Star Sketches - Story of Irene Dunne by Ricardo Cortez

IF Will Rogers were her manager, Irene Dunne would be delivering her speeches from political platforms instead of the screen.

 In "Cimarron" the RKO Radio Picture star played a scene in which she was called on to make a campaign speech. Such ardor, such conviction and such stump went into that bit of action, Will Rogers declared, Irene could move a hardboiled convention as easily as she did a critical premiere audience.

 Hollywood will always remember Irene Dunne for her connection with "Cimarron," not only because of the outstanding performance she gave, but also because of the very drama of winning the coveted role of Sabra Cravat against more than 50 well known screen actresses.

 Irene Dunne reached her present pinnacle via Louisville, St. Louis, Chicago and Broadway. She was born in old Kentucky - wait a minute here, that line is "bred in old Kentucky." Anyway, it was in St. Louis, that the Dunne family found it had a Voice in its midst. It was in Chicago that Voice was trained and in "Show Boat" received first public attention.

 Because she thinks musical pictures will return to popularity, Irene is continuing her studies with singing teachers and these lessons, golf, and gardening form her favorite pastimes.

 She rubs cucumbers on her face as a beauty lotion and likes to eat ice cream in bed. She prefers weekly magazines to novels for reading and would rather play the piano than listen to the radio.

 She is five feet four inches tall, weighs 115 pounds, has brown hair and brown eyes and likes spinach. She dislikes people who debate companionate marriage, wear button shoes or take fifteen minutes to make a telephone date.

 She dotes on buttermilk, wire-haired terriers and slinky white evening gowns - she wears low heals - blue negligees and never pulls up her garters in public. She smokes cheap cigarettes - uses expensive perfumes - is a little nearsighted and once spent a night in conversation with the Brussels police because she lost her temper at the same time she lost her trunk on a European trip. 

 She once made a hole in one!

(Covina Citizen, California, February 10, 1933)