New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-07-03
Tremendous
Adventures of
'PoliteLu1natic'
Roy Cummings. Comedian,
Capitalizes Mans Love
of Others Misfortunes

j scrobatic comedian. in "The Whirl OF
New York" last week at the Winter
Garden added tempestuous element
70 sn entertainment which was by no
means lacking in essential pep. Cum
mings appears In the part Of "the
polste lunatic," and his performance is
IN keeping with that character. In the
initial performance his Eruption into
the program astonished even the stage
: management, which has a guardian in
terest In the furniture and scenery.
But 1t was not until the second act,
when Cummings lowered trick drop
Of his own invention, that the comedian
came completely under misrule.s This
drop whacked him resoundingly, lifted
him far aloft, buried him in it's folds
and precipitated him headforemost into
the orchestra pit, where Al Goodman,
the musical director, complained that
music racks were broken. Then, for his
final entrance, Cummings went into the
balcony OF the Winter Garden and,
hanging on g rope, swung out over the
heads of the audience and dropped to
the stage, to applause, Of course, for
Cummings, while using daring physical
methods, is quite lamblike in voice and
gesture.
An Unexpected Visitor
Drops In on the Show
This last week constituted Cum
mings's Winter Garden debut. He has
been known hitherto as q daring per-
former of difficult feats, which often
called for his dropping from various
parts of the backstage structure.
Cummings began as stage hand in
Detroit. But he didn't remain one
long. He had been in the theater for
only few days when his associates
heard thud backstage. They saw
figure lying on the empty stage.
"It's Cummings, the new boy" they
said. "He must have fallen from the
fly gallery and broke his neck"
Cummings got to his feet.
ely gallery, nothing" he answered
scornfully. 81 dropped from the grid
IRON"
After that very little attention was
paid to Cummings, but he continued
to leap from every elevated part of the
theater. Finally hs developed habit
Of falling from the proscenium arch at
dramatic performances, and III was
agreed that the manager Of the thea
ter would have to stop it. But this did
not come to. pass. The manager Of q
travelling troupe whose performance
had BEEN interrupted thought that
Cummings would do we'll in vaudeville
and was willing to risk some money on
him. The managers faith was justified.
Cummings was soon a star in vaude-
vile in big demand.
When "The Passing Show OF 1918"
left the Winter Garden for its coast
to-coast tour Of the country Cummings
was signed by the Shuberts. He spent
three years with the show in q series
OF droll but daring exploits,
Consults Philosophy
Before He Tumbles In
Now with "The WhirI Of New York"
Cummings makes his Winter Garden
debut. In the Winter Garden he has
ample room to display his daring.
Cummings himself says that his I'M
usual mode of entertaining the public
is based upon sound philosophy.
early in life I discovered that I
mad the nerve to leap from lofty
places" he said last night, "and I also
found that had the knack or unusual
gift Of landing right on my feet with
out injury, where another man would
have broken his neck. thought about
utilizing that talent. decided that
the two things that greatly interested
and entertained the public wers tho
mlsfortunes Of others and nerve or
daring decided to develop @ style Of
personal entertaining based upon those
TWO philosophical facts. ] became
stage hand to learn the possibilities
as leaping place Of the theater.
When l got into vaudeville I made
many of my leaps and falls seem the
result of accident or misfortune, ss for
instance at the. Winter Garden. when
Tell headforemos. into the orchestra
PIT among the musicians. AS q matter
o1 TACT, that fall is q leap very care
iuiiy calculated. If ir were not would
NOT De here to tell about it. But 1t
seems an accident-a misfortune, and
'ae public laughs and applauds. Then
"hen 1 think that have played long
shougn upon the public's love Of others
~istortunes l do some daring thing,
sa as ieaping from the balcony of the
winter Garden, and they like that, too.
only use two attributes of the
.fO"d-ats real amusement in the mis-
fortunes Of others and Its love Of the
daring"