The New York herald., 1921-01-23

first night when your hit is hauled out of
oblivon-though few authors avail them
selves of this precious privilege, or perspire
through it though they faced Boil
shevist outbreak One is lionized, one is in
vited out, friends accept cigarettes from one.
And the imagination is captured by the
possibility that here in the solid flesh one
can create personalities, just as If one were
god and had voting residence on Mount
Olympus.
Motive Mercenary as
Why Should 1t Not Be?
But the chief attraction, it must be con-
fessed-oh, sordid thoughts money, the
Great Mazuma, the Tremendous Tin. Many
scribblers sharpen their pencils for a play
with bright visions of the pelf to be gained
so that they may retire to the country and
play croquet forever after. They have heard
many of them, that Barrie has acquired
fortune by playwriting. so that he is able to
endow Antarctic expeditions whenever he
takes the notion. They have read that
Pinero is Independently wealthy. and that
our own George M. Cohan makes so much
money he can't take time to have vacation
It Is quite true that riches are to be gained
by playwriting but Clyde Fitch and other
noted dramatsts suffered some lean years
eccumulating experience before they accu-
mulated a big grub stake. 1t seems as II
later day successes must arise out Of the
ashes of earlier failures by the same play
wright. Even Barrie had his early hivvers
And often play bearing the earmarks of
success has to be worked over before
metropolitan production so often that the
author finally feels his brain has been run
through roller and then hung up on line
tc dry. 1t has been truly said that a play
isn't so much written as rewritten. More
over, one. OF the most difficult angles of the
playwriting industry is buttonholing pro-
ducer so that one may have ones opus
presented and acquire a healthy set OF
income taxes.
Often this is accomplished in connection
with the newspaper profession and it was
via the reportorial route that Avery Hop
wood, probably the leading dramatist in the
/. country to-day so far as monetary returns
are concerned. came into this haven OF
coupon clipping. He had several unimpres-
sive ventures in his early career, but now,
with four distinct hits simultaneously on
Broadway-"The Gold Diggers." "The Bat"
Ladies' Night" and Spanish Love"-in
which he figures either as author or collab-
orator, he has learned how to drive 'em
tandem. The young father of this unpre-
cedented number of current theatrical
progeny--he is still only 3s-leads all coners
it Is said in his royalties his percentage
even going beyond the holy Of holes desig-
mated by 10 per cent
What Are Royalties
And How Are They Computed?
The royalty percentage, it should be ex-
planned, is based on sliding scale. which
in the new standard authors contract OBJ
tanned by the Dramatists' Guild from the
Producing Managers Association brings
culver of joy to the writer with per cent.
of the first $1,000 in gross receipts. AS the
H.. l. o<.ztxr
IN pes cent on the weeks receipts up to
$1,000, and after that 10 per cent. is the
authors cure for starvation. Barrie has
been known to get as high as IL per cent,
and Robert Hichens received 15, or about
$500 weekly, for 1.-THE Garden of Allah"
several years ago, though he had to share
this crust with Mary Anderson, who drama
tized the book. But rarely has an author
exceeded 10 per cent, or flushed this amount
Of quarry right from the start of the run
of play.
Yet Hopwood has been doing this right
along with 1.-THE Gold Diggers," drawing
down about $2,400 week, which in the six
teen months that the play has been running
at the Lyceum Theatre means that he has
caused his bank account to sag with some
thing over $3.50 0000-with the end not yet.
!. Probably the great drawing power of this
comedy is due to it's picture of chorus
girls life, for the public is willing to pay 10
the uttermost to discover If theatrical folk
are as bad as they're peroxided-in the hope
that they are. When Hopwood took the idea
OF presenting a chorus girl as she really is
in scenario form to David Belasco, that man
ager approved of 1t highly knowing the in
satiable craving Of laymen to grow very
wise about existence behind the scenes.
With the dexterity born of experience Hop
wood had little difficulty In tricking II out
with bright lines, and the play required very
little massaging on the road before the open
ing here. Now wifey wants to throng to II
10 what fool hubby may be in squan-
dering money on show girls, and hubby
wants to point out to her that it's worth 1t.
TOR the girls are good girls despite their
expensive Pomeranians.
Estimated Incomes of
Two WeL-Known CoHaborafors
From THE Bat" and It's recent Chicago
twin, Hopwood and Mrs Mary Roberts
Rinehart, his co-author, each burden them
selves with about $4,000 more weekly.
With the twenty-five weeks that It has run
here and the three weeks of "The Bat" in
Chicago II has probably meant $4,000 In
young Hopwood's life, unless the old comp
tometer is balmy. The swiftly succeeding
thrills and mystery of this detective play. in
terlarded with comic relief. no doubt give the
piece it's drag with the public, together with
the fact that the paywrights have very
skilfully shrouded the solution in doubt up
a. interested as a jury wondering what its