The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-10-12
THE LUNT LORE.

A LFRED LUNT, playing the ir-
~ resistible title role in Booth
= Tarkington's comedy "Clar-
ence" at the Hudson Theatre, i'm
presses one in his dressing room as a
blithe, untrammelled spirit, not merely
because he is only 26 years old, but be-
cause all his life hitherto he appears to
have been conducting himself in the
same offhand, dashing way es Min
nesota Peter Pan. Not even the piano
and the temperamental mysteries of
the saXophone could daunt him.
Only five years ago this young man
was making S. week with the John
Craig Stock Company in Boston, play
ing such bits as a dragon wriggling
across the floor In a musical comedy
and no doubt it was a very boyish
dragon. But more unusual still, UP to
few months ago he could handle
only with the awe of ignorance the
piano and the saxophone, which now
in the play he fingers with the ease
of conscious power. To use his own
biographical diction:
when first read the part in Mr..
Tarkington's manuscript and saw that
! it called for a genius with the saxo-
| phone. I nearly expired-I didn't even
know how to hold one in my hands
| without upsetting 1t. I was playing
on the. road In Colorado with The
| Country Cousin at the time, and
though I finally aroused my musical
| ambitions, it seemed likely my newly
| found craving for music would go I'M
| satisfied. Believe it or not, a saxo-
phone could not be found in all Den
! yer. However, George c. Tyler dis
covered one in Greeley, Col. a little
place you've probably never heard of,
| though it can be said now that it's
being heard from.
Then l took lessons from an old
German in Denver, who was Mortified
when 1 told him l was to play the
overture from William Tell on the
saxophone. Shouldn't do it, he said.
Dot should be played on der oboe
only But 1 convinced him the saxo-
phone was more necessary to the sue
cess of the play. After he had shown
me a little about lingering the thing
/ used to practise, making terrible
noises in my dressing room. Finally
deputation Of stage hands waited on
me and said they'd have to throw me
out IL l didn't stop, as the show abso-
lutely couldn't go on.
During the past summer / practised
some moro on my two sisters and my
brother in the sanctity of my home at
Genesee, Wis. My brother played the
ukulele. one sister performed on the
piano and l helped out on the saxo-
phone with the jazzing-though l ad-
NIT | don't expect to make my repu-
tation by jazzing. We found 1t best
to practise during thunderstorms. Also
during the summer my sister taught
me the piano, and of course
wouldn't take up the usual easy things
even If 1t meant playing the classics
with only one finger. Nothing would
do but 1 must learn such pieces as the
overture to 'Tristram und Isolde and
Rachmaninoff' Prelude like the
piano so much l expect to go on with
i it, regardless of whether Wagner turns
over in his grave. But that soxophone
will forever remain a mystery to me"
The same insouciant manner has
ruled him since Milwaukee claimed
him for it's own at birth. When he
was 10 his stepfather, who was Swed-
ish. took the family to Finland, and
there young Lunt's stage ambitions
were galvanized by starring in anna
teur theatricals. On returning to this
country and entering Carroll College
lin Wisconsin he felt the urge to start
dramatic society. even though it LAS
Presby terrain soJooi and nothing like
that had ever disturbed its Sabbath
calm before.
" "of course seid Luat. with slint