The San Francisco call., 1908-12-31
TYPE ON BILLBOARD
AROUSES WARWICK
Star at the Valencia POuts Be-
cause Leading Woman
Gets Bigger Type
Refusal to Answer Curtain Calls
Causes Scene With Man
ager Seely

Five-eighths OF an inch of perpendieu-
lar type is breaking the heart of Rob-
ert Warwick, the star at the Valencia
theater So thorough is the break that
the management is considering the
proposition Of saving the pieces and
distributing them next Saturday after
noon to the matinee girls that throng
the orchestra chairs to see Warwick do
the halfback stunt in George AIDES
football show. The College Widow"
AS the situation appeared Tuesday
night it seemed that more than War
wicks heart might break. For the
bold and debonair star was peevish and
refused to respond nicely to curtain
calls. All because he got short meas
ure on printers ink
Walter Hoff Seely, manager of the
Valencia, who served his appren-
ticeship as press agent for the
chorus girls and elephants IN the New
York Hippodrome. finally saved the
situation by telling the star that if he
did not go TO the front prettily and
make his nice little bow like a good
child, he. Seeiy himself, would take the
curtain and say. in effect:
Ladies and gentlemen, our esteemed
star. Mr.. Warwick, is pouting in his
dressing room because the name of
Miss Blanche Stoddard, our leading
lady is printed on the billboard at the
door in larger type than is his"
IF you do that" valiantly retorted
the sensitive Warwick. I'll go out and
tell the people a few things about
Walter HOn Seely."
Some bin printer was to blame for
the trouble in the first place. On the
sheet which ornaments one side of the
facade Of the theater the name of Rob-
ert Warwick is printed in letters five
inches high, while that of Miss Stod-
dard measures five and three-eig ghth
inches. That. Of course, is ethically
wrong. By all the rules of the stage,
Warwick, as star. should have his name
in more mountainous type than Miss
Stoddard, who is simply the leading
lady. supporting Warwick. Incidentally
Miss Stoddard is shortly to become, for
the second time the bride of Seely,
from whom she is now divorced.
Like the true actor that he is, Rob
ert Warwick pouted at the type. He
did not discover the lowercase position
he occupied on the billboard before
Monday night and went on then
amiably. dwelling in the foolish para
disc that his name was as life sized as
Miss Stoddard's. Tuesday the horrid
facts burst upon him. Tuesday night
he refused to respond to curtain calls
and then there was the scene behind
me scenes II ne Aeuu was palched UP
by last evening. Warwick will get
big type next week.
Seely made light OF the trouble last
night. When asked if the facts as
above related told the true internal
situation among the troupe, the man
aEer laughed and said no.
1T was simply a question OF how
many curtain calls we should have"
he explained. I prepared an order
showing in what rotation the various
players should respond to curtain calls.
I put Warwick and Miss Stoddard far
down on the list, as 1 was sure that
there would be 10 or u calls Warwick
thought there would not be so many
and feared. possibly, that he would not
be reached. 1 bet him SO that he
would be. It was just a question of
temperament with him-you know he's
temperamental-he gets $3.50 a week"