:03:01
...sit by the pool and get some
sun at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
:03:05
Suddenly a woman approached. "Excuse
me, young man, are you an actor?"
:03:11
Yeah, I was, a long time ago.
:03:14
It was Norma Shearer.
:03:16
Norma Shearer, at the time,
was one of the few remaining icons...
:03:19
...of Hollywood aristocracy.
:03:20
A petite blond in a striped, short robe.
:03:24
"Pardon me for being curious, young man,
but why are you always on the phone?"
:03:28
Gotta pay my bills.
"You're not a bookmaker, are you?"
:03:31
No, I'm not a bookmaker.
:03:33
Then she changed the
entire course of my life.
:03:36
"Would you like to play my deceased
husband, Irving Thalberg, in a film?"
:03:40
I looked at her. Looked at her again. I
didn't know what she was talking about.
:03:44
"They're making a film at Universal
called Man of a Thousand Faces.
:03:48
My friend Jimmy Cagney
is playing Lon Chaney.
:03:51
Irving discovered him and made
him the biggest star in silent film.
:03:54
He was only 20 at the time. He was
even too young to sign the checks.
:03:58
But not too young to run a studio."
:04:01
I'm thinking to myself, wow,
this can't be happening to me.
:04:06
Miss Shearer, it would be
an honor. Why not?
:04:09
Cagney is the one guy
I've always wanted to meet.
:04:14
Two hours later, I'm on a
sound stage at Universal.
:04:19
Here I am, like out of a dream,
I'm testing opposite Jimmy Cagney.
:04:22
Mind if I come in a minute?
:04:25
I know I don't look dressed for the barricades,
but I've come from a revolution.
:04:29
The premiere of The Jazz Singer. Lon,
you should've seen that audience.
:04:33
When Jolson's voice came
from the screen...
:04:35
...I could hear the bells tolling
for silent pictures.
:04:39
You haven't heard a word I said.
:04:43
- I'm sorry, Irving. What were you saying?
- Nothing much.
:04:46
Just trying to tell you
about a modern miracle.
:04:49
Pictures that not only move,
Lon, but they speak.
:04:51
Oh, yeah, sure. Talking pictures.
:04:53
It's the horse and the automobile
all over again. No use fighting it.
:04:57
When it was over, Cagney gave me a
quick look, "You did good, kid."