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BILL HART

Scoop and Edwin Schallert, that distinguished drama-music
critic of the Los Angeles Times for 41 years. Behind them, on
the wall, hung a framed autographed picture of Bill Hart. Now,
this wasn't an ordinary picture. Bill's solemn expression was
haunting. The eyes, clear and intelligent, bore into you, grab-
bing and not letting go. No matter the angle from which you
studied the face, those deep-set eyes stared straight at you,
almost alive. It was as though he were in the room with them,
flesh and blood. Well, in a way, he was there. He was still
Scoop's and Edwin's favorite topic of conversation.
"Of all the famous figures I've worked with," confessed
Scoop, "none has outshone Bill. To me, he'll always remain the
original Mr. Westerner. He had no peer."
"That's right," echoed Edwin Schallert, "he'll remain in a
class alone. The nearest to him today is Gary Cooper. Bill
would still be a big star today."
"He had one of the greatest speaking voices we've ever
heard," Scoop said.
"Yet," Schallert pointed out, "his voice ironically never
was heard publicly on the screen; and all because of that long
fight he had with his studio. You were in on it, weren't you,
Scoop?"
"Yes," Scoop said. "I remember the particulars well. I was
handling Bill's personal affairs and he had always given me a
free hand. One day Jesse Lasky called Bill and told him the
Famous Players-Lasky studio was establishing a new policy
for its stars."
That meeting with Lasky was one of the most important
movie conferences ever held, for the strain and tensions of that
conference were to have a lasting effect on Bill Hart's career.
This is what happened and this is what Lasky told Bill:
"Bill," Lasky said, "you are an actor. You're among the
highest paid actors in the business. You produce your own
pictures . . . "
''What are you driving at?" interrupted Bill.
"We've decided"-and here it came-"that you must stop
being a producer and become an actor. We will do the produc-
ing. We'll select your stories, casts and directors. All you'll
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