The San Francisco call., 1905-08-06

public's desire for entertainment And
entertainment. first and last, is what
they're after"
Il did it," this OF ''weather-Beaten
Benson" that is programmed without a
name. Some folks say I'm ashamed to
put my name to it! 1t might be better"
Kendall mildly advanced. but 1T was
put together in two weeks. Two July
weeks The idea Of trying to be funny
in July-when you have to keep one
hand TO wiring your hair out!"
In spite Of that, 1 told Mr.. Kendall
that to me "Weather-Beaten Benson
was far, far from The Vinegar Buyer"
something even approaching the dram
mer And certainly the part OF Benson
fitted him.
A little Of what Mr.. Kendall might try
at, as a dramatist, were he not a father
Of six, came to light here
Weather Beaten Benson isn't by
much what / wanted ii to be-" said it's
author, perhaps little sadly. and lean
ing forward TO the story. You know,
it's a good subject. I don't know. of
anything more pathetic than some OF
those Oklahoma or Kansas 'rushes.' An
old man, waiting for the rain, always
praying 70 heaven and getting nothing.
Then you see the families travelling back
over the prairies, leaving a little grave
mebbe. And the lone man, hiking back
TO the wife-mebbe she's dead and he
doesn't know II. Fight, hardship love
a-fiowering among it, and then the great
poem of the coming of the rain"
You are like every other comedian,
Mr.. KendalT'-I began.
Got the pathetic in my system7" he
asked. and nodded agreement "Of course
you have TO have a deep sense of the
serious TO begin with, before YOU know
how TO turn II upside down and be
funny. But sometimes you don't want
TO turn it upside down. Then It's ex-
pensive. Goodwin will tell you that It
cost him lots Of money to get rid of his.
1 take mine out in spots
Being the father Of six"
Being the father OF six Mind Won"
he elaborated, and returned to the dra-
matte construction of "Weather-Beaten
Benson L can pick more holes in Ben
son than any one else, 1 guess. But
believe it's pretty good entertainment.
ana thats what a good many better
made plays are not. Isn't it SOP Their
construction may be Al. their plot
y. X, their characters clean-cut and
yet they just lack the salt in the soup.
just that little touch that makes them
60 In Benson sometimes we fastened
on the construction, like a biograph
picture. Or we stuck things In that
don't belong just to hike the thing
along
10 be thief and Kendall laughed and
added, And the water barrel incident
A dramatic sharp asked me, Why on
earth does the thief throw that paper
over the fence? 1 had to answer quick.
so | said, So that l can get into the
water barrel But what do you want
to get into the water barrel for? To
make you laugh, said. And didn't it.?
1t did, he said E"
OF laughs and laughs Kendall talked
then; Of downstairs laughs and gallery
laughs. You've got to give 1t to both"
the humorist said. I'll let it run four
minutes, say he was talking Of mono
logues in particular, for the down.
stairs people then I'll hand them up
one to the gallery. Then back again,
then another hot laugh upstairs Some
times a person downstairs will say to
me: / didn't like that part of your
monologue, Mr.. KendalI-meaning the
upstairs bit. But 1 say, Can't you sit
quiet minute for those boys up there?
They sat quiet for you, you know"
Before his monologuing the actor told
me he had played long. for eleven
years, in a Pair of Kids" and before
that in a Dickens company. Here he
had played the Artful Dodger, Tilly
Slowboy, Mrs. Gummidge, Oliver Twist,
Tommy Traddles. The company played
nothing but Dickens. The entertain
was td4ieU An Evening with
Dickens" The billposters and carpen--
ters called the manager Mr.. Dickens
and were sorry, Mr.. Dickens" when
the house was light 1t was a failure,
of course.
why. of course?" I queried
1T was too artistic, 1 guess" Mr. Ken
dali settled it, and wondered why they
played no more Dickens, while l de-
cided that the humorist might have
been cut out for the genre. He is a
born Tom Pinch.
Aloud l wondered where in Shake
speare Mr.. Kendall belonged. No, you
don't" Mr.. Kendall laughed. Perhaps
a Falstaff, and if 1 go on getting fat
1 shan't be able to look lean and pa
thetic much longer. Can't get any
sympathy when you're fat. Ever notice
il? Fancy a fat Antonio! The gallery
would just hoot at the pound of flesh.
They'd tell Shylock to cut it off any,
where"
He summed success up thus: "If
you've got the horse to drive you'll win
out; but If you have a dead one you
may finish inside the money-and you
mayn't. And who wants that? A fell
low wants TO be first in his class
And / left Mr.. Kendall. first In his
class"