The Washington times., 1932-06-16
The Great Krazy

The Great Krazy
The actual start through George HERMAN, the
creator of immortal Krazy Kat. ballet with
music by John Alden Carpenter and settings on roller
towel arrangement by HERMAN himself to be giVen
and being enthusiast thought good publicity might
be found in an article Krazy and the other comic
strips. John Peae Bishop, then managing editor OF
Vanity Fair encouraged the idea, and after the article
had been published allowed me, with little doubt at
first go writing about popular songs, jazz music
dancing Vaudeville the movies and the allied arts of
entertainment. had good time, made few friends
and able to go abroad and reWr1te all the pieces
into whole book
Missing the Point
1t seems incredible now, that the first point of the
book should have been missed The point was that all
the people whom l admired tremendously popular
With one or two exceptions each was the acknowledged
master in his or her field; the Jazzmasters received
thousands week. the vaudevlians were headiners the
comic strips artists syndicated to hundreds OF
papers; yet no critic had ventured to discover
anything interesting in them (No critic in the preced-
ing few years; vaudeville and the movies and most OF
the other arts had had discriminating praise some ten
wears earlier and twenty years before that both French
and English aesthetics had raved about the music hal
But unless admitted the popularity the rest OF the
point was, in effect, polntess.
Not Columbus
Certainly | gave the impression to dozens of critics
that was pretending to be the actual discoverer of
Chaplin and Joe Cook and Gershwin and Irene Castle
and George MacManus at least that was the complaint
heard and it wasn't until five years had passed that
I found the right answer 1t was that for myself at
least, I was uncovering (not dscOVerng) qualities IN
these artists which had not been noticed. Probably
was wrong good many times; but they gave pleasure
and most of them still do.
A Changed Scene
Ten wears later the battle is won The odd habit of
admring an artist because he hangs in the metropolitan
Museum, and despisng him because he appears in
dailv newspaper has not entirely disappeared; but the
trick isn't often played Twenty years no first
line critic went musical show (however respendenD
if legitimate show (however trviaD opened the same
night am not responsible for the change With worse
and worse plays and better and better musicals the
critics finally had to give | think that the re-
markable qualities of Tad and the similar and equally
remarkable qualities of Lardner recognized now. And
they tell me George Gershwin is virtually the prop of
the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra.
Take EN- or Leave EN-
1t is long since have had propagandst enthusiasm
for what carelessy called "the lively arts. can take
them or leave them alone Yet still find more pleasure
in good farce than in bad tragedy more in good
piece of azz than preentous opera, in good
comic strip than in imitation of Pcasso by alentleSS
painter.
What's Happened?
In those 10 years some of my favorte people have
vanished from the top drawer. Al Joson for example
has left the stage, of which he was the most dynamic
power and become actor in the takles, enormously
successful enormously disappointing. Others have kept
on repeating old good things initiating wonderful new
ones With the possible exception OF GershW1n, can
think of no who actively moved out OF his own
by the praise of the intellectual IS.
those 10 years, aso people have risen and new
forms of entertainment. l propose to devote few OF
these columns to the people and the new events