The Washington times., 1934-09-25

| 1t has been the subject OF friendly
argument with Kirk Miller-that
organized baseball needs more
showmanship. Hollywood could
show the magnates lot of tricks.
Tricks that would mean money
and stimulate interest in a great
sport. For baseball fails to sell
and capitalize its big attractions.
1 mean by that they don't sell
the game like Tex Rickard sold
boxing, as Paramount sells Mae
West or Shirley Temple or as
Katharine Cornell or Helen Hayes
are sold to the amusement world.
Apart from the world series and
that midseason all-star game or
ganized baseball is sterile insofar
as progressive sales ideas are con-
cerned.
Babe Ruth's farewell ought to
be under the auspices Of the Amer
lean League and with every player
who served with him doing some
thing to make the day great. But
since it can't be, I'm heart and
soul for the monster scroll with
fan signatures which Clark Grit.
fifth and Kirk Miller plan as Wash
ington's tribute of affection and
esteem.
seem to sense Frank Buck"
O'Neill giving me the evil eye and
muttering something about "stay
in your own department" To
which I can only add that Babe
Ruth was once a movie star and
patrolled the Keith vaudeville cir
cult. That makes him legitimate
prey for this columnist. But that's
another story.
Some KeIIegrams
Fred Stone is knee deep in the
longest part he has ever been
handed in a lifetime on the stage.
It's the lead role in the new Sim
clair Lewis play, "The Jayhawker"
due to have it's first performance
at the National Theater, Octo-
ber Is.
Fred has been committing the
lines to memory for a month
with his daughter Carol, who
will also appear in the play, hold.
ing the script.
Henry Fonda who comes to the
National on October 8 in THE
Farmer Takes a Wife" is the
divorced husband of Margaret
SULLIVAN, the movie star.
Norma Shearer's "Barretts of
Wimpole Street" at Loew's Palace
Theater has le @,ed ahead of her
Smiling Through" despite a wet
Friday start and Sunday boat
races that drew 100000 to HainS
Point and vicinity.
Norman KraSna, who was once
FTP P.A.'s and Haywood Broun's Of
flee boy, is the author of Richest
Girl in the World" the new Mir
lam Hopkins picture which comes
to Keith's Friday. (Unless Count
of Monte Cristo" holds for a third
week..
Krasna began his Hollywood ca
reer in Warner Bros. publicity de-
partment. He scribbled out
story on his boss, Hubert Voight,
and submitted it to w. B. They
were not interested. So the kid
sent 1t to a Broadway agent and it
became the play, Louder, Please"
comedy about a press agent.
Then Warner Bros got mad and
1lred both Krasna and Voight.
krasna has all the brashness
and spirit of fearless youth. In
another studio at an executive con-
ference the big boss hustled in and
ch1rped: "Youse boys could never
guess where was last night, Si.
lence from everybody but Krasna
who piped: Might school," So
ne had to find himself another jon,
Mistakes will happen but this
department is not always to blame
For instance the Movie Clock;
was slightly cockeyed on the Fox
and Earle time schedules last Fri
day as have heard from many.
But so were the Fox and Earle
show schedules.
Another error which p. H. Gal
lagher, of Woodley Park Towers,
and Nellie v. Baldwin, of 3738
kanawha St., Chevy Chase, dis
cerned was a nine-year-old mis-
take. A picture of May McEvoy
was labelled Betty Bronson in the
Hollywood on Parade section with
the old-time picture, Ben Hur."
Thanks to both alert readers for
the attention calling.
A letter from AL Rothenberg in
Los Angeles advises that Mae
West in Belle of the NinetieS" is
being exploited on the Coast with
paid Paramount advertisements
bearing the reprint of The Wash
ington Times and your critic. 1
am getting closer and closer to
Hollywood.
This sty on the eye is not from
watching the Mae West preview
last night. Just the acid in me.
New Biblical Theme