The Washington times., 1936-03-17

the better outlet.
Leading ladies at the Bijou ant
Alvin TheaterS and the Crane
Opera House in Pittsburgh, m!
home town, were my early loves
I uShered for nothing at the Opers
House to be near my favorite di
whites.
In 1907 the family moved tt
Kansas City, where 1 attended
high school. My ambition was tx
make one of the athletic teams
but I wound up as cheer leader.
Another ambition took the
final count about the same
time. / had gotten the idea /
wanted to be a cartoOnist. I
thought I was pretty good at it
until 1 chanced to see the work
Of the boys who sat next to me.
Ray Van Buren was on my left,
Ralph Barton on my right. 1
made one of my wiser decisions
to leave the drawing work to
them.
I was sure I had hit my stride
when I played the lead in the
school production of "The Rivals.
BY the time I got my diploma
was as st ge struck a youngstel
aS you'll ever find.
I decided to let the telephone
company finance my dramatic
education and went to work for
1t as time clerk for $50 a
month. At the end of five
months / determined to shift
the burden to my Great Aunt
Lizzie. 1t appeared more prac-
tical, in view of the fact that
I had saved no money and
owed father $50.
It took me couple of weeks
to write the 23-page letter which
persuaded Aunt Lizzie to loan me
$700. And it took IS years to
repay the loan. I've always been
thankful Aunt Lizzie lived long
enough to realize her money
hadn't been completely wasted.
The debt was paid and was in
Italy making the motion picture
"Romola" when she died.
In 1912 / reached New York,
ready to conquer. I almost
starved. Not during my six
months in dramatic school.
Aunt Lizzie's $500 and the
academy term ended about the
same time.
Ralph Barton had come to
New York. He and I lived in the
old Lincoln Square Arcade Build.
ing at Broadway and Sixty-sixth
Street. We pawned all our
negotiable assets and finally got
down to a lead quarter. We
reached the point where hunger
conquered ethics and successfully
passed the quarter at a neighbor-
hood delicatessen store. We were
living on the food it brought when
Ralph got a check for a drawing.
Then we laid in fresh supply
Of provisions at the same delica-
lessen and paid real money fo1
them.
Before I had to punch couple
Of extra holes in my belt I had
high ideas and turned down Billy
ElliOtt's offer of an S18 a week
bit in "The Governors Lady,"
When, by virtue of posing as an
experienced stock actor from the
Middle West, / got a job in "The
Ne'er Do Well'' at $40 a week,
It looked like prosperity had ar
rived. The play lasted two weeks.
In the spring of 1918 got my
first real role in within the Law
It ran two years and the really lean
days were over. So were many OF
my illusions. I realized I didn't
know much about acting and de
cided to learn from experience
with the stock companies.
Roaming day-Pittsburgh,
Portland, Oregon, Buffalo, De-
troit and Northampton, Mass,
among other cities. Then New
York again and Leo DitrichStein.
/ was with him two marvellous
years and learned plenty.
He used to call me down un
Hnercifully. Until I wondered if ]
really could be that bad. Finally
learned he only took that trouble
with players in whom he was inter
ested. He and his wife began hav
ing me to dinner and inviting me
to their place in Connecticut. II
was an association I'll always cher
iSh.
hal only one real hit in New
York, Spanish Love-" James
Rennie and Henry Stephenson
were among those in the cast. It
brought me picture offers and I
was in a receptive mood, having
decided the wolf is never far
from the stage actors door.
My first film was Sherlock
Holmes" John Barrymore played
the title role and I was his assist
ant. started in pictures as a de
tective. And I'm still at it. Ny
current job is trying to catch the
murderer in a picture called "One
to Two"
In those days, Richard Barth.
elmeSs and I didn't like each
other. thought he was crouch.
He thought / was a SnOb. John