Radio Guide 33-04-16.Pdf
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Chi,ago. III. IY eek of April 16-22, 1933 Vol. II., 1\'0. 26 -, ,i, Meeting the Artist with Bob T aplinger ,-, Rudy Vallee's Variety ! I .'. Programs , ~;<-v .; i7.>'-.,-", ,..... ,.lo I,. - .-:,,'-.:,... - ----_ , By Ben Washer ---.- -. ._---- JEAN SARGENT, Poor Little Rich Girl of Radio, CJ3y ErneSt S. Collini3 POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL Wealfh and Social Position Failed to Keep Jean Sari'Jellt from Breakilli'J illto cJ('ewspaper Work alld Then into Radio ,li,1. to twr HlhlJle ;o...uooi} " hrJ name, M'rg\'anl~ be lo;'l11lwramrm ,ould ing St)rt of luhhy By Ernest S. Colling eXI,t J "t doin/; kllo"'s. nuthi>l~. 0 le;1.n Jean\ pnr"nts began Jom,.; ",h;.t I!1)C from olJ l)hila.ldpll'.1 I., Ju,tl(h ,I) ,I m'''''lullCr \\ork "he ,1;.)1 .t lob JS a I.unilil·i, anJ \\h~n ,he \Ias )tiU .,,!umnl I on a I'lJll.hldl'hiJ ne\\,papet. II.lwn' ,he ",rote .1 dlild th(') 111')\eJ b.Kk lu the ~adi(), 'anJal. ,,,i,ll, prill' fiftht and ~b ~torj· h~r I)p•• - olJ hum,· tmln. "'hcn: hrr nt('r hetn!!: lrt flf a nt\1 p,'pl'r Itigo!o. A~ h,' w ~ only lather IHnt 11110 h" inc~5 a .o::hl<'(·n. \Iw gut a thrill oUI (Of IhJt !>Orl of thing. "'h,· )1.1 r luck brol.rf JIl,l J,'an I'ent 10 Ildn', belie\<.' Ih.\I r.,din ~t.ltS .and prill.' Ii!!!!! I1l we e .:hlldr,·n i I'Mlles .Il tht' homC'S 11.1.1 rf mort.] ,1.1) an.1 ,he th(ll1ftht it \\ould he \l.f,,,du of the Uu.'[..t·r , it, ~ dilt' ('I It 11 so Ill' ,!:n 'he ~t to linow o,omt"nne: s weal ~s .l 1<1 ~y t...'>1 lOti, '( '(I ,I') oil mni'l. ·\h. me! Su.:h rt I drran,s \ it ~~Ins 10 I'l' an un" ril ~ It I ' II-n mil' In l'htlaJelphia Ih,,( \en body \\ ht) :s an\'ho..ly ,hall G"":l. \11 Ir. !!:l' I. ,h-. ",ho s M.e!) to 1.... ·,1.. .II 1«) to a QlIahr :Xhool, }"lIn~ J' r, Une~llt·.te<l momrnt< .... hi,h OlIn fltr 'Ii ~ull naturally "'cnl to a , r 19. It JJ,.o a.:cnunls f"r II 1,1.:1 IluI OJ;1. ... '·r 5o;hool On the qUI·,tit Sar t\\O }\'ars .1KO a ~1 .. rT)·-e)l.,j n'" p.!per Ja'j.;- a 1<1 "'hcthl'f nr not it \las here . I)r~ fI<l1l. a Itlilldinjl; NI~C t~r III! t'.lIllf<'d thai lillie _han d"\c!o!'l'tl 1 r )'1,1' IIt.);,,!,\ \' ml> i.:al ~ho"'s. pauion f"r I'ol.,·r anJ Cl ..p Onr (I.,~ Ih(, PUIS an,1 Pla}ers (,Juh of Plul ",·Irh;." ,hooting ",hl,h toJJY nJ.ll.t-,; ~fl>ufJ r)i .!nlal'·'lr Ih'·'pians. a~ked "'~n to take pArt !II th,'''' Jll rtilJtRltlt/s Iwr la\ ..ne of Ihrir JIIIl ul pc-rf"rmancc~, ~h(' 'l"I'P,'d ~h.lsing "rite form of ~\I·r,i'\C. hi,tory l'uglli,I' and \.lwlniJle h('adlin.·u fur inter\lc"s I(m~ rrm.-.in,; mute. But it is TI'~ord· \ Ilough to allt'n.! a frw rt"hl',lrS<ll ... ~nd 111('n ,'am<' the \.1 in till' s.;'hunl anllals that ~hc Big :-;i,:;hl IIMuth ,he diJn't know at Ihl: tll'te that II I ·.lrn('d 10 loathe me:rr},"go IIJ~ allY biAAl'r th.m LJ~UJL She .1(trd. bUI 11,)ho<ly '<'Cmed rounds thrnugh olerilldulgrnce ·\.:itl·d In.t tllt'n ,he SJng! rhac l.lcep. rilb VOI,e. m· J!\ Ihem on a s..:hool Ili(nic. ht'ritt'd Imm .1 ("Iltr~ho mother .Inri a hari"),,C i,lther, hidl makes it an odd coina· "ale her ~m,lrt '>C.JoCicty alld;"!l~e a real thrill. ,m,1 the IO.a}' .!"IKe: tlt<lt her radio su.:ce5S he "!lIlt it 01'('(' ~rnt the home folk~ intI} .<0 nrGY of Jr'AN SAR(;LNT "as .1chirveJ in the Manhattnn ,lppl;tuloC! :lnd prahl'. • • . A .\'cU) Yorh producer • .• sellt her 10 Sum Jlarn.~, •• 'terry-{'o-llonllO programs on Pun'ly by chan~e, I hOIllJS Kilpatrick, r-<l"1 Yor'" IHIr whi.:h ~he: noll' ~ing.; o\'rr a d'l~t'r. hapl'rned 10 br in Ihat audience. and hi~ Ir.ined '\{ I UP('U a tIme. dear chilJren, ifl the da\"~ 'Ali')Il.11 Bn~d':,~~lm~ l:Omllany network. ('ar and eye a' urrd him that hrre was a "tinJ.' I Ie «'nt wh,'o a II idol\' was <pokeo of as a relict and But at Ihal timo;'. <11.:~r-.s a11J elen 1'lIJio ilst-If ..>,;!rr k.m to :)alll Ilarri~. "ho.o;c: "Face Ihe Mu~i..:" "a5 then the "who lIas Ihat I~ dy I seen you with" joke llllJreamN of, and jean W.l~ )tudying Irench and othrr in rehear:;.;!!. allJ a I~eek later, Jean "'a~ the: fealured (9 11'01$ iOHnted, many ttar$ and soft feminine t,"je,1I Ihat the "politc" }'Qung girl of Ihe: day must hale, lOch singer of th.u su.:~essfu l musi.:al. I,Jur ~hc had ~IRh~ litre ~hed over the ~ad lot uf tho I' 111) ;md making love to her h.ltlt"red tedJy hf-u which she: had f('al1lre billing if! anoth('r hit ~hO\\', "Hying Colm.... ' ilappy I'll) thjn~ of ]'ah" the poor little rich girls. Il~~ Ilenry be,;,auqo she alwa}'~ has di~li\;ed Ihal hame "Just pl~in /11.-:\1," !><I.}S tile singer, klll)(king wooJ. I'm I here tht"y II ere. the Iluhetic darlings, cursed I\ilh hi'h prtl\'ts th.t .,he ha~ bttn con<i t('nlll ,'n,1 t_I"I';;alll fhe gre.1le\t bdie\orr in luck in the ""orld ..\\) IlC"Mpaper muncy. forbiddm by c()!lventio!l 10 do anything but suffrr lcmini~c ·\tn fUOllI ~h;Mh,!Od Jl,b, g~lIing a part in a big Broadway show. st~pping into the borroom {If a round of 5O<:ial gai~t}'. h'en their hrarts .I. ftaturtJ raJil) program- all lu.:k. I've been naturally were not their ol~n to dl-pose of, :md how we oldsters usc,1 .\\ I"G a~inub.leJ all the knu.... 1rdge in the ':lIr lu.:ky all my lift.. ~h.: OIdJrd. again knocking wood. 10 ,ulfer with them .,I·er th"'ir ~torie~ of their fTll~traled riculum of Ihe frienJs &:hool, anti some that In fa,t, ~hr nearly .... ore out a grand piano in the :\nc and emply live)! rH wasn·t. Jean gradU.ltrd to .. pril'ate fini~hing school ,tuJio by knO(king 011 il during the hour I talked .... ith l)aOlsionallr on,· (.Ii th~ more eman~ipatrd and ,i;H n a Philade:lphia suburb_ And it \\<1$ the:re that she matle her after a Manhatun Merry-Go-Round rehearsal. E;i; ing of these forlorn mai,f,n~ had gumplion rnough to kid, he-r lir~t "publk appearan,e," and in il wa}' that was I)'pi~al cept for one ... hile evening gown, ~hf' wean nothing but ..1Vt"r the tra~es. Thr TI'~u1t lIas a nationwid;! scn~ation. and I)' Je~nesque. lip to that time, the: ~neral public "'-:1$ hlack dothing at an}' time, but a fortune teller once told 'Beire~s l~mb3rks on rhfoalrical Car~r:' or "So.:iety liirl una~'I:lai!ltell wilh Ihat strange phtnomenon. Ihe: masked her that rtll I\~S a lucky color for her, 50 she ;1.(wal~ car Setks r:mploymenf' Ilrre newspaper heaJlines that ~t .1rtist; no ~ihw-noscd Itnors ()r gold-panned liolin maesto ries a bright rt'd handker.:hief. Puenthetic.lU)', thi~ m.~ ,llder h~ads to Ilagging ominou~ly and put new ideas iuto Oi h~d aJded mysluy (and plea~, Mr. Compositor, don't .:uhne c}ni~ hJ~ a ,nuking idea that black I' ilh • touch the beans of a new generation. that even then was b.. gin l~n\'e OUI a letter ill that word) to mu~k. But Jean, ble!o.~ of reJ isn't a bad color combination. c:ither, fm J bru ning to grt a hit rtslte~s under the old taboos placed em hrr original mind, \Ct the style by apfll';uing ill her fiht !lellr, and lila) be \he knows it. female~. h'en as latl' a, twenty-five years ago. a girl 'took performan,e in a ma~k that concealed el'er~'lhing but her Another pc-.:uliarity .,f Jean's, i~ that ~he ':In't 's« ~lnpIOlment" only if (ir,umstanccs ahsolutely compeUI'J l'}'('~. no<;r, throat ami lungs. mto" a song unl{'~s she's in a "aazy mood," ;tS she caU, her to. and for .I )'oung lady of good family drJibtrO'ttely "I was twdve: yrar~ old at the time." _ait! jean ",ilh it. of gaiet}', hut awny from the mike ~he's quiet and rather .Ind with purpCISC' afordhOllght to appear on the stage and J t~Hgh, rl'wunting the inciJent, "and I wa) sure the mask 'eriou~, a~ IIToI-('d by the faGt that she wrile:~ pl~}'s (Qne is <inS that indrlicate "'urk",y Trot" or the disgusting nclV 1I'0uid mil];e a I:re;11 imprt,~ion.