Evening star., 1939-05-14

stage reach old age gracefully and
leave the juvenile leads and soubrette
parts to the younger generation. 1t
is treat to see them tread the
boards
Among the long list whose names
| still are fresh in the minds of most
! OF us is that of the late Ellen Terry,
| darling of the world. This wonder
tul woman, who was quite as we'll
known in America as in England,
made her last appearance at the age
of II. She died at 80 in 1923.
A few days before she died, I Wis
tied the gloriously ancient, oaken
farm house in the midst of lovely
Kent where the Terrys lived She
was too i'll to see me, but through
| her daughter, Miss Edith Craig,
distinguished theatrical producer,
she sent this message
Give my love to America. and tell
my dear friends there that I am
! thinking of them as I rest here in
the quiet English countryside When
one is 30 one has dreams of days
gone by, and often in my dreams I
live again the happy times I spent
in America. My heart is warm with
memories of my friends across the
sea"
Sir Henry Irving died on tour in
England at the age of ST. Two years
prior to that saw him play Shylock
in the Merchant of Venice" when
| he was so feeble that he had to hang
onto the curtain for support when
he took his calls
Our grand friend Sir Harry
Lauder, started film career in 1882
at the age of 81.
George Robey, the famous come
dian. is 10 and still going strong at
/ latest reports.
And so one might continue in
termlnably. AS Miss Browne says,
the English audiences cling to their
favorites, and generally with good
reason.
Arliss, now abouta71, came to
America in 1901. He reappeared in
London % years later. a famous man,
in the Green Goddess" at St.
James Theater And his mother
country said well done"
l saw Chaplin. too. in the midst
of his remarkable triumph when his
Circus was presented at one of
Londons gilded West End picture
palaces. A crowded house-noble
lords and ladies, society, letters, art
and what not-tendered him an
ovation. He had the world at his
feet that night.
And yet both these great actors
started their theatrical careers in a
dlngy little playhouse in the heart
OF London's teeming South Side
the old Theater Royal, better known
as the Elephant and Castle, which
was torn down not long ago to make
room for a modern building.
If you don't mind another digres-
sion, this ancient home of drama,
whose predecessor built in 1874 pro-
/ Vided a stage for Shakespeare
plays long was a school for young
actors and actresses 1t was a hard
/ school but a good one, and many a
prominent actor besides Chaplin and
Arliss took a diploma from there
I wonder, by the way. if these two
distinguished men still retain a
mental picture of the Elephant. I
wonder if they remember how their
| knees shook and their voices trem-
/ bled as they faced their first East
End audience which, by the way,
| took some facing.
It was q motley throng that looked
/ down on Arliss and on Chaplin from
the dress circle and the gallery
especially the gallery There we're
the fat. asthmatic old ladies. with
| their ample bosoms, and their funny
hats all filled with waving feathers
/ of many hues, who leaned forward
on the ratings and ate fish and
chips and drank stout, the while
they waited to voice their opinions
about the acting of young Arliss or
young Chaplin.
There were the loving couples
/ the girls heads smuggling against
the shoulders of their beauX There
were the tough and knowing lads
who would not deign to uncover, but
wore their hats at rakinsh angles.
There was the sadfaced man with
the dubious, red nose and dropping
mustache, who had brought his old
woman along for a good cry.
1t was great school, and other
London theaters are wonderful
schools for beginners But it still is
a long hard row to stardom in Eng
land, for the vacancies are slow in
I coming