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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 23, 1911)
SECOND SECTION Medford Mail Tribune SECOND SECTION .! WONTY-INKST YKAlt. MEDFORD OREGON, SATURDAY, S1OT10A1 HER 23, 191 1. No. 159. V'' tf I.- ' . fi O -4 $A w m BEING A PLAY ACTOR MAN GREAT SPORT FOR FISHER x& j& j& j& jsr j& Parent of Mutt and Jeff Tells His Friend AsKton Stevens of Chicago Something of His Brief Stage Career a T SOtAE IfAPR.fc&SlON OPTHC OLO Hoke. TOWN K?r Ssr''- 1 1 if " f flNMN rAt aal x weuY T i !&SSmmwjlMl11L mmmmmmmBmmBaSSBvBI JMERe o j r - ,:, -rfliJflligreri MiHKeuPte'rTCfJfSS t L- w I 'i lumMmJaJ mmWmmmmmmmwBBSwSSmMMB'mmJ i-H-bit cf ' VHKK HKSHMiHHHHIim ' up town. j ;) --"r- 1 L JJllJ ypi.cpS s-ftS. l4S' -4ig&mi I o" n WVt7h mtj)3Y .pWv SMPGWt Wy HlfA NOTHING OM THC MMGO j- 1'fC Go Oowm STmrc, CROSS OvCR.A ' ?.l'P5rN0 vnv)5 TO 'OVR LCFtt, rwXN O YOVR RtCHT PHO TWN K- 66ooy. X DOfii-r KNOW I onun waift H5R.C 5, wMVet. i OROER. Hw yr OeHS - WHRfis tHG HA p "iaawia. I YCKM k 1 . J I- iJ 1WI J ) w-c: ' -' M aa ' - . t . . .-- tE Mb STAVE anjo TVGN WHVN vr 'wKs SL-t OVPR. fM TKF .LVVer HUCje W' tii&&mtr'"ci (IMilor'H Note: Whilo llutl Fii.li vr wjih on lii vnciilioi) nMM'iilly tluTcliy inakiiiK kwi1 Irotililu for llio tilitorri of llm YtiriottH impure (tin' jmliliHli Ii!h .Mult niul .luff Kcriufi, It ti iii)c(iri'tl fur it week in vnuilcvitln in CliiuHKo. It wiih tlicro ho mot tin old Kun Krniu'iHi'o frioml AhIiIoii KtdVoiiH, (lninintii! iiritio of thu Clii omko Kxainiiier. Mr. StnvonK nt onco mlli'il upon Uinl, with tlm follow im; ri'Hiill, which nppunrcd AiiK'tiit '2& in tlm ChioiiKo l'jcniiiini'r. It will ivu I It ruailcrrt of tlm Mail Triliuno tin infill into the lire of Mr. Fidhur, us ho nppeiirH in vnmluvillc.) I1Y ASIITON RTKVKKR. "ITi-llo, ohl Cnlifomln!" I oriel to llio pnrcnt of Mutt mid .luff, who in Hpondiiif; n wruk of hin inonth'B va I'litlim iih an alitor mini at tho Mu juHtio. "ShhnUI Don't Hprlnc that Ooldun Out Hlurf hum I" And Hud Finhur wan nlinimt hoIuiiiii. "Why nolT Aro yon nslinmod of tho old HpotT" "Nrol It isn't that. It's it'rt woll il 'h tliiw wav: I'm n Onlifornian liy ruputatioii, hut I wiih horn iiht huru." 'Tn Clilrnjrof" "Suro, in Chicnu'o. Why don't yon nHk mo how I likn tho city, and all that Bort of regular iuiorvimv thiiik'T l'vo ,'ol aiiHworH to niako Cliiunuo Kind 8ho lioi'o mo if hIip can Btand my nut tomorrow." "How do you dreRfl for it?" "I don't. I wear it wink Huit liko th'iM, only darkur; hut if I hoar thu Kovnrnor or tho mayor Ih ooininp to look mo ovor I will got my Tuxedo upoiiKud and prosHud. "IIow do you liko tho work nn far nn you'vo jjono from Hnmmorrtluin'rt to llrij;Iilou Ik'itcli?" "Don't for tho lovo of Mike, call thin work. I'm on n vaoationl" "Woll, tlioit how do you liko your vnudovillo VAOATIONT" CallH It flrcat fiitort. "K'h faHuinatiiiB; il'fl Bport; it'rt flxoitomrnt, You jjot out thoro on llio HtiiKO and don't do anylliinp, hut hv tho timo you Rot off you'ro worn out. Of cnurflo, to ho a rogulnr vnu dovillo nolor you'vo Rot to oomo off oryiiiR at tho nudionoo. You'vo Rot to pay 'What an awful Iiouho tonight, and lael night I wont ro IiIr. You ouht to hoar 'cm tho regulars." "Lot mo hour 'omf" "You ouxht to tiok around hohind when a mnii and wifu hnvu douo their turn. It'n gruat! 'You did yours wrong," miyn he. 4I didn't; you did your'n wrong,' hnyii hhu. 'Shut up,' nays lit. 'Shut up yonrsulf.' And Ihuy cIoho thu door of their drosH inu' room and go to it." "Do tlioy uvor holhcr you for hu ing nn outlaiidurT" "Not larguly," Raid Hud. "Not greatly, llul 8ay, did you uvor hear of a vnudovillo hero named J. Frau oirt Dooloyf" "Worse tliiin Hint, I've seen him." "Hut you never dressod with him. I have, lie liked to have n room away from Iuh wifu, who is partic ular; and ho asked mu if I'd take him in. I was tickled to death for I hate, to talk to mysult' nnyway." "Well," Fisher went on, "Dooloy had nn nulo and so had I ground ulimhiiii; is good euouch for me. We kept our mitehiucH in thu mimo ga rage, and olio night I ran nut of hat lurii'B and harrowed threo of his Donley volunteering, you understand. Butteries cojtt 1ft cents npieee, and tho usual tegular person would .t soon think of returning n hattery as u cigar. I don't return cigars, and 1 didn't return Dooloy's Ifi cents' worth of hattery. And just for thai ho inado an assault and hattery on me." "Really t" Just One of IIIn JoUch. "No; not really. That's comic stuff l'vo lonruoil in vnudovillo. My not camo just ahead of Dooluy'n, and nt every porformnnco he'd go mi and hurlesquo mo. Ho'd draw u skotoli in tho air and say to tho nud ionoo: 'Who is that groat notor wi have jimt had with us tonight? Ah, yes, I recall 'ts tho immortal Fish or. Hu'h a genius notor, hut ho has no memory for borrowed bnt tortus.' "And hero's tho rub of tho story. On tho final tuntinoo, I urn in 'the wings mid Dooloy calls out to mo from tho stage : 'Actor Fishor, this is tho end of tho wook, nnd yen's hot ter got mo my hattorios boforo night.' Then ho told tho nudionoo tho wholo story nnd got n big laugh on my ox ponso account. "niif'nnd Hud Fishor, n little dntk-hnirod ohnr, with oyos that sing whon thoy laugh, laughed "I gnvo him hack his batteries. I waited till the last night's show. From Uio wings I listened to his monologue about the borrowed butteries. I let him finish it. I lot him go half way with his song. And then, plum in tho midsection of his singing, I wall; out to tho center of tho stage nnd band hint his threo batteries. No body heard thu balance of that song. It wns muffled by the roars of 'he audience. They bowled." "Did nnything liko Hint hnppen when you opened at llaiumerstein's?" "Xenon ns n Turkey." "Worse; vnstly worse. I was us nervous as n tender turkey the day ling behind the stage to keep my) Blanche turns up ntid says I'm too dines from freezing. Somebody took j light for that makeup, nnd Belle n pipe nt me and says, "For the love proceeds to decornte my optic ro of Michael, you're not going on with-' gion with n smenr that I think is out being mndo up!" I was dressing' called juvenile blue. rooming with n fellow nnmed Gene Oreen, nnd he undertook the job. lie made mo look like himself. I had rouge to the ears. Ho even 'benddd' mv eyes. I wiped it nil off nnd took n hnnd on myself, whon nlong eame n blnckfaco comedian Haines, of Haines nnd Vidoeq nnd bo says: 'You're all mndo up like n villain; that'll never do.' So he repaints the before Tliunksgiving. I wns whUt- lily. And just a he finishes Belle "Thus properly fixed." groaned Bud, "I went out to tho footlights. And believe me, if my name hadn't been printed in the programme, I would have passed as Consul, the monkey." "Didn't you have any real friend Iv advice?" "Sure." ho twinkled "after that first show wns over. This is whnt I got handed to me: "Your act was nil DR. WALKER, ONE OF WORLDS UNIQUE WOMEN, DRESSES AS MAN1 ' DR.WALKER.DtTORtTHt.OVlL WAR. KHB f'VB WEARING AVCLVtT 5HIR.TCE. HV? JMiMUmSB Dr. Maary Walker, In Public Eyes For Many Years, .Continues To Take A Kcon Interest In Public Affairs. Ono of tho world's unique woomon is Dr. Mnvy Wnlkor, of Oswego, N. Y., now living in what might bo called rotiremont whon Jior pnst prominenco in tho publio eyo is oon sidored. Attired in n mipt's frock coat, nmn's trottsors, wonring n mnn's silk lint, nud currying a mnn'H onne, Dr.. Mnrj' Walker wns onco u londing topio of discussion, when sho wns touring tho country nnd lec turing upon tlio proper dress for women. Dr. Walker did not dross for notoriety's sako, Sho dressed as sho did because sho believed that such was tho proper way for women to di'o&s nud ah eso believes today. I DP WALKER. IN HER FIRST PfclNCC M.&E.HT COW. WM KPC AS SHE WVINUOM PLNTFORM WORM- Sho had tho courage of her convic tion nnd was willing to pity tho cost. It has been many years since her namo first became famous, and it has laso boon many years since sho oensed to try to inculcate- her views, Her mind today, however, si as bright us over, and fal'o continues to tako tho keenest interest in nil publio nt fairs. The peoplo of this city snuuld buy "Made In Oregon" goods from the local Dtorcbauts whonovor the price and quality are equal to Eaitern made good. right Bud, but why didn't you go on nndjlo it straight, without' that com edy mnkeup." Some Fisher Philosophy. "A man's best friend is himself in vaudeville," Mr. Fisher philoso phized. "Although I wns once n friend to a fellow artist. Wo won't name no names. But we were to gether in the bill at Hammcrstein's, and ho drank that is to say, ho dived in the stuff with eyes and mouth wide open. Talk about drown ing yourself in drink! This fellow must have had a cork suit. But he was always on the job; and always getting it hot from the manager. Tho manager would say to him: You'll have to work faster; your act is floppin, they're walking out on you." "Well, to cut it to three-column measure, ono night my friend Mr. Thirst got so mussy that a cop pinched him. I saw him as they started him for tho Forty-seventh street station house. " 'Cine along, Bud' he yells, ' I may need some bail.' I went and I went his bail. And to bo sure he wouldn't blow his bail I went down to the court with him next morning. And take it from mo ho was tho sickest actor that ever had his hose on. He was dying whilo you waited. And tho judge, he starts in to give the lec ture course how n man of his talen and appearance shouldn't behavo like a common bum and all tho rest of tho daily bunk, till of a sudden my friond Thirst lifted his sick face up to tho judge's and ho says: "'Listen, judge: You'll havo to work faster; your act is flopping; they're wnlking out on you I" Talk of Mutt and Jeff. Fisher joined with ray laughter; his oyes batted sparks. He that makes tho nation laugh can also laugh himself. And when it was over I pried him for something ubout his regular pro fession, his Mutt and his Jeff. I asked htm if he ever got stale nnd cried for help and suggestion. "I get stale often enough," ho an swered, not at all liko nn actor, "but I never accept help. When a man does that he loses his personality." "Whon you finish one adventure of Mutt nnd Jeff, do you follow right along with another idea?" "Nope I forget 'em till 5 tho next afternoon, whon I tuno np a couple of cigurottos, think over threo or four ideas, pick out the best of 'em, draw it, put on my bat and walk blissful ly away. My best ided may not be a good one, but it is the best I have, and I do my best with it. "I say to myself that it's the best I can do that day, even if it is rot ten. No man can invent this sort of foolery day after day and keep his work even. Sometime a fellow's I as sick ns a dog and he has to buc kle down to a desk and try to make I the people laugh. Maybe just got j some bad neys bad news from i home a crusher. But he's got to go on jusl the same and try to club a smile out of the public. I broke three ribs in n machine and for three days I had n drawing board on my knees in bed, grinding out Mutt and Jeff. Questions Bore Him. "But broken ribs aren't half so bad as the questions people" ask you. Al ways, inevitably, they are the same questions." "Give me." said I, "a few of those choice bromides." And thus be gave: "How did you hit on the idea?" , "When, ditto?" "Did you know somebody like Mutt and Jeff, or did you just make 'em up?" "I've got n little boy nt home who can draw n Mutt that you couldn't tell from one of your own." 'And so on. "Do you over work ahead?" "Nope, never got ud a supply. It might not last to the market. I do 'em day by day, according to the pulse of the, people." "Do you get a hand on that?" "Suro. I feel the public's pulse. I know, perhaps hotter than any one else, when tho stuff is bad. But I also know when I put one over. And I say to myself: 'That got over good; lot's give 'cm somo more like thnt tomorrow." "Whore did you study art, Bod?" "Are you trying to Dooley me? I never borrowod your batteries," "Didn't you ever go to an art sohool?" "Nopo." "Didn't you ever sludy drawing any way?" "Only in the show business. I nev or was passed in drawing when I went to publio sohool here in Chica go. I don't know what drawing means. Iif vou get me- I try, t muko 'cm doing what I want 'mi lor ing." I think I got hun. lit M :j