The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-01-12

SSeeSS~~~s
~. cafe which,
they say, dwarfs even a movie
mogul's notion Of elaborateness.
It will be curious to see how
New York, where Carroll wrote
some of the most turbulent and
raciest pages IN stage annals,
takes to the new venture Of the
thin-haired prodigal.
A whole era has passed him by
since he was here In his heyday.
It seems a long time ago since he
set the style for nudity by in
forming the public that 'in exalt-
ing the American girl, we show
her in her most lovely mood,
which is really herself-sans cos
tune, sans silk merchant, sans
shoemaker. All we rely on is the
hairdresser, the pearl merchant
and the heaven-sent smile!"
And when he said that, he set
the formula for a wild decade
and a half in feminine extrava-
ganza. It Is no surprise that he
still regards himself the martyr
of those halycon days. There was
the Joyce Hawley bathtub party.
How many recall 1t? That was at
the party given in honor Of the
Countess Vera Cathcart, who had
been the principal in that famous
moral Turpitude" case, when she
was detained at Ellis Island be-
cause Of a romantic ENHANCEMENT
aboard.
Anyway, It was the party at
which Joyce Hawley, chorus girl
out Of work, said that she had,
on CAROLS instructions, slipped
into a tub Of champagne after she
had disrobed entirely.
The bacchanalian episode was
in the morning papers. Moral SEN
sibility was aroused. Carroll was
rallied before the Grand Jury, was
indicted, fined and sentenced to
the Atlanta Penitentiary for a
year and a day.
PUBLICITY WAS
TERRIFIC
And there had been lesser fra
cases with the law before. Once
when he posted photos of his
unclad beauties In the theater
lobby, he was arrested and spent
a week In the Tombs. The pub
licity was terrific.
The publicity grew even more
terrific when from his cell he used
to order duck en- casserole to be
sent down from the Ritz Carlton,
to be served to himself and six
negro fellow prisoners.
Those who supposed that Car
rolls career was permanently at
en- end after his parole from At
lanta were unaware Of his obsti-
nate grittiness. He produced more
shows and kept the raiding police
men busy.
His "Vanities" of 1880 was in
the courts( but came off scot-free
with such publicity that 1t ran for
a year and a half. Later his
Sketch Book" was raided by the
police in Chicago.
And all through these differ
ences with the law, Carroll sim
cerely argued for the purity Of his
productions, convinced that he
was showing the American girl
"in her most lovely mood"
CHECKERED CAREER
FROM THE START
But he had had o turbulent ca
r..::..' cicN before he became the
headliner OF a slap-happy era. He
started life as a program boy in
a Pittsburgh Theater With $l8
In his pocket he sailed abroad a
freighter for the Orient when he
was 16. He worked on a paper
in Hongkong, sold bibles In China
and pitched for a baseball team
In Japan. Then he came home,
filled with yearning to become q
songwriter. He once wrote q
tune with Enrico Caruso called
Dreams Of Long Ago" and he
was the author Of several musical
comedies. Most Of them were sue
cesses.
But he really came into the
limelight when he started adver-
Using for chorines and showgirls
over the radio In the old cats
whisker set days. Mothers, fear
full that their daughters would
apply and enter the wicked world
Of the footlights, protested and
Carroll was asked to explain why
he couldn't select his female beau-
ties from Broadway.
II am looking for fresh ones"
he said, "they get old in a few
weeks" And he added, First
thing 7 demand in a beauty Is a
good figure, because we can't
change the figure If 1t isn't &C
ceptable. Second, face, because we
can improve upon the face. Last
ly, merit. because merit doesn't
count" He made headlines.
But times have changed and
that crimsoned era has passed
away. Showgoers now look for
merit in musical extravaganzas
first, then stare at the face and
figure. 1t will be interesting to
see II Carroll has changed with
the times.