The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-07
VALERIE BERGERE

..+v 1ittle Japanese Lady" with the French-y name--or mther the pretty little Frenev lady who plays the Japanese adv,\ so charmingly-I found her sitting before her dressing table with, all the "nake-u.y' things around her and she was just ss busy as bee.
 She wore he most charming of Oriental kinonas-son ething soft and pale pink tinted, embroi cred in lovely colors-and she held out two little dinpled hands one of which held a pale pink powder box filled with pink powder and the other a pencil of large proportions which was going to do the work of trans forming her eye brows into little thin sits of light so that she might look the part of Little Cherry Blossom"
 She bade me ''come in'-"and find a chair if you can; excuse the make up and let me introduce you to my mascot Monsieur Doggie"-a wonderful looking bull pup-who leaped from his abiding place and growled nice friendly growl which I took to be welcome"
 l may say right here that Miss Der Sere's 'hoooies'' are-kimonas and-dogs.
 very tiny figure is Miss Valerie Ser gere-and very big figured kirnona en- veloping her, made her look all the tinier as she smiled and said I must see her Japanese head dress-the ornaments and jewels and strings of beads and things she wears in her delightful little sketch. and straight way brought forth her jewelry box.
 I've had designs on this nice little lady for 10 these many years-I may say right here too, I've always missed her; this time, however, when 1 saw the name Valerie Bergere' in flaming head lines on the Lyric posters, made up my mind I'd meet the lady and meet her did and also I hope l annexed her as real friend, for she is very charming person I'd have you know and very amusing one especially about how she is so absolutely identified with Japanese lady" roles, ki- | monas, cherry blossoms. chrysanthemums and everything Japanese.
 'I haven't chance to get away from the Jaranese lady role Miss Bergere smilingly told me. Since the days when played Madame Butterfly for Mir Bel asco-I have been absolutely damned with Japanese roles. Then came His Japa- nese Wife which I played for ever so | long-they just wouldn't let me get away | from the little tea house along the road. , Of course I finally did pull up stakes and | try to put on something else; but my friend, I must tell you. that no play | wright ever submits anything to me ex. cept-a Japanese play
 1 q am so identified with the Japanese those diminutiye people who are little only in the sense of being diminutive, she went on that in New York they act ually refer to me as The Japanese Lady. | My friend, Jim Corbett. once met me ir l the foyer of fashionable hotel and told me he was going to certain theatre that afternoon to see The Japanese Lady. | He mentioned the theatre where I was playing and I said: I'll go that far witf you You see it was matinee time; wher we got off the car he said good bye, ano | I said I'll see you later No said he ! Pm going to the Lambs club from tho matinee But said I I'll see you later over the foot lights What dye mean, he questioned. Why I'm the Japanes' Lady I answered and fled" He didn' /; even know you see anything but jus that there was a 'Japanese Lady.
 But that's neither here nor there, l smiled charming Miss Bergere. T mus show you some of my beautiful kimonas you know I get most of them directr from the big merchants of Yokahoma, and with this she swept back the curtain and there on coat-hangers, with elongate arms, hung dozens of kimonas-the love Hest things you ever beheld; such riot Q colors such shades and nuances; sue
 embroidery which smote my eyes like a i over-brilliant light queer too-for Japa tnese embroidery is usually as subdued a
 altar candles; all so wonderfully lovei and artistic-as only the Japanese ca
 make"
 "You must see this one" Miss Bel
 gere suggested as she took from
 hanger a marvellous blue and gol l thing. "This is now petticoat as yo
 see (holding it up for inspecuon):
 wouldn't part with it for the worid' IL
 my good luck" kimona; when I finis
 with if as a petticoat, then I'll mat it into a screen; and when it gets te small for any thing else, shall kee
 q piece of it to make pin cushion, ft | I can't part with it. "The good luck of this particul'
 kimona," Miss Bergere said had
 do with my first production of I'll Japanese Wife the playlet had b.
 fore Little Cherry Blossom When
 was put on, the critics said it Wi very sweet and nice and-and-we that didn't satisfy me. I knew the 8 was something more to the sketch ths
 mere sweetness and niceness So, di
 couraged but ambitious, I worked O y Presently I had notice that a packas \ had just got through the custom hou from Yokahoma and I knew it W;
 some kimonas I had ordered so I hu
 ried to get the package and when e opened it I perfectly adored the bil f l,imona. I wore it at Sthe performan
 that evening and what do you suppo
 happened? His Japanese Wife'-n
 little sketch 'took;' we played
 standing room only forever after. al