The Washington times., 1921-01-01
Charming Pollock Has Been a
Success in All Lines 7nea

To have been press agent, a play
reader and a dramatic reviewer. TO
top off a catch-as-catch-can education
in Leipzig, in Salt Lake City and in
San Salvador might we'll be regarded
as a sufficiently varied experience for
a successful American playwright and
that is a sketch of the career of Chan
ming Pollock, co-author of Clothes,
the brilliant satirical drama, which
achieved tremendous success on the
stage, and which is being shown at
Crandalrs Knickerbocker Theater 1ext
Thursday and Friday in a screen YER
sion.
Mr.. Pollock is a typical product of
the American theater-the theater of
practical ideas; and the training he
received for his work was wholly in
accord with the tradition Of land
where creative genius springs phoe-
niX-like from the ranks of the people.
His knowledge of dramatic crafts
manship was gained not from the
library, though Mr.. Pollock is a lover
of books, but from first-hand expert
cnce back of the asbestos curtain.
where he learned the thousand and
one tricks of the trade that go to
make the play the thing 1t was
this training that resulted in his
many stage successes, and notably m
the seasons particular hit, The Sign
on the Door,"
Born in Hungary Claiming Pollock
first saw the light of day about forty
years ago. His father, an eminent
journalist. desired his son to acquire
perfect knowledge of German. and to
this end young Claiming was sent to
Leipzig University in Germany. where
it was proposed he should get his edu-
cation.
But fate ordained otherwise, for
after a short while the elder Pollock
betook himself and his family from
Hungary to the United States to edit
a paper in Salt Lake City.
There the co-author of Clothes" be-
gan to go to school. School there,
however, was of short duration for
young Claiming. The family's next
move was to San Salvador, Central
America, where his father had re-
ceived a consul-generalship. But the
tropical climate proved too much for
the journalist, and so. after two years
in Central America, the Pollock fam
lily moved north again. and Claiming
entered, at an early age, the theatre
cal world, in which later he was to
occupy SO important a place.
The curious and most conspicuous
fact in the career of Charming Pollock
is the manner in which he excelled in
all he undertook, AS press agent
for the Shuberts he has never been
surpassed: as a dramatic reviewer COR
The Washington Times and the Green
Book Magazine he contributed play
reviews which for spriteliness Of wit
and verve in expression, as well as
sane, sound judgment of dramatic val
ues, won him unstinted recognition.
Mr.. Pollock, through the stress of
other matters, has discontinued his
contributions to the magazine.
But 1t is as a playwright and drama-
tist that the position of Claiming Pol
lock has been best established. Com
mencing his dramatic writing while
he was still a press agent, he pro-
duced a dramatizcd version OF Tn the
Bishops Carriage" which Instantly
won enormous success on the stage.
This play was followed by Clothes"
the satirical comedy, written In col
liberation with Avery Hopwood.
Other plays by Mr.. Pollock which
succeeded tho noteworthy "Clothcs"
were Tho Little Gray Lady" such
a Little Queen" In which Elsie Fer
guson starred, and The Secret Orch
ard" His most recent successes have
been Roads OF Destiny" The Crowd
ed Hour" written In collaboration
with Edgar SeIwyn, and Tho Sign on
the Door" which has been called the
best mclodrama ever written in Amer