New-York tribune., 1922-03-19
Frances White
A 9 Juliet in
"The Hotel Mouse

:, saSHea 10 FRANCES W mite Is the result
es an accident, and so, although it /;
the dearest wish of her heart to play
Juliet, she Is not going TO force mat.
ters, ss some actresses DO, by hiring
IKE Princess Theater and giving spe.
cal natinees. She is going to wait
IatiI another accident gives her the
chance. Miss White has balcony
sccne In her rev show, "The Hotel
Mouse" and Taylor Holmes stands be
lev needing only the slightest cncour-
agement, probably, to burst into "a
would ! were glove on that fai
hand" and after that nothing could
stop Miss White from playing her IA
vorite heroine.
Everything good that has happened
- Miss White has been just accidental
Ii anything in this world is acci-
dental, which it probably isn't.
The Original
Child Wonder
II soDe one had not heard little
Frances White singing high c when
she va twelve years old she never
would have been on the stage at all.
1T was in Los Angeles, my home town,
ard / used to be pressed into service
us all Of the school entertainments.
Some one offered me 3 part in musical
stock ampany out there, and accepted
without asking any ones permission.
/ sang 'Fantana,' and lot Of those old
sisings, bat no one noticed me, espe-
cially until one day at rehearsal.
happened to strain my hair all back
from my face and pin it up in tight
wad on my head. 1t was terribly hot
weather and I was dancing hard and
thought I looked like fright. But the
stage manager, it Was Robert Leonard,
Mae Murray's husbsnd-but he wasn't
Mae Murray's husband then-called me
over and said, Wear your hair like
that all the time and you're made, It's
distinctive SO I did; and it's funny.
but every one who had not noticed ME
on account of my voice, which was
sennsidered rather good at that time, be-
gan to talk and write about my hair
dress. and I think l got more publicity
because of my permanent lack of q
wave than 1 ever get in any other
way"
well you've certainly had the cour-
age of somebody's convictions, for
you've gone through pompadours, parts
IN the middle and parts on the side un-
disturbed by the rulings of the coiffure
1ashioneers. Do you remember the pc
liod, about FIVE or six years ago, when
every one decided that she looked like
you and wore her hair accordingly =?
Some OF them looked pretty and some
Of them looked pretty awful"
Nr. Shubcrt
illustrates Frances
"You know it took lot OF courage
10 see all the other girls with beauti-
ful lunches Of Billie Burke curls and
continue to go around with my hair
booking as though l hadn't any. The
.irst time was tempted was last win
tsr, when my soul cried out for a
hobbed wig. | thought 1 could ease the
ding in by wearing it straight at first,
aud after people got used to that I
could start ! few waves. Well, l men
/. toned, casually, to Lee Shubert that I
vas on my way to the hairdresser's to
set what used to be known as Castle
ell and he arose in his wrath and said ::
ihe shears which eever your locks
sever cur contract Also just like that.
50 yol see my hair is still with me-"
"You spoke q moment ago. Miss
White, about your high Cs. You don't
ing them any more. How come?"
The result of an accident, as I
old you all good things are for me.
~ g period when I was failing to
rouse enthusiasm in the critics by
ny warbling l got lsryngitis and my
dice fell whole octave. l had to do
different type of song after ( got
n bacA. and those songs seemed to make
,n instantaneous hit. People liked my
bass voice and never got my high Cs
back again.
And you remember my song "Missis
sippi'? There was another accident. |
had been singing it for some time
and it wasn't going right. Then, at one
performance, l lisped on one Of the
Syllables and everybody laughed. I
fried it next time and they laughed
again, so left 1t that way. It was the
biggest hit I ever had until this song,
Round on the Ends and High in the
Middle The second night had twelve
encores on that and my voice was sll
gone. Bert Hanlon wrote that for m
and ! think it's the best thing I've
done"
Temperament 1s
A Dangerous Thing
And is the temperament still ram
pant? Is your soul still longing for
the higher drama?"
'Is it rampant? It's actually unrulyl
Every time play that scene with Tay-
Tor Holmes, in the second act, where
they discover that l am thief, want
to burst into tragedy and act it seri-
ously. Some day I'll slip up on it and
become tragedienne without giving
notice"
"That viii be another accident, and
.vy.x-r