: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."
:05:00
Forty-eight hours later, I made every
newspaper around the country.
:05:04
"Big splash: New York businessman dives
into pool and comes out movie star."
:05:09
Was I lucky? I think so.
:05:12
If I had stayed just an actor, Norma
never would've given me a second look.
:05:16
What caught her eye was a young
go-getter, sure about himself. Persuasive.
:05:21
A subliminal reminder of the man who
was once her mentor and her husband.
:05:26
It's the old story, though.
Luck doesn't happen by mistake.
:05:29
Rather, luck is when opportunity
meets preparation.
:05:37
As soon as the picture wrapped,
I flew back to the Big Apple.
:05:40
Evan Picone was on fire...
:05:42
...the showroom packed with them leggy
ladies prancing in their patrician pants.
:05:46
It was turn-on plus. My brother Charles had
built the top fashion company of its time.
:05:52
Me? I was lucky to be part of it...
:05:54
...never having a second thought
about returning to La La Land.
:05:57
Why should I?
:05:58
In New York, I was a celebrity.
From debutante, to starlet, to model.