The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, November 22, 1930, Page 8

UNL = Wi ~ a TT | | HUTT ame Eee ecMree “ANNUITY TUOTIOTET ANTENA SANNA TT TTT TTT Where Talented Kids Come From Gus Edwards, dean of the: prodigy finders ever since he produced “School Days,” says today’s youngsters have it all over children of other generations, but that they are usually spoiled by _their parents, whether rich or poor A big load of youthful talent: . . . Gus Edwards, discoverer of sta; shown here with a happy crowd ‘of youngsters he picked for a talkie srediciiee ; HE stage prodigy of yesteryear came from the slums, and broke his mother’s heart when he announced that he was going to leave home to try a stage career. But the stage rodigy of today comes from any kind of a ome, high, low or middle-class, and his mother, far from being broken-hearted, is probably right ~ behind him pushing for all she is worth. The whole picture has changed —take it from Gus Edwards, who has discovered more rising stage geniuses than Columbus discovered Indians. Twenty and 25 years ago, the cream of young stage talent came out of the tenements, out of the gutters, out of the sawdust of honky- tonks. The great East Side of New York, with its hordes of conglomerate - sraces; the upper Bronx and “Hell's Kitchen’’; the’ poverty lanes of the town were supplying the lads and lassies whose names twinkle in lights. Today young talent walks in from every town and hamlet; from the cottages of the middle class and the palaces of the rich; ite wears rags and it wears the smartest creations of Fifth Avenue. What about this generation of youngsters? What can it do that its fathers and mothers couldn't? Is it cleverer; does the public demand more of it than the public of yesteryear? The authority of authority on such matters is this same Gus Edwards, who has seen three generations of youngsters pass before him. Once upon a time he had to go hunting for precocious lads and lassies. He still tracks many of them down. But something like 300 per week—and often more than that—now come hunting him. ND Edwards says of this modern brood: “Whatever else they may or may not possess, they're the dancingest kids the world has ever seen. “Dance—why they're marvels! They can dance anything and everything. Youngsters who haven't enough talent and personality to get by in the theater can dance rings around the star attractions of another generation. Gamins can dance and millionaires’ kids can dance. And when I say dance, I mean they can step—they can step like professionals. “Looking back—checking the names of those who have come along—I'd say that Eddie Can- tor was, to my way of thinking, my best discovery. ‘He .was about 15 when | first ran across him. But he was funny then. By the way, I place 17 as the age when you can best tek how and where a talent is gol “And if you'll check over my flock’ of youngsters, you'll find that they stick to the theater. It was in the blood and it never gets out.” HIS list, by the way, reads something like a “who's who" of the stage. You'll find Georgie Jessell and Louise: Groody, May Murray and Lila Lee, Helen Menken and ratae Lorraine, Eddie Buzzell, the Duncan isters, You'll find Lillian Walker, who followed both stage and screen, and Herman Timberg, who was the funny Yiddish lad in ‘School I TT MMMM Only 25 years ago... the stage talent came up from the side- walks and the curbstones. .. . Bi now the kids of millionaires seem to have just as good dancing feet. Prodigies in, pit... ray is cently staged a revue. fe turin, sets of twins. ... all of Ares le had Wahlen aa introduced to the stage. nell, Johnny Days,” flag ods ae poder plays and man- Gap, el lly ar in another department, you'll peony who became one of hig! scenario Woes sonal known pony Uae Wait Winchell. wood's = versatile revue stagers; Felix Arndt. and Harry Rose, the song Sites who married Fannie Bri Larry Adler. . Already Mepiee phonograph disks : jough he was younger than this when Gus Edwards picked him up. Checking some of the old- timers, you'll also come across the names of Dan Healy, music show star and famouse jance _ stepper; bee Lew Brice, ‘the comic; Bert . Edwards te- Wheeles, Al Hines, who was a big laugh : setter i in the silent picture days; Ona Munson illian Boardman, Fay Tincher and at “least a hundred other ames that loom large, Alll listed in Gus Edwards’ journal of “Finds and Discovery.” Getting closer to the moment, he considers Kenia, the charming little Mex- ican film actress, his most important recent dis- covery. Armida, as em ay recall, had been poets in, a Los restaurant when the ‘discovery’ was made. Edwards believes she will become steadily more important as a screen Personality, “va hae ite: Conte a now with the “Vanities.” it out a youngster recently by the name of Larry Adler, who already is tur out phonograph records and radio broadcasts by. the dozen. He will mention Ray Bolger, Helen Lund, Sally Starr, Lola Lane, Joan Cosette and a dozen others as part of his present assortment. the best talent: came. out of poverty— the struggle of the city,” Edwards comments. ULLAL RN NA _ — a Ett bal —— Tr —__ 'UT by accepting such a statement we overlook a very important element in le—a us social change that has come within the past 10 years. ; “Ie vit that eal existed only = ne slums and among the struggling city crowds, It was because they were the only children allowed to go on the si The better-class families - wouldn't think of letting their youngsters ap- pear in the ‘theaters. No one can say how much talent. there ‘was. - °° “Today that has all change Girls and boys from every sort of background fight for a chance to be seen and heard. In the crowd that passes before me each week are youngsters from every rt of the nation. They are brought to New + ties nevecending ere hprood. am ere’s a never-ending rapping at gates o eet TVs a bet true, though, to know ier few of them. have itt talent. “But that's the answer to the hardships and struggle you see either in the movie city or here —the hundreds and hundreds of young ie who Fogcs eee: for iyaicy but who "t Ont poigiine of or ‘tever it is. er of sea kee, figs many a Ons. gh ee thoes ‘ee a swell bet has been bad advice from parents or kidding them- selves about how great their kids were. Proud parents and relatives and friends have poured a let of phoney vanity into many a UT today offers tremendous opportunity for youngsters. Take back in the days - ie fe ate 4 doing vaudeville routines x here aa regia outlet for kid talent— and raneenias and the legitimate stage offered the best i “Today you can place a youngster in a dozen (Copyright, 1930, By EveryWeek Magazine—Printed in U.S. A.) ~ iin Lin little ini Words. By* ‘GILBERT SWAN Sketches By GEORGE CLARK Armida .. . was found in a Los Angeles restau- rant by Edwards ... . and he considers that the exican girl has a brilliant screen future. spots. A gil or boy may not have the proper stage appearance, but may have just the sort of thin voice ee goes like a million on the radio. et marae just et the talking pictures are. loo! for—youl auty, pep. ae Yeu fnew fe ie oe eel ‘if the pul today would tal wit youngsters rie as we had in the old days—the Cuddles of “School Days’ and. all the rest. rt RG ‘ve got to ceeaee your whole t oe ackground to meet Passing years. jay the school teacher would bly ba have to come in and light a cigaret. one of the kids might be caught with a hip flask, or something like that. . geography class would have to have gags on Lindbergh's flight and“on Americans touring in Europe. The kids would dance bet- ter—but they wouldn’t have any more talent, as time has proved. IHE youngsters of tomorrow? Well, you never can tell. I’ve a notion that they'll be pretty versatile and. pretty smart. They'll probably. start with better educations and stronger backgrounds. may even be poisdy actors—but they won't better enter- a Don't forget that the kids who came out of the street, out of the slums and off the side- wal worked st the Tgdh Ey ie ribly eager Ww at struggle was all about. The chance for get ahead 4 as A age thing in. plgag wer of siled. ‘They don't nced m ete don’t need | Soa ped hese some ae is ‘don't mean that aac cogs It's neralize. Some gitls and boys from eonh ye fe have been as unspoiled as and as willing to get in and work. They felt they had to make good, if for no other reason than to show themselves and their friends that the “f advit with tal “Have poy ac sh to somone lent? Well, chiefly this: be pre Bl Don’t try to crash gates thet are too for you. Par- ents, tert sper not mistake cuteness for ‘alent. This nd age most everyone has fot reste apegi a youngsters can do. To be sure, there are some who get away with murder. You wonder how they last—and so do I. The ausiet i Mat ter don’t—not in the long run. by Aye a good break for ‘one reason or jut there's too much of the real thing coming along all th Ne hile for any imitation to agrees the competition.” a = — = 5 = PY = = = = = = = = = x = = 4 = = = = = = = = = = J = = Mon Mn