Your Vocation

Irving Thalberg and Norma Shearer: The Unlikely Royal Couple of 1930's Hollywood

This is a love story, and the story of two people whom nobody would have heard of if they had accepted their limitations.  The boy, Irving G. Thalberg, would become known as "the Boy Wonder" of MGM, and the girl, Norma Shearer, would become "the First Lady of Hollywood", yet each was an unlikely candidate for success. 

 Irving Thalberg might have been the poster child for the saying: "It's not the years in your life, it's the life in your years."  As a baby, Irving was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. The doctors told his parents that he would probably die by the time he was 25, maybe 30 if they took great care and he was treated as a semi-invalid.  A grade behind other children his age for most of his childhood, he contracted diptheria at 13, and the family doctor predicted that he would be bed-ridden for the rest of his life.  He recovered however, graduated from high school, and through a combination of skill, hard work, and family connections, rose from being a stenographer to being the executive secretary of Carl Laemmle, president of Universal Pictures by the age of 20.  In that position, his uncanny instinct for film production, and his astonishingly retentive memory and quick intellect made him something of a phenomenon on the lot and he was appointed studio manager, second-in-command to Laemmle himself.  At 21.

 His skill, ability and dedication were impressive, as well as the unbelievably young age at which he achieved success.  When Laemmle refused to pay Irving what he was worth, he left Universal, and joined L.B. Mayer in brokering the merger that formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.  Here he was appointed head of production and accomplished even greater things than before.  His perfectionism required him to be personally involved in almost every detail of the pictures he produced, and he had an uncanny ability to scent out star material and shape the public images and careers of many stars that are still legendary today, including Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, and (drum roll, please) Norma Shearer.

When she started on the road to stardom, Norma Shearer was a most unlikely candidate for the title "Queen of Hollywood", but she was a determined young lady, and had the song "High Hopes" been written at the time, it might have been her theme song.

The daughter of a Canadian divorcee, Norma hit New York City as a teenager, with a desire to make it big in show business.  She faced almost continuous rejection from the start, with such notables as Flo Ziegfield telling her she was "a dog" and had "stubby legs, a bad figure, and a cast in one eye" that would keep her from ever succeeding in show business.  Norma approached the legendary silent films director D. W. Griffith while she was working as an extra, and he too declared that she wouldn't succeed, since in addition to the cast in her eye, he said her eyes were "too blue" and would appear blank in any close-ups.

Despite these and other rejections, Norma refused to give up, finding work as a model, and a movie extra, and approaching a New York doctor for exercises that would strengthen her weak eye and help her to control it.  She exercised ruthlessly, and learned to use clothing and costumes to improve her appearance.  She also studied the great actresses of the stage, and worked on poses that would conceal her flaws.  Eventually, she landed a small role in a non-Hollywood film that got her good reviews and attracted the attention of a Hollywood talent scout.  Norma received an offer for a contract from M-G-M, and accordingly moved to California where she first met Irving Thalberg.  It was not an auspicious beginning.

Norma was met at the door of his office by Irving Thalberg, who showed her in, and then sat down behind the desk.
 "Aren't you the office boy?" Norma asked.
"No, Miss Shearer," Thalberg responded, "I'm Irving Thalberg, the man who sent for you."

Things got even worse for Norma after that.  Her first screen test was a disaster.  All her worst features were emphasized, and she came out looking dumpy and cross-eyed.  A cameraman found her crying with vexation over the results and after talking with her and viewing the test, decided she had not been properly handled, and got studio permission to retake it.  Improved lighting resulted in a much better test which was approved, and Norma was cast in the movie Pleasure Mad.

 During the filming, the director of the picture lost patience with Norma and complained to the studio head, L.B. Mayer about her.  When Mayer called Norma to his office, she complained that the director had shouted at her and frightened her.  Mayer promptly blew up.  He shouted at her that she was throwing away the chance of a lifetime and any hope for her career just because she didn't get along with a director.  He screamed at her that she was a fool and a coward and would never succeed.  His outburst roused Norma's temper.

"I'm not a coward! I"ll show you!" she screamed right back at him.

"Good", smiled Mayer, "That's all I wanted to hear." 

Norma went back, and as she would later say, "took that scene, lock, stock and barrel, fur, fin and feathers".  With renewed determination, Norma continued on her way, first with minor parts, and gradually working her way up to starring roles.

In those days, it was the studio's practice to build up a persona for each of their stars, and to cast them in films that embodied those personas.  Thus certain films were "vehicles" for certain stars. Irving Thalberg, in fact, had a genius for crafting these star images, and created some of the most memorable, including Greta Garbo's and Clark Gable's.  Not all stars were happy with the personas given to them.  Greta Garbo didn't like being cast as a femme fatale, and Norma disliked the mediocre films she was often cast in, and wanted a wider range of roles in better productions.  She took to pestering "the little boss" regularly for better roles, and though he never gave in, and frequently reminded her that it was the roles she disliked that had made her a star, Irving was intrigued.  

One day after work, Norma received a call from Irving's secretary, asking if she would like to attend the premiere of Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush with Mr. Thalberg.  Norma, who could hear Irving listening on the extension, replied that she would be delighted.  After just that one date, Norma told a friend that she was in love with Irving Thalberg, and wanted to marry him.  Thalberg clearly didn't feel the same way, since it was a year before he asked her on another date.

Nevertheless, they both continued to work together, and Norma continued to beg for better roles.  Although both of them kept dating other people, they began dating each other fairly frequently as well.  Norma described herself to a friend as Irving's "spare tire", the girl who was available when his other dates stood him up.  This was also a joke, since one of her first modelling jobs in New York had been as "Miss Lotta Miles" for a tire company.

 Norma, however, was perhaps the only one of Irving's dates who became good friends with his sister, was very respectful to his controlling mother, and was almost as concerned for his health as his mother was.

Nevertheless, it was something of a surprise when one evening, after a day of filming retakes for her latest movie The Student Prince of Heidelberg, Norma was summoned to Irving's office and told with a smile to pick the diamond she wanted from a tray of rings sitting on his desk.  

Okay, maybe not the most romantic Hollywood proposal ever, but it marked the start of one of Hollywood's most successful marriages.  On the 29th of September 1927, they were married in a small wedding at his home.  Despite the general well-wishing, the response to their marriage was not entirely favorable.

Joan Crawford wailed that she'd never get any good roles now that Norma had married the boss.  Many cynical contemporaries assumed that Norma was marrying Irving simply to advance her career, and that Irving was "settling" for a girl who chased him.   This view was evidently not shared by Irving himself, however, since a few days after his marriage he sauntered into his office and remarked to his secretary: "You never thought I'd get her, did you?"

Despite all evidence to the contrary, the belief that theirs was primarily a marriage of convenience has continued for some time.  Recently though, some of the telegrams they sent each other have come to light, which shed an excellent perspective on how much in love they were.  One of Irving's to Norma reads: "Dearest cutest sweetness darling angel bunny hope you have missed me as I have missed you, Love Papa", and in one that Norma sent Irving she promised to meet the train he was expected on and sue the railroad for every minute it was late.  She signed it "Love from your lonesome little momma".

 Norma definitely married Irving for love, but it certainly didn't hurt her career.  It was a union of two hopeless workaholics, and Irving was determined to make his wife one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
However, despite Irving's commitment to advancing his new wife's career, he clearly thought she had limits as well.  When Norma appealed for the lead in the rather risque new movie, The Divorcee, Irving said no.

He told her they needed an actress who was convincing in the role of a glamorous femme fatale, (OUCH!?!?!)

and that the studio's first choice actress for the role was Norma's main M-G-M rival, Joan Crawford, (Double OUCH!!!)

Norma promptly marched downtown to the studio of George Hurrell, the first glamour photographer, and together they put together a portfolio of photos that changed Irving's mind, won Norma the role, and got Hurrell hired as M-G-M's head of portrait photography.

Norma won an Academy Award for best actress for her role in that movie, and Irving never questioned her abilities as an actress again.

  When, years later she said she thought she'd like to play Juliet, Irving laughed, but he made the movie and he cast her as Juliet.  When a friend pointed out to him that people were questioning the fitness of a 33 year old mother of two for the role of the 14 year old Juliet, Irving responded: "Norma can play anything, and she can play it better than anyone else."

He was right.  Norma did an excellent job with Juliet and was again nominated for Best Actress, while her co-star, the 43 year old Leslie Howard, made a very convincing Romeo.

Irving and Norma had their first child, a boy named Irving Jr. (at Norma's insistence) in August of 1930, and their daughter Katharine in June of 1935.  Irving was, by all accounts, a doting father.  A chronic workaholic who maintained that people didn't really need more than 5 hours of sleep a night, he still made time to play with his children every morning before leaving for work, and frequently brought them to work with him so he could spend more time with them.  Norma,  a workaholic wrapped up in her husband and career, was described by her friends as a loving, though not a very close mother.

Norma remained loyal and devoted to Irving throughout their marriage, even through his health and professional troubles.  When he suffered a heart attack, Norma willingly put her career on hold for over a year to accompany him on a trip to Europe.

 When Mayer, who had come to resent Irving's talent and prestige demoted him from his position as head of production, and many of the stars whose careers he had helped launch were suddenly too busy to work with him, Norma stuck with him, played the roles he gave her, and used her own star power to help him get his career back on track.  In a time when adultery and broken marriages littered Hollywood, their devotion to each other was proverbial.

Gradually Irving became frailer and frailer as he worked harder and harder.  Friends said of him that he looked "spent", "fragile" and "like a little figure made of white ashes".  Then on Labor Day weekend of 1937, after playing bridge in a draft with Harpo Marx and a couple other friends, he caught a cold which quickly developed into pneumonia.  A specialist was flown in from the East Coast, but it was too late.  On the morning of September 14th, Irving Thalberg died.  His last words to Norma were: "The children, don't let them forget me."  He died at the age of 37, having outlived the doctors' deadline by 7 years. He left a legacy of over 400 films he had produced as well as 2 beautiful children and almost 10 years of happy marriage.

Of all Thalberg's films, the only one in which his name appeared was one of his last, The Good Earth which came out after his death and was dedicated to him.  He himself never put his name in the credits of a movie as the producer because he believed that those who were in a position to give credit should not take it for themselves.

Norma continued to work for 5 more years, receiving another academy award nomination for her starring role in the movie Marie Antoinette, which Irving had been preparing for her before he died.  She went on to star in five more movies before retiring in 1942.

Some time before his death, Irving had been teasing Norma about what would happen after he was gone.  "Just don't marry an actor!" he had said, and she didn't.  In 1942, the year she retired, Norma married again, this time to her children's ski instructor, a man 14 years her junior named Martin Arrouge.  They were married for 40 years, until her death in 1983.

Through her last years she suffered from Alzheimer's Disease and frequently referred to Marti as "Irving".  He never corrected her, and took good care of her as her health deteriorated.  She died in June of 1983, of bronchial pneumonia, the same disease that killed Irving, and was buried beside him at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.


Irving Thalberg, the boy who wasn't expected to live past 25, and Norma Shearer, the girl whom no one thought would succeed, had beaten the odds to become the Royal Couple of 1930's Hollywood.   In spite of the impressive list of films to their credit however, their greatest achievement could well have been their marriage.

I don't know if this needs a disclaimer, but just in case, here goes: I Do Not Own Any Of This.  All of the pictures come from Googling the subjects (quite a few of them were on Tumblr), and all of the information comes from reading online articles as well as some books on Thalberg and Shearer, most notably the works of Mark Vieira.  None of this was written for profit, but simply to edify and entertain my family and any members of the general public who happen to trip over our blog.  

Courage has a Crimson Coat

Courage has a crimson coat

Trimmed with trappings bold,

Knowledge dons a dress of note,

Fame's is cloth of gold.

Far they ride and far they roam,

Much they do and dare;

Gray-gowned patience sits at home,

And weaves the stuff they wear.

By Nancy Byrd Turner as taken from These Are Our Horizons published by Ginn and Co. 1960

Eternal Rest Grant Unto Them, O Lord...

Get ready!  

It is almost time to spend some quality time at the cemetery.

The first week of November, the first through the eighth, offers every baptized Christian in the state of grace* a chance to obtain a plenary indulgence for the poor souls in purgatory each day

 by doing some very simple things.  

First, make it your intention to gain an indulgence. (Decide to and that step is done.)

Second, do whatever act is required, in this case, visit a cemetery each of the eight days and while you do, pray for the souls whose earthly remains are buried there.   A prayer like this is typical:

 "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them, may they rest in peace. Amen  

May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen"

(Do you want some more formal prayers? Here is a link to some prayers that were made specifically for a week of prayer for our beloved dead in Purgatory:
http://apieceofbluechalk.blogspot.com/2016/11/beginning-week-of-prayer-for-holy-souls.html  )

Third, each day, receive Eucharistic communion.  Go to daily mass and receive communion at communion time.  (In some places this will be the hardest part, finding a daily mass. Your effort is VERY pleasing to God, so try as hard as you can.)  

Fourth, While at mass,  pray for the Holy Father's intentions (whatever he is praying for, God knows even if we don't, so leave the actual intention in God's hands), praying an Our Father and a Creed should be enough.

There, You've done it. This small act of Love has helped those souls still suffering torment to be released and now they can intercede on your behalf before the altar of God in the Heavenly Jerusalem.

Ask them to join you in prayer for someone or some other special intention.

*  How can I tell if I am in the state of grace?

The state of grace is something you should try to maintain in everyday life, those not in the state of grace when they die cannot enter paradise, they cannot get into heaven.  Fortunately, it is very easy to obtain this favorable condition. 

     A sacramental confession is the normal way to ensure that you are in the state of grace.  Most Catholic priests will drop everything in order to hear the confession of Catholics who sincerely desire to receive this sacrament.  (As for non-Catholics, Tell the priest what you are trying to do and ask what you must do to receive this sacrament.) 

      To receive this sacrament worthily, you need to examine your life to see if there are any times or occasions in which you turned away from God deliberately, like disobeying the ten commandments even though you knew it was wrong.  See if there are any occasions in which you habitually disobey and consciously choose to detach yourself from those times and resolve to avoid them from now on.  

      Regret for your sins is contrition.  The next step to the state of grace is contrition.  Being sorry for your sins because you don't want to miss out on Heaven or because you are afraid of Hell is enough to get you through this step and closer the state of grace, but you may find something else stirring in you as you pray, sorrow for your sins because you have hurt One who loves you so much that He died to save you from your own selfishness and pride.  This kind of Contrition is very pleasing to God, and opens up your heart up wide to receive even more grace.  

     Now, find a priest.   Most priests hear confessions on Saturday, either in the morning after daily Mass or in the afternoon before the evening Mass, this is their regular confession time when they are waiting for people to come to confession.  Check the local Catholic church's website for the times for the Sacrament of Penance.  If you don't want to wait until Saturday, you can call to make an appointment.  Most priests will be delighted to help. 

      If it has been a very long time since you have received this sacrament, tell that to the priest, tell him you may need help making a good confession.  At some time during the process of sacramental confession the priest will probably give you a penance, usually a prayer or a Bible verse that he will ask you to pray when you leave, and he will probably ask you to recite an "act of contrition" this is a prayer that, if you don't know it, he will help you to recite.  It will formalize the contrition you excited in your heart earlier and help you to say out loud those sentiments (a big step for your soul).

     As you leave the confessional or the office or wherever you received this sacrament and while you pray the penance the priest gave you, make a firm commitment to change your life for the better and to avoid sin and to return to confession often to maintain the renewed life of grace you have begun.  

Congratulations on your new life of grace, now add to the graces you have received by praying every day to God living in your soul, and remember to pray for me when you do.     

+++

A little early but it will give you time to find some music for it!

The Closing Year.

1And now, my soul, another year

Of my short life is past:

I cannot long continue here;

And this may be my last.

2Part of my doubtful life is gone,

Nor will return again;

And swift my fleeting moments run--

The few which yet remain!

3Awake, my soul! with all thy care

Thy true condition learn;

What are thy hopes--how sure, how fair,

And what thy great concern?

4Now a new space of life begins,

Set out afresh for heaven;

Seek pardon for thy former sins,

Through Christ, so freely given.

5Devoutly yield thyself to God,

And on his grace depend;

With zeal pursue the heavenly road,

Nor doubt a happy end.

Not a "Happy Birthday" song

Happy tails (Or, we meet again)

Scientists have discovered that it takes about thirty days to build up a habit. Thirty days is about a month, and we took care of and loved six tiny beagle babies for two months. With the information given above, it should come as no surprise to you, gentle reader, that it was hard, very hard, to watch our little troublemakers (for there is no use denying that they were troublemakers) leave for their new homes.
Viola was easiest, as her family lived only a few streets away, with a large yard near a park. Sebastian's new home remained in town, though a bit farther away. Orlando went to a town about twenty minutes drive away, making him the farthest out of the pack (aside from Miranda, a border hopper, and soon Grover will head up north to join Reganite :'(  but I digress). As loving puppy parents, we hoped to see them again soon, or perhaps receive updates over the e-mail account we had set up for them, but the inbox has remained empty.
In July, Big Dude went into the vet for his yearly check up. Everything was fine, the vet informed me, except that he was beginning to 'square out' a polite term for 'getting fat'. Apparently our casual strolls about the block weren't keeping off the chub, and we were advised that daily exercise would do him a lot of good. At first I started taking him out every morning for a run beside me on my bike, but when an incident occurred involving high speeds and a stinky post that he just HAD to stop and sniff, we found ourselves grounded. So we began long, speedy walks done to the nearby park, passing en route a certain large backyard with a small beagle inside.
Yes, nearly a week after beginning these walks we saw little Viola, or Maggie, as she was now called. I allowed Big Dude to stop beside her fence. She saw him, and her tail went up as she let out a classic beagle bay. He saw her, and slowly, then faster, his tail began to wag and he let out a tiny whimper of recognition. It took a few days before she would come up to the fence and say hi to us, but soon she ran up as soon as she spotted us walking by. Once her little girls were out playing with her and recognized Big Dude, saying hi and proudly telling us that she had graduated her puppy class.
In August we took Puck and Grover in to the vet to get their first heart worm medication and flea and tick goo. A few seconds after walking in the door I noticed a young boy sitting on the waiting bench. He looked familiar, but I shrugged him off as a Church acquaintance perhaps, and focused on getting the puppies weighed. While Puck was on the scale, I heard what I thought was Grover barking in one of the examination rooms. Surprised, I checked Grover's position and found I was wrong. Oh well. We sat down to wait for the vet techs to get our meds, and after a minute a woman walked out of the back rooms and smiled at us.
"Hi, I think we bought a puppy from you?"
In a flash it came back to me. The little boy was the same one who had been given Orlando as a birthday present! "Yes!" I said, "How is he?"
"He's great," she assured me, and from the back room I heard his excited baying. We didn't actually get to see him, but that brief encounter left me very relieved. Orlando, now called Jack, was in the hands of vets we knew and trusted, sure to return to the neighborhood and perhaps to be seen again soon.
Early in September I took Puck in for his puppy shots and while there asked the vet if she had seen the others. She replied that she'd seen Jack (which I knew) and Maggie (which I didn't know) but as yet, no sign of Sebastian. I wasn't worried, there was more than one vet office in town, but I couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed.
The nineteenth and twentieth of September marked the six month birthdays of our little pack of pups. To celebrate, Bird and I walked Grover and Puck down to a park in a gully. It was very beautiful, and the long walk did a marvelous job of tiring out their boundless energy (Grover, though biggest at birth, has not developed his brother's barrel chest, and begged to be carried up the last hill to the car). On the second day we repeated the walk. Just before the point where we had pre-decided to turn around and head back, we noticed a man walking a dog towards of us. I noticed it was a beagle, and for a second a little flame of hope flickered inside me. Sebastian? But no, from a distance I could see that he was young, but big, too big.
"Is it?" asked Bird as the puppies began their usual round of barks at the newcomer.
"No," I whispered in reply as we drew closer.
Suddenly the young beagle bayed, jumping up on his hind legs and thrashing his tail wildly. The man paused, and our respective puppies began barking at each other and sniffing noses.
"I think we sold you this puppy!" gasped Bird, looking into the deep, soulful, unmistakably Sebastian eyes.
"Yes, I think so," came the reply.
"Roger?" Bird asked, remembering Sebastian's new name.
"Yes!"
So it was confirmed. He had defiantly recognized us, although the brothers seemed to have forgotten him, or perhaps they were confused by his new scent. We nearly squealed with joy, we were so happy to know that all our little chillins were safe and happy. Hopefully we will see them all again soon!

"Dear Reader,"

(Confession)

" I am going to ask you to lay aside for a few minutes the busy cares of life and come and have a talk with me about spiritual and heavenly things. Now, if you feel that you scarcely have the time, and can not fully dismiss the temporal concerns of life from your mind, then I will excuse you. I do not care to speak with you unless you can give me your undivided attention. I desire to help you if you need help. I want to talk to you about your every-day life, and I do want your calm, serious attention. Surely by God's help we can spend a few minutes to some profit. "
Read more:                       click this link: C. E. Orr  in  How to Live a Holy Life  

"My How You've Grown" Part 2

     Just a quick post to show you some cute things.  Am I right? Aren't they cute?  Can you guess which one is the Angel Momma? Did you guess where they got their tall genes?
     We took the entire pack out for a walk to the park on Labor Day.  It was a hot day and the little ones needed to be carried for part of it.  We couldn't carry enough water to keep them happy so we stopped at the water fountain at the park and let them have their fill from a plastic cup.  On the walk we saw, from a distance, Little Sugar Lips (formerly Viola now "Maggie") She was at her house and was intimidated by Angel Momma and I  approaching her fence. She ran up to the patio door and paddled fiercely at it, so we left.  She is adorable! She looks like Angel Momma.  It's nice seeing her in that big friendly yard with all the toys and play equipment and the pretty flower pots all around. The rest of the day they spent sleeping and when Miranda and Grover drove home in the car they slept all the way with the exception of one outing as a potty break at a truck stop.   While they were out they charmed the socks off a trucker even though they mostly just bayed at him.   By the time he left they wanted to follow him.

Miranda, Grover and Puck

Puck had to wear his Mom's leash because he lost his. (!?!)

Have a great day, remember us in your prayers!   Love, T.K.

Grover wants a walk

Puppy update or "My, how you've grown!"

Center: Miranda today
#1 Miranda
#2 Napping in the schoolroom
#3 A firm Grip on her kitty
#4 Hunting of all sorts goes on
#5 When a big brother (Grover) comes to visit
#6 Baby and Momma are almost the same size!

It has been awhile and much water has been going under the bridge so to speak since my last post but I realized I have offered no puppy updates.  So, even though there is not much to say, there is very much more to show. Right now I can only show you Angel Momma and Miranda, but I should have more pictures soon. The puppies are getting HUGE!  Angel Momma is visiting for a while and she only has about an inch of height on her 5 month old daughter.  They are manic out in the backyard taking turns being the antagonist, getting themselves trapped under the deck (De-constructing the deck a bit made rescue possible), teasing the Beagle next door and the squirrels.    And in the school room? They mostly nap, or peek out the windows when they hear chipmunks scolding.  We have joined a church,  locked horns with the DOT (4 times) and complied to the best of our understanding with the state homeschool laws.  The school year has begun in earnest.  We will all be together for the Holiday weekend so I am hoping to get some pictures of the puppies all together. ( I think Angel Momma is getting homesick.) Then you will KNOW which dog handed off his height genes!  Keep in touch, comment when you can, we enjoy them. God bless you! Have a safe weekend!
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