On Second Thought: Louise Brooks and Jay House

Jay E. House (1868-1936) was a nationally known newspaper columnist in the 1920s. Early on, he wrote for the Topeka Daily Capital and other small town Kansas papers. Beginning in 1919, his column "On Second Thought" began running in the Philadelphia Public Ledger and then the New York Evening Post. He wrote, as well, for the Saturday Evening Post and other publications, authored books, and once even served as mayor of Topeka, where he first got his start.

I wasn't familiar with House, but just recently I ran across a couple of clipping in the Hutchinson News (a small town Kansas newspaper) which both piqued my interest and referenced Jay House and Louise Brooks.

Apparently, House mentioned Brooks in one of his Philadelphia Public Ledger columns, which in turn led the Hutchinson News to respond in an article on December 18, 1926. The Hutchinson News response was occasioned by the local showing of Love Em and Leave Em, the latest Louise Brooks' film. 

House's reference seemingly ruffled a few feathers, because a few days later, he responded to this tempest in a teapot. On December 21, the Hutchinson News ran House's column, which read in part.

This all may be nothing more than ballywho and local boosterism, but still, it shows that Brooks was kinda famous in Kansas even in 1926.

[I haven't been able to get a hold of House's original column -- nor access the archives of the Philadelphia Public Ledger for the period in question in order to track down the House column that started it all. Can anyone help?]

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original content copyright © 2025. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  

Answers to a vintage newspaper quiz with Louise Brooks

A couple of days ago, this blog ran a vintage newspaper quiz featuring Louise Brooks. It ran in the Hutchinson News in November, 1926. Hutchinson, Kansas is a small city located some 50 miles from Wichita, Kansas. 

 

... And here are the answers to the quiz. How many did you get right?

 

 

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2025. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

A vintage newspaper quiz with Louise Brooks

Just recently, I came across this newspaper quiz featuring Louise Brooks. It ran in the Hutchinson News in November, 1926. Hutchinson, Kansas is a small city located some 50 miles from Wichita, Kansas. How many questions can you answer? I will run the answers, as printed on page 10, in a couple of days.

 

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2025. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

On this day in 1922 in the life history of Louise Brooks

Nineteen twenty-two was a pivotal year in the life of Louise Brooks. It was a whirlwind year. Brooks was a teenager, just 15 at the beginning of the year, and she was following her passion for dance while performing in local theaters and before clubs and civic organizations in her hometown of Wichita, Kansas. By the end of the year, she was a member of the prestigious Denishawn Dance Company, touring the United States and performing alongside such dance greats as Martha Graham, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn. This blog commences a new series of posts documenting significant happenings in Brooks' life on this day one-hundred years ago.

* * * * * *

On this day in 1922 in the life history of Louise Brooks . . . . Brooks, along with other students from the Mills-Fischer School of Dance and Dramatic Arts, attends a performance in nearby Hutchinson, Kansas by dance legend Anna Pavlova and her Ballet Russe. The Mills referenced in the name of the dance school was none other than Alice Mills, who was immortalized as "The Chaperone" in Laura Moriarty's splendid novel of the same name which centers on Brooks and events in her life in 1922.

What a remarkable happenstance -- the coming together of two iconic figures of the 20th century. Its only equivalent was when Ruth St. Denis took Brooks and the other Denishawn dancers to see Isadora Duncan perform.

In case you are not familiar with Pavlova (or Pavlowa), she was one of the great dancers of the 20th century. Her Wikipedia entry begins, "Anna Pavlovna was born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova (12 February 1881 – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev. Pavlova is most recognized for her creation of the role of The Dying Swan and, with her own company, became the first ballerina to tour around the world, including performances in South America, India and Australia." Her likeness and legend are commemorated in artwork all around the world.