[78-L] Are there any recordings of...[was: Mabel Normand Recording]

[Harold Aherne]

Talk-o-Photo. Jeepers, I'd love to hear some of these--most are not unique recordings,
since H.B. Warner, Gloria Swanson, Mae Murray, and others all made talkies and there
are taped interviews with Mary Miles Minter from the 60s or 70s. But J. Warren Kerrigan
(who retired in 1924) and David Powell (who died in 1925) are exceptions, and any 
recording of them is a genuinely valuable artifact. 
 
Now, something that I've long wanted to know but haven't gotten a definitive answer on:
did Wallace Reid make of these Talk-o-Photos? He's probably at the top of my list of 
stars whose voices I'd like to hear. I don't know precisely when these records were
issued, but Reid was in New York in the late spring/early summer of 1920 and *could*
have stopped by the Emerson studio if they had wanted him.
 
I'd also like to hear Marguerite Clark and Constance Talmadge. Clark retired in 1921 
and I'm not aware of any recordings, but I'd love to be proven wrong. There are several
near-misses with Constance Talmadge: she reportedly made a successful voice test
in 1929 for "Gold Diggers of Broadway"; appeared on sister Norma's and then-brother-
in-law George Jessel's radio show in April 1938, and was even on TV in November 1949,
on a Dennis James program. But there are no known recordings of any of these! The
Talmadges worked primarily in New York until 1921 or 1922 and again, they'd be available
for recording if Emerson was interested. (And by the way, Norma DOES NOT speak with
a Brooklyn accent in either of her two talkies, no matter what you've read).
 
-Harold
radio show with 

--- On Mon, 10/12/09, David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca> wrote:


From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
Subject: Re: [78-L] Mabel Normand Recording
To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Date: Monday, October 12, 2009, 9:12 PM


Not according to Rust's CED, but there were a few records by silent film stars 
that he didn't know about. Laminated with a photo of the star on the blank 
side. Anyone remember the label?

dl

bruce78rpm at comcast.net wrote:
> I just received an email request from someone who is interested in obtaining an elusive and rare recording of the voice of Silent Film star Mabel Normand. Does anyone know if Mabel Normand ever made a record ? and if so, Is a sound file of her performance available ? 
> 
> Thanks, 
> 
> Bruce 
> ____________________________


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