The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1929-06-13

ANp
SCREENINGS
~ ANDREW & KELLEY

petition is keen enough de-
serves mention outside Of the
success" magazines. Refer
ence is to Walter Winchell,
whose bright sayings adorn the
theater pages Of The Washing
ton Herald and may be enjoyed
each morning with the grape
fruit and corn mullins.
Mr.. Winchell's case is both
unique and extraordinary. Only
a few short years, ago he was
hoofer on the Pantages time,
which meant six shows q day
and 4 couple Of extra ones on
Saturday. Then he came to
New. York to be a writer on
small vaudeville paper and
when that trade journal fell
upon evil days annexed himself
to the Bernarr MacFadden pay
roll. Soon he began his famous
column. Your Broadway and
Nine"
Within q very few months
Broadway began to notice Mrs.
Winchell's boy. Walter. He has
an original and distinctive style
which finds expression in q
vocabulary that is colorfully in-
dividuaI. The dispute still RACES
as to whether the wild western
cowboys or Mr.. WinchelI gave
birth to the word "whoopee. "
Regardless of who invented it,
there is no question about Mr..
Winchell having the honor of
popularizing it with the Broad
way multitude.
:. Since gossip is said to be the
best remembered part of any
conversation, Mr.. Winchell set
about to capitalize this popu-
larity. On each Monday it has
been, and will continue to be,
his wont to set down in a we'll
stuffed column the little tid-bits
of fact and fancy which start
tongues wagging in the Broad
way set. | am not familiar
with his method Of gathering
and wedding this collection of
meaty literary morsels although
it is said he spends most of his
around and after midnight hours
in the pale faced night clubs and
in the more familiar haunts of
actors. However, the Monday
tout ensemble is generally
highly readable.
Soon he was taken up by
Frank Crowninshield and his be-
tween time writings appeared in
Vanity Fair and the periodicals
which adorn the tables of the
Park Avenue drawing rooms,
Mr.. Winchell, in their opinion,
had arrived.
A flood of copy-cats have
adopted the Winchell style but
none fortunately or unfortu-
nately have progressed far
with the limitations. He re-
mains the mostly widely quoted
writer on the happenings of the
Roarin' Forties.
Mr. Winchell has his enemies
as who has not. For instance,
the Mesers. Shubert VOW he will
never cross the portals of Q
]. ]. and Lee theater. When
Walter had a yearning to see
the opening of the Four Marx
Brothers new show it was
"Groucho" who disguised him
as valet, rushed him past
the doorman, and permitted him
to view the premiere from the
vantage point of the wings.
Which is another way of con-
founding an enemy.
Some five years after Charlie
Chaplin was acclaimed by the
world as the screens foremost
funny man, Gilbert Seldes, dis
tinguished literateur ''dis-
covered" him and labelled him
a genius. Last week Mr.. Seldes
in the New Republic admitted
that Ted Cooks "Cook-Coos'
constituted first class humor.
Washington Herald readers have
known it for a long time.
suspect Winchell's column win
be a beloved habit with Herald
readers long before Mr.. Seldes
gets around to discovering
him.
William Haines, generally as
fresh on the screen as 4 ripe
tomato, can skip the scenario
writer when he passes out
credits-if any-for his latest
feature, "A Mans Man" It will
not add even a tiny feather to
the Haines headpiece.
/ think Mr.. Haines is a highly
competent screen actor, although
/ reserve the right to detest the
smart aleck characters he por-
trays to the seeming delight of
his admirers.
In "a Mans Man." Patrick
Kearney turned out play about
a $50 per week bookkeeper,
hopelessly beaten in life's race,
a disconsolate and pitiful figure
trying to keep up with the pass
ing parade. In Hollywood they
transformed this tragic human
failure into a boastful soda
fountain clerk so that Mr.. Haines
might cut-up with his usual
deviltry. Having established
the character as a light headed
nit-witi the story suddenly goes
rario11s and revaS.ts T,nnre - 49,