The Washington herald., 1922-01-18
.M'IyTYRE MOURNS
PASSING OF WITTY
RENNOlD WOLF
Morning Telegraph Critic
OF Theater Martyr
To OverwOrk.
By o. o. MCINTYRE.

NEW YORK. Jan. 17.--Another
striking figure in the life of Broadway
has ascended the starry trail In the
passing OF Rennold Wolf. the Great
White Way lost Its most conspic-
uous historian He knew the the
ater. the night and cafe life as no
other. He was a martyr to over
work and for two years had been
only a she'll of his former self.
saw him three weeks before the
end In the New Amsterdam Theater
foyer. He was stopped and gaunt and
his speech, failing to coordinate with
his brilliant mind. came in hating
phrases. For 16 years Rennold Wolf
reviewed plays for the Morning Teie-
graph.
He wrote ten plays In collaboration
with Charming Pollock, who was with
him when he died. He was the sole
author of -four plays and wrote one
edition, of the Ziegfeld Follies aside
from hundreds OF vaudeville and mo-
ton picture plays.
Mr.. Wolf was at his best. how
ever, as an after dinner speaker. He
had sublime sense Of the ridiculous
and was master at forensic flights.
He was in his finest form the night
OF the dinner to Irwin Cobb about
seven years ago.
II was dinner the like OF which
New York had never seen. The most
brilliant minds in art. literature and
law were there Great speakers
spoke. and then Wolf was introduced.
II was a speech that inspired two
big metropolitan journals to print II
verbatim on their editorial pages.
Rennold Wolf was not a part OF
the so-caiied gaiety of New York's
night life. He was merely journalist
looking on. Most of the time he went
to first nights with his white haired
mother whom he always called his
sweetheart"
One of his best friends was J. Fred
Zimmerman. the theatrical producer.
and oddly he pilloried him every day
In the Morning Telegraph as the
Modern Hercules. One of the last
quips he wrote read:
-. Fped Zimmerman came up from
Philadelphia Yesterday to attend the
premiere of Jightnin.'
Lightnin' had closed its three
years run some time ago and moved
to Chicago
Jack Lait, who brought his type
writer over from Chicago two years
ago, believes that he is fast becom-
ing typical New Yorker. The eleva-
tor boys In his apartment are giving
him tips on the horse races He also
finds himself saying bold" for bird.
However. he has far to go. He must
learn how to put the nickel in the
new subway slots and procure a little
red block and compile the secret tele-
phone numbers Of a bootlegger, a
straw bondsman, loan shark. a
blonde. an East Side gorilla and a
lawyer to watch the whole outfit
BY that time he will be ready to
sneer at Chicago.
Times have changed on the Bowery.
The 10 cent lodging house is back.
During the war and thereafter the
price OF a "fiop" was 25 cents. Nit
ten Heck's. The Alcazar, Oscar'ss, The
Poindexter and Abel Cohen's have re-
duced their prices. There Is an echo
OF hard times on this brooding, sulIen
street. The casual laborers look lust
bit more seedy and the overcoats
they wore last winter are missing.
The cheap rooms are simply large
square boxes, open at the top except
for a wire grating, with a small door
In one side and containing a narrow
cot. stool and tiny locker. The suite
de luxe is always 80 cents. 1t has a
regular bed a chair and a looking
glass. In the evening the guests sit
in the dim lit Office looking out upon
the wide stretches of the Bowery.
They resent conversation and are ever
suspicious of each other.