Arthur Getz – A New Yorker State of Mind

National Treasure

Above: Detail of a mural by William Gropper, "Construction of a Dam," 1939, located in the U.S. Department of the Interior. (gsa.gov)

Sociologist and urban design critic Lewis Mumford was well known for his strong convictions regarding the development of cities, but he also applied those convictions—namely his ideas of organic balance—while writing “The Art Galleries” column for The New Yorker.

October 17, 1936 cover by William Steig.

Mumford (1895–1990) was neither a traditionalist nor a modernist, but rather a proponent of art and architecture that was human-scaled and that honestly reflected the times and places it which they were created. In his Oct. 17 column he cited Washington’s new Supreme Court Building as a prime example of sham architecture, and lamented a “certain staleness” in an exhibition of the U.S. Treasury’s Relief Art Project, which commissioned numerous murals and sculptures for installation in federal buildings. Excerpts:

SUPERANNUATED CLASSICISM was the term **Lewis Mumford** used to describe new buildings in Washington, D.C., and suggested (in jest) commissioning murals to cover their outside walls, including those of the new Supreme Court building, completed in 1935. According to the Federal Judiciary Center, the building was designed on a scale in keeping with the importance and dignity of the Court and the Judiciary as a coequal, independent branch of the United States Government, and as a symbol of “the national ideal of justice in the highest sphere of activity.” *(fjc.gov)*

Although Mumford noted the “hacks and mediocrities” of Treasury-sponsored art, he also noted the inclusion of a number of distinguished artists. The problem, it seemed to him, was not the artists but rather the outmoded, monumental murals they were commissioned to create.

MONUMENT MEN…Clockwise, from top: mural by **William Gropper,** *Construction of a Dam,* 1939, located in the Department of the Interior; mural created in 1937 by **Peppino Mangravite** for the U.S. Post Office in Hempstead, New York, depicting the arrival of British dirigible R.34 with the first air mail in 1919; **Ernest Fiene** painting from 1938 depicted a wildfire battle, one of a set of four Fiene oil-on-canvas murals at Interior. *(gsa.gov/livingnewdeal.org)*

Mumford concluded: “We need a type of painting that is flexible and renewable…capable of renewal every month, or as often as a Japanese changes a kakemono.”

THE ART OF IMPERMANANCE…**Lewis Mumford** wrote that public art should change as often as the Japanese change their *kakemono. (britannica.com)*

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Been There, Done That

E.B. White gave voice to New Yorker mascot Eustace Tilley in 1927 when Tilley bade farewell as the author of “The Talk of the Town.” White also checked in on Tilley in a 1932 “Notes and Comment” column, recounting how Tilley almost lost his silk top hat to the tax man. Tilley turns up again in this week’s “Notes,” this time appearing quite inebriated and refusing to attend a star-studded party at the Waldorf:

HO-HUM…Not even Benny Goodman and a bevy of Hollywood stars could distract **Eustace Tilley** from his drink and a tin of oysters. (bennygoodman.com)

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Stunt Pilots

I’m not sure which “Talk of the Town” writer went up on the airplane, but either Eugene Kinkead or Russell Maloney hopped aboard an American Airlines charter in a publicity stunt that involved flying a group of reporters above a ship (the S.S. Santa Paula) that was carrying two Hollywood stars—newlyweds Joan Blondell and Dick Powell.

AHOY THERE!…Newlyweds **Joan Blondell** and **Dick Powell** greet admirers as they arrive in New York aboard the S.S. *Santa Paula.* A *New Yorker* writer was flying somewhere overhead. *(godsandfoolishgrandeur.blogspot.com)*

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Gielgud’s Gig

After enormous success on the London stage, John Gielgud brought his Hamlet to Broadway’s Empire Theatre, where he was paired with Lillian Gish as Ophelia. Robert Benchley was there for the action. Excerpt:

ACTING ROYALTY…The queen of the silents met the king of the stage when **Lillian Gish** joined John Gielgud for Broadway’s production of *Hamlet* at the Empire Theatre. The play ran for 132 performances, a record at that time for a Shakespeare play on Broadway. *(James Grissom via facebook.com)*

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At the Movies

Some light fare at the cinema, with Shirley Temple cranking out her thirteenth starring role in Dimples, and Mary Carlisle teaming up with Lew Ayres for some shore leave hijinks in Lady Be Careful.

EIGHT-YEAR-OLD FILM VETERAN **Shirley Temple** and co-star **Frank Morgan** featured on a lobby card promoting Dimples; at right, **Mary Carlisle** and **Lew Ayres** in *Lady Be Careful. (eBay.com/facebook.com)*

A quick note about the actress, singer and dancer Mary Carlisle (featured above): Best known for her roles as a wholesome ingénue in 1930s musical-comedies, she was with us until just eight years ago. The last surviving WAMPAS Baby Star, Carlisle died at age 104 in 2018.

AGELESS…Publicity photo of **Mary Carlisle**, circa 1930s. *(facebook.com)*

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Saving Face

Famed stage actress Blanche Yurka had some choice words for Frank Sullivan after she read his Sept. 26 humor piece, “Save Your Face, Miss Blondell”…

WHAT ABOUT ME?…**Blanche Yurka** (left) called out **Frank Sullivan** for his attentions to “movie cutie” **Joan Blondell**. Yurka (1887–1974) was an acclaimed actress known for her intense commitment to both stage and screen roles—she even learned to knit (center image) so that she could play the role of the vengeful Madame Defarge in the 1935 film adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities. (tmdb.org/michaelbalter.substack.com/sspl.org)

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The latest mini-bio from the calendar section featured famed violinist Friedrich “Fritz” Kreisler (1875–1962)…illustration is by Hugo Gellert…

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From Our Advertisers

We begin with this full-page advertisement for Heinz tomato juice, which featured a photo of a man who resembled playwright/actor Noël Coward…the person in the ad is not identified, but Coward was known for endorsing products from time to time, including Bulova watches and Rheingold beer…

…another ad illustrated by Margaret Sommerfeld, who produced promotional artwork for Saks…

…and another full page ad for Old Gold illustrated by pin-up artist George Petty…

…the Old Gold ad marks a departure from a long series of Petty-illustrated ads that were more in the pin-up style and featured a leering little man rather than a handsome masher:

…most cigarette ads still targeted the growing market of women smokers, including this line of smokes manufactured by Benson & Hedges…

…Ozzie Nelson was a famed bandleader until he reached even greater fame on his own radio series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, launched in 1944, and his television show by the same name, which ran from 1952 to 1966…

…if Ozzie Nelson wasn’t your thing, you could tap your toes to Paul Draper’s dancing ensemble or Shep Fields’ “Rippling Rhythm Orchestra” at the Hotel Pierre…

…some advertisers persisted in running wordy appeals for their products, including the execs at the Chrysler, who thought consumers could be swayed by the story of a nineteenth-century amateur chemist who accidentally refined coal tar and spawned a billion-dollar industry…

…the makers of the luxury brand Packard continued to stay afloat during the Depression by marketing lower-priced models like the Packard Six…

…lower-priced options were also featured in this ad from an organization called “Living American Art,” which offered “faithful” color collotype reproductions by modern artists, including New Yorker contributors Peggy Bacon and Reginald Marsh…

1936 lithograph of Peggy Bacon’s *The Nosegay,* featured in the ad above. *(posted on Facebook Marketplace)*

…and we have another striking Abe Birnbaum caricature (of stage actress Gertrude Lawrence) for Stage magazine…

…imagine entering this dining room while aboard a Grace Line Santa liner…not a waterslide or buffet line in sight (this was the same liner that Joan Blondell and Dick Powell took on their honeymoon from California to New York)…

…Otto Soglow continued illustrating ads for WOR radio…

…which segues to our cartoonists, beginning with a spot by Arthur Getz…

…a caption-less entry by Alain…

…Alain again, with a puzzling challenge…

…a horticultural mystery courtesy of Helen Hokinson…

…Charles Addams presented an ideal client to this fortune teller…

…Carl Rose got a little spooky…

…Gardner Rea served up an Olympian boast…

…Peter Arno drew up a doubtful doctor…

…Whitney Darrow Jr illustrated the power of motion pictures…

…George Price sampled the latest styles in ice bags…

…Barbara Shermund went shoe shopping…

…and we close with the first New Yorker cartoon by Douglas Borgstedt (1911–2001), and a good one at that!…

Next Time: The President’s Mystery…

Through the Looking Glass, Darkly

Above: The BBC offered a public demonstration of television at Waterloo Station, London, in 1936. (Colorized image via Facebook)

E.B. White was ever wary of new technology (except for aviation—he loved to fly), so television posed yet another thing to fear in the coming age of “omniscience.”

September 19, 1936 cover by William Cotton.

In addition to television, White noted two other “giant strides” in the world of science and publicity: a live radio broadcast featuring sounds from the Spanish Civil War, and the launch of a new magazine that would “consist almost entirely of pictures.”

ONE-EYED MONSTER…Clockwise, from top left: On Aug. 11, 1936, Philco Radio and Television demonstrated the transmitting end of a television with the help of camera operator R.E. Waggener and singer **Betty McNellis**—the sound and picture were projected seven miles to a receiving set; a close-up of a 1936 television camera; photo taken in 1936 during a “live broadcast” from America’s first television studio, NBC Studio 3H—from left, NBC President **Lenox Lohr,** RCA President **David Sarnoff** and Fair Committee head **Grover Whalen** sign a contract for an RCA pavilion at the upcoming 1939 World’s Fair; front and rear view of a 1936 television receiver. *(eyesofageneration.com/facebook.com)*

White also noted the upcoming launch of a new magazine, The Show-Book of the World, which was the working title of a publication that would become Life magazine. White did not like the idea of a magazine consisting mostly of pictures that graphically expose “once-private lives,” believing it would “do away with the last vestiges of privacy in America.”

MONUMENTAL…The photo on the first cover of *Life* magazine, Nov. 23, 1936, was shot by one of *Life*‘s original four photographers, **Margaret Bourke-White,** who covered the construction of the Fort Peck Dam, a Public Works Administration endeavor to build the largest earth dam in the world during the Great Depression. At right, a Bourke-White photo of Fort Peck workers enjoying some down time. *(npr.org/life.com/worthpoint.com)*

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Call for Johnny Roventini!

“The Talk of the Town” featured a brief profile of Johnny Roventini (aka Johnny Morris or Johnny the Bellboy), the famous “living trademark” for the Philip Morris tobacco company. Roventini (1910–1998), who represented the company for more than forty years, was working as a bellboy at the New Yorker Hotel in 1933 when he was discovered by an advertising agent. Excerpts:

THEY’RE SELLING YOU…In mid-century America the image of **Johnny Roventini**, known to the public as Johnny Morris or Johnny the Bellboy, seemed to be everywhere. Clockwise, from top left: Publicity photo, 1937; magazine ad, 1947; ad promoting the armed services, 1941; civil defense-themed ad, 1940s; cigarette match holder; promotional stand-up sign. *(cats.ua.edu/standford.edu/worthpoint.com)*

Roventini was probably best known for his Philip Morris promos on I Love Lucy. The new show was challenged to find a sponsor (due to the Cuban character played by Desi Arnaz) until Arnaz arranged a deal that made Philip Morris the exclusive sponsor of I Love Lucy from its premiere on October 15, 1951 through Christmas of 1954. Roventini gained unprecedented national TV exposure and became fast friends with Arnaz and Lucille Ball. Here is one more excerpt from “Talk” regarding the quiet life of Philip Morris’s “living trademark.”

I LOVE PHILIP MORRIS…**Lucille Ball, Johnny Roventini** and **Desi Arnaz** formed a lucrative trio for the tobacco company Philip Morris when *I Love Lucy* went on the air in 1951. Roventini was an occasional, social smoker, while Ball and Arnaz were heavy smokers (although Lucy preferred Chesterfields). *(facebook.com/instagram.com)*

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At the Movies

A Soviet film featuring exiled German communists proved to be a disappointment for critic John Mosher, but in retrospect the 1936 German-Soviet film The Struggle (aka Kämpfer or Der Kampf) reveals the strange and terrifying climate artists had to navigate in Stalin’s Russia.

Set in Germany after 1933, the film depicted the resistance of workers against the rise of the Nazi Party. One of the earliest films to depict Nazi terror and concentration camps, ironically many of those who worked on the film became victims of Joseph Stalin’s terror and the Gulag.

DEFIANCE…German actress Lotte Loebinger in a scene from the 1936 German-Soviet movie *The Struggle* (“Kämpfer”). Loebinger (1905-1995) managed to survive Stalin’s purges and had a long career on the stage in East Berlin following World War II. Loebinger’s lover, a German refugee physician with whom she bore a daughter, was not so fortunate, dying in a Soviet Gulag camp. *(YouTube)*

Shortly after The Struggle was completed, Stalin purged the community of exiled German communists living in Moscow, and the film was quickly banned by Soviet authorities. A large number of the film’s cast and crew were arrested, sent to the Gulag, or killed, including lead actor Bruno Schmidtsdorf, who was executed by firing squad near Moscow in 1938. Composer Hans Hauska, who wrote the film’s musical score, perished in a Soviet prison camp.

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Playing the Ponies

The calendar section continued its series of illustrated mini-bios, this week featuring Tommy Hitchcock, widely regarded as the greatest polo player in the history of the sport. A dashing figure in high society, Hitchcock (1900–1944) was also an aviator and decorated war hero. Illustration by William Cotton.

POLO PLAYING PILOT…**Tommy Hitchcock** flew as a volunteer pilot for the French Air Force in World War I, and was later instrumental in the development of the P-51 Mustang fighter plane. Hitchcock was killed in 1944 while piloting a P-51 on a test flight near Salisbury, England. *(instagram.com)*

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From Our Advertisers

A strange advertisement from Bergdorf, announcing the opening of a salon that featured a line of shoes inspired by the Chinese “bound foot”…

…if a bound foot wasn’t your thing, you could wiggle your toes in an elastic shoe fashioned from “Pleatex”…

…Wamsutta continued to promote its high thread-count sheets with these somewhat seductive advertisements…

…oddly composed advertisement for Saks Fifth Avenue by fashion illustrator Margaret Sommerfeld, who produced promotional artwork for Saks…

…Fred Astaire managed to hang on to his hat in this advertisement for “The Packard Hour” on NBC’s nationwide “Red Network”…the ad proclaimed “you’ll hear him sing and dance“…on the radio, that is…

…Scripps-Howard featured this image of the late Will Rogers to promote newspaper advertising…

…this back cover ad also featured a newspaper reader, enjoying a smoke while waiting for the train…

…best known for creating The Little King, Otto Soglow drew hundreds of cartoons and spot drawings for The New Yorker as well as for a variety of advertisers including Pepsi-Cola, Benson & Hedges cigarettes, and here, one from a series of ads he created for WOR radio…

…speaking of spots, here are two by Victor de Pauw…

…biographies of prolific New Yorker cover artist Arthur Getz give his start date at the magazine as 1938, but this might be one of his early spot drawings (although the signature style differs from Getz’s other works)…

…no mistaking this spot by Christina Malman…

…or this one by Richard Decker…

…Leonard Dove demonstrated some moves for a chorus line…

…and more wonderful Richard Taylor illustrations for Morris Bishop’s limericks…

…the well-heeled prepared to engage in a favorite sport, per Peter Arno…

…”Trans-Lux” theaters were conversions of storefronts and retail offices that seated smaller audiences than traditional theaters. Rather than feature films, the Trans-Lux theaters showed continuous 45-to-60-minute loops of newsreels (like The March of Time), short subjects, travelogues, and cartoons from 10 a.m. to midnight—people could come and go as they pleased. The theaters pioneered rear-screen projection, using a specialized, wide-angled lens placed just eight feet behind a translucent screen…