New-York tribune., 1921-11-20
Miss Cornell
A Graduate
From Stock

The chronic first snighter along
Broadway, who sees the Broadway
shows twelve months in a year, and the
buyer from Dawsonville, Pa, who sees
them only every now and then, have
lately been asking such questions as
these: "Who is this Katharine Cor
nell? What did she ever do before,
and where did she learn to act? Who
Is she, anyhow"
AL sorts of persons from all sorts
Of places have made these inquiries af-
ter witnessing the amazing perform
ance of this Miss Cornell as the daugh-
ter in "a Bill of Divorcements--a per-
formance that has been stamped by
critical opinion as being one of the
bright spots in the rather dull gray
theatrical year.
Nov just where did see that girl
before?" theatergoers have asked.
More than likely they've never seen
her before. Comparatively speaking,
Katharine Cornell is new to Broadway.
Broadway has seen very Httle Of heS
and she has seen very little of Broad
way. which probably accounts to no
small extent for the fact that her per-
formance in the piece at the Times
Square is so strikingly original in
conception and execution.
Out IN Detroit or in Buffalo or in
London followers of the theater can,
no doubt, say that they've seen Miss
Cornell set many times, and that they
knew the girl had it in her. But
there's no II told you so" for Broad
way, for until "a Bill Of Divorcement"
came along Katharine Cornell never
had a Broadway chance.
There really isn't so much about
Miss Cornell to tell. But what she has
done to date will likely he found in
some future Who's Who as follows:
CORNELL Katherine. actress; b. But
salo daughte of P. c. and Mrs. Cornell;
ed. Buffalo schools and Merrill School,
Mamaroneck; taught dramatic art school,
fsio two years; skliful golfer and tennis
ton Square Players 1917; first stage line.
Sunalo and Detroit; toured in "The
Little Women: in Nice People" in
New York and "a Bill Of Divorcement"
with Allan Pollock.
The Who's Who now ends there. Miss
Cornell herself couldn't carry it any
further. The future? She has no idea
what it will be. being satisfied with
Sydney Fairfield and not desiring to
disturb herself with the problems of
1928 and 1924. The dramatic critics,
however, seemed to have agreed that
there won't be any problems for Miss
Cornell to solve, as far as her theatri-
cal work is concerned.
To augment the Who's Who account
it might be chronicled that Miss Cor
nell got chance with the Washington
Square Players because she was 80
everlastingly prompt at rehearsals. At
first the part that she got could hardly
be called "chance," but at later
period she got more work and decided
that she might as we'll go ahead and be
an actress. She'd leave the dramatic
coaching to somebody else. Jessie Bon
stelle saw her acting and thought the
decision good one. Miss Bonstell gave
her job.
Then followed thirty weeks of stock
in Buffalo, her home town, and Detroit;
thirty weeks that called for unceasing,
unremitting labor. From stock she
came to New York, stayed long enough
to be engaged for Mary Nash's part
in "The Man Who Came Back" and
toured the East with the Goodman play
for many weeks. Then it was stock
again and Buffalo and Detroit again
and more real experience.
Miss Cornell's next jump was to Lon
don, where she did 10 in "Little Won
en- the only American player in the
cast. AS has been recorded, it was her
work in this part and in this play that
brought her to the attention Of Allan
Pollock, and when Allan Pollock def.
initely knew that he was to do "a Bill
Of Divorcement" in New York City he
knew the actress he wanted for the
role of the daughter. That actress
was Katharine Cornell.
Miss Cornells father, known a:
DOC" Cornell. did not oppose his
daughters going on the stage, no mat
ter how interesting it might be to say
30. He wanted her to act, he thought
she could act, but he never thought
as he admitted in letter to her the
other day, that. she might some day
become such stage figure that woult
result in his being inevitably labeled
as Katharine Cornell's father" He
has fears, he said, that such a dreae