The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-16
MAN BEHIND PETTICOATS

Charles Darnton in the New York Even
/ ing World.
IF Denman Thompson were alive to-
day he and George w. Monroe would
- make great pair sitting on the
weather porch of a country hotel. After
all, we have to go back a long way to
get actors with character bred in the
bone. You know that, don't you? And
OF course you know George Monroe vurry,
vurry well. But don't be too sure about
that. For one thing, he isn't a bit noisy.
nor even gabby. In fact, he's as quiet
a man as you'd meet this side of fight
Try to picture middle aged, corpulent
occupant of an arm chair who gets his
humor from Philadelphia, his cigars from
Brooklyn and his press notices from New
York. and then pull your chair up to a
back window that commands a fine view
OF fire escapes, neighbors that pass in the
night and forsaken clothes line. Through
the smoke of his Brooklyn's Pride, how
ever, Mr.. Monroe was blind to everything
but the newspapers in his lap.
Il hope they liked me in All Aboard q"
he muttered, clearing away the news
papers and reaching for box of cigars
TRY one," he offered. "These cigars are
made in Brooklyn, and I've been smok-
ing em for six or eight years."
This sounded encouraging, for he
seemed in robust health. While | still
had my strength asked him how long
he had been playing an Irishwoman.
Lets see,' he calculated, squirting into
the past. Its 80 years or more. The fact
is, I've been playing a biddy SO long that
1 feel I'm kind of Rip Van Wrinkle.
used to read of Joe Jefferson's playing Rip
for 80 years and wonder how an actor
could live to tell the tale. I've worn a
red wig so long l can hardly remember
when / first put one on. 1t just hap
pened, that's all. When l was a boy in
Philadelphia, Jim Murray, the brother of
that clever girl, Elizabeth, you know
lived in the same neghborhood, and we
were SO stage struck that we couldn't
see our way home at night until all the
theatres were closed. And then, even,
we'd stop on the corner and do q few
fancy steps to keep our feet awake. A
little later we did a turn at variety
theatre, but Jim broke his kneecap and
had to give up the business"
And then what?''
"a boys dream come true" he an
swered with smile as true as a Mark
Twain story. For months I'd been hang
ing around the theatres keeping my eye
on the actors and my ear on what they
said. Finally one of them was taken
scl1--God bless him.-and after hard
struggle with the stage manager l jumped
into the part. 1t was small part in
Jack Harkaway. but 1t seemed as big
as mountain to me-.
1t may occur to you, as it did to me,
that Jack Harl<away'' is a far distant
relative of MY Aunt Bridget in which
the exuberant Monroe, like a red haired
sister of Neil Burgess in widow Be-
dott," first convulsed those of us who
thanked our lucky star for the % cents
Fright you are.'' agreed the only and
original Aunt Bridget. 'Ill tell you how
IL was Did | mention Johnnie Quinn?
No, | thought not Well Johnnie was a
fine boy with his feet, and, what's more,
he had a turn for limitations. We lived
in Stewart street, as it happened, and it
also happened that this was an Irish
it. we were next door, as you'd say, to
a man named Brady, whose one aim In
life so far as | could see, was to keep
his wife from leading a dull and dreary
existence Mary we would hear him