The Washington times., 1930-01-08
CLEANINCS
AND
SCREENINGS
BY Andrew r. Kelley

4.
II see you have been picking
the best actors In the movies
for Gleanings and Screenings,
how about q few words on the
best actor on the stage?" said
Charlie Washburn. the tireless
publicist for George N. Copan.
as he hustled into the editorial
sancturn yesterday afternoon.
Whose words and how2"
was the best we could do at
q snappy comeback, Where
upon Mr.. Washburn dragged
forth from a capacious raglan
pocket the documents.
Il mot my opinion, though /
agree with II" he replied. In
stead the words Of wisdom
written by Percy Hammond.
the dramatic critic emeritus OF
the New York Herald. Tribune,
Just now nearing Tripol and
points east in the journey
around the world. When YOU
B see this performance Of Cam
bling next Monday night !
am sure you viii ratify the
Judgment, and in the mean
time, think washington
might like to read these mug
gets from the Hammond type
writer" Well, here they are:
I'VE have been without
First Actor since the day Mr..
Warfield said to Mr.. Belasco:
II give this heavy weight from
q off my head,
And this unwieldy scepter from
my hand,
&Rnysteriously disappearing there
after into the silences Of abdi-
cation. Nominees have been
numerous for Mr.. Warfield's
discarded sovereignty = Walter
Hau1pden, beloved of Brooklyn
and the Players Club; ArliSs,
the dear Of cultural circles;
skinner, the fine torch-hearer
eOf tradition: the devout Sothern
and many others Of rich en-
dowments. But they seem to
lack the stature essential to a
popular public institution, the
voice with which to call the
multitude to worship. have
heen a subject of the Drama
under four dynasties - Joseph
Jefferson in my babyhood, Rich
ard Mansfield in my youth.
David Warfield in my middle
age and John Drew in all of
them. Players better perhaps
than they performed roles more
artistically, but these were the
Big Shots. the fixed stars, the
High Priests in the Dramas
mosques and joSs-houses.
"Just as we are about to ex-
claim, Alas, there are no more
First Actors!' along com es
George M. Cohan. For a gen.
&eration Mr.. Cohan has enter
taine6 us with his jaunty trivi-
alities-his nifty dancing, his
hard revues, his soft musical
comedies and his little dramas.
His advance as a substantial
actor, however, has been stealthy
and a secret to many bright
eyed critics. His latest play,
Gambling is but Broadway
Park Avenue show. Yet in it
he portrays a quiet. four-square,
sentimental, iron-gray betting
man with a validity and charm
so remarkable that it entities
him to the vacant dais. From
the first minutes to the last he
fills a false play with integrity
by the sheer credibility Of his
acting. Like his predecessors.
though in a lesser way, he has
the secret of personal domina-
tion, and more than any of
Ethem, the gift of inspiring per-
eonal affection.
"All the critics shed tears
when called by duty to wound
him with faint praises, ana
they eagerly forgive his ire.
Quent brusquenesSeS toward
them. He has more friends
than Jefferson had, as many
sacquaintances as Warfield and
none of the enemies that the
terrifying Mansfield loved to
make. A born mime, he sinks
himself in his role, but not too
deeply. His imperSonations are
human, plus Cohan, displaying
the mysterious qualities Of the
thoroughbred. Added to his
skill as a counterfeiter is that
Irresistible something dubbed
tvariously as charm, magnetism,
personality and It. AS DR..
johnson said of something else,
we do not know what it is,
sir, and there's an end ont
"Give Mr.. Cohan a show rs
appealing as Jefferson's rip
ivan Winkle,' Mansfield's "A
Partisan Romance or DR..
Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde or War
fields The Music Master and
he will last as long as they
have lasted in the sacred
memories Of American drama
lovers"
Gil Boag, ex-husband of
tGilda Gray, is sponsoring a
plan to revive John Murray
Anderson's Almanac" a mus
ical comedy which won a world
of praise but little business on
broadway. Mr.. Boag plans to
have Irene Bordoni as the star
sof his confection and has asked
the Erlanger office to give him
an opening date at the Ma
kfinral Irheater. washington be-