Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-05-03
Story Of Extra
Girl Who Had
Experience
Movie Actress Tells How
1t All Happened for
the B e ne fit of
Other Girls.
BY JEANNE JOHNSON.

- -
Everyone wants TO get into the
movies, and everyone who tackles
anyone who is in, gets the same ad-
vice: Begin at the bottom. Start
as an extra. If you've got the
goods you'll get ahead"
So that's what | did, and maybe
other screen-struck girls-for l ad-
NIT I'm one-will like to know just
what it's like. Here in Los Angeles
the prellminaries are easy enough
| just went to the Service bureau"
an dexplained my qualifications.
They didn't seem much impressed,
although l had appeared in amateur
theatrieals. until | said had three
or four evening gowns. Then they
thawed out, and sent me around to
Universal City to play "atmos-
phere."
Well, it was $50 when l reported
to Director Horne, who was produc-
ing The Midnight Man" He looked
me over and said he wouldn't need
me until II, but for me to be on
hand by 1890 sure. The assistant
director showed me where to make
up, and directed me to a big hall.
partitioned into halves, one side for
women. the other for men. Extras,
you know, haven't separate dressing
rooms. ..I .....
l had grease paint, powder and
pencils, but l didn't know what to
do with them, and an old woman
who looked like a witch, under a
straggly wig and bedaubed with
grease paint, took me under her
wing. She was meant to look like
a witch, I guess, but anyway her
heart was in the right place. And
let me say right here that all that
day, and the days that 1 worked
since -four altogether), l didn't meet
anyone who didn't seem anxious to
help me. guess most of them
started where / am, and they re-
membered it.
Well, my witch-or fairy god
mother, she seemed-explained all
about makeup to me, and helped
me fix up. She wanted to introduce
me to a lot of queer looking people
all around us-Arabs and negroes
and old men with long whiskers and
girls in short dance hall dresses.
But / got cold feet and asked her
not to, until l had time to get used
to them.
I went over to the set feeling that
everyone was staring at me, but l
guess no one was. I found a scene
being Shot" as they call it, and
they kept on shooting it, and I sat
around on bits of scenery and felt
lost and lonesome.
At II o'clock Director Horne
called: "Off to lunch, everybody"
And still l hadn't acted, and my
evening gown was getting all crump-
ly from sitting around in it.
In the cafeteria we all stormed the
counters for food, and | picked up
snatches of talk that | could under
stand-most of it might as we'll have
been Greek, for it was all full of
words I'd never heard. But every
one seemed nice and friendly and I
began to feel at home.
Well, it was 3 o'clock before I
was called for a scene, and then all
| had to do was sit at table with an
insipid-looking man and drink some
stuff that was supposed to be cham
payne. But it wasn't was cider.
Anyway / saw the camera man
grinding away, out of the corner of
my eye, and I thought: $50 I'm in
pictures at lastw
But listen! When it was all over |
learned l hadn't been in the scene at
all-the Camera angle" didn't in
clude my table. l nearly cried, but
the director, Mr.. Horne, saw how l
felt and said maybe I'd have better
luck next time, and to report next
day for 4 scene with Kathleen
O'Connor.
Maybe I wasn't tickled! l wonder
if he saw anything in my acting, if
you could call it that, that made him
think l would do. Or was it just that
he saw l was about to cry? l
Uonder2