Josephine Hill — The Joyous Pagan (1920) 🇺🇸

The blonde pagan! It sounds like one of Berta Ruck’s novels or a Universal picture, but in reality it’s a description of Josephine Hill.

by Willis Goldbeck

For that tiny person, eighteen in years but eighty in wisdom, has evolved a philosophy and a religion all her own. It first manifested itself to me in the tip-tiltedness of Josephine’s nose, which caught my attention immediately upon our meeting.

“But it was just good luck that I had that kind of a nose!” declared Josephine — and thereby hangs a tale — the tale of the aforementioned philosophy.

Upon a pedestal in a corner of the room reposed a curious carving. It was a small idol, apparently, a cross between a Billiken and a Buddha, hewn from ivory. And when my eyes were not engaged with Josephine’s nose, they were hovering about that strange image. She noticed it, of course, and her mouth crinkled up into a delighted little smile.

“That,” she explained, “is Korsukan, my god of luck. Every morning when I get up and every evening before I go to bed, I bow before him! Isn’t that funny!’” She giggled at her own caprice — and yet, was it a caprice? As I learned more of this strange god, I began to suspect that his solitary worshiper had discovered a page from the Book of Wisdom.

But I had not come to discuss newborn philosophies; rather to unearth the life story of this, new light in the cinema heavens. Her marriage with Jack Perrin, the Universal star, was the talk of the day. I could scarcely believe that the tiny girl before me was a wife.

“But now, I suppose, you bow before a greater power — the god Husband?” I suggested.

“Indeed. I do not!” Her eyes widened indignantly. “We’ve been married only three days, and he has left me already!”

“Oh!” I began to suspect that I had said something unfortunate.

“But I can’t really blame him,” she continued hastily. “It’s the awful company he’s in!” There was a distinct break in her voice. I mentally belabored myself for having ventured, into matrimonial subjects and prayed for a return to safe ground.

“They’ve sent him on location way off in the mountains!” she finished.

I gasped with relief and hurriedly switched the conversation back to Korsukan, the god of luck.

“Long ago, when I was a very little girl indeed,” she replied in answer to my questions, “mother used to tell me that there was a little fairy named Korsukan, who would always help me out of difficulties if I would only repeat his name to myself a number of times — Kors-u-kan. Kors-u-kan — course-you-can. Do you see? And I always found that if I said Korsukan enough, I always could!”

“But the image itself?” I enquired. “Where did that come from?”

“Oh. I had that made when I found that Korsukan came thru every time. It was the decent thing to do, don’t you think?” She looked at me rather anxiously. I nodded gravely.

“And when it came time for me to make my own living, I found that my little god was quite as faithful as ever. For a long time I traveled with father and mother on the vaudeville circuits, doing baby roles. But when I got big” — she flushed a little when she saw me glance at her feet; they barely touched the floor as she sat in the big rocking-chair! — “I wanted to go by myself. Mother was a little worried by the idea. I think she was afraid I couldn’t succeed. But I just said Korsukan over and over and went to see Gus Edwards. He was very nice to me, and when I left I had been engaged to play a part in his famous School-days troupe! I played with him for many months and finally, when Lila Lee left to enter the movies. I took her part, that of ‘Cuddles.’ It was lots of fun.” She smiled happily at the memory.

“But how did you happen to enter pictures?” I asked.

“Oh, I got to thinking about it when Lila left. And when things turned out so nicely for her I felt even more eager to try it. I felt kind of doubtful inside, but Korsukan said yes.

“The first man I went to see was Edgar Lewis. He was looking for a leading lady for ‘Love and the Law.’ I determined to hit high and so I walked in and asked for the part. When I saw all the other girls who were there, I felt a little weak, but that darned heathen god kept insisting. I put up a good argument and when the afternoon was over, all were eliminated but myself and one other. The only great difference between us was the fact that her nose was Grecian while mine was ‘pug.’ Mr. Lewis couldn’t make up his mind, so he called his wife. For some reason, she came out strong for the pug. So you see, I won by a nose.”

Mrs. Lewis was speedily justified in her choice. Josephine outdid herself. But she was still in the East when the picture was completed, and California, the movie center, was three thousand miles away. So she declined all offers, packed her bag, and in two weeks was searching for a home in Hollywood. She was engaged by Universal and for a time played two-reel Westerns opposite Neal Burns, and later Jack Perrin. She built up an enormous following among the cowboys and ranchers.

But Western pictures did not appeal to her as a permanent thing. After persistent requests, she was cast to play opposite Frank Mayo in “Burnt Wings.” Universal believed that they had discovered a star and offered her a five-year contract, with the assurance of an immediate twinkle. For various reasons, she refused. After that came the role of the innocently sinning wife in the Metro production, “Parlor, Bedroom and Bath.”

“So you see,” said Josephine, “I have done quite a bit, if I am only eighteen. Korsukan is a relentless slave-driver! I suppose that is very ungrateful.”

Her eyes wandered about the room.

“I do wish Jack would come home,” she sighed.

“Did your heathen god have anything to do with bringing you Jack?” I enquired, somewhat rashly perhaps.

“Oh, indeed yes! When he first wanted to k— to hold my hand, he didn’t feel sure whether he could or not, so I just said, ‘Korsukan’ — and he did!”

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Josephine Hill has a remarkable philosophy all her own, in which a tiny idol, a cross between a Billiken and a Buddha, figures rather prominently. His name is Korsukan — and when Josephine wants anything very badly, she repeats the idol’s name several times — and gets her wish. Try it yourself, and see what happens

Photo by: Roman Freulich, L. A.

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Photos by: Roman Freulich, L. A.

Miss Hill’s recent marriage with Jack Perrin, the Universal star, was the talk of the day. It was extremely difficult for ye interviewer to believe that the tiny girl on the chair, her feet escaping the floor by a space of several inches, was a wife.

Just to the left, you will not fail to notice that our heroine is a real fisherman in every sense of the word, tho we wonder what sort of fish she can hope to catch in this exact spot, unless it be a mud turtle!

Left, Josephine in a somewhat difficult situation in her most recent Metro success, Parlor, Bedroom and Bath, in which, as leading woman, she gives an unusually clever characterization

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Collection: Motion Picture Classic Magazine, September 1920