The Washington times., 1913-05-04
Is ACTOR
OF FORMER DAYS?
Poor Old HowIand Rant Who Wore Long HAIR Decamed His
Lines and Walked Railroad Ties, Out Of Job Forever.
Realism and Movies" Did 1t.

NEW YORK. May 4-where is the
| actor of yesterday; he whose lean.
harshly lined face. shaggy locks AMI
extraordinary clothes have been made
familiar to us through decades of pre-
! sumably comic cartoons. in which the
| scenic setting varied between stretches
OF lonely railroad ties, street corners
and free lunch counters? What he's
become of the tragedians, trajo-cone-
dians. heavies and character players,
who at this season of the year were
wont to lend a picturesque touch 10
that stretch of Broadway between
Thirty-fourth and Forty-second streets,
known as the Rialto?
The actors are here as usual-thous-
ands of them, fresh from more or less
successful ventures on the road. but
the most searching inspection of the
throng that daily patrols the Great
Thespian Way fails to reveal a single
specimen Of the type of player once so
general. One looks in vain for the sat-
urnine face. the dignified stru, of as
sumed authority. the imposing name of
dark hair; or listens with equal futility
to catch the round. mellow, declama-
tory speech in which the olG-time play
er always regaled his casual sidewalk
audience with self-impressions of his
own great talent or voiced his con-
tempt of the managerial hyenas.
The old-time player Of the comic
weekly type may yet be known to SOME
Of the rural communities but his haunt
is no longer the Rialto. The great
wheel of change has turned a fall revo-
luton in the past few years, and the
ham actor" has spun from tho rim
10 nf nt,d hrp0 prh
Two Causes For Passing.
There are two causes for the disar-
pearance OF this interesting and once
so widely known character; the mod
ernization OF the drama with its death
blow to the verbose, super-sentimental
romance and all the scarcely human
types of characters appertaining there
to, and the advent of the moving pic
ture drama. These two factors have
been responsible for the slow but sure
demise Of the cheap melodrama. Your
old-time player whose ilI-starre1 ven-
lures on tour so often resulted IN forced
attempts to emulate the example of
Weston, the champion crosscountry
walker, throve on romance tand grew
fat on the lean salaries of meIodrarna.
1t was nothing for him to- mouth and
rant his murderous course through
Hamlet or Macbeth on Monday evening
and follow 1t on Tuesday-don't forget.
ladies and gentlemen. on Tuesday, and
tell the neighbars-with his inimitable
impersonation of the villainous noble
man in East Lynne" or perhaps as
the title character In Uncle Tom
Cabin
Those were the days when PLAY
wrights gave their characters such rare,
rich lines as: ''Once aboard. the lug
gage and the girl is mine"-yes, is
was used purposely. Or the line might
be: Rags are royal raiment when
worn for virtues sake" or. mayhap.
the villain. Inss a sS s oT SSn se ssrss
TRAPPED" ..Fofled" or "Tricked,' to
be delivered with features contorted In
hate and with a kissing intake of
Still In Smaller Towns.
1t is as difficult to hunt down those
histrionic artists of yesteryear as II
would be to find where the umpire bait
ing baseball players of years ago have
gone, unless you .are on few visits
to the movies will reveal many of
their numbers playing for the cameras
eye; and in the smallest of our hamlets
an occasional bill poster still warns the
public OF the advent of the "Ridgely-
Barnett company-presenting a select
repertoire of classic dramas at popular
prices: town hall, Monday evening;
tickets on sale at Higby's stationery
store; Monday. Hamlet Tuesday.
East Lynne Wednesday. Macbeth
Thursday. The Lady of Lyons; Friday.
For Honor's Sake Saturday. Wife in
Name Only for matinee and Saturday
night, Uncle Toms Cabin-children in
a rms admitted free"
The younger generation of actors now |
roaming the Rialto and haunting the
booking managers and engagement |
agents look less like actors than pros |
porous doctors or lawyers. They wear !
their hair short. dress in the most ad- |