The Alaska citizen., 1914-01-19

was waiting for the star with all
the timIdtty Of a high school girl ex-
peetine note from the callow youth
The Star was busy twiukIing and the
doorkeeper took my card. cycling me
with evident suspicion As stood
clasping my manuscript as a nervous
johnny" on his first visit behind
might have held a bouquet intended
for the prima donna
What's your husincss?" he asked
cruffIy.
Tn just looking for a friend
The old doOrkocper grunted: We'll,
you're in the wrong place to look for
a friend" playing upon the word with
the ease Of comic opera comedian.
took this for cue and laughed.
Evidently l missed the cue, for he
frowned 81 mean you cant see him
here There's no one allowed to re-
ceiye in the dressing room"
Not even the STAR | ventured.
Nix" was the gruff reply.
4 suppose l can wait here till he
comes out" l suggested.
He won't be out for an hour" he
replied in a disCourasinE tone.
waited a moment for an invi-
tation to occupy the vacant chair he
side him, hut as none was forthCom-
ing l seated myself without it and
offered my grudging host pluper-
feet perfecto He eyed it sus-
piyfousiy as he had me. put on his
glasses and carefully examined the
decorative band. shifted at it with
cynical eleyatinG of the ridge Of
skin from which time had plucked
his eyebrows, then submitted it to
the ordeal of fire until he had al
most obscured the obtruding sign;
Positively No smoking" My faith
in the sun-kiSsed lotus weed of near
Havana had not been misplaced.
Through its Identifying vapor his rug
ged features softened like a New Eng
land landscape seen through the mist
of an Indian summer afternoon. I
started timidly to make conversation.
Il suppose you've seen a great many
artists?'
He nodded slowly 4 certainly
have I've seen the best of EN- for
the last forty years. Why I was
head stage carpenter at the old Tn
ion square when Jim Bounler was
the artist. him that afterward aid All
the transformation drops for Colonel
Mapleson"
I don't mean scenic artists
interrupted, L mean real artists, you
now-stars."
He eyed me with puckercd brows
lmaent. then snorted: "rHem.
they're not artists" he said contempt
uously, they're actors"
Tod oct
people with the artistic temperament
He cut me short with grunt.
You got it all from the 'front.'" he
said The only real artists in this
business are the grips.
"'Grips l queried.
sure, us, me, the stage hands, ne
specified as if instructing a child,
We're the real fellows that hold
the lookin glass up to nature. the
actors are only the ones that make
faces in it. As for that ARTISTIC tom
permanent business, we'll, maybe that's
as good a name for it as any, l dun
no. 1t reminds me of Henry Miller
one time when he was rehearsing The
DEVILS Disciple out in Frisco, him
in the title role, O course. You know
there's a thunderstorm in it and 50
Miller's down in the orchestra dong
his own storming and he's got his
bull pup setting in the aisle along
side of him. OF course. the storm
don't suit him-Miller l mean, not
the pup-and when the noise is so
loud he cant voice his objections and
get EN- over the foots he looks
around for something he can get over
and the only thing that's not nailed
down is the pup. Well the first thing
We know here's the pup sailing right
through the back drop like he was
shot out of a gun and the storm stops
SO Miller can stage his. While he
and the stage manager are doing a
heart-to-heart, a grip named Doyle
picks up the pup who's so scared by
his aviation stunt he cant move.
""Nhat do you call that asks
Doyle.
THAT'S a case of artistic tenn
permanent. I says.
Doyle looks at the shivering pup
minute and then he says, kind of
speculatively: We'll, it's the first
time l ever seen it in the flesh
ARNOLD Daily was another one with
a temperament and there never was
a stage carpenter that could suit
him. He was strong on realism, and
one time while l was serving a term
with him l had to stage a scene that
had a bower of roses in it. Well, l
made as fine a picture as you ever
saw, but when it came to dress re-
hearsal do you think it was right? l
q
that rose bower and then he started
in.
Say, those tissue paper rosettes
look about as much like the real
thing as you do like artist. he
raved Well, I picked one of 'em off
and stuck it under his nose.
"'You're criticising God, not me-
yelled, for I'd spent forty dollars
prop money on real roses and I'd
like to know who was the artist that
time
YES" l interrupted, hurrying to
the defense of cherished idols, but
those were exceptional cases"
The old man took a long puff and
favored me with tolerant look. ooh.
dunno" he continued slowly, 81
could go on tellin' you exceptional
cases all night. Now. there was Louie
Mann; he was another one the real