The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-04-10
In New York
BY PAUL HARRISON

New York - Ballard Macdon- aid has come back from hospital without the sight of an eye, but with no impairment of his funny bone.
 Offhand, you may not remem- Der Macdonald, but you know lot about his work. There was Trail of the Lonesome Pine" for example, which sold 2.S00.00O copies And his Beautiful Ohio" There's a Girl in the Heart of Maryland" Sunshine in Virgin la" and dozens more.
 Thirty years ago, as q young ster in Portland, Ore, he wrote successful lyrics. His Tiny Seed of Love in 1907. was called the finest expression. of lyricvist com poser harmony. Since then he has been an integral part of Broadway. Every Zlegfeld Fol lies from 1909 until 1928 featur. ed some of his work. In 1910 r, wrote the burlesque show tha opened the Columbia wheel. Fan q ny Brice paid him $500 for third interest in one of his songs believing it had a good chance o1 success. Her first royalty checl amounted to $7.5OO. The song was Rose of Washington Square,"
 Gagster
 He's happy to be back on tho Main Stem. Spends much o' his time in the night clubs ana late restaurants. con1uring mir ages of other days, juggling wise cracks and puncturing the $ nries of those who sit with him l. m. ticipating the punch-linea De clarcs that no new jokes have been written in 20 years. and that he remembers all the old ones. | Although Macdonald owLs home on Long Island and in ilol- lywood and ranch in California he lives in Manhattan hotel About Il year ago. needing a rest he, went 10 none of these. but to Tahiti. Says he Was cured oi Hollywood when Il movie eHecu- tive asked him to write omc'hlne like q Gilbert and Considine opcr- etta.
 Partnership of Notes. Mack Gordon and Harry Ecvel have been in town scotchlng the rumor that Ancrica's ace song writing team is going to split They say that all is harmony.
 Probably youvc seen them il a movie shorts. for they're working mostly in Hollywood these days Gordon. the fat one, halls oriSi nally from Brooklyn. used to Dc | in vaudeville, and only four years ago was ejected from Il hotel for non- payment of rent.' Those were l lean times.
 Revel, the thin one, was born here but reared in England Not so long ago, Drowned by theatri cal makeup, he played the piano in m Hawaiian orchestra: They met and began to com pose. There's no analysing such a partnership, but these two clicked. Love Thy Neighbor". Underneath the Harlem Moon Did you Ever See a Dream | Walking?" Ut Was a Night In June" and May F" are few of ] the number I can recall offhand. Film companies pay them up to $5,000 per song - and that's only the beginning of their revenue. Trapcze Tune
 It was just twelve years ago that Miss Kay Macrea. the musical comedy and vaudeville singer, started something that she has lived to regret -- the vogue for 'The Man on the Flying Ira pcze".
 There have been plenty of oc- casions in recent months when Miss Macrea heartily wished she might never hear the ubiquitous old ditty again, much less sing it. But then came the Circus Saints and Sinners Club, an organiza- ton of prominent circus fans and begged her to sing 1t once more fin Madison Square Garden, at the big benefit show for the home that is being built in Richmond. Va, for old and indigent circus performers.
 She. consented. After ali, Kay MacreA gets all the credit--or maybe the blame--for rediscover- ing the long-forgotten ballad. She i had inherited large collection of old sheet music from her grandmother, Dora Friede, a pop ular varieties singer of Civil War days. Among 1t was a copy of "The Man on the Flying Tra- peze"--perhaps the only original edition in existence to-day. other than the copy filed for copyright in the Libray of Congress on March 31, 1868.
 Miss Cacrea sang 1t in 1923,, and perhaps 50 times again dur ing the decade thereafter. By that time it was being reprinted
 with additional verses. and every body was humming or singing the piece about the young man who flies through the air with the lgreatest of ease.