of my Bisters of fllmdom who recently brazenly traded on their screen popularity to attract audiences fn the spoken drama. And If I ever do play a speaking role again, I should prefer to go under an assumed name if such a thing were possible and by so doing prove that I wished my success or failure to be independ ent of my reputation as a film actress. After all, in my case, I was an ac tress for ten years in the spoken drama before I ever entered the mo tion picture world and I have a right to want to go back to the footlights once again. But over and above everything else the real happiness I like to think about Is the home and family I hope the future will bring me. I have al ways had a home and a family, of course much more so, it seems to me, than even girls who are not in the professional world. Ever since I can remember there have been my mother and Lottie and Jack for me to think about and work for and be consider ate of. And it has really been the happiest part of rity life just having them. following Monday the supreme court of the United States reversed the de cision and tho new machine went to the scrap beap. Both companies used the more perfect device. And now the inventor has startled the movie world with another devles called the "Discrola." It is a machine that will reproduce motion pictures from a diso very similar to those used on a phonograph and Is like the modi ern phonograph in appearance. Tho machine will occupy the same place in the home as a phonograpb and so fiucoeesful have been tho experiments with, it that its manufacture is al ready under way. Paper Bottle Invented. Mr. Jenkins also, is the inventor of the paper bottle, a patent that, it la ald, has made him a fortune. Old Richmond friends of the inventor also recall that, long before motorcycles were thought of, Jenkins predicted that "bicycles soon would be operated by small engines." He worked for a time on that idea, but changed to other devices he thought more valu able to humanity. It also is said -that he was the first man to attempt building an automobile with engine in front. Instead of under the seat, as the original automobile engines wero placed. This was on a bigr motor car he attempted to build for slgbtseelng purposes in Washington; He went "broke" trying to make this enter prise a success. In fact, his relatives say he has gone "broke" several times in his "messin," as his mother used to remark. Mr. Jenkins still lives in Washing ton, refusing all pleas of corporations to make bis laboratory headquarters In New Tork. He likes his own little shop, wherjs his hours are spent In working out new ideas, particularly with reference to his pet bobby motion-picture photography. His father. Amass Jenkins, and his brothers, At wood and Will, still live in Richmond, being engaged in the Insurance and realty business. The family bears from him regularly, for the father and brothers deligbt In hearing of his new achievements. His happiest thoughts, however, are of bis original motion-picture projector, which now is a relic in the National museum at Washington, D. C. Recralt Records Intentions. Paris Le Rlre. Officer (drilling recruits) Hey, you. In case of fire, what do you do? Recruit I yell. Officer Tell what? Recruit Why, what do yon sup pose? Cease firing. n ; ? ' i 3 f' . . " .-et.