Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

SUNDAY MAGAZINE
preciated good things patronize and recon-
mend this one.
The result was immediate. Reviewers re-
viewed the play a second time, editorials
commented on the curious attitude of a
crowd of magazine writer's toward an I'm
known brother, an actress whom none of
them knew, and manager whom few knew
even by name. Business picked up. The
play was talked about. 1t became bone of
contention, topic of conversation, the goal
in an honest crusade. Immediately after
the close of the New York engagement there
came an opportunity to take it to Chicago,
where literary men were again appealed to,
with the result that the seven weeks run in
that city was pronounced financial sue
cess. Since "Peter Pan" no play has at
tracted so much editorial attention in this
country as "Kindling'
For this the "Kindling Boosters" as they
have come to be known, have been thanked.
incidentally, Miss Ellington has had pre-
Sented to her a Stalwart band of thirty force
full editorial friends, whose future endeavors
in her behalf must have an appreciate effect
on her renown She may count them as
valuable part of her assets, and doubtless
does.
THESE five illustrations of the workings
of the latter-day press agent may or
may not be interesting to the reader; but
they are indicative of the change that has
come into publicity methods recently. Sixty
years ago, William Wood, an eminent the
atrica1 manager and actor, published his
recollections of the stage, and in the course
of highly interesting volume took occasion
to decry the undigni6ed tactics assumed by
press agents as far back as the days of KEN
ble the elder Booth, Forrest, and Macready.
Evidently the good mans advice was I'm
needed; for, until the last decad, the adj
vance agents of distinguished players and
reputable plays have INDUCED in publicity
measures that, while they may have had
temporarily good effect on the boxoffice re-
ceipts, left lasting dents in the regulations
of the artists advertised.
Sindbad the Elephant, the little lady of the
musical comedy, Mile. Dazie, and Margaret
Ellington were advertised in dignified man.
her, when one takes into consideration their
respective merits. 1 doubt if Mrs. Patrick
Campbell is as big drawing card today as
she would be if the public had never heard
of Pinky Panky Poo. Sarah Bernhardt
would gladly wipe out the recollection of the
coffin that she was alleged to cart about the
country and use as bed. Anna Held would
be received more readily as an artist, if the
atergoers could forget the milk baths her
press agent made her take. Oscar Hammer
STEMS experience as grand opera impress
ario in New York and London might have
been different had he worn an ordinary hat
and never locked himself in a room to grind
out musical comedy in twenty-four hours.
1t is almost impossible to erase publicity,
once it is landed. Even though the details
of the stories are forgotten, the color, flavor,
and tenor of them remain.
The undignifed and extravagant exploita-
ton of play or players is generally referred
to as "circusing" ian unfortunate expression
that dates back to P. T. Barnum and far
their. The verbalization of the noun "cir-
GUS undoubtedly grew out Of the flamboy-
ant and exaggerated vocabularies used by
agents of the white tops. The honest tent
shows (the Ringing Brothers and Barnun
& Bailey's circuses are conducted as de-
Gently as any bank or department store)
suffer greatly from indiscretions of the past.
Three-card monte and the shell game have
ceased to exist as circus money getters, just
as jewel thefts and milk baths have long
since been discarded as good advertise
ments for musical comedy stars. But the