Page 1 - conlon1960_hart

Chapter
Bill Hart
9

THE LIFE OF Scoop Conlon in Hollywood in the early days
of his career was closely tied with that of Bill Hart. Scoop was
friend, manager and audience for this great and puzzling per-
sonality who, as much as any individual, created nation-wide
viewer interest in the infant motion picture industry.
"My old friend, Bill Hart, was truly a remarkable man,"
Scoop said. "In the history of motion pictures, I do not be-
lieve that any one star has ever enjoyed the respect and devo-
tion of as many fans. When he passed away in 1946, at the
age of eighty-three, he was still receiving scores of letters from
loyal friends, despite the fact that he had been retired from
the screen for nearly twenty-five years.
"When we first met in 1915, Bill and I took a great liking
to each other. We became intimate friends, and this close bond
endured for life. It had been my good fortune to see the man
who was to become Bill Hart, the 'Two-Gun Man' of the
movies, many times on the stage, both as audience and critic,
and I had great admiration for his acting. After we became
friends, it was only logical that I should become first his
publicity manager and later his personal and studio manager.
"His long and eventful life was extremely colorful, ranging
from a boyhood with the Sioux Indians in the Dakota terri-
tory, to a young manhood of Broadway stage fame, as a great
romantic and Shakespearian actor; to the crowning achieve-
53