The Washington times., 1936-01-01


Is years ago billed Washington's
Brooke Johns as their M. c. and
gave the talent in and around the
home town a chance to dust off
their samples and prove their
worth on a big time stage. Some
Of these try outs later became well
known on stage, radio and screen.
Jeanne Wiereck, a petite girl with
o personality voice that brought
her radio fame as Jeanne Lang.
Evelyn Pique, now seen in the
lights as Mitzi Mayfair. A GAM
ling southern miss who did bed.
time yarns in baby talk, with an
occasional song, and later took
Hollywood under the title Of
Ginger Rogers. And Betty Cradle,
now co-headlining the Fox bill
with Jackie Coogan, and the same
little lady who at the age Of five
made her professional debut tap
dancing on the stage Of the Mis-
souri, Theatre.
Later she went to the coast on
pleasure trip and while there
was given a job as a chlorine in a
Fox production, which led to a
speciality dance number in '"Tattle
Tales" a musical comedy featur-
ing Frank Fay and Barbara STAN
wyck. This show, incidentally,
came to New York and ran rec
ord box office month on Broad
way. Ted Flo Rito saw her and
offered a singing job which she
accepted and sang for the first
time three years ago when she
went into the st. Frances Hotel in
Frisco with this band.
Betty was the first girl selected
out of 5000 applicants for Can
tors "Whoopee", and for the next
three years was the charmer first
photographed to open his annual
features.
This is her initial D. C. visit and
she has never been east Of Chi
cago before.
ABOUT MR.. COOGAN
Jackie Coogan made his first
film try at the age of 10 months
when he toddled before the lenses
at the old s g. A-Spohr and An
RESPONSIBILITIES in Chicago, un-
consciously posing for the film
SINNERS Baby. Two and a
half years later he accidentally
stumbled on stage at the Orpheum
Theater, Los Angeles, while his
dad was doing his act with An
nette Kellerman, and Charlie
Chaplin and Sid Grammar spotted
him for his real break in The
Kid.
His father, John Henry Coogan
was a vaudevillian oldsters will
remember and his mother at one
time worked an act with Renee
Roger, now Mrs. Frank Borzage.
His last vaudeville experience was
seven years ago when he worked
with his dad in mid western and
coast circuits as a comic dancing
act.
This is his first visit to Wash
ington and he has six months to
go before they tie a ribbon
around his University Of Southern
California diploma.
SOME HISTORY
And in 1917 Walter McGrail,
now featured on this stage bill,
made his first film try, Lights Of
New York;, co-Starring with Lea
Baird. In 1927 Warmers put the
same feature through the mill
making it talk and labelling it
"City Lights. Since 1917 walter
has done some 300 pictures and
is the only featured player in the
film city that has free lanced that
long without q contract. He col
Elaborated with Warren Wilson in
writing the film sketch in. the act
this week.
And Warren Wilson not only
directed Laurel and Hardy in sew
eral shorts but also wrote the
screen version of Harold Lloyd's
late feature THE CatSpaw' an
adoption of Kelland'S story to the
celluloid.
Josephine Dix, in the act, in
reality is Josephine Bremmer and
changed her name just as her
uncle, Richard Bremmer did, to
Dix. Her film star uncle didn't
approve of Hollywood for her and
SO she secretly worked in films
after she graduated from the
University of California.
Nina Olivette, tagged as Broad
ways Musical Madcap" and head
lining the current Earle bill,
played here for the initial time
at Keith'S Theater IL years ago.
The act was 1.-THE Lachmann
Sisters, a straight dancing team,
and when unveiled revealed Nina
and her mother. Several years
after this she played her first
musical comedy engagement here
at Polls when Queen High
opened for D. Of c. perusal.
Last May a wire booked her
into the Chicago Theater for a