The Washington times., 1922-01-01
VIM Alan Dale at
Nstp York Thedters

kuSW0 sn~e NAssksc' -
4 90 to wasts..
TuInN the press agent gets busy.
He discovers that she h from
. fine old Southern family; that
her. great grandmother had played
m amateur theatricals and was.
IN her day, . bella" She -
intefviswee and tells glowing
stories Of her fight TO 50 on the
stage and OF the antasonism OF
hsf entire family. She 10 coached"
shs n drilled. She studiss fencing
ard dancing. She 10 taught how to
Walk across the stage without sus-
sestins walking on eggs and she
= thoroughly imbued with the idea
that She must be heard in the
fitst Tires rows OF the orchestra.
Critics see her and tell her about
her beauty and her charm and the
future that win be hers when she
has 0vsfconis the fatal present. She
does everything but lose diamonds.
which. strangely enough. has out
hved IL usefulness, I'm sorry to
sAy. It does seem q pity that the
public won't stand for actresses
losing their diamonds today. It was
always 20 enjoyable and 20 harm
lees. But the age Of progress has
nipped this delightful and noncha-
liant pastime In the bud The
actress keeps her diamonds and
w6ndeffui industry 10 no more.
This brand Of star u easily made.
She may not stay made. but she
win last for some time. She win
tour the country a. an attraction
endorsed by New York. and though.
10 you and me that means q trifle
lsss than nothing, 1t cuts Ice ION the
road" The road" believes that It
10 inspecting q real metropolitan
faspstts.
IN DON'T, say that there are not
real stars. Remember that
haven't said It. There are UNI
dosibtedly one or two who. with
!. great experience. wide appeal, that
curious quality we cali magnet
: lam" the inexpiicabie gift that no
I schools can include. and an abiding
faith In their art" will sim sway
j the crowds by legitimate methods.
They are rarer and rarer. These
are quick times. and the careful
study and inimitable discipline
! necessary arc regarded as too slow.
The star today begins at the top
! instead Of at the bottom Of the
ladder. s
Playwrishts today write for stars.
Try and place the modern star in q
: play not written around him and
. see what happens. Playwrights
J understand stars. They take their
: MEASURE. Just an q tailor takes the
! MEASURE for . suit Of clothes. The
! playwright watches his victim--I
mean his star-in some current play
I and Immediately devises something
. that win permit Of the Introduction
! OF the stunts that have got by"
Z Once upon q time there was q star
! who made . great hit by the pro-
nunciation Of the hero's name. She
uttered the name. which was a
. peculiar one, with q strange and
wistful series Of cadences. and this
was always noted by critics. And
then. behold, in the next play she
) illumined we had q hero almost
: similarly named % that the star
could again piaintiveiy call his name
20 the skies.
me star today il nearly always
rood looking. II man. he IL
! TN, shapsiy and lissome. II .
woman. she 10 lovely enough to
: pose ON the cover Of q magazine
Tor write beauty notes for feminine
arsadsrs. The old stars that have
\ made history were not famous for
their beauty of face or form. This
4was disrssarded. The actor was
s'.ereat" II he could lose himself
IN the role assigned to him. He
was great n he could SO sway
IN audience that they could forget
! the fact that he was physically the
very last person they would have
scast for the part.
=
CTARs today certainly suggest
nothing Of the unusual. In fact.
the very good actors and actresses
DO not star. They are too useful
Z 10 be lost in the lists Of trade
!, marks. There are two or three
dozen good actors always in great
demand or the support" Of those
Who rush IN where angels fear to
tread. These clever people receive
large remuneration and are worth
~. Their names are not iliumined
IN the city's highways and they
perhaps suggest to the star certain
I e,ibtleti0e IN the way of acting that