The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1910-04-09
HELPING THE ILLUSION.
Reasons Why Actresses Are Always
"SinaIe" on the Bills.


Why do actresses continue TO cal
themselves Miss" after they ar,
married and everybody knows they
are married? There have been vari-
Gus answers 10 the question. Some
people find that il is because an
actress name is like a trade mark
and that once she has made reputa-
ton as Miss So-and-So. the adop-
ton of an entirely different Mrs
This-and-T would greatly inter-
fere with her popularity. But there
would seem 10 be another reason, one
not so businesslike and of a more
sentimental nature.
I'VE Americans are idealists," as
one prominent manager expressed it.
The American public likes 10 weave
a veil Of romance about the popular
actress. The women like to wonder
with whom she is in love, If she is in
love with anybody at all, whether she
is engaged to a titled foreigner or a
rich American, and a Miss" on the
program is more apt TO bring about
such thought more than the more
prosaic Mrs or even Nine As for
the men, / suppose they, too, like to
imagine that their favorite star is UNI
married, not that they view them
selves as eventual husbands, but they
like to think that such a bright and
pretty wCman's heart has not been
given TO any one man.
The European seems to have no
such ideas. Rather the contrary, in
fact for you often find a woman
calling herself Madame when she
should be Mademolselle. Europeans
seem to bear in mind always that an
actress is an actress and not the
character she impersonates. There
fore you often find rather stout and
elderly woman playing the part of a
young girl and meeting with great
success. We Americans always de-
mand more illusion, and want young
and pretty actresses when the part is
that of a youthful heroine, Europeans
are more particular about the acting;
we care more for the appearance of
our actresses.
Now, supposing that the role is
that Of a beautiful young million
aires daughter The American pub
Die wants a young and pretty actress.
Il the program reads 'Miss'-what-
ever her name be--then that helps
To- strengthen the illusion, while if
the eye is met by Mrs i'm large let
tiers, then part of the illusion is de-
stroycd. and the spectators go away
feeling as though they had been cheat
ed out Of something.
Actresses know this, and natural
~ cater to this instinct. While most
of them are married there are very
few who like To admit 1.-THE ex-
ceptions who do only prove the rule
Most actresses, in fact, try 20 hide as
long as possible that they do not live
in single bIcssedness. | know upon
one occasion when we were running a
play that had been an enormous sue
cess the year before, and that consc-
queutly had been advertised and com
mcnted on in every possible way, we
were at our wits end TO find some
thing new TO say about the star and
the play. She was really married
and we published this, telling the
most romantic tale OF her marriag,
and separation and reconciliation and
what not The success was immense
but the actress came to me very much
peevcd. 'Why?' ! asked her. Didn't
you like the storyg 'Oh, the story
was all right she answered, impa
tiently, but / never wanted the pub
lie TO suspect that / was married.
We'll one way or another it's al
the same TO me. But | do think It..
amusing to hear people call the hus-
bands Of actresses by their wives
names. II the husbands were inslg-
nlficant persons Of no consequence II
would be all right But when you
hear men who have made a name for
themselves in various lines. some OF
them more important than their
wives, spoken Of as their wives
friends as the husband of Mrs. So
and So IA H. funny IN say tho laast