Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-23
BRONCHO BUSTING
FOR PHOTOFARCES
How a "Wild and Woolly" Actor
Athlete Nearly Met His
Equine Match
By DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS
(At the Stanley oil merit tVsek In "Wtid and
WOotU,'J


WoolV."J
ALTHOUGH ! was born in Colorado, I
"A had never ridden one Of those wonder
full creations OF the devil known as a buck
ing broncho until I started work on my new
Western picture, wild and Wooly." In
order TO stick on one Of these creature one
must be combination Of sailor, bareback
rider, freight brakeman and lots Of other
things, so unexpected and mutifarlous are
his motions He can move In moro acute
angles than any other beast In the world.
A good OUTLAW" will go two and half
or three feet in the air and then land stiff
legged and you must be off your saddle
Just enough to take the Jolt When he
jumps he'll throw his head back and knock
you over the other end Of himself II you
don't look out, or he will pitch and throw
you over his head. Then again, while in
tho air, he humps his body up round and
rolls from side to side with a most awful
sea-sicky motion. You might hang on II
you could grip the pommel of the saddle
like grim DEATH thinking OF nothing else,
or II you were permitted to keep both feet
in the stirrups. However. that would not
In the stirrup and with your free foot you
keep on scratching your mounts ribs with
the spur. at the same time tanning his
ears with your sombrero with one hand, and
with the other gripping the rein, you try
TO hold his head up. l was pretty we'll dis
couraged by my semiaeronautlcal broncho-
busting attempts in trying to get the nee
essary realism into my new picture. Many
times I found myself on the ground be-
fore I could get squarely seated in the sad
die. 1t was quite a proposition to get
mounted, but a greater undertaking to
stay there. Just as / was about TO give
up the idea, Ed Burns, one of tho most
accomplished exponents of cowboy art,
took me in hand Under his able instruc-
tions II didn't take me very long to learn
the fine points Of the game and naturally
/ am proud Of the tricks l was able to per-
form for the benefit of the camera. AL
though have mastered quite a few wild
ponies since then and feel confident OF
tackling any horse that may be assigned to
me ] realize that l still have many things
TO learn and have accordingly purchased
Smile a regular volcano on legs. in order
to perfect myself In this great sport There
Is nothing / enjoy more than to win over
one Of these wild creatures of the plains.
one OF the reasons why favor moving
pictures In preference TO the legitimate
stage is that, apart from my love OF nature
for my athletic ambitions, ] am not re-
pressed, as ] would be on the regular stage,
where I would have to abide entirely by
the suggestions of the director.
had always wanted to exercise my ca
pacity for athletic stunts on the stage All
NV managers, except William A. Brady
were always afraid, or at least disheart-
eninRly dubious about II. In The Cub
the detail that made the biggest hit was
jumping over the bed. In Hawthorne,
n s A." II was the fight with the soldiers
that created all the comment After that
thew used to say: IT you want to get a
play with Fairbanks in 1t you've got to put
a fight in it,
Obviously. couldn't do that. or ia have
become as much a specialist as the actor
who does policeman or clergyman bits
even in the pictures I've had to fight for
the stunts ! wanted to do,
You can imagine. even II you haven't seen
"His Picture In the Papers" how one stunt
| thrilled audiences l stood in the center OF
a railroad track until train, approaching
AT the rate of forty miles an hour, was
within three feet of me. TheD ! jumped
~ I had missed by the fraction of second
| ia have been tossed fifty feet and killed.
didn't realize what l was doing until 1t was
ali over / shall not do that again.