MASQUERS' CLUB Honors DARRYL F. ZANUCK + 20th Century-Fox / OCTOBER 25, 1939

Description

Thanks for stopping by. Up for auction is a program measuring  6 1/2" x 4" when closed, and 6 1/2" x 8" when open. The outside has sun staining, as you can see, and the back has hints of glue from a scrapbook, but the inside is wonderful and ready to frame. On the inside:
THE MASQUERS' CLUB
ANNOUNCES A DINNER
IN HONOR OF
DARRYL F. ZANUCK
AND
20th Century-Fox
William Collier, Sr.
Toastmaster
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1939
7:30 P.M.
William B. Davidson / Harlequin
Edward Earle / Chairman Dinner Committee
COCKTAILS AT 7 / Informal
MEMBERS / .50
GUESTS / .00
RESERVATIONS WILL BE HELD UNTIL MONDAY AT 5 P.M.
HONORED GUESTS
Joseph M. Schenk
Samuel Goldwyn
William Goetz
James Roosevelt
Jack Benny
Edgar Bergen
Orson Welles
Charles Laughton
Al Jolson
Mark Hellinger
Gene Fowler
Mervyn LeRoy
Edward G. Robinson
William Koenig
Harry Joe Brown
Lucien Hubbard
Kenneth Macgowan
Raymond Griffith
Frank Capra
Wesley Ruggles
Gregory Ratoff
John Ford
Judge E. R. Brand
Lou Schreiber
Morton Downey
Mario Chamlee
Daliez Frantz
Hy Gardner
Russell Swan
Maryk Windheim
Larry Blake
Frank Forrest
St. Brendan's Boys Choir
WHAT IS THE MASQUERS' CLUB:
"How did The Masquers Club get its start? Just who was responsible for it all, anyhow? Mr. George Read, one of the founders, and a lengthy clipping from the Hollywood News of June 30, 1931, tells of our borning.
To quote Mr. Read in part:
'Prior to the founding of The Masquers, several abortive attempts had been made to form an actors' club here. One of these was the ill-fated Bears Club that was ultimately killed off by some 'interests.'
Then a promoter of Clubs from the east started a money-making deal (for himself) called, I believe, the Screen Actors Club. I was taken for 0 membership - then found that the "Club" owned (!) the old Japanese Embassy building in Hollywood, saddled with a ,000 mortgage. Without my knowledge, I was made a member of the board of directors - and when I found what we were up against, I suggested to the other board members that we order the Club disbanded - which was done.
The 'board' then walked out on the porch. There was Bob Edeson, Fred Esmelton, Alfonz Ethier and myself. I did a little cussing and remarked that Hollywood certainly needed an actors' or theatrical club like The Lambs, but I felt sure that The Lambs did not start out with a swank clubhouse and a big mortgage. Bob said, indeed not, that it started with a couple of rented rooms."
A meeting was called at the home of Alphonz Ethier, a few days later, where the group met. The Hollywood News picks up the story here with this description of the meeting:
There was no hesitation, no lack of decision. Each man was thoroughly sold on the idea. It was all now a matter of determining the first steps.
"A club should be just like a courtship," stated Ethier. "If there is enough love, there is no need for money."
"You win!" announced Ned Sparks, who had joined the group. "Make it a club founded on love!"
"That's it" fairly shouted Edeson, "A Club of love and loyalty and laughter. We'll laugh to win!" And he held out his hand toward the others.
Each man unctuously extended his hand. Without premeditation, the five hands met - and clasped. They were as one. For an instant, there was a complete silence. Then Bob repeated, "A Club of love, loyalty and laughter - that's it! We'll laugh to win!"
"We'll laugh to win!" said all of them in unison.
And to this very day, "We Laugh to Win" is the motto of the organization.
Now came the problem of organizing, a clubhouse, dues, rules and the incorporation... and the big question: Could they get members? Two of the men, Read and Esmelton, wanted to look over an old house on Yucca street. Finding it locked they climbed in thru an open window. Within a few minutes, two policemen arrived, but a situation was averted when one of the police recognized Read.
A couple of days later, the "board" walked up to the house (with key in hand), inspected it throughout and sat on the stairs and talked. The first formal meeting was on the next day, May 5, 1925. Sitting on orange crates, they discussed their problems.
On May 18, another meeting was held, this time with 30 members. Among these was Ingle Carpenter, an attorney, formerly from the east. He told the members the necessity of being properly incorporated and offered to look after the legal work, gratis.
Passing into faked unconsciousness, Sparks managed to gasp, "A California attorney doing something for nothing! Surely, there's a chance for prohibition."
Then came the choosing of a name. After days of argument and debate, a suitable one was suggested. The club would be known as "The Jesters." But no sooner had the wheels started rolling than an objection came from the Shriners. It seems that The Jesters was one of the unincorporated organizations in the Shrine.
Another meeting was held, this time over 100 members and, at the suggestion of Earle Foxe, the name "Masquers" was adopted. Now the work was to begin.
"The following week many things were happening" reads the Hollywood News. "Cyril Chadwick was a volunteer foreman for the cleaning and painting crew. Actors who received hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars weekly for their professional services, were busy with brooms, scrubbing brushes and painting equipment. Of course, these men could have donated enough money to have everything done but they elected to do it themselves. It was just the spirit of The Masquers asserting itself.
"Meanwhile, Esmelton, assisted by Ethier, purchased heavy oak tables, chairs and benches. These were followed by cutlery, dishes and other similar necessities. It wasn't long until there was a completely furnished and well decorated house -- with a kitchen and ice box -- even remotely approaching food.
"Everything was quite peaceful and serene until a couple of men who had seen service in France turned loose the familiar old army cry, 'when do we eat?'
"The first luncheon was a glorious affair. Esmelton, who had long been famous in both the theatrical and motion picture professions for his ability in preparing exquisite and delightful foods, prepared the first luncheon -- and it was the greatest sort of a success. It was so much of a triumph that he became the official non-salaried cook --- and he remained on the difficult job until The Masquers was averaging more than 100 luncheons a day.
"Finally, it became necessary to hire a club manager and steward. The dining room became too small for the crowd, so a roof garden was constructed, and was packed to capacity each day. And everybody knew everybody else, intimately, delightfully. It was bad form, and not at all the true Masquers spirit not to know a brother Masquer quite well enough always to address him by his first name."
In the meantime, the first officers had been elected, and the official birthday of the club was declared to be May 25, 1925. With the growing membership the present site of The Masquers Club was purchased after two years at Yucca street.
"The whole thing got off to a wonderful start," writes Mr. Read "and a wonderful spirit --- from the very beginning. Masquers gave freely of their time, furniture, money and ideas. It just couldn't go wrong!! Fred Esmelton worked like a dog and watched every nickle for the first 2 or 3 years, and I did what I could to keep our finances on an even keel as Treasurer. We rocked along pretty well until Sam Hardy came along, and then that great guy put on big shows, made pictures and generally raised hell to give us a large chunk of money, which put us on a permanently sound basis."
So here we are! "We Laugh to Win."
"Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are, and what they ought to be." William Hazlitt (1788-1830)
Some further insights into the origins of our motto "We Laugh To Win" are offered here.
1765 Sycamore St. (no longer in existence) Home of the Masquers for more than 60 years
While visiting Knotts' Berry Farm not long ago, Masquerette Dee Carroll saw the following on a 70 year old reading chart in the old school house there.
Sweet wind, fair wind,
Where have you been?
I've been sweeping the Cobwebs out of the sky;
I've been grinding a grist
in the mill hard by;
I've been laughing at work
while others sigh-
Let those laugh who win!"
R.L. Stevenson
The bottom of the chart had been torn but it is widely held to be the work of Robert Louis Stevenson. From an old friend, Masquer Kay E. Kuter, comes another possible derivation. He referred us to Othello's speech in Act IV, Sc I, Line 123.
--- "So, so, so, so:
They laugh that win."
It seems probable to us that Robert Edeson, our first Harlequin, who received his early stage training from his producer-manager father, and who himself was a Broadway star at twenty-one, could have been unconsciously paraphrasing either of the above quotes (which no doubt he was more than familiar with) when he embraced the other founding fathers and excitedly declaimed on that night 50 Golden years ago, "That's it! A Club of love and loyalty and laughter. We'll laugh to win!"
Oh, to be in that room! That was a peak time in Darryl F. Zanuck's winning streak. 1939 was a winning streak for Hollywood movies, right? This is rare item from the collection of Mark Hellinger (March 21, 1903 – December 21, 1947), an American journalist, theatre columnist and film producer. To be a fly on the wall!
Starting the bidding at a song. Happy summer to you!