Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-09

ONE Of the artists were compar-
ing hobbies the other day, and
several interesting ones were dis
| - closed. In case any one is look
ing for new hobby these days,
| Ill pass some of them on to my read
ers. Vaughn de Leath's passion for
! earrings is well known around the stu
dos. She has been collecting them for
| years. Most of those she picks up
! nowadays come from antique shops,
but when she can't find pair to 60
with a new gown, she often makes some
from 10-cent-Store jewelry. She keeps
| them on hooks in an Italian antique
| cabinet.
Norman Sweetser has taken up pot
terry. He went to a class in making it
not long ago, and now he is turning out
ash trays by the dozen. When he mas
tiers this form Of the art he intends to
take up book ends, and maybe jugs and
vases. His apartment, only four blocks
from the studios, is also the haven for
all homeless cats in the vicinity. A
couple of months ago. he bought an ice
0ox, and give you my word it has con-
tanned nothing but milk and meat for
his pets.
She Has Two Hobbies.
May Singh Breen has two hobbies.
One is collection of ukuleles, but that
must be ruled out as rather profess
| sional. The other Is china and pottery
animals. Cows, camels, dogs, elephants,
| donkeys, horses and birds are in her
cabinets. She even makes her husband,
Peter De Rose, keep his cigarettes in a
china frog.
Kelvin Keech, the announcer, used
to make his living playing the ukulele
| for the British Broadcasting Corpora
ton when he was in London, but now
| 1t has become just hobby He keeps
| one in his desk and Strums it In his off
| hours. incidentally, he and his brother
| Alwyn, who, so far as I know, has
never broadcast, over the networks in
! this country, are said to have taught
the Prince OF Wales to play the uku-
lele. Kelvin says 1t was his brother.
but Miss Breen says Alvin told her it
was Kelvin. And the present hobby
OF Mildred Hunt, who is just returning
! to the air after grooming her way from
coast to coast in vaudeville, is finding
the tallest doorman in New York and
persuading the owner Of her apartment
house to hire him.
Disagrees With Dictionaries.
Several years ago, when I was new
| at announcing, I used to lie awake
at nights worrying when some one
J would take exception to the pronunci-
alton I had given a certain word, but
finally decided, after paving several
good dictionaries to pieces. to forget
about it. Dictionaries disagree as to
the pronunciation OF q large number of
words that are in general use, and I
| decided to pronounce the disputed
words as I had always pronounced
them. That. at least, had the virtue
Of consistency.
It did not, however, spare me several
hundred letters, over q period Of sew
eral years, taking me to task for my err
rors. But one becomes philosophical
In this business, even though all the
announcers I know still turn to their
battery Of dictionaries every time some
one calls them on word they haven't
traced to its lair.
The other day Edward Thorgersen
had occasion to use the word obesity"
His pronunciation was questioned and
two factions Immediately arose. One
said it was Obesity" and the other
held out for obesity" Dictionaries
were consulted and experts were called
in, but the dispute got nowhere.
Makes q Test Case.
Finally, Just to make a test case Of
| it, the program directors suggested tel
egraphing a large group of educators,
| philologists and photographers for help.
When the replies came in the question
was as much UP in the air as before.
Obesity" and Obesity" seemed to
have about equal weights Of authority
behind them.
This is only one of a group of words
| where the same situation exists. There
is another large group Of words upon
whose proper pronunciation the. au-
4 n. AnIA IL. @r4
never pronounced that way, even by
men and women who are noted as pur-
lists in speech. In time, of course, the
makers of the dictionaries, whose bust
| ness It is to be conservative in giving
approval to innovations in the language,
| will have to recognize the forms in
| common USE But all this doesn't help
the puzzled announcer very much.
Broadcasters May Help.
Perhaps the broadcasters, who are
! now coming to be looked upon as the
Youngest generations instructors in
| speech, will have to set up body Of
! their own to pass upon all disputed
points. That would at least give us
| uniformity.
! There are three men around our stu
dos, all doing different jobs but all
| best known. as noise" Arthur FaSig,
| name honestly enough, but it's differ
| ent matter with Harold MCGEE and
| Bradley Barker. MCGEE, an actor by
| profession, is assistant to Gerald Stopp,
| who produces q large number OF dra-
matte programs. MCGEE often has def
mite roles in them, but nearly every
week the script calls for noise and
| voices to help put across some scene,
and MCGEE. In his capacity as assist
| ant, always comes in as the noise. il
| he isn't helping work the different
sound instruments, he is shouting or
stamping his feet to add to the tumult.
Profession Of Noise.
Barker makes a profession of noise
! these days, although it hasn't all been
on the radio. He directed Morton
| Downey in his sound picture, Mother s
Boy" and his noises are we'll known on
| photograph records. While he special
! ICES in initiating animals with his voice,
| he can also use sound effects parapher-
| MALTA with the best Of them. Barker
has taken prominent parts II several
| radio programs, but have never yet
heard him speak line. And the pro-
duction man always has to be careful
| that Barker isn't standing where one
| of the. actors can see him-cis facial
contortions are likely to disturb the
proper gravity of the occasion
Personally, I much prefer to watch
Barker doing the braying of mule,
but after one experience have found
1t safer to do my watching on the other
side OF a glass window. In all these
| years In the studios I have not vet
completely mastered the art of silent
laughter. Phil Carlin processes q lean
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