New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-22
By GEORGE s. KAUFMAN

RVIN COBB leaned forward and
held I'd one sixteen -and-a-q quarter
finger for attention. He did it just IN
time. Furthermore, for it was threaten
ing to cease being an interview and to
take on some Of the aspects of a week
end.
81 want you to make one thing clear, y
he said. Throughout our collabora-
ton it has been Mr.. Megrue who has
given unselfshly of his time and tai
ents. Any success that Under Sem
tence' may achieve is attributable sole
ly to his -
Nonsense, Irwin! II you hadn't.
Gust a minute, Roi. / want the
truth TO be known. Mr.. Megrue
has been wonderful-really wonderful.
The play is all his. And through it all
he has been the finest"--
"No, no, no! l won't let you talk
like that, Irwin. Really ne is
Just reversing the situation. II is he
who has been the worker; it is he who
has put into the play everything it has
that is worth while. He has done so
much for it that | blush with guilt
when see my name on the programme,
but that is the slightest part OF it all.
1t has been the WAY he has done, the
spirit in -
That's not true, Roi."
at is true, Irwin, and you know it."
Butt
When quiet had been restored and
the third party was waiting in the cor
ridor for the elevator, Mr.. Cobb slipped
softly out of the Offices.
"Psst!" he said. 81 just wanted to
tell YOU the facts about it. Megrue
is nice fellow, but he's an awful
weight when it comes to writing a
play. How he put over all those sue
cesses, don't know. Practically the
! whole play is mine-the stuff that Me-
grue put in is terrible. That's all /
wanted to say. knew you'd under
stand, of course, but thought | ought
to tell you"
Sixty-six minutes later there was a
ring on the Office phone. Mr. Megrue
was on the wire.
Listen" he sottoed. "You know how
il was with that stuff about Cobb-he
was in the room and | had to say 1t.
He isn't a playwright, of course-you
know that and | know it. All he did
with Under Sentence was to get in
the way. He's all right personally,
and he writes pretty good stuff in The
POST don't want to knock him. He
just can't wriye plays, that's all. was
pretty sure you'd understand. but |
wanted to tell you about it. Goodby."
So there you are.
To hear them tell 1t when they're
together, however, Irwin s. Cobb and
Roi Cooper Megrue were jolly little
(the word is used carelessly) collabo-
rators.
ave got along first rate" explained
Cobb, because we didn't see enough
of each other to get mad about. We
sketched the piece out together rather
carelessly, and then we went our sew
cral WAYS and worked on it. So per-
haps it wasn't real collaboration. |
never could understand the kind you
read about-where people work to-
gether and one does one scene and the
other"-
Take. II up from there" proceeded
Mr.. Megrue. "It's beyond me. too
Now. the way we got together was
this: Irwin was"---
Coming back from Jersey lecture
date one day, and the Selwynss Mr..
Pink Hayes was along, and he said;
Irwin. why don't you write play or
something said: Gosh! don't
know anything about plays You don't
have to- said Hayes. Write one with
Roi Megrue. He's ~
zone Of the greatest playwrights in
the country took up Mr.. Megrue. un-
willing to leave that part Of it to his
collaboration. "Tn fact said Mr.. Hayes.
Il cannot think Of any ore more splen-
didly equipped than Megrue' -
"'Unless it's Cobb continued Hayes.
Anyhow, | used to have the habit OF
dropping around TO the Hudson to see
the German soldiers in Under Fire,
and one night during the show We