8
'a
m
Sliitwm
'im0
1
MOT 'fiw C f I
mm
illilif
PC,
-4-
.lit
'IP
pmmmm
'George Walsh in Four Poses Which Are No! Mere Poses. hnt In
dicative of His Athletic Prowess Does the Swimmer Picture
Symbolize Another Plunge Into the Sea of Matrimony?
ttf
'V
V'W
The Champion Runncr-Up to
a Dozen World's Champions
George Walsh Is a crack baseball player
and was a member of the Brooklyn National
League baseball team. He was a star back
on Fordham University football team.
He did a hundred yards In ten seconds and
has done It since several times.
He la known as the best swimmer and
diver In moving pictures.
On a cross-country run where he was being
paced by a horse he broke an American record.
He is a shot-putter, a discus thrower, an
expert oarsman, an adept horseman, and, ac
cording to Jack Dempsey. Is the one man he
paired with when training for the Carpentier
fight who would give him any trouble. V
He Is claimed to be the world's greatest all
around athlete.
mums
plgp
m
V
V
9
illlllilli
'A
'it !
The Radiant Blonde Beauty of
Seena Owen "The Viking's
Daughter," Who "Sends Men
Shouting to Perform M agnif
iceni Deeds."
THE next time Seena Owen gets
married, if her rueful messages to
her friends can be believed, site la
going to pick out an amiable, substantial
and home-loving green-grocer or some
body eise equally undistinguished. Fail
ing that, she will at least confine herself
to a man who can do only one thing well.
She lias had enough of versatility for
she married one of the greatest all-round
athletes America has ever produced and
found out, to her satisfaction, anyhow,
that champions are not made to be hus
bands. On the verge of cutting herself loose
from George Walsh, her husband, she is
ready to tell the world that charming a
champion is one thing and holding a
champion quite another. But getting
loose from her husband is not an easy
task.
In her divorce suit Miss Owen charged
that her husband was lured away from"
lier by Estelle Taylor, known to film fans
as "The Sunshine Girl" an ironic soubri
quet, says Miss Owen and now the Sun
shine Girl has gone into court herself.
She has sued Miss Owen for $200,000,
charging defamation of character.
Matched Perfectly Physically.
Though Miss Owen and George Walsh
are both full-blown physical types; they
are direct opposites in complexion and
temperament. Mr. Walsh is a brunette
with black hair, brown eyes and a f,ood
man racial characteristics of the tem
peramental, volatile "black Irish." Miss
Owen is pure Nordic. She was born of
Dan.sb parents in Spokane, Wash., and,
after attending a girls' school in Copen
hagen, returned to the United States for
a stage career. Around the movie lots
she is known variously as "The Scanda
hoovian Princess," "The Viking's Daugh
ter" and "Brunhilde." A celebrated
novelist who was taking a brief flyer in
the films dubbed her "Gudrid the Fair,"
after one of Maurice Hewlett's heroines.
For Seena, like Gudrid, is a golden crea
ture who sends men shouting into the
night fired with the ambition to perforin
magnificent deads.
All of these descriptive soubriquets are
inspired by her Scandinavian origin and
Ler extremely fair hair and complexion.
She is of the north and her name is
really Signe Auen, though the pronuncia
tion is the same as the Americanized ver
sion that she adopted for film purposes.
Seena Owen and George walsn met and
married each other in 1916.: Miss Owen,
at that time, was already firmly estab
lished as a film star. . Walsh was prac
tically a new-comer. There are several
in Hollywood who recall that meeting
Walsh was fascinated with Miss Owen
the first time be saw her. One day, when
he was still a stranger to her, he was
watching her photographers shoot part of
an adventure film in which Miss Owen
was being starred, A horse she was rid
ing suddenly became unmanageable and
bolter5 for the end of the lot.
Walsh instantly started after her on
foot. Though he had to run practically
the same distance as the horse, he finally
Hi
1 FKIiW1
V
ft 1 m
w
1.
w . .
m mum
Seena
Owen
Says Sporting
Stars Don't
Stay Put and ' A
She Tells
Why She Is Bringing
Action Against One
Who Outran a Horse
to Win Her!
liiw
iSOt li
mm
i
V.S-:5;::-
SIB
v.-
J1
MM
&3
Bm
1
' At
itW, -' 4.'-ik
ff
IIIII
S::s:Sa!:eSi:iSSKBS
At
1
Estelle Taylor, "The Sunshine Girl" Who Loomed on George Walsh's Domestic Horizon with Siren4ike
Allurement', Mrs. Walsh Charges. Estelle Has Brought a Counter-suit Against Seena for Defama
tion of Character.
overtook the startled animal, seized him
by the bit and, digging his heels in the
ground, threw him back on his haunches.
It was a sensational exhibition both of
Ileetness and of strength. The photog
rapher ground away all during the
episode and the film, when cast up in the
projecting room, showed it to be an even
more remarkable feat than it had first
appeared. - i
First Few Years Very Happy.
"How strong you are!" gasped, Miss
Owen, when he had lifted her to the
ground.
"I keep in traipingi" replied George,
modestly. He lost no time from then on.
And the wedding took place not long
afterward in Chicago amid the acclaim of
their friends and the rhapsodies of the
press agents. Everybody said it was a
perfect match.'
' The first few years of their married
life seemed to justify this statement.
They publicly professed to be very happy.
Miss Owen became lovelier than ever and
held fast to her popularity with her pub
lic. Walsh went in for the "red-blooded"
types of film plays and achiered a marked
success as a virile type of hero.
, His training as an all-around athlete
.stood him in good stead. He was one of
the fw stars in pictures who didn't use
a double when some hazardous athletic
stunt had to be performed.
George Walsh went into pictures short
ly after starring on the Fordham uni
versity football team. During his col
legiate days and throughout his film
career Walsh steadily maintained his
brilliance as an athletic champion.
There is only one sport that doesn't In
terest him. That's golf.
. "I'm like Chauncey Depew," he said
once. "I'm not old enough for golf."
It was' not long ago that reports began
to spread among the motion-picture col
ony, that Walsh and Estelle Taylor were
in love with each other. This came as a
surprise not only because Walsh and his
wife were supposed to be unusually happy
but because Walsh was apparently too
busy keeping in training to go in for any
of the celebrated Hollywood parties.
True enough, Estelle Taylor, on several
occasions, had expressed great admiration
for Walsh's strength and good looks. But
then, for that matter, so had a number of
other girls.
Then it became known that the Walshes
were not living with each other. When
Seena-Owen went east to appear in Cos
mopolitan's version of Fannie Hurst's
Fordham University Walsh Was a
Star Shot-patter, Yet Never Lost the
Grace Which that Strenuous Athletia
Sport Of ten Destroys.
drama, "Back Pay," Walsh remained in
California. Miss Taylor was also there
and. the story went about that Walsh and
Miss Owen had already been divorced by
secret process and that Walsh and the
"Sunshine Girl" would go to the altar.
Then came the divorce suit. Miss Owen
asked for a complete divorce on the
ground of infidelity, naming Estelle
Taylor. When she applied for alimony
she asked for a part of Walsh's estate,
which she declared was worth $50,000,
and for custody of their daughter Patricia.
His salary, she said, was $1500 a week.
She charged that he had been living at
Miss Taylor's house in Hollywood.
Walsh filed a counter suit charging
that his wife had deserted him. In his
petition he outlined what he claimed to be
his status in life.
His salary, he said, was $500 a week
and not $1500. He had not accumulated
a $50,000 estate. His wife did not help
him support the family. He remained at
home evenings, went to bed early so as
to be fit for his next day's work. While
thus remaining at home he looked after
his daughter Patricia, aged 5. He tiit
not been interested in any other woman,
partiodlarly Estelle Taylor. And he had
been, he said, the target for a flatiron
nurled at him while shaving.
Walsh said the domestic dissensions
began soon after the birth of their daugh
ter and that the climax came when Mrs.
Walsh deserted him, which, he says, was
in New York March 1, 1918.
The cross-complaint described a prop
prty settlement made January 24, 1920,
whereby the wife released him from all
monetary obligations in consideration of
$5000. Walsh said he tried to dissuade
his wife from continuing in the movies
after the birth of their daughter,