Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1931-09-30
New York
Letter

NEW YORK.-The Aston The
atre. despite it, outward display OF
flamboyant movie banners and its
eve-catching streamers of gaudy
light. wears also Q slight touch o.
mourning for its founder Lincoln
Wagenha1s, who died q few days
ago. ..
The crowds who pass through It's
doors will see upon the screen no
stranger tale than that Of the kid
from the small Ohio town who put
m this showhouse on Broadway.
1t Is another OF those thousand
and lone nights legends OF Bagdad-
on-the-Subway. For here was fame
and fortune that started literally
at the point Of = gun!
And this Is the way the story
goes Once upon o time 9 discour
aged young man from Lancaster,
o.. sat over his coffee and sinkers
at a Broadway lunch counter
wondering II this could be the
fair rewards Of the theater. At IL,
an amateur actor from his home
town high school. he had descended
upon Columbus, O., and for live
years held q job In q sto< COM
panv. Then he had headed fer
Broadway. And here he was going
out ahead of road shows that had
a habit Of "going bust" in the middle
OF nowhere and leaving a young
CERT to get back as best he could.
Feeling like telling his troubles
To someone, he began talking 70
another youth occupying an ad-
iacent stool. The conversation
bounced back to the old home. Is
such talks do in New York
aWhat you're from Ohio, too
SWELL. -. Funny you should come
from there. Yep. and your daus
a doctor, too. THAT sure beats
everything. 80. And you passed up o
chance TO study medicine Tor the
stage. Sure IS funny, meeting
I this. What's the Manner
"Kemper's my name - Colin
In iust about that fashion started
the famous Wagenhals and Kemp
o. partnerships firm that ran
nothing up to 100000 900 ana oe,
came the wealthiest tneatricai
business in the world
both went out as company man
ayers for road shows, and met
AGAIN in an Ohio tank town. Both
shows were broke. Both had to get
hack TO New York. They sat down
and talked things over. Certainly,
the were getting nowhere; they
were Young and ambitious why
not take a chance by themselves?
aSay. l heard OF a house up IN
Binghamton. New York. we misnt
get hold of....ran into u wniie
taking a company through that
way"
That was the beginning: a small
stock company In Binghamton.
Wapenhals was business MANAGER;
was stage manager. They
decided to branch out, altnougn
their finances were meager. Wag-
enhals would take a show on tour
las company manager. -,
Once more the scene was
and the place not far from Col
umbus. Wagenhals was going over
the payroll and the gate receipts.
He was interrupted by a brusque
command: stick 'em up and hand
over the coinl" But he didn't. he
made a quick duck. Two shots. q
uuick scurry and the theatrical
tyro lay grooming On the floor q
bullet in his body.
Get my father he groaned as
emergency treatment was being
administered. A few hours later,
DIR. Wagenhals was at the bedside,
lust in time to prevent an opera
ton. The father feared blood pois-
oning II the bullet were removed
Link, Wagenhals went through
life with this Keepsake" as ne
called 1t.
A few weeks later he was back
In Binghamton. calling cheerily TO
his partner: well. it's the big
town now. old kidd I was carry
ing accident insurance. and when
those stick-up boys shot me. ! got
$4,000"
And that's how the Aston came
to be built. With the $4,000 he
promoted the new theater and
then came such successes as
paid In Full- and Seven Days
and The Bat" The two kids
from Ohio retired a few years ago
on ten millions.
The working population Of Chi