The American Weekly was a syndicated column in which James Montgomery Flagg wrote December 29, 1947 about his upcoming autobiography, “Roses and Buckshot” William M Drew sent us this rather nice story about his favorite model the whole article is at the bottom of this page but this is the important section!
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MY FAVORITE MODEL
by
James Montgomery Flagg
Transcribed by
Marilyn Slater, Looking for Mabel
August 21, 2009
December 29, 1946 SO YOU want to know my favorite model! … As I liked to look at – and listen to – Mabel Normand, back in those dear, departed days of the early flickers.
Mabel was a delightful chatterbox and a superb mimic besides being darn cute-looking… ...She was my favorite model in that era. It was hard painting her, though. I was too busy laughing at her. Once she swam from her home on Staten Island across New York harbor to the Battery wall to keep a posing date with me. I sighed very deeply when the movies grabbed her and shot her up to stardom…
Flagg, James Montgomery, Roses and Buckshot (Putnam 1946)
