The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-01-20
ACTOR AND AUTHOR
 DISCUSSES LIONS Howard Hall Tells How He Con- quered the SnarIing Beasts. WILL POWER IS THE SECRET Says Every Nerve In Mans Body Is a Coward and the Same Thing
 Is True of Lions-The Act
 Made a Hit.


 MT. Hall has made 'The Man Who Dared" a great success, and has enriched his coffers to the extent of several
 thousand dollars. He enters the den Of lions during every performance. snatches a glove from the floor of the cage, es- capes through a heavy iron door and thereby wins the stage favor of the wom- an he once loved.
 Art Does Not Always Pay.
 sIt is not always the artistic perform ance that wins said MT. Hall last night, '.and though nine actors out of ten would prefer the artistic. 1t does not always earn livelihood Like other people actors have to live, and to do this successfully money is a necessary requisite.
 T conceived the idea of a lions den act in San Francisco three years ago, and lost little time in putting it into execution.
 T had come to the conclusion that this l is a day of sensationalism and to make money one must do something that would startle the public by it's daring While reading one day the story of Daniel in the | mind, and the idea of introducing a ] Hons den on the stage flashed across me. I had already written "The Man Who Dared" and I at once decided to change 1t so as to bring in the lions den.
 Experiment With the Lions.
 q first experimented by having Made moiselle Adgie lion tanner, in vaudeville, put the act on as a test. It went well, and I decided to try the act myself. This was the hardest work of all. l knew 1t would require great control of my nerves | to beard the lion in his den,' but had made up my mind to do 1t and did. With a heavy whip I entered the cage and fought the beasts off until nearly pros- trated I suffered a severe attack of ner- vous prostraton as a result and lay in bed for more than a week. The next time I found the task easier. I enter the den at every performance now, and 1 find little trouble in keeping the lions at bay The act has been a great success and we have made a great deal of money"
 MT. Hall says the prevailing idea that lions can be tanned and are affectionate towards their masters is a great mistake.
 Those beasts are always mean, said MT. Hall "and to control them they must be cowed. If I did not frighten them they would attack me every time l went In the cage. If you will notice they al- ways spring at me just as I turn my back. As long as you keep them 'bluffed you are safe, but the minute you turn your | ootr taar they the chance.
 Any man or woman in Birmingham continued MT. Hall, "could enter that cage with safety. All that Is necessary is to control the nerves and keep the lions frightened The minute a person gave way, however, the lions would tear him to shreds As I said before, every nerve in a mans body is a coward and the same thing is true with lions. Consequently the stronger power will win
 Writer of Distinction.
 MT Hall says he bought the two lions used in the performance from Bostock the animal importer and trainer. He has no special love for the beasts and only uses them to make the play attractive.
 Mir Hall is a writer of distinction, as we'll as an actor, and is the author oi several interesting works which have been dramatized He wrote "A Soldier ol the Empire." "The Man Who Dared, "The Liberty Boys" and several othel well known stories of romance He i. very desirous of devoting all his time tt literary work and says he will probably retire from the stage after next seasor or as soon as his present contracts expire
 s'The life of an actor Is not such al easy one" said MT. Hall, and when get through with two performances in on, day my energy is exhausted and I don feel like writing. As soon as I am abl, will retire from the stage and devot, my entire time to writing both novels ant plays.p As a playwright Mir Hall hal been a great success and it is likely tha he will devote most of his time to tha line of work.
 Mir Hall laughed frequently while talk ing of his daring experiences with th' Hons and said there were many nights il which he went without sleep. He coult not keep his mind off the snarlins jaw of his pets which tried to kill him at ev cry opportunity. He insists, however, tha it takes something new and sensational t, draw crow ds and for that reason he intro duced his lions. Box receipts prove tn, l correctness of his theory.
 MT. Halls company was playing in Chi cago when the awful catastrophe occurred at the 1riquos theatre He says tn, house in which he was playing was closed during a performance and but for the fac that his contract of three weeks had jus expired considerable e money would hav' been losr. His contract expired on Sat Ircay and the theatre was closed on Fri day. MT. Hall is probably the only mar who was in the theatrical business in Chi cago at the time of the fire who escaped without financial loss.