Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28
NIAIC ART COINS MONEY
starS Of the Stage Draw and Control
Streams Of Gold.
BIG SUMS THE PLAYERS EARN
A. for fhe Dolar'a sake Make. MIL
Itoaaire Acters-PopuIarity of
Plays Measured ~
Returns.


they declare. is in every way vicious II
exploits personality at the expense Of art
reduces the drama 10 a set Of monologues
with vocal compartments. degrades the
rtaEe TO the level Of a glorided dime mu-
scum and encouHEe a cheap Eupericislity
and surface smartness in place Of real dra-
matte literature and genuine histrionic
skin.
There Is more than half the truth in
what these critics say. The star system Is
open TO savage attacks from more than
one quarter. But perhaps the managers
who have developed il are not wholly 10
blame. Perhaps IL will be fouBd that the
state Of public taste is the Dial culprit,
and that the star system is merely a re-
Election Of that taste. The theatrical
managers are so commercial'' is the com
plant Of the Few critics who have verte-
bral FIBER enough 20 say anything but
praise Of what the managers offer the
public. Sc they are They are CONNER
Cisl, indeed. But this is a commercial age
and most Of US help more or less 10 make
it so. II we. didn't IL wouldn't be COM
merciaL We-you, J. 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 il is today because as the race
track followers say, II gets the coin "
Why does It get the COIN
keepins in the spotlight.
Wen. this Is an age Of advertising.
There's no denying that as a people we ike
a bit Of noise-we like a brass band. There
are a lot Of things that can't be done with
out a brass band and some Of them are
worth doing Theodore Roosevelt under
stood that. Theatrical managers under
stand 1t, too. Their brass bands are the
newspapers. which will toot the trombone
and bang the front page drum for a per-
sonalify a hundred times where they will
DO It once for an idea. Most Of US are
prone 10 TAX people at their own valua-
tons. 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 repeatedly. and on other occa-
sions also. And the first thing you know
you begin to think that maybe this fellow
is right about himself. And when he
comes TO your town you pay SL.58 or 3 to
find out. And half the time you don't
know then.
IL is not an easy thing to make a theat-
rieal star Of the first magnitude 1t some
times, costs a good deal of money, but
once made, a star is the most dependable
and prolific money-maker in that precari-
Gus business. theatrical management
Stars cannot be made without the aid OF
popular plays, but, once made, they will
often run profitably from their own mo-
mentum 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. II is just another case Of
the trademark.
Art for the DOnar's Sake.
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 dol
lars sake. And il is all in your hands.
The kind OF art that you will pay 10 see
on the other side OF the footights is The
kind Of art that you viii set there-that
and no other. To an extent true Of no
other Of the arts, dramatic art is in your
hands.
While il is well known that the star sys-
TEN is profitable. comparatively few per-
sons have any clear idea OF bow profitable
it is when developed 70 its utmost Il is
proposed TO give here a few figures which
will show with q clearness possible in no
other way the quality OF the commercial
Ism to which our theatrical managers.
tempted by the complaisant public. have
80 generally succumbed. In a few cases II
is possible TO describe these figures as ex-
act. but absolute precision is not claimed
for the rest But fer all Of the figures
given here il can be said that. while no
access has been had to managerial balance
sheets. they represent in round numbers
the careful estimates OF men who have
been for years closely associated with the
business side Of the American stage. some
Of them as business associates Of the stars
menu0ned.
In the last few years Of his life Richard
Mansfield was the most profitable star In
this country, as he was the greatest actor
He was his own manage and most OF his
profits he took himself This particular
feature OF the star system exhibited great
acting on the part OF a single individual
but IN several OF his most profitable plavz
Mr.. Mansfield was but indifferenuIy sun
ported and the plays themselves were but
backgrounds for his genius. Beau Brum-
NELL and "Dr. JekyI and Mr.. HYDE be-
longed in this class, the former being IN
especially thlnly furnished sketch vitalI1ed
~ the acting Of the great virtuoso. But
this IL no place 20 analyze the sources Of
Mr.. Mansfieldis success. II is a conserva-
tive estimate 20 say that during the last
years OF hts life Mr.. Mansfeld's profits
were never less than $4,000 a wear and
sometmes exceeded S1oOea and this esti-
mate takes account OF certain e1uraordt
nary expenses such as the private car In
which ne Travelled all about the country.
on one Of his last visits TO san Francisco.
his receipts FOR two weeks exceeded So
CO. o. which - per cent OF 81 800 went 70
the actor himself Along toward the last
= o. his life IL made little difference what ne
played. All that was Necessary was to ex-
hibit his name In front OF a theater ami the
house was packed
his MOaey Maker.
OF the living stars il is perhaps IN
vidious 70 single out some above others
and il is not pretended that all OF the biz
money-makers are mentioned here. But
some Of them are SO LUMINOSITY in the pub
lie eye that no discussion OF this subject
WOULD be complete TIA excluded their
names Two such are Maude Adams and
David warneld.
In recent years Miss Adams has been