The Washington times., 1934-11-01

business Huston has always been
to me great.
Leslie Howard was a down.at-
the-heel English actor when he
first appeared on the Belasco
stage. On the same boards he
made his first American hit in the
first performance of Sutton
Vane's Outward Bound"
Una Merkel will always be a
pleasant memory for her match
less performance with Helen
Hayes in "Coquette" at Polls.
All the Washington critics
pegged Margaret Sullivan as a
girl certain to arrive when she
made her bow at the Belasco in
shoddy play called Modern
Virgin"
Gilbert Miller introduced
Herbert Marshall to the Amer
ican stage in Lafayette Square
and his first Washington notices
were raves.
Josephine Hutchinson, new
Hollywood star. was an ingenue
dancer with Bobby Bells amateur
players in the tiny Rams Head
Theater on Eighteenth Street.
John Halliday'S greatest Wash
ington success was as leading
man in 1.-THE Spider" in the L.
Stoddard Taylor playhouse.
Liked Sullivan
Jimmy Dunn had a few lines
and opened a carriage door in
his first and only washington
appearance in a $35 job with
His Maiestys Car" At the
Belasco. Later, after bad Girl"
he came back for personal
at the Fox. What a difference.
He had arrived.
Everybody remembers Ed Ar
mold, of the Cochran Company.
He got $125 on E st. Now his Hol-
lywood salary is $1,000, and is in
such demand he can be chooSey
about his roles.
Lee Tracy will always remem.
Der washington and good times
at the National Press Club when
he played here in "The Front
Page"
Fiji D'Orsay played Loew's Pal
ace Theater many times before
she ever knew there was such a
place as Hollywood.
Will Rogers twirled his rope at
the Belasco and offended Presi-
dent Harding with one of his
jokes. Later he appeared many
times on the National stage with
Ziegfeld shows.
Who remembers Sylvia Sidney's
first Washington appearance as
ingenue lead in THE Younger
Generation" at Polls? And was
that lewsy play.
Bankhead's First
Or Tallulah Bankhead's first
play with her proud papa in the
Belasco audience, THE Exciters."
Years after came "Forsaking All
Others" at the National, play
which Joan Crawford and Clark
Gable will shortly enact for the
screen.
Madge Evans was the most raw
ishingly beautiful ingenue 1 ever
saw with Billie Burke in "The
Marquise" at the National. In
fact, I wrote a very gooey slop-
over notice about her, so much
was I impressed.
Joe E. Brown went back stage
at the National last time he was
here Just to look at the dressing
room ne occupied when he played
there first in the musical comedy,
Listen Lester"
Jeanette Macdonald played
the National with Lynn Overman
and others as the star OF Yes,
Yes Yvette." (sequel to No, No
Nanette") and she had a beauti-
full voice then as now.
Ruth Chatterton and the Bar
rymores, Ann Harding in "Stolen
Fruit" Hugh Herbert and Alice
Brady have appeared here many
many times. l remember when
the late Garry McGarry turned
down Ruth Chatterton as guest
stock star at $400 a week. Too
much money and he was right at
the time. BY the way what's be-
come Of Chatterton? She needs a
good picture.
This could 60 on and on like
Scotch jokes or the bores that
insist upon speaking at some
dinner parties. Suffice that it
fills column and it shows how
dependent Hollywood is upon the
stage for its star material.