San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1926-01-03
PARIS. DEC. "a.

IV the Fren "Charlie
80 Chaplin the funniest u
man in France and one of the =
best screen comedians in the ~
world. thought life such -
poor joke and bore that he
committed SUI C d e, as the
cpbles have al re ady an
nounced
His wife so thoroughly ~
agreed with him that she lay
down by his side, opened her
veins. too, and they slowly
died together in the ancient
Roman form of suicide. No
doubt they chatted for a long
time and compared symptoms
until the final weakness sill
enced their tongues. At last
they had a common exper-
fence that was new and inter-
esting-death. Then came
the black-robed master come
dian and whispered in their
ears that joke of jokes, what
ever it is. that gives all skele-
tons broad grin.
Why did he do such thing? :
Under was rich, successful, at
the top of his profession, mar
ried to the woman he loved
and who loved him enough to
die with him. This funny man,
who was sought enVi d.,
adored by everyone, died be-
cause he could not stand being
a clown any longer.
1t was bad enough in his working hour
to do thing he detested. But that woui
have been no cause for suicide if, when
washed off his funny makeup and hun
up his funny costumes, they would on.
have let him put away his reputation
a buffoon and be free to be his own rea
solemn self. This could never be. Every
one who met the great fun-maker e'
pected a free entertainment and fe
snubbed and was indignant unless he ker
them in roars of laughter.
As most people would give ten years o
their lives to be able to be "the life o
the party" nobody could see why Ma
Linder should not be delighted to enter
tain them. When the comedian begged
almost with tears in his eyes, for tn
privilege of being serious and talkin
sense, everyone thought he was like
musician waiting to be urged.
As nobody had any mercy on the ma
he developed eccentric habits, shunnin
society as much as possible. One invita-
ton, however, he always accepted
funeral. Some thought this sign that h
was morbid, others that it revealed an un
suspected vein of sentiment for people h
had hardly met. To Under, funeral wa
refuge and a rest, chance to be as sa
and solemn as he pleased with no fea
that anyone would be indecent enough t
ask him to start his Glowing.
But business deals in France even NOR
than in America are largely made
restaurants after much dining and wlnin!
which each party fondly believes dul!
the others business shrewdness. Linde
was not only Frances first moving pic
'ture celebrity, but her greatest, and pit
lures involve endless financing and re
financing and deals within deals. o
every one of the occasions the sufferin
comedian was forced to keep the fat side
of some French, capitalist shaking fo
hours at time until finally he was read
to sign on the dotted line.
These financiers used 70 say that
really was a shame to pay Under for HI
work when it was evidently just play TO
him. When they said that, Max used t
laugh. II was not a sincere laugh an
they did not quite see the point, bu
they always Joined as people do whe
genius laughs.
Finally came the time when Under ha
accumulated such fortune that he coul
pretty we'll finance his own productions
No more would he be obliged to laugh tn
capitalists out Of every million francs tina
had to be raised. He would still continu
to play the fool in the studio, but neve
again outside. At last life was going t
be worth living. This was in 1914, an
just then the shadow of the war go,