The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-03-19
In New York
Rx PAIL HARRISON

New York.-There must be some kind of negative moral to be pluck ed from the contrasting stories Of Baron Mario Giorgio Suriani and Prince Michael Romanoff.
 Prince Mike, you may recall, Is neither a Romanoff, a prince or even a Russian. Yet he has lived on the fat of the land, even in jail; has travelled far, in luxury and for nothing; and for years was virtually subsidized by vari- ous prominent people who were amused by his brash impostering.
 Baron Suriani, on the other hand, not only is an Italian and a Suriani but is generally believed to be a genuine baron. Yet he hasn't had nickeps worth of luck-and through no fault of his imagination, either, or lack of press agents. As long ago as 1926 he was an acknowledged member of the foreign nobility SC gener- ously scattered around New York, and got into all the papers with an announcement of his engage ment to Miss Gertrude Vanderbilt, dancer and actress.
 Something cooled the romance, and by 1928 the baron was offer ing to marry any eligible woman for q flat payment of $100,0OO. But he had been a bit too frank about revealing his motive, and there were no takers. He did get engaged, though, for no monetary consideration, to few more ac- tresses. By 1881 there was an an- nouncement that he had inherited $250,000 from a titled uncle. Ap- parently there was q hitch some- where, because another year found him organizing a gigolo union with headquarters at a Manhattan taxi dance palace. Still later he tried to form an association of needy noblemen. None, however, was quite so needy as the baron, so another project failed.
 Scheme That Failed
 One cold night the baron's in- satiable craving for publicity led him to submit to being bound, gag ged and. laid athwart a sidewalk near Grants Tomb. His pockets, empty anyway, were turnd inside out, and after being discovered he was to recount narrowing tale of being robbed of fabulous sum. The stunt had been planned with such finesse that at the police sta ton the baron was to demand two dollars for taxi rare, declaring haughtily that he wouldn't dream or riding home in a common sub way. That would be sure-fire gag for the tabloids.
 After an alarmingly long time d patrolman stumbled over the half frozen Baron and led him to a dis trict station. Through blue lips he told his story, made a, futile re- quest for taxi fare, but finally joined his accomplices in a mid town hotel to sit up the rest of the night waiting for the morning papers. There wasn't word in any of them about the Baron. The schemers had been unfortunate enough to chose the one night in that or any other year when a new police commissioner had suppress ed, experimentally, all news of petty crime.
 A very unlucky man. the
 Baron. The other evening he
 went around to some of the
 night club trying to get job
 as a waiter. Nobody hired
 him.
 Pardon the Error
 It develops that the famous Hol- lywood satire, "Once in a Life time," wasn't all fiction, after all. Al Thomas, playwriter, has been revealed as one of the originals about whom the show was built. He had been in the film capital for months, drawing fat salary in a scenario department but doing no work at all. Finally another com pany got in touch with him, prom ising a $200-a-week raise and an opportunity to get some writing done.
 He accepted, went into a huddie with the big executives, and was put to work on script. Happy in his release from idleness he worked at top speed for ten weeks. He also was pretty tickled about the way the scenario was shaping up. Finally he finished and took the pile of manuscript in to the executives. One of them looked at the first page and got almost apoplectic.
 Somebody" he yelled. gave you the wrong script. This one was filmed two years ago." his face. He had discOyered that.