The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1918-01-05

IN n California studio, as a result of her work in
minor parts, and was offered a fat contract as a
regular. In reality she was only eighteen, but she
assumed all the dignity and Importance of twenty
one so that she might be able to sign her own con-
tract.
Her mother was unable to make the long trip to
California in order to perform the necessary Tor
mality at the time a contract was offered to the
little actress, but she just couldn't wait to become
a regular member in good standing of one of the
largest film manufacturing concerns in the uni
verse. So she did her best to add cubits to her
stature by taking thought, and carried herself
with such q grace and stately bearing that she
really might have succeeded in getting away with
it. However, when the formal, legal-looklng dOcu-
ment, with It's parties of the first part" and
whereas and "do hereby agree" and all the other
quaint phraseology which is necessary to make a
promise really binding, was laid out before her and
she took her pen in hand to sign away her services,
her courage failed. With nervous haste she de-
clared her really Insignificant number of years
and the contract had to wait until mother could
make the trip to California after all.
Success did not come so easily to Miss Helen
Ferguson, although she is now n star at sixteen.
Miss Ferguson says that much patience, courage,
persistency and hard work were required before
she got a start. She now looks upon her first eff
forts to get a trial as q joke, but it was not so
much of a joke then.
Il visited the studio every day 1t was open for
four months" laughed Miss Ferguson. '"They
wouldn't even give me a chance until one day, in
a courtroom scene they had one vacant chair. They
had pressed into service stage hands and every
one else obtainable to fill other seats and finally,
in desperation, the director grabbed me for the
last chair.
THAT vas the beginning. l made good as a
courtroom spectator, so l got extra work from
time to time until finally 1 was a regular"
Miss Ferguson believes perfect health is the
greatest asset of an actress, therefore she taboos
late hours and exercises regularly in a gymna-
stun built especially for her in her home.
II want to look as young at thirty as l do now"
explained the little actress. "The only way | can
do that is to safeguard my health. / retire every
night at 8 80 O'Clock"
Miss Margarita Fischer Is a youthful star who Is
not satisfied with the success which she has al
ready attained, but believes In working hard all
the time in an effort to improve her work. She
takes life seriously in spite of the fact that most
of her pictures do not indicate 1t. Miss Flscher's
chief aid in the work which she does at home is
her mother. When she reaches home after a
busy afternoon in the studio, her mother has her
mail all sorted out for her, and after dinner she
retires to her study, where she looks after the
answering of an immense correspondence. And
after the letters are out of the way, she goes over
the plans for her next days work.
"Co-operation of the star and the director is
absolutely necessary for the making of better mic
tures," she says. 81 give an hour every evening
to going over the work and thinking out better
ways to submit to the director. For Won cannot
allow yourself a moments let-up. If you are am.
bilious to do good work on the screer