THE OREGON r SUNDAY' JOURNAL; PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING. FEBRUARY 28, 1915.
. 1
Jh
That's What the; Earning Power
of This Pair of Stays
Is Per Annum Would You Wear
One If It Brought You This Sum?
j J0
eharms of the fair sex. Eltinge occupies
a niche In .the Temple of Thespis alone and
unrivaled and not of another actor of the
day can these words be written. His sus
tained characterizations In "The Fascinat
ing Widow" and his more amazing artistry
as revealed at present in "The Crinoline
Girl" have marked him as the one man
who lias dignified feminine delineation by an
art which will endure long after he has laid
aside skirts and corsets for all time.
Although Eltinge earns a salary which
equals that of the President of the United
States, it must not be forgotten that be
spends probably as much In a year on
clothes as does the . President on entertain
ment Ever since his first appearance as
an impersonator Eltinge realized that his
chief stock in trade wag his wardrobe.
Immediately he became recognized by
the public as a novel entertainer be began
to secure himself in the admiration of his
followers 75 per cent of which are women
by "plunging" in the gown market Him
self something of a connoisseur of drapery,
he was able to design modes which were
just a bit more ultra than the most fash
ionable raiment and employed the best
dressmakers to carry out his Ideas.
Fighting Criticism.
Each year he fortified himself against
criticism by trips abroad, and although he
began by buying many details of his ward
robe in Paris, he has since come to the
realization that the American made dress
is better suited to bis needs. He found that
the gowns, wraps and hats designed in this
country Invariably elicited greater praise
than those imported from across the water.
This revelation has resulted in some very
- - ' - viHV'T' - , ,J Trae Personal- t
17 ' ' '' ' - j v v;i'-Xii;i'? Nfe v .4 L . . : I a Spanish Maid B5
' " "T'"v ; Jr ' f-" 'v s" - '; ' - " ',''' ' ' " ' K JJ J '' . Kecrea- ;
I -i, v J;:'-: '' ;, ;vi 4?;
v'-j-x W' - -
Jalian Eltinge as the 1830 Girl ' . -,:.W"iBi-!. '-.V..' v-..SPr
Deiency is atmmed. tne stasri -win lamp 1 'wv-vmxi jrskss sssww'
r9 corsets for $12,000 JuUan Eltiuge and his marvelous art y ' "V ' ' . I
IJ&J 1X7 a week? which, although not generally known, is ' . nH 'f'X0' jjr SSfM j
yjjffip MM wJb No, this question really the revival of a custom as old as the nd" Cz'trk '""K Sgsgg C
jCTTjS f f WWW is not addressed to theater itself. 5Z'00' jt vrt fmS!S "
lJvJU i&trT& women. It is In-
VSk&gZS'sm tended to be an-
m TTT(h? swered by the un- rhar,os TT n;hoI, oll rni ' Jk i -" IVl
that an American thrown on his own re
sources usually rises to the occasion. All .
the papers now say that we shall have to
look to this side 'of the Atlantic for our
feminine styles now that war-stricken
France is unable to supply them. Well '
and gooda My prediction is that America
will now adopt a style U her own and that"
by the time the war is over poor Paris
will find that Rhe has lost control of 'wom
ens styles forever - ,
Annoying Fashions.
"So far as I personally am concerned, I ,
have not recently been bothered by the
Parisian vogues one way or another. I am
having. all my stage clothes made in this
country after my own .designs with the
help of experts whose business It is to
know what is -up to date. Now If a mere
man can work out these details, why can
not women do them much better? Of
course I realize that many of the Parisian
designers are men, but they have always
had the advice and counsel of women just
as I do. If the French wqnien can do it,
why not the American women? American
women are the most progressive in the
world In every department and supreme, in
many. Why not In the art of dressmak
ing? They will have to originate styles for
various reasons.
"The American women are unlike the
women of Europe in figure end carriage.
They are more athletic and at the same
time more graceful. They walk better than
any women in the world if they follow
their natural inclinations. Consequently
they should carry their clothes better. A
famous critic of women once made "the
lOULD you wear
corsets for $12,000
a week?
No, this question
is not addressed to
women. It is In
tended to be an
swered by the un
corseted sex.
Just olfhauu jou may find it difficult to
conceive of any situation where the com
pressing of your manly form in stays could
result in such an Income. But the situation j
has been found and Julian Eltinge, female
Impersonator and athlete, is filling it to a
nicety, f
After glancing at this comfortable sti
pend, any man might be excused for his
hesitancy ;- in replying in the negative,
especially when it is figured that a season
of forty weeks means a sum approximat
ing $500,000. This does not mean that the
popular Julian pockets this entire fortune
yearly, but his share of it Is not to be
sneezed at by anyone not burdened with
a healthy income.
About Money First.
The avaricious aspect of his endeavors
is mentioned early in this story for the
simple reason that it form3 about the only
incentive which urges Eltinge to wear
skirts and torture his equator with stays
instead of appearing in conventional male
attire. Feminine Impersonation is to him
only' a means to an end and that end Is the
accumulation of a competency and ac
cumulating it quickly. When that coin-
Five Centuries Ago.
Going -back 250 years, to the timeot
Charles II., when all roles were enacted by
men or boys, it Is found that the English
stage was somewhat scandalized by the
importation of a theatrical company from
France in which the female roles were
actually played by women! Prynne, the
Puritan, was so enraged that he styled
these actresses as "unwomanish and graces
less," not meaning, however, that they were
un feminine or awkward, but that the stage
was no place-for ladies born in an era of
grace.
Another writer of that period, Thomas
Brand, recorded that "they were hissed,
hooted and pippin-pelted from the stage"
and that "all virtuous and well disposed
persons in this town were justly offended,"
although there is evidence that the broader
minded among the spectators did not fail
to see the propriety of Juliet being repre
sented by one. of her "own sex rather than
by a youth. In this connection It is in
teresting to note that Shakespeare never
;saw one of his heroines portrayed by any
other than a beardless boy.
KUligrew and Davenant were the first
managers given authority, after the return
of Charles IL, to employyactresse to rep
resent female characters, although these
patents were not awarded until-the public
came to resent the enactment of "women's
parts being represented by men In the
habits of women."
By 1664 the vocation of the "boy-actress"
had altogether passed away, but
until i!the year mentioned, they were es
sential factors of almost every dramatic
performance.
Of the men who became celebrated as
interpreters of female characters there
were three In Killlgrews company, Hart,
Burt and Clun. - Hart wag. Pepy's prime
favorite, thongh Burt and Clun achieved
fame in tragic roles both male and female.
As to the real manliness of these players,
there is a story that Hart and several other
-actors In the same line of work fought on
the King's side at Edgehill in 1642.
Another : Handsome "Woman."
Another young, actor whose name has
been handed down as the handsomest
"woman" as ; well ' as the handsomest man
of his time - was " Edward Kynaston. The
critical Pepys . describes 1 his first . glimpse
of Kynaston as follows: "Tom and I and
my wife went to the theater and there saw '
'The Silent Woman.' Among other things
here, Kynaston, the boy, had the good turn
to appear in three shapes; first, as a poor
woman in ordinary clothe- to please Moros;
then in fine clothes as a gallant and in
them was clearly the prettiest woman In
the whole house and, lastly, as a man
and then, likewise did appear the hand
somest man in the house."
How Tunes Change !
Contrasting the earninj powers of the
impersonators of that day with the only
actor of the present time who has succeeded
in this art, it is found that Hart and his con
temporaries received eacn about three
pounds ($15) weekly, whereas Eltinge's
salary and percentage varies anywhere be
tween $3,009 and $5,000 for the same
amount of time on the stage.
Not since the days of Hart, Burt, Bet
terton, Clun, Kynaston, Mohun and Nokes
has there appeared a masculine interpreter
of feminine roles to compare with Julian
Eltinge. The present (lay offers nothing
but a horde of hopeless imitators, whose
efforts are confined t burlesquing the
N the Circle f ACN.f PKW
at the Top K Y BrfSk'il'R
i Mr. Eltinge Is :; 4,- wfts tf
True Personal- . J, "' M ; C X y .
ity; in the j t.&U 0 0l0i
; Lower Circle as i pftej- IskV' 2
a Spanish Maid jgBjftSM T ""Irkb&it
and at the Bot- ; " -j Jv-l ' '
torn at His Fa- glgj
; vorite Recrea- ; fcgg ' V
YZ MS n & , T
;"fl "
JL Pose at V V
the Right
Mr. Eltinge ."; f
Has Sac- ' 1 ill-. i , -f
ceeded in mArH ( .
Deceiving f NJf V ' i'V J
Many of the j Jb) W " ' J
Knowing "
Ones. fa, ,!u '
timely observations on fashions which are
here set forth In his own words.
"I have traveled about this country a
great deal during the past few years," he
says, "and I have come t? the conclusion
remark that the English woman walks
with her knees, wbereaa the American
woman swings free from the hips. The
walk of the French woman is adapted to
the drawing-room, but not to the street"
: V
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