The Washington herald., 1916-11-05
Seen and Heard by George Miner.

New York, Nov At is an old saving that
actors eat and for a very good reason. Be
that it may, far as the rank and file of the
profession goes, have noticed that most of the
favortes Of the footlights have strong liking for
the allurements of the table. Also that they are
about we'll fed in appearance as any class of
people you can find They may be hard up a large
part of the time, but somehow they manage to
get enough to eat And for those who are
the world
1t is seldom, however, that you find who
knows anything about the art Of cooking. Most
Of them couldn't even boil egg and have only
hazy idea of what bread is made of.
Mr.. Richard Gordon-who has just achieved
| stellar honors Broadway-tclls that he not
only likes to eat good things, but he also likes to
cook what Ire eats. Whether he likes to eat what
he cooks he neglected to say.
81 have intention of trying to wrest Gull
nary honors from May Irwin" said he "but
certainly do like to cook l have really made
quite a study Of the art and nothing pleases me
better than to be turned loose in a kitchen and
allowed to prepare Sunday dinner. I suppose
the it appeals TO is because of the years
have endured the frightfuness of our one-night-
stand dining-rooms."
Mr. Gordon's father is banker and had a career
in his bank planned and all ready for his SON. But
the would have of it and passed many
| lean years struggling to make living and name
as actor. The bank was always open to him
but he stuck to the stage and pretty nearly starved
on several occasions.
"The toughest season l ever had" said he, "was
when I played in three New York productions
which had total run Of two weeks and two days
| The first with Nance O'Neil in Anne Boyd,
| which lasted week. Then came Hattie Williams
in The Girl He Left Behind Him. which also
! week, while even that record was broken by
The Governors Boss, which played two perform
ances at the Garrick theater. And that was all
the work | had that season.
"Other years l toured exclusively in might
stands and how / grew to loathe them! For
seven consecutive seasons I played one-nighters
without single week stand"
Being actor means being pretty brave
man. They generally despised by regular
| men, even if admired by silly women. The jobs
are few and far between and the pay poor. The
glamour Of the stage certainly does not make up
for all this, it must be pure nerve that keeps
people actors or else they don't know any better.
Pavlowa-the world-famous Russian dancer
tells me that she is weaving carpet for her
church in Russia. 1t is the church in which she
was baptized when baby and in which she was
confirmed. The carpet is five feet wide and sixty
hVe feet long. She mas worked on it some eight
! months, and during her spare time now she hopes
to put the very last stitches in, so that it will
adorn the church by Christmas
Russian crosses predominate in the general
: design of the runner, which is made on a heavy
| canvas background. The figures are woven on
it with silk and woolen thread. Pavlowa uses a
big, odd-looking Russian needle in her work and
she is never happier, she says, than when she is
plying that needle.
Il find that needlework soothes my nerves, /"
said she. IF become highly excited and my
body fairly aches can sit down with my needle
work and in little while am calm and rested -
By the same reasoning, then the girls who
toll all day long with their needles in sweatshops
and factory must have pretty easy time of it. l
wonder if we have been wasting our sympathy
on them.