Looking for Mabel Normand

 March 11, 1911 The Nickelodeon

Having taken all sorts of spectacular chances before the camera, Miss Mabel Normand is here shown in a moment of comparative quiet.

Because the motion picture art is so new and unfettered by tradition, because its possibilities are

Even now admittedly unguessed, it is enlisting the eager efforts of producers, writers, scientists, young aspirants for dramatic fame, and actors and actresses who have already won success on the real stage.  The earlier pictures reproduced, as do many still, simple stage plays, thereby providing an inexpensive form of amusement; but, as an expert in the field said recently, “The true function of the film is to show that which could not be shown on the stage.”  And that is what the film is now doing.  The film shows us grand dramatic and historic spectacles acted by hundreds of characters in the proper surroundings:  Rome, Egypt, the Saharan desert, or our own forests, plains and hills.  It shows us the hidden lives of plants and animals, the wonders of the laboratory and of physical science.  The pictures on this page relate to a little of what is being done in the motion picture world, showing a few – a very few – of those who are doing it

Rushing along at seventy miles an hour in a motor driven by a daring engineer called “the Speed Demon.” Or something else equally suggestive is merely commonplace in Motion Picture Land.  Ability and courage to ride restive horses, to swim, to scale steep cliffs and high castle walls, to dive from great heights, and to perform other sensational and athletic feats are valuable qualities in one department of film dramatics

1918 reprint

Kind-hearted Mabel

I HEAR that Mabel Normand is so popular in Mexico that one of the young dandies of Mexico City got himself arrested rather that give up one of her pictures, which he had taken from a lobby display.  Miss Normand heard of the incident, and sent the young man an autographed photograph, to console him for the loss of the one which the police forced him to part with

For a Sweeping Country-wide Popularity Among

Old and Young, Rich and Poor, in City and Country,

Nothing in Years has Equaled “Mickey”

Here is Mickey! Mickey, the human, lovable, droll sometimes pathetic sometimes
ludicrous but always wholesome figure who has become so famous. No creation in
drama, fiction, screen or song has caught the public fancy and been taken to the public
heart as Mickey has, and she will go down in popular history with “The Yellow Kid,”
Palmer Cox’s “Brownies.” “Peter Pan,” “Little Nemo” and other striking and
distinctive characters.

The first heard of Mickey was in the Mickey was in the moving pictures and by this
time ten million people have seen this wonderful photoplay. The records of box office
receipts at Washington prove this. Whatever you have seen, Mickey Being Shown
Here To-day” in front of a theatre, you have seen lines of people, blocks long, waiting
to get in. And why? Because no photoplay yet produced is so filled with adventure,
thrills and human emotions as Mickey. One minute you feel a tear coming, but before it
reaches your check you are holding your sides with laughter at some funny incident, or
holding your breath with excitement at some hair-raising episode.

Five hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money, but that is just what was spent on this
picture - $500,000 – before it was even shown to the exhibitor. But there was never
the slightest doubt of its supreme success. From the time Mabel Normand read the
scenario and started her triumphant creation of the role of Mickey until the W. H.
Productions Company sent the films broadcast, it was a bull’s-eye. It has rightly been
called “a picture you will never forget.”

Then, all unexpectedly, Mickey appeared in song-one of the prettiest, daintiest,
hauntingest melodies in years. The picture inspired the song. One day Neil Moret, a
composer, happened into the studio where the picture was being shown. He became
fascinated by the charming personality of Mickey, and as the picture went on the
music began working, and when it was over, Moret hurried to his rooms and wrote
the theme that had already shaped itself in his mind. In two hours he was back at the
studio and played the song for the members of the company. The author had no idea
of what a hit it was to be. In fact, he had not written it with any idea of publishing it,
but just to get it off his chest. Nevertheless, within a month a millions copies were sold
in the West alone, and no end in sight to the demand. Waterson, Berlin & Snyder
heard of the song and immediately bought it. The price they paid was well up in the
five figures, but when the first order receiver from the dealers were totaled up they
showed over 500,000 copies sold in the first four days.

To show how the song gets you – Eddie Cantor, who is playing in the Follies in
Chicago and who is the best judge of songs ever, heard it and put it on at the next
show. It was a knockout. Ray Simuels, the clever vaudeville girl, and a great friend of
Cantor’s was appearing in Seattle. Eddie called her up and told her about the great
song.

“How does it go?” asked Ray.
“Oh, Lord,” said Eddie, thinking of the telephone toll,” get a copy of it,”
“I can’t wait,” answered Ray, “you’ve got me so excited I must hear it now.”
Eddie was game. He sang it through a couple of times and Ray said: “Great. I’ll put it
on to-night,” and she did. She took the melody in her head to the orchestra, rehearsed
it before the show, and was the hit that evening. Eddie was so excited about it all that
be forgot to have the telephone charge reversed.

The Columbia Phonograph Company was quick to see the value of Mickey and
immediately secured the rights of the song for their records.

Next to our President there is no better known character in the country today than
Mickey.

THE TATLER 1919

MABEL NORMAND

in

The Slim Princess

Fat! Tons and tons of it.

Bumping, wheezing, bouncing about the harem of the ruler of Morovenia in the shape of dozens of enormous women!

The little Princess Kalora was a violet in a garden of peonies.  But in the eyes of the Morovenian lounge lizards she didn’t have a chance --- and never would until the day when she could boast of at least three chins.

They Weighed Beauty by the Pound

Mabel Normand is going through the process of “making-up” with the aid of her hairdresser. 

Below she is arguing with Sennett studio

mascot.

MABEL NORMAND

MODELS for famous artists have provided the screen with quite a few notable stars.   Mabel Normand was one of these, but needs no words of description for a public which has admired her from early film days to the present time.

  Miss Normand was born in New York, November 10, back in the nineties.  The first thirteen years were passes in seclusion of St. Mary’s convent, at Northwest Port, Mass.  It was all arranged for her to become a nun, she avers.

     She became an artist model at the flapperish age of 14 years, when her unusual type attracted the attention of Charles Dana Gibson.  She first posed for him.  Other notable artists soon sought her services, among them being James Montgomery Flagg, Henry Hutt, C. Coles Phillips and Hamilton King.

     During the time she became the best known model in New York, she formed a strong a strong friendship for another model, Alice Joyce.  It was the latter who prompted Miss Normand to enter pictures.

     She made her first film appearance at the Biograph studio in New York, in August, 1910.  Her director was D. W. Griffith. 

     Next she worked for Vitagraph, playing comedy with the famous John Bunny and Flora Finch in the “Betty” series.  Returning to Biograph, Miss Normand worked both in comedy and drama, but eventually she headed a comedy unit, playing opposite Sennett, who also directed.

    Her next contract was with Keystone, with whom the star still plays.

     In 1917 the actress turned to special features, starring in “Mickey” that same year.

    She shifted to Goldwyn, making “Sis Hopkins”, “The Slim Princess” and others.  Returning to Sennett she played “Molly O’ and her most recent one, “Suzanna

     Mabel Normand, off screen, is a vivacious, intelligent young woman, with more than her share of sympathy for the unfortunate.

She is one idol who can stand a closeup

Dr. Grad's photo

from Movie Weekly, February 25, 1922

            The Real Mabel Normand

The Study of a Vibrant and Unusual Personality by One Who Knows Her

Intimately Stars invariably disappoint their worshippers. We invest them with all the attributes of gods and then find them  ¾  only human beings, with all the failings of mortals. Sometimes we are disappointed to find they are not even human beings. I had a preconception of Mabel Normand before I met her several years ago.  I was wrong about her.   Her quips, her pranks and wanton wiles, as the poet would say, had been emphasized out of proportion. In a word, I had expected to find her the high priestess of Jazz, the essence of the Sennett comic spirit. Mabel Normand is not that.

     I have read many interviews and stories about her because I am profoundly interested in her. My conclusion is that she is the least known of all the stars.   In attempting to tell the truth about the real Mabel I am therefore doing an audacious thing, because necessarily I must discount the jazz idea. First of all, she is in my opinion the best read of all the stars I have met, and I have lived in the Hollywood colony for several years. She not only reads  ¾  she remembers what she reads.      There is a vast fund of knowledge under those saucy black curls. She is, rthermore, the most sympathetic human being I have ever encountered.  This is a constitutional attribute. She doesn't try to be kind; she is, instinctively so. Her generosity is proverbial in the film colony.

      There was a camera boy working in her company when she was at Goldwyn. He made a very small salary, scarcely enough to keep himself and his wife, for he was a beginner in the industry. And his wife was expecting the arrival of a baby. Mabel heard of this. One morning she handed a sealed envelope to a carpenter and told him to give it to the camera boy. She instructed him not to tell whence it came. The camera boy opened it and found a fifty dollar bill. He never learned who sent to him, but he certainly suspected the source, for one cannot be around Mabel for long without knowing the quick, fine impulses of her heart.

      She is the feminine counterpart of the man who would give the shirt off his back.     Her charity is little known because, without recourse to the scriptural warning, she never lets her right hand know what her left hand is doing.  There was an unfortunate girl taken to a Los Angeles hospital without funds. The case came to Mabel's Attention. She paid the girl's expenses. Upon her recovery the girl came to Mabel's home and sought further aid. Mabel took care of her and gave her little odd jobs to do. That girl stole from Mabel Normand. She confessed the theft  ¾  and Mabel forgave.

      She is quick to appreciate the art and personality of another actress. She once expressed admiration for a star of far less ability than herself.  I think she is lovely,” she said to a mutual friend. “But I have never met her. I wish you would tell her that I would like an autographed picture of her.”

      The other actress was surprised and delighted to receive such a request from the great comedienne, and, of course, sent a photograph, asking Mabel for one in return. When that same actress sailed for Europe on a trip some time ago, she found a great mass of flowers in her stateroom. They bore Mabel Normand's card with best wishes.

      Such are the little things that distinguish Mabel  ¾  she is “Mabel” to everyone. Yet she is the most irresponsible of mortals. She can forget more appointments and still retain friendships better than any human being alive, because everyone knows that she is  ¾  well, just Mabel. You almost want her to break appointments because her apologies are always so charming and real.Nor does she disappoint as a comedienne. She has a keen wit, sometimes audacious but never cutting. She cannot understand artifice or conceit because it is not in her nature. She may be irresponsible toward social affairs, but never toward her art. She is a conscientious and genuine artist. True, her work is spontaneous, just as it appears on the screen. She is singularly gifted. But few realize the labor she has given to that gift.

She reads everything that will help her perfect herself. Chief among her textbooks is the screen. She attends on an average of five pictures a week, and is forever making notes. There is always a memorandum book tucked way in her vanity bag, and it contains a bewildering array of notes; interesting lines from books she has read; criticisms of her own pictures and others she has seen; ideas for use in characterization; memorandums of gifts which she wants to make; appointments; random thoughts; and books which have been recommended to her.

      She lives without pretension  ¾  one car, a comfortable but unostentatious apartment, a few necessary servants. Although she has a rare collection of jewels, she wears them sparingly. Her dress is always in exquisite taste, but never the sort to challenge attention.  It is impossible to analyze charm; hence it is impossible to describe the personality of Mabel Normand. It is the sort that makes you love her instantly, but more than that, it is the sort that makes you feel that she loves you. It is pervasive and distinctive. She has the rare mental faculty of understanding people upon first meeting and of engaging them on their level of interests. I am sure that the studio gateman knows nothing of Mabel's love for books; but he does know her love for flowers, and every morning regularly her presents a little nosegay for her dressing room. It is always placed in water on her dressing table, while American Beauties from a less sincere admirer may be relegated to a corner ¾  or sent to a hospital.

      It is this strain of the genuine that is dominant in the personality of Mabel Normand. You believe in her without reservation. I once asked a studio official if the company ever had trouble with her. I had in mind her way of eluding engagements.  He was a hard-boiled individual, who bows to no star, and he looked me straight in the eye.

      “If anyone has trouble with Mabel Normand,” said he, “he is to blame for it. But I cannot imagine anyone finding fault with her.”  While we were chatting, a gentleman called by appointment with the star. He did certain work for her. She was unable to see him because she was having her hair dressed. But she sent down a charming note of apology and enclosed a signed check asking him to fill it out for whatever amount she owed him!           Of course, she has been imposed upon. Her secretary must stand between her and beggars all the time, for people have a way of considering stars legitimate prey, believing, I suppose, that their wealth in inexhaustible. Therefore her secretary and her managers keep her carefully hedged about. If they did not, she would be beggared of time and money.

A bewitching, elfin personality, lovable and loving, an alert and brilliant mentality, a rare and radiant charm that is both physical and intellectual, a star who is a heroine even to her personal maid  ¾  such is Mabel Normand.  If my study of her seems eulogistic, I can only refer you to her friends of the film colony; they, no doubt, would be even more eulogistic.

          .

Give Mabel Normand A Chance!

By Fulton Oursler

Movie Weekly, February 2, 1924

It was little more than a year ago today that Mr. David A. Balch, the editor of Movie Weekly, came into my office and said:

“What shall we do about Wally Reid?”

Wally Reid was in the hospital. The newspapers had published ugly stories that Reid was a dope fiend. The following week Movie Weekly published an editorial captioned with Mr. Balch's question, “What About Wally Reid?” in which this magazine pleaded for fair play and besought the always hasty American public to withhold its judgment on this young man until, with God's help, he should recover and come out of the sick room to answer the charges himself.

He never had that chance. He died. But from all over the United States there came letters to this office endorsing the plea, letters from the great leaders of the film world.

This morning Mr. Balch came to my office again, and the question that he asked instantly asked brought back to my mind the query he had uttered on the day Wally Reid died. Only this time his question was:

“What about Mabel Normand?”

Shall this young woman be convicted before the bar of public opinion without a fait hearing? Shall her livelihood be endangered, her reputation besmirched, her pictures be barred on the strength of the most unreliable testimony ever uttered in the history of the world  --  the careless and irresponsible reports of the popular American newspapers?

Already boards of censorship in various states, trembling with virtuous indignation, have pontificated over the young woman. Her pictures have been censored off the screen by these dignitaries, although they know nothing more of the circumstances than what they have read of them in the sensational press.

Admitting at the outset that appearances are against her, we should remember always that appearances are deceiving. But, regardless of appearances, regardless of what the circumstances reported may be, it is the height of unfairness, the height of impudence and the height of intolerance to take swift drastic, and in many case irreparable action against the private fortune and reputation of an individual, without a full and complete understanding of the merits of the case.

No more eloquent example of the abuses of power can be wished for than such autocratic and arbitrary tyranny. I shall never forget one lavender twilight in Chicago. I was at dinner in the Marigold Gardens, when the lady who was with me said:

“There's Fatty Arbuckle.”

I had never met Mr. Arbuckle, And I say it with shame, I had asked her to introduce us, and she did. And the conversation I had with Arbuckle was reported in these columns.

At my request, Arbuckle supplied me with all the evidence of his various trials, including the absolute and final vindication of a jury of twelve honest men and women who tried him and found him guiltless of the blood of Virginia Rappe.

And now before the bar of public opinion is marshaled the beautiful and talented Mabel Normand. Shall she, too, be condemned, unheard? The heart of that girl must be filled with dread. I think I should rather face the cowled inquisitors of  Spain. I think I should rather go into the den of beasts outside the brazen gates of Babylon. I think I should rather take my chances in the front line trenches, than innocent, come before intolerance and bigotry and pre-judgment.

The crime of hasty judgment is committed day after day in the land whose temples are built to Him who said: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” Our history is stained with illustrious examples. Poor Dewey found out what it is to be a popular hero, and then to make a mistake.

It is conceivable, wholly conceivable, that Mabel Normand and Edna Purviance paid a friendly call upon a man under entirely innocent circumstances and that while they were there a crazy person, a drunkard, a dope fiend, or whatever that unfortunate individual may have been, came in and fired a shot that brought in the police, and there they were.

And now, through no sin of their own, they have become such outcasts from decent society that their pictures cannot be shown. It is unfair, it is unworthy, it is unjust. And as long as Movie Weekly is read by the patrons of the moving picture theaters of America, we will lift our voices in behalf of fair play for those who work and toil in the studios to shed pleasure and romance, beauty and drama, before the lives of people who hunger for something besides the grey monotony that fills their lives.

From another angle, the idea is not only opposed to the constitutional rights of citizens of the free-republic, so-called. It is fundamentally absolute. I said once before in these columns that I had bought for my daughter a very beautiful piano. It is a matter of the utmost indifference to me whether the men who made that piano, the men who strung the scale and inserted the action had set the keys and varnished the case and made it a singer of beautiful melodies beneath the caressing fingers of my little girl  --  I say, it is a matter of the utmost indifference to me whether those men who made this instrument beat their wives or sold their souls to the devil. I hope they stopped such practices, but their private sins are of no concern to me when I buy that instrument. Nor are they of concern to anyone else in the United States. When you buy a bar of soap you do not ask whether the factory girl who wrapped it was a virgin.

…page 29… The moving picture that I see is not Mabel Normand. It is a story. If it is a good story, I like it. And what is Mabel Normand to me or what am I to Mabel Normand? But now, in the hours of her extremity, in the hour of her distress, she stands imminently in danger of being garroted, black-jaded and utterly destroyed in her profession, when she may be, for all I know, and as far as all these pontificating censors know, as innocent as their wives and their mothers and their daughters.

And while we're about it  --  what of these censors, and their wives, and their daughters? Are they all of them so irreproachable in their conduct as to cloak themselves in a holier-than-thou attitude? Or would their own lives disclose incidents that would not stand the pitiless light of publicity  --  a light as fierce and as cruel as that which was shed upon Mabel Normand in her unhappy hour of New Year's festivity? I wonder.

Therefore, Movie Weekly refuses, in this, and all subsequent issues to publish a scandal story about this unfortunate girl. But it throws open its space quite freely to the prosecuting attorney in Los Angeles, to Miss Normand, and to Miss Purviance, that each and all of them may use, without  reserve, this allotted space to state their case freely and fairly. And if there is a trial in the courts, Movie Weekly will report the evidence in the trial just as freely and just as fairly. But to the sanctimonious censors who are so eager to destroy a woman's good name before she has had a chance to speak for herself, Movie Weekly will give nothing save the counsel of a little practical Christianity:

“Judge not, that ye be not judged!”

It is just as true today as it was two thousand years ago when it was first spoken.

Gentlemen  --  give Mabel Normand a chance!