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FROM THE BOOK:
"If I were
asked to name my candidate for most enduring star of the Golden Thirties I
would choose Miss Shearer. Always feminine, she took both indoor and
outdoor exercise with moderation. A burning ambition to reach a new peak
always held her star in the film heavens.
"The wonderful tan
is not for me, Clarence," she would say. "Wait until these girls
reach their mid-thirties. Their skins will look like dried apples."
A man's woman all the way
she could make you believe she was Shakespeare's Juliet and the rebellious
girl of Adela Rogers St. John's sensational novel, A Free Soul.
One morning she called
with a giggle at the corners of her mouth. "Clarence, publicity wants
me to do something athletic. I can't think of anything new in a bathing
suit. So how about golf?" I agreed. She picked me up in an hour and
we drove out to the Bel-Air course. Norma tried several swings, supposedly
teeing off down the fairway. She looked great. And that smile would make
any score she'd card tops. I loaded my camera and waved her into action.
Wham! Blackout! I came to with Norma holding my head in her lap and a
group of people looking down at me as if I were a corpse. "What hit
me?" I mumbled. "I did, Clarence, I mean, the ball did. We must
get you to a doctor right away." I felt a bump on my forehead and
laughed. "It's all in line of duty, Norma, and this one I'll remember
for a long time."
Her next triumph was
Marie Antoinette. Never have I seen any woman so beautiful in so tragic a
role. Her playing of the young queen was simply amazing; she looked all of
fifteen. During production, publicity called me to do a croquet layout. I
rubbed my head gingerly as I called Norma. "Clarence, I'm losing my
head in this film and I don't want anything happening to yours again!
Absolutely no!" And her majesty's command was obeyed."
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