Imperial Valley press., 1923-07-25
ROUSES STORM
BY ATTACKING
STAGE Nor AIS
Don't Let Your Women
Go On-Im$m0rality
Is Appalling
BY CHAS. McCANN
Omitted Press Staff Correspondent

LONDON, July 25.-" Don t lei
your women go on the stage. Its
immortality is appalling.'
cit is almost impossible for a
girl to be what she ought to be
if she goes on the stage. Unless
she has money, man, or Il man
ager to help her through, it is a
terrible difficulty for her to get
anywhere at all with her carecr.D
That is an actor s view of the
British stage, given by "Wec
George - Wood, a famous comedian,
at a Rotary Club dinner at Man
chester, when he was made mem
Der of the club.
London actors, actresses, and
managers say it is not true.
The accusation struck them like
& blow in the face. Wood is one
of them-a veteran and leader
but he is the lcast-liked man on
the stage just now.
COCHRAN SAYS ITS LIBEL
81 never heard such gross libel
in my life,0 said Charles B.
Cochran, England s greatest prod
ucer.
''Perhaps no man has had more
experience of stage life than | have,
and / can say definitely that there
are only two things which will get
a girl ahead on the stage-talcnt
and hard work.
"A girl may go wrong and Il
man may, through influence, get
a girl on the stage; but she won t
stay there long in a good show
without both talent and hard work
The audience are the judges, and
no amount of booming or boosting
will keep a girl in a big post un-
less she has talent.
Wee Georgia Wood g state
ment is absolute rot, and wicked
rot at that"
cit is talent, and nothing else,
that counts on the stage today, -
said Miss Barbara SGott, leading
lady in "Lilac time" at the Lyric.
81 had neither influence nor
money behind me, and have climbed
from small parts to leads, and |
know scores of actresses On both
the variety and legitimate stage
who have done us | have done.
"There are temptations on the
stage as i'll all walks of life, but
p to say that this is the rule rather
than the exception is Il wicked libel
PLAYING AND BEING
Another of Wood S statements in
his speech was:
1T is almost impossible for an
actor night after night to play at
love without feeling it. If YOU play
with emotion it will play with you.
He referred to the chorus girl,
con $l5 or less. a weck-a life in
which bullying by stage manager
plays quite a prominent part"
"Don't tell me this ism t true,
he added: 81 have seen to much
of it.
It's a fact that chorus girl gets
around $l5 week in London
chorus. In the provinces she may
get $50, and out of it she is sup
posed to keep herself in food and
clothing and to pay for lodgings.
Some girls do it. A few support
themselves entirely on it. Others,
good many, manage to buy food
and pay for lodgings and car-fare
and depend OH their families for
clothes. A few have money of their
own. Then there are the others.
There is no secret about the
salaries. Anyone who goes around
town knows girls who receive them,
and support themselves or fail to
support themselves on the money.
Those who keep themselves
straight are taken out to dinner oc-
casionally; not very often, on the
road. They live in London most
ly; when they arc on tour they live
together, three or four of them, i'll
dingy rooms, and cook most of
their own food.