New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-09-24
Tinney Discounts
he BluecOats and
Hands Out a Laugh

There are no two Frank Tinneys.
The Tinney of the stage of the Apollo
Theater is the Tinney of the dressing
room in casual conversation with his
friends There Is no noticeable differ
ence. Either his long years Of effort
as a comedian have so affected his
method of speech, his mannerism, and
his gestures that he carries them be-
yond the footlights with him or he has
always been himself, with no conscious
attempt to act or be funny. This was
evident even after a brief back-st
visit while he was backing up for his
first entrance in "Dafy Dill.'
Tinney answers the report that he is
to renounce the burnt cork forever.
He says he has not the slightest inten-
tion of doing so. He will always ap-
pear in black face somewhere in the
show, if only for few moments.
"You must please everybody to have
"a successful show, mustn't We, hah 2" to
approximate the Tinneyan speech.
"Somebody'll always remember me as
was in black face and they'll be disap-
pointed If they don't see me in black
face. So, no matter what they say,
I'm gonna do it."
One of the scenes Of "Daffy Dip re-
quires him to appear as an Oriental
magician, with Georgia O'Ramey as his
assistant. He uses a gun in the scene,
for which, incidentally, he has no per-
NIT. But why should he have a per-
nit? Isn't he chief Of police Of Long
Beach, commanding thirty-four men
and the twenty lifeguards at the sea-
shore city? But let him tell it him
self.
"Thisll hand We a laugh he started
cts funny coincidence. The chief
electrician for Hammerstein, Joe Flynn,
who used to be the head of the pub
iicity department, and me were kids
together in school in Philadelphia. We
| sat in adjoining seats in Miss Smiths
class. ] use a gun in the show and
they said I needed a permit for it, so
the electrician went down town to get
1T. He went down town and stood way
at the end of the line, shutting UP a
few inches once in a while. When he
reached the clerks window he didn't
get the permit. Where's yer natural
ization papers?' the clerk bawled at
him. 4 amt got none. I was born
here, was the answer. That's moth
ing; we've got to have papers,, he was
told. He came up town, went down
town again and again didn't get the
permit.
$50 he cussed out the clerk and the
job and came away without it. He'd
give Up his job if he had to go again. He
wasn't going to worry any more about
a permit. Before he left the clerk he
told him that Tinney'd play without
permit. oh, he will, will hep said
the clerk. He was one of them wise
guys. So the next day two coppers
came back-stage to see me.
Where's yer permit?' one of them
asked. What permitT The permit
for the gun Have you got permit
/ w eaiHy gun: asked him. Mo- he
stammered; 4 don't need none Then
look at that told him. 4 don't need
none, neither flashed me gold badge.
which said Chief of Police of Long
Beach, and you could hardly hear them
go out
An old minstrel friend of mine de-
cIded to find out whether was Cbiaf
OF Police or not. He came back and
said: You amt no Chief of Police.
asked all the coppers down at Long
Beach. None of them knew you. |
even went down to Asbury.' The poor
boob thought Long Branch and Long
Beach were the same place. Amt that
a laugh, ha?"
/ It was, the way Frank Tinney told #
(