Evening star., 1940-10-10

everyone was rich and studying
Yacht factory catalogues while
munching caviar. Jaeger was IN
vaudeville then. His tour took him
to Hollywood. Film scouts who used
to provide the audiences OF Holly
wood vaudeville theaters spotted
him 50 fast both parties were lett
dizzy.
To himself, Jaeger was latent
actor, a fellow with ambitions to
20 places vacated by Joseph Jef1er-
son, Sir Henry Irving. To Holly
wood, however, he was just a big,
strapping, handsome kid. Accord
ingly. he was cast in cowboy films
which were popular at the time as
a vicarious way Of getting exercise.
Jaeger did not mind. He was bidlng
his time and bagging studio gold
and looking forward with conf
dence. He continued not to mind,
bide his time, etc, until one bright
day he found himself cast as an
Egyptian - one Egyptian among
thousands-in Cecil B. DeMilleS
"Sign of the Cross"
BAH" said Jaeger, one Of the
few men who has said the word to
DeMille.
Having delivered himself of that
estimate of Egyptian roles, he went
to New York where they don't have
horses and where Egyptians run tea
rooms.
Somehow or other, Jaeger and the
Theater Guild got together on a
hit play, They Shall Not Die"
Jaeger was a hit, too. He acted
and acted for seasons after that.
Inevitably, he again attracted the
attention of Hollywood. They
wanted him back out there, and the
stage being none too healthy, as
1t was at the time, he went.
The only thing Jaeger remem-
bers of the second journey to
which any importance is to be
attached is that he argued the
studio out of four days for a jour-
ney to Boston, object matrimony.
The object had not sooner been
attained than the new Mrs. Jag
ger started talking about what a
fine thing it was to be real actor
on a living stage. She was so elo-
quent about it that Jaeger fingered
around for several busy years,
demonstrating that he was bet
ter actor than the playwrights who
wrote for him were playwrights.
Last glimpse Washington caught
Of Jaeger was during such a demon
stration on his part. The play was
Farm of Three Echoes" a thing
notable for a magnifcently ma
triarchial portrait by Ethel Barry
more. Jaeger was one of the three
echoes, each a fiendish sort of
male human whose effort to wrest
a living from the soil had turned
him into a murderous sour-puSS.
Before that, he did highly praised
impersoration of Jesse James in
Missouri Legend" another play
destined to die young in spite Of
some virile performances.
Then Zanuck called.
n X
1t is one thing to do one of those
acrobatic routineS which have made
the Roxyettes a synonym for dar-
ing: quite another to put all Of
them into a cavalcade. The
quite another" version Is the one
that comes up at the Earle tomor-
row. In minutes the girls
will go through the unicycle, bicycle,
silt, ladder, walking globe. roller
skating, fencing, drums. beach ball,
musket, megaphone and drum num-
bers. AS a Russian street car
conductor and loyal party member
in "Comrade X" Hedy Lamar
wears a canvas nightie. Well,
If any one could. The Wash
ington Redskins, another good set
of showmen, will attend the 7:30
showing of "Knute Rockne, ALL
American" at the Earle tomorrow
night. Incidentally, Service
With the Colors," supplemental
AMJTSEHENTS