The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-11-06
BY ESTHER GRIFFIN WHITE

thlnk ABOUT d1lOtIeI.
We stand afar off or pass by on the
other side gazing at each other curl
ouslv. scrutnizing each other colby,
viewing one another susplclOusly,
! looking at each other superciliously,
feeling very superior and lofty and vir-
tuous and how very much better we
are than the others and all the time
! we're all alike.
Passing lightly over the strange no.
tions the lay public entertains of the
purveyOrs of neWs--the most innocent
and innoclous action being regarded
as a search for "stOries" or 'itemS' or
"copy"--we come to those of the the
atrical profession.
In an interesting treatment of this
subject in Il recent magazine a story
was told of a popular stock actor-a
very nice chap. a college man and of
excellent family-whO was besieged by
invitations to dine at the house of GER
| tain "socicty people," the invitations
| coming from the mother and daugh-
| Nlaincd but on account of the freQu-
! cnt repetition of the invitation and the
urgency he finally agreed to dine with
hem on an evening named.
Delighted were his hostCsses who
automatically said how glad they were
he could come while the head of the
household was away since they never
/ could have asked him had the former
been in town.
And were very indignant when the
actor found on reflection that it would
be impossible to fill the engagement.
These observations are called forth
by the remarks sometimes made to the
writer who in a professional capacity
comes in contact with theatrical peO-
pie to the effect that the latter must
be such pOseurs that it would be i'm
possible to believe in their sincerity.
The truth is that there are no more
agreeable. and frequently charming,
people to meet than those of the the
atrical profession. Their nomadic life
and the necessarily consequent infor-
mality make them adaptive and given
to easy and graceful cordiality
| Naturally this is mol Il i by the per
sOnal idiOsyncraciv Al she individual
but. as gene% statement, this is
one Of fact.
Perhaps the q is none of the better
known actors with a more delightful
personality than that possessed by
Mr.. William Hawtrcy who appeared
here Saturday in Dear Old Billy" who
talked interestingly Of the dramatic
art, the theatcr and of his own eXpe-
ricnccs to the writer.
Mr.. Hawtrcy, who has been in this
country for six years. Is a brother of
the distinguished English actor, Mr..
Charles Hawtrcy. best known to thea
ter-gOe of his country through his
appearance in "The Message from
Mars" which had great vogue here a
! few seasons ago.
While Mr.. William Hawtrey is per
haps better known to the general pub
lie of this country. through his sue
cessful appearance in vaudeville in
"Cor promised" a sketch by Louis Jo-
scrh Vance, author of "The Brass
Bowl and rfh"r popular novels, in
which he APPEARED eight hundred
times during 1907 1903, over all the big
circuits. he has bee2 conspicuous in
many of the dramatic successes OF re
cent seasons.
/ One of the admittedly most charm.
ing plays exploited last year in New
York, and continued this season, Is
"romander Walk" in which Mr. Haw-
! troy took the part of the retired but Ter.
"BrOokc IIoskvn." the success Of this
play being ineNplicable to many critics
of the dramatic art and to theater man.
ayers since it is of a picturesque SIM
plicity and without those "gripping"
situations thought by many who affect
the playhouse to be necessary to
compelling effect.
1t is Mr.. HaWtrcy's opinion, how
ever, that the pablo likes clean plays
and thinks this is attcsted by the eX-
traordinary success which attended
the presentation of "Pomander Walk"
and other plays Of like calibre
For what have been some of the
most popular" plays of the past few
seasons Man From Home" of
tenuous plot but drawing a picture of
Man. the sort who is the unconsci-
Gus ideal of the average American:
"Peter Pan" THE Blue Bird" THE
! Pied Piper" The Servant in the
, House and others Of symbolic
character: and the recrudescence of
Shakespeare on broadway within the
past few seasons by two leading expo
nents of the dramatic art.
THE American public likes and
wants clean plays" reiterated Mr..
Hawtrey. And" he added. there
isn't single damn even in Dear Old
Billy"
Mr. Hawtrey appeared in a dramati-
cation Of "Gallops," in 1906. followed
! in the autumn of that year by an in
clusion in the caste Of 1.-TWO Mr..
Weatherbys," one of the last plays to
be given in the old Madison Square
theater which was abandoned to give
way to other buildings erected on the
site and was. later. with Hilda Spong
in John Hudsons Wife"
The narration of the achievements
OF this delightful actor will no doubt
interest that portion Of the theater-go-