Los Angeles herald., 1906-06-24
PHIL GODFREY KNOWS THE
WAYS OF THE BRUTES
Read His Sad Story and See If You
Would Like to Trade Places
With Him Near the
Footlights

what's in name? A dog by some
other name might be a lizard"-with
apologies to Bill Shakespeare.
Such is the motto of poor little Phil
Godfrey at the Mason opera house. who
nightly is compelled to play dog. lizard
turtle and lobster and even scratch
imaginary f1eas for the edificaton of
the enthusiasts in the front rows.
Godfrey is such a nice little chan that
all his friends have been bemoaning
fate that would have been terrible
even to an older man.
Back In the early days of his youth
Godtrey lived on farm. He learned
the studious ways of the little ant, and
after long hours of practice managed
to initiate perfectly the call of the
open-faced oysters
For long hours he would hold con-
verse with potato bugs and grass
hoppers, and at last he completed his
education by joining circus and be-
coming an animal trainer.
There Phil put on the finishing
touches to his education by learning
how to initiate hippopotamus and
ring-tailed monkey, and then he bios
somed forth as an actor. About that
time there was a great call for
stage animals. Godfrey was given
position in New York and made hit
the first week as the lost shadow in the
heart-breaking melodrama, "a Man
Without a Shadow"
AS Dog Biscuit
But the part was too shady for the
little man and his next appearance was
that of a dog biscuit. He caught feas
at that time, and was compelled to go
to the springs and take the hop treat
ment. When he returned to the stage
he was in fine trim to play a frog and
then managed to make a hit as the hind
legs of the heifer in the production of
'Evangeline."
Then the little man became wroth
and he had a right TO be. 1t was dur
ing the winter and he was called upon
to play the part of jelly fish. The
part called for little or no costuming
and it seemed to be a pretty shaky
proposition, but he managed to wiggle
through the week.
Later he was compelled to play the
face in 1.-The Face on the Barroom
Floor" and ever since then his voice
has been husky by the fact that the
star kicked sawdust in his mouth.
Godfrey met his Waterloo when he
was ordered to play a piece of sticking
plaster, and he managerial hold on for
three nights and then came loose, and
he looked about for new position.
Found by James
Harry James then brought the little
man to Los Angeles, and Phil and his
brother Dick have been doing aero
tatic stunts at the Mason since.
In the production of "Fiddle-Dee-
Dee" Godfrey played the part of a st.
Bernard dog. Next week he is to play
the part of a dancing bear and the
week following that Will play the croc-
odile in cleopatra"
But following that Godfrey will have
a hard time reducing weight, as he
will be compelled to play the part of
the bean in Jack and the Beanstalk."
To watch the little man train the
marVels of the trade are apparent.
Back in the dusky depths of the Mason
stage the little fellow starts his make
up. He barks several times and then
crawls into his st. Bernard dog suit.
After scratching himself he marches
out and performs.
This animal stunt is not what it is
cracked up to be-" said Godfrey yester-
day, as he crawled out of crocodile
skin.
Gets Dog License
at has got to be such a fad with
me that take out a dog license every
year and carry it constantly with me:
Even now, when l hear the quick yell
of a dog catcher try to hide.
For instance, when I'm walking
down the street and meet nice st.
Bernard dog. the first thing / think of
is to say Good morning and rub noses
with him.
when l was in the east / had con-
siderable trouble there at one time.
was playing the head and forelegs of
a donkey and my brother was playing
the rest of him.
During the performance we pranced
on the stage and kicked around and on
that night in particular the suit hadn't
been busted, My brother inhaled some
of the dust and i'm trying to stop
sneezing. choked.
''While) the audience howled till the
tears wet their faces, the stomach of
the donkey coughed, choked and
sneezed until he was blue in the face.
"Several times / have caught feas
while playing the part of some animal