The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-03-17
COn1medienne Bean Raiser"

l Yesterday I met one of the very i incest, wholesomest, eleverest girls have ever had the good fortune 60 1 run against in the theatrical world l Alice Hills by name--commedie dienne in l the winter of the musical comedy 1 "Fake It From Me" and farmer in 1 the summer, if you please. at your 1 service always and forever with two
 smiles where they used to be but 1 one,' and tle biggest cherriest heart you ever heard of!
 Not masculine in appearance-oh i neVer-because. welI-iust look at ! this picture of her which accom- panies my story; W. l.. Georges
 character in The Strangers We'd ! ding" who said: If our gowns grow 1 Yer and Yer downwards. and our
 skirts grow Yer and Yer upwards; whatll happen I really don't know; still, think heaven for silk stockings;
 all sins grow excusable f you make
 the temptation strong enough" might have had in mind this charming young lady who Is just feminine | enough to love low neck bodices and wears them charmingly and yet is
 masculine enough to don "a talieur" gown and wear 1t with all the swank and swsgger imaginable with her fluffy "bobbed hair and stunning !
 And so much heart and sweetness has this nice young lady that you just can't help but like her and when
 she shows you a wonderful photo graph of beautiful faced woman
 and says,
 That's my beloved mother-e5
 years old--and the treasurer of big theatre in Rochester and tho sweetest person that ever lived-and n m with mo on my beautiful farm of 25 acres up at Peekskill, really soon"
 oh, well, then, you Just want to hug her right tight and hard for you know her hearts in the right place
 Why shouldn't I want a home as
 well as anybody else? Just because
 l have to make my living by being an actress-making people laugh 1 and pirouetting about the stage and all that, there is no reason to sup 1 pose I'm not @ human being and love 1 home life and chickens and cows
 and things. Is there?' Before I went on the stage I sang 1 in the most important church in my home town. You see Pm just reg
 ular girl; l meant to be singer and 1 followed my bent for a long time; I was Grace Van Studdiford's under study in The Golden Butterfly; I
 was with DeWolff Hopper in many of his operas; and then somehow l got into comedy, and here I ann my l eontralto voice on which I had ex- l pended so much time and work, relegated to a back seat at the party and comedy being my sole purpose l "One reason. perhaps. that l have l drifted into comedy is because most i contralto roles either in light or
 grand opera, have always been writ- ten for big women, the contralto be- l ing supposed to play the part of the
 mother or the fat auntie. There are very few contralto parts for slender women"
 Miss Alice Hills is not small but
 she will never catch up with the well | know contraltos who are as heavy" | as the parts they take-thats certain l Relative to the latest international 1 romance that is discussed with equal
 enthusiasm by men and women, rich and poor, at breakfast and at dinner, l Miss Hills was asked what she
 thought of a 17-year-old heiress mar
 rying a 57-year-oid riding master.
 Should 5o-year-old woman
 marry a 16-year- -o1d boy?' she par
 ried and added: It's being done
 every day and undone just as fast" And then she came down to the se-
 rious side. putting all inherited money
 into the discard with the assertion that the only money out of which | ono can get enjoyment is the money ono earns. And that called up the memory of Ter farm again that she has bought
 with money she had worked for. A
 wonderful farm it is, with lake at
 the back and a mountain at the front,
 and acres of lovely trees. When I bought that farm I had
 the greatest thrill in the world" said Mrs. Hills. Its going to remain a thrill, too. for there Is so much to
 put into 1t. When I don't feel like
 playing T just think of that farm
 and I sail onto the stage on wings.
 There isn't going to be any charity
 for me when I'm old, for I'll be sell
 ing eggs and taking my vegetables tol market. T call 1t Atlasta Place. and we certainly had a hard time finding it.