Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1914-11-19
TALES OF ACTORS.
Prominent Men and Women OF
the Stage Reminiscent Over
Thanksgiving.
Not Usually a Day Of Great Rejoicing
for Them, But They Tell Of Past
Experiences Which Have
fingered In the
Memory.

TO THE actor Thanksgiving day
usually means only a day OF
harder work than usual-a day
when there are special matt
nees and when luncheon and
dinner are hurried through so as to De
at the theater in time to make up and
play the part that the public, paying
for especial amusement on this day,
demands.
OF course, a picturesque Thanksgiv-
ing story dealing with theatrical peo-
pie would tell of driving snowstorms,
long cold walking of railroad ties, per-
formances that were not prefaced by
dinners, and with the hope of unearth'
ing some such sad tales the interview
er hunted out a group of players and
asked them for experiences"
Thanksgiving Tragedy.
First, there was Miss Grace Hun,
who was requested to tell her Thanks
giving memories, grave or gay.
The charming leading lady laughed.
WELL" she said, my funniest mem
ory was a tragedy at the time, for the
first turkey l ever cooked was on a
Thanksgiving day. l did not know that
there vas to be company, but my
mother had invited some friends to
dinner, and you may imagine my hor-
ror when | realized that some n out
side OF the family was coming to test
my first attempt at cooking the nation
al bird. | have had stage fright many
times in my life, but | never, never
had the stage fright equal to that ex-
perienced when that turkey was
brought to the table-and l didn't
know how it was going to be.
Another Thanksgiving that stands
out vividly in my memory was one that
/. spent In a little town out West. On
the veranda where I was sitting was
a pool cripple boy playing with a ball.
l was watching him and rejecting
that while l wasn't in the happiest
surroundings, l had a lot for which to
be thankful, because II didn't happen to
be deformed, like the poor boy.
~ felt very sorry for that boy and
very kindly toward him, so that when
his ball rolled away and down q hill !
started after 1t for him. Just imagine
my surprise when, suddenly, he threw
away his crutch and swore violently at
me, telling me in no uncertain terms
to keep away from his ball. That
knocked a great deal of the Thanks
giving spirit out Of me, l can assure
you, for 1t was such a shock to find
that the poor little cripple for whom l
felt 80 very, very sorry was only a
fake.
Tale OF Too Much Turkey.
Miss Huff's narrative stopped amid
a ripple Of laughter, and some one sug-
gested that Lowell tell about his
Thanksgiving. Mr.. Sherman, the
handsome leading man. looked gloom.
lily into space and, Of course, 1t was
expected that he had some beautifully
romantic experiences to relate-some-
thing that would thrill the matinee
girls.
But alas and alack for Ideals!
II. remember one Thanksgiving" he
announced after a bit, that stands out
In my memory as the saddest | have
ever spent. / had been Ill for two
weeks before--under the doctors care
and had him at my side all the time
at home and In the theater. I hadn't
eaten q mouthful Of solid food for two
weeks, when suddenly the day Of
Thanksgiving | felt myself again.
Naturally ! wanted to celebrate my
recovery, 30 I planned a Thanksgiving
dinner that was really a dinner-every
thing from soup to nuts! How I did en-.
10y that dinner!
But It proved my undoing. for in
half an hour was again under the
doctors care. and while he diagnosed
my illness as a plain cas- of overeat-
Ing I wasn't able to get out OF bed
again for over q week."
After telling of this time when he
smashed the ideal Of the matinee girl.
who never. never will believe that her
hero could overeat. Mr.. Sherman con.
tinued:
1.-THE actor doesn't usually have q
very jolly time Of II on holidays, you
know. All he does Is work, and he has