The Early Garbo

The day after Greta Garbo’s death (April 15) I came across a batch of Garbo photographs covering 1926 to 1932. One brought back memories of an evening at the old 60 Club, before it became the Mayfair. The 60 had a membership of most of the stars and industry personalities and was regarded as veddy veddy.

One of those present was famed actor John Gilbert, who had a nondescript young woman with him. Some knew her, but as many others were doubtful . . . “some foreign actress out at Metro.”

She didn’t speak much and didn’t dance with Gilbert, who was trying to talk her into getting up on the floor with him.

I noticed too that she was clad in what was undoubtedly the drabbest dress in the ballroom.

I learned later that she didn’t own a gown and had borrowed one from the Metro studio wardrobe department. Later too I learned that she was still grieving over the death of her Swedish mentor--Mauritz Stiller, who had brought her to Hollywood--and only reluctantly had she consented to Gilbert’s pleas to join him.

Nobody there--in what amounted to a phantasmagoria of beauty and glamour--could visualize that this ugly duckling would in time be one of the most famous women in the world.

WHITNEY WILLIAMS

Los Angeles