Los Angeles herald., 1908-12-20
In the Spotlight

n NE of the sketches at a. local thea
ter last week depended for its
" humor upon a mans efforts to
steal money from a Swede servant
girl, and then to marry her and de-
sert hcr, believing she was about to
receive a legacy. A funny situation in
the bill of the week previous hinged
upon a mans infiGelity to his wife. At
another Los Angeles theater last week
much humor was derived from the
breaking up of a home and the wifes
leaving in tears.
Isn't It excruciating? AS funny as q
left-handed crutch!
A policeman friend recently told me
q funny story about a woman hitting
q man on the head with a Ratchet
when he came up out of a well. Il
laughed until / nearly dropped over,
he said, when the old guy stuck his
head up and the woman soaked him.
I told him another good story about
a street ear running over a baby, and
he said it was great.
Comic supplements showing a small
hey playfully throwing q brick at his
aged grandfather, or kicking his broth
er in the face, have done much to en-
courage the appreciation of delicate
huTnor of this sort, but there still are
great opportunities in working up this
material for vaudeville. A good farce
could be made out of a sons forging
a check, for instance, while his father
takes the blame and goes to jail in his
stead and hangs himself in his cell,
and his mother goes to the poorhouse,
while the son takes to drink and dies
of delirium tremens. A happy little
domestic playlet could be evolved out
of a wife's extravaganza wrecking
home and the husband committing sui
eide. while the babies set fire to the
house. OF course there Is a large class
Of provincial persons who prefer the
old fashioned humor, but we are be
coming more refined and they VIII
learn to appreciate the new brand.
If any one should ask, "Why is The
House OF a Thousand Candles? p" the
obvious reply would be the same as
that of a certain presidential candidate
when questioned about the future OF
the workingman. This weird hodge
podge Of cheap melodrama masquerade
ing under a smear OF fake gentilitY
was put on at the Liberty theater In
Oakland early in November, with Rob-
ert Harrison, one Of the best stock ac-
tors in the country, in the leading role,
and fell as fiat as nickel's worth o.
beer left overnight. The trapped re-
ception in Los Angeles even with
wish you had worn your overshoes to
the show. Take it awayl
Ed Armstrong; new song, "Califor-
mia for Nine" is spreading rapidly, If
a pathological term may be used in
this connection, and is being sung in a
number of vaudeville houses through
ont the state. II has catchy air anu
is deservedly popular. Mr.. Armstrong
is the elder of the accomplished slap
stick pair at the Unique.
Formal announcement is made Of the
engagement of Miss Florence Smythe.
the popular actress c. the Belasco
stock company, to the Hon. John Mar
shall of Charleston, s. G. Miss Smythe
IS we'll and favorably known in this
city for her excellent work during her
engagement with the Belasco COM
pany. especially in "The Girl Of the
Golden West" when upon the death of
Miss Hunt she assumed the role of The
Gil upon a days notice. Miss Smythe
IS 3 native daughter, having been born
IN Santa Barbara. Mr. Marshall Is
one OF the best known men in the
state Of South Carolina, being the
state senator from Charleston, where
before entering politics he was for ten
years the editor Of the Charleston
News and Courier. He is a great