Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-28
STAR. SYSTEM TRACED
TO PUBLIC TASTE

Certain critics of the drama from time
to time illuminate loudly against the
"star" system that so generally domi-
mates the American stage Of today.
This system, they declare, is in every
way vicious. 1t exploits personality
at the expense of art, reduces the
drama to a set of monologues with
vocal accompaniments, degrades the
stage to the level of a gloritied dime
| museum and encourages cheap super
| ficiality and surface smartness in place
| of real dramatic literature and genuine
/ histrionic skill.
| There is more than half the truth in
what these critics say. The star sys-
| tenn is open to savage attack from
more than one quarter. But perhaps
the managers who have developed it
are not wholly to blame. Perhaps it
| will be found that the state of public
taste is the real culprit and that the
| star system is merely a reflection of
that taste. 1.-THE theatrical managers
are so commercial" is the complaint
of the few critics who have vertebral
fbe. enough to say anything but praise
of what the managers offer the public.
| So they are. They are commercial, in
| deed. But this is a commercial age and
most of us help more or less to make 1t
| so. If we don't, 1t wouldn't be CONNER
cial We-you and I, all of us-are the
public taste and, take us collectively
the stars are the stage exhibits that get
most of our money. The star system.
| in short, is what it is today because
! as the race-track followers say, it
"gets the coin" Why does it "get the
coin?"
Well, this is an age of advertising
| There's no denying that as people we
| like a bit of noise-we like a brass
/ 1af Of baf
can't be done without a brass band
and some of them are worth doing
! Theodore Roosevelt understood that
| Theatrical managers understand it, too
| Their brass bands are the newspapers
which will toot the headline trombone
and bang the front-page drum for a
personality a hundred times where
they will do it once for an idea. Most
of us are prone to take people at their
own valuations. The star, through his
| manager, values himself highly and
| tells you so, through the newspapers,
stimulated by the busy press agent
early and often. and again, and re-
| peatedly and on other occasions also.
And the first thing you know you be-
gin to think that maybe this fellow is
| right about himself And when he
comes to your town you pay Sl50 or
80 to find out And half the time you
don't know then.
1t is not an easy thing to make a
| theatrical star of the first magnitude
| 1t sometimes costs a good deal Of
money, but, once made, star is the
most dependable and prolific money
maker in that precarious business, the
atrical management. Stars cannot be
made without the aid of popular pays
! but. once made, they will often run
! proftably from their own momentum
| for some time, even though their plays
be bad Theatrical goods, like some Of
our most famous products. are sold by
the label on the can quite as much as
! by the contents 1t is just another
case of the trademark,
! But, you ask. is the drama then no
! longer to be included in the field of
art? Perhaps: but it's largely art for
the dollars sake. And it is all in your
| hands. The kind of art that you will
pay to see on the other side of the foot
| lights is the kind of art that you will
get there-that and no other. To an
extent true Of no other of the arts
dramatic art is in your hands-Ameri-
can Magazine.