Evening star., 1934-07-29
NeW and Painful
Statistics From
the Worlds Larg-
est Free Employ
m ent Bureau,
Gearing House
for Those Who
Aspire to Start in
the Movies.
BY DAN THOMAS.

I'M THE good old days if you can remember
back that far you might have had a good
chance of being recognized as promising
4 actor, If you could only persist long enough
back stage as a supernumerary. or super"
There weren't so many tackling the
stage, and at least you earned some sort Of a
living even as one of the soldery or the populace.
But today you can't crash Hollywood that
way. The competition is too keen and the de-
mand for particular types is too exacting. The
result is a great deal of disappointment and
wasted lives among hundreds who Keep coming
to Hollywood for break in the MOVIES
They're not superS in Hollywood; they re
extras. Seventeen thousand of them, men and
women OF all types and ages. are registered with
the Central Casting Corporation, the bureau
through which all extras are engaged Yet the
vast majority Of them find 1t practically impos-
sible to obtain enough work to keep themselves :
supplied with food, let alone the little luxuries
and diversions SO much required by most OF
them
Everything possible is being done to discour-
age the immigration of additional film aspi-
rants, and still they come. An occasional story
regarding the rise of some previously obscure
actor or actress is enough to bring them. And
then comes disillusionment
DRNTED in bold type on the front of all
the Central Casting Corporation is this warning,
q disheartened welcome to the uninitiated:
''The Central Casting Corporation has consis-
tently discouraged the registration of extras
An analysis of our statistics, which We ask you
to read carefully, indicates that employment as
an extra for the individual is very uncertain.
This is due to an oversupply Of available talent.
AS a result, few people have found it possible
to earn living working in this way"
Yet this is only temporary setback to some,
only threat perhaps, that can easily be cast
off with some persistency and hard work they
feel For they do see some extras hired daily.
and they do have that optimism of youth that
they are better than the rest.
A few registrations still are being made, de-
spite the long waiting list, but these mostly
of persons of distinctive and unusual types. Yet
even these are impressed emphatica with the
fact that no work is guaranteed and that their
chances of being able to earn living are not
more than one in hundred.
One of the unsolved mysteries of Hollywood
always has been how the extras are able to
exist. In this town noted for the fabulous SAL
aries paid to a small group of not more than
400 or 500 is a veritable army of actors and
actresses who can't possibly earn enough to
keep them alive. Even those employed by Gen.
trail Casting Corporation never have been able
to determine how the extras survive. All they
know is that most of them get very little work.
Statistics for last year show that the 1900
registered extras received an average wage of
$50. IS for the entire IL months-less than $3.50
a week Only 73 Of them worked an average Of
from 2l2 to AZ days a week and of this group
no girls worked more than 81. Gays week.
The group that averaged one days work a
week was somewhat larger, including AIS men
and 1877 women. This group is considered very
active. The others might get work one day a
month. perhaps only two three days dur
ing the entire year. Yet they hang on, all
hoping that each new day will bring the break
OF which they have been dreaming
A VERY unusual phase of the extra situation
~ last year, was the fact that, Of the total
placements made by Central Casting dur
ing the year only SO per cent were from the
registered extras. The other half consisted
of Russians OrientalS, authentic college groups
and other unusual types which must be re-
cruited from the outside when needed in large
numbers, because there not enough on
the registered list.
Even those who work more or less regularly
are forced to spend q goodly portion of their
earnings clothes in order to ge. those calls.
For example, girl who receives $40 day
when she works must maintain wardrobe con-
sisting of light and dark street clothes, light
and dark coats, bathing outfits, including robe