The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-05-23

An Intimate View of the American
Playwright Who Lost His Life
on the Lusitania

! died later on on little Charles the
scrlmping life, the horrid struggle
| more soul trying in London than any
! where else---to, keep up appearances
, had disastrous effect. He grew to
I hate the long haired and the bearded:
! he sickened of the straitened home
/ He loved to listen to music, but when
| he looked ut the shabby musicians
| his enthusiasm could not be awak-
1 ened to make him study.
| At Is he ran away. He found his
way somehow to America. Naturally
| he joined forces with his brother AL
| fred. who was In stature still shorter
than Charles.
He went on the stage. which il 10
say that he attached himself to various
travelling companies in any capacity
that would insure him lodging and
three meals. His retrospect of that
period was not unpleasant. IL the
kid" little Charlie" Small Smi'o,"
= he was variously called in differen,
| companies, enjoyed consideration only
in the proportion Of his wishes, he
was having "A grand time. The daily
movement. the manifold duties. even
the i'll fortune of the stranded com
pany-all fed his restlessness and
licked his sense Of humor.
Ii would he nice to say that he
bche,d the wonders OF new lands with
hoyish artistic JOY. lie assured mo
! often that he Eel, nothing Of the kind
Grand scenery stirred not his bosom
Everybody joshed everybody else"
he said. They al joshed me. and
gave as good as they sent"
What never worried him was hui
man nature. What ALWAYS inter-
ested him was the dramatic drama
| strictly "a II came under his eyes In
the pieces he took parts in or those
| he could witness one way or another
, on the routes or. in the elegant stage
euphemism for the times he was job
less when he was resting" These
roadside pieces held authority in his
mind. They wera the drama Of to-day.
and he took interest in none other
Shakespeare was respectable old
stiff" He seldom saw hts plays
could not compel himself to read them
The other plays Of old"n times We're
vaguely "classlcs' in his mind. and
meant for him the stilted. the pre-
! posterously learned and non-natural
| Plays were Costume" or modern. lie
read little or nothing just went on
absorbing the actors technique. the
stage mechanism. the secrets Of the
property room. the slang OF the wings
and acquiring n most unlovely moral
code made up Of rank, almost brutal
materialisfn. a grab as grab can at
titude to his neighhors. and added 20
this a cheerful derision III culture"
II was just n question whether stage
hoodlum!sm should claim him pcrma-
nently or not. The sunny side " his
nature came out now and then In
his contact with older actors in hum
bier roles-those poor hopeless knights
Of the huskin whose fine manners and
| lingering ideals no rough and tumble
OF the road couSd destroy. To the
rest OF the world around him he was
the jeering carefree. risky Npune-
ster not unknown to-day. -r.,,n -
II was all adventure. OF thae time
he told an episode that cost him his
job. He was playing a couple " parts
in an American play ~ The Mnssen-
ger From Jarvis Section" kind. IN"
kind that makes the piece almost a
monologue for n dialect star. Also he
was looking after the properties and
helping generally.
one Of the parts was n ragamufin
boy, and AT a certain point in the play
he had To sit on the back Of the star
who was adopting this means of trap
ping the vilain--lying prone close to
wall as II he were a log with a rag
carpet on 1t. Naturally Charley had
been instructed not To sit actually on
the star. He was to squat and at
certain cue to rise slowly. stretch him
self and lounge off the stage. uttering
some ancient aside about getting n
plate of beef and beans
The antics IN the wings Of the gas
man. who had been drinking. had.
however. caught Charley's eye. and
sent him into an explosion of laughter.
Forgetting his position. he sat squarely
down with bump on the star. and
yelled his delight. The houso roarca:
the star squirmed: the cautions villain
turned and looked villainously else
where. Klein was laughing Convul-
sively. and at every bump the star
edged little more around uNtil the
small actor was pointed firmly on the
pit Of his stomach!
Get Of, Get off, Are you crazy?"
Charley but yelled the more as the
audience now went mad with laughter.
only the purblind villain remained
calm and kept up a make believe
search for the star around an Isolated
well at left centre Finally the star,
drawing up his legs and gripping
Klein by the arms, flung him half way
to the footlghts, and then arose and
chased him with ohjurSat.ons out
through the stage door, shouting az