The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-08-15

arrival here. But just that Gort of treat
ment was suited only TO her particular
case. An actress Of dignity would have
been irretrievably injured by such IN
worthy means of exploitation. But for the
music hall divette they were all right.
Just the opposite course was followed
in the case of another actress, who three
years ago left the support of a popular
star to become a star on her own respon-
sibility Now managers are accustomed
to say since this enterprise proved a com
plete success, that it was managed in
wonderful fashion from the first step TO
the last. But the hand of the press agent
was not noticeable in il anywhere. The
only publicity acquired by the actress al
this time was of the most conventional,
formal kind. II is difficult to see why
in some cases such means Of putting for
ward new star could be used successful
ly. while in other cases they fail. 1t may
be that a really good thing wins on it's
own merits, although very few persons in
theatrical life would be willing TO wait
for a good play to win out, without init
mating gently to the public something
about the quality of the piece, or at all
events what the manager thought of it,
Publicity apparently ceases to be eff
fective after certain point is reached.
The best advertised woman on the stage
d
singer For the past ten years she has
been known by name and face TO a larger
section of the public in this country than
any other woman l know of. A friend of
mine told me that in lumber camp far
from any railroad lines, in a forest of the
Northwest ne once went into a hut
where two pictures were hanging One
was of this woman and the other of the
Virgin Mary. Now, if notoriety in itself
had any value, that woman would d aw
audiences larger than any other man or
woman on the American stage could ex-
pect to attract. But as a matter of fact
she has, for some years past, failed to
draw the public. with a persistence that
was the despair of her manager She
was tried in all kinds of comic operas.
Thousands of dollars We're spent in the
effort to attract the public. Failure after
failure resulted. and this much-advertis-
ed woman retired f. cm the public view
as a star and took her place with a
stock company.
Another case of the same kind was no.
ticed last year in the grand opera field.
A certain star, who has been associated
always in the public mind with certain
very popular ops ra, Travelled for the first
time through a number of Yves ern cities.
The expectation of the managers was that
ii would b. necessary only to announce
this woman's name on the dead walls TO
have the public flock into the theater.
The Public WouId Not Pay.
But quite the opposite happened ia a
numper of places. The public knew all
about the woman, and had heard her
name for years. But it dill not exhibit
any great desire to pay its way 10 h ar
her sing. and the same experience has
often befallen managers who have ex-
pected that a singer, because he or she
was well known, was certainly to draw
| large audiences.
The pubic is sometimes quite indffer-
| ent. On the other hand, it is largely the
| curiosity seekers who go to hear Pade-
rewski although he is justly accounted
the greatest pianist of his time. Yet if
only those who understood and appreciat-
| ed his music went to hear him, his audi
ence would not be one-quarter as large
| as they are outside of New York For
years actors are meptioned in the news
| papers, and become moderately well
| known by name Yet that publicity does
them little or no good with the public
| One of the best known comic opera stars
in the country retired from that conspicu-
Gus position several months ago because
the public was no longer going to see
| him. Yet he is to-day one of the very best
known men on the American stage, and
his notoriety failed to attract the public
completely. That was another instance
in which the work of the press agent
| failed to accomplish anything.
| Il don't believe that any manager in
the business to-day has any clear idea as
10 the value of publicity. That it I'M
| doubtedly helps persons in public stage
| life, while it wholly fails TO make them
| successful in itself, seems to be the best
| If 40 ms l. 1
to be the belief of managers that public
| ity was almost equal 10 making the actor
| from every point of view. and as that
could be best done by the expert press
agent we were accordingly very much
| more appreciated in the past than we are
| to-day. I'll admit that the old confidence
in the great power of publicity for actors
seems TO me now to have been a little ex-
aggerated.
Something more than mere knowledge
| OF an actor is needed to attract the pub
| lie TO hear him. What that particular
| thing is nobody can tell. The manager
who discovered il would never make a
mistake His fortune would be made if
he could find out why A draws and why
B doesn't. That is the great problem Of
the managers career. And, unfortunate.
ly, he has come to the conclusion that
the press agent has no more to do with
it tina nhe has. And this conclusion was,
of course, very bad for us"
INSECTS IN WINTER.