New Britain Herald Newspaper, June 16, 1925, Page 14

—_— Neath funny Comedlans Mask Their As ayoungster,pcrh Cz the xole of anhysterical scree oung- ster, Raymond. Griffi¢h lost his voic He still speaks 1 whispers B the tragic story of many a comedian n they earn a living by trying few comedians think o like all the persons rest of rid, dream th 1ves trage: aians—t Bernhardt r, even, than Duse, Sorme or ever dared or hoped to be on the stage of make-believe be. others hope to ameli e it {s one way to continue £ ter Keafon's friends claim he's the most Bu’;15 he's ;fooud. of his childfen, evenif he ate their own sadness by making their fellow-man g For instance, take Raymond Griffith as Exhibit 4 grea e came— wife, Mildred Davis, and their baby, Gloria, Griffith lost his volce when a ye while the movles. But, alas, Louss LANGDON “DUMB GUY" portraying ithe a tion eing ughed Whether Harry n, Mack Sennett funster, boy on the stage of. bis CLOWN—BUT WANTED T0 BE HEROINE eally a sad person hether he merely ad ed such an ailment upon his ssagent's ad- says Louise. “All my £ vice in order to get in on this story is a matter of Instead of being ) ; s admired—1 was a clown faschl A3 acal : ; difference those persons who e ately, It e n't supposed to come hether he even knows himeeif & A guy,” says H And the : ¥ r find happiness in my o' feoi s that ¥ know 3t dust people 1 work with ¢ tibe funnytoffihe acreenifilciwere a S ik 5 5 aracters 1 am tc L f b x S48 Grifith is s endea ' ) s make-up seems tc sn—withe J ol Tk eiug 5 to me i 2 f y but I'l alwaye It 1'm plair n a vain ate s . ytten I he v, ‘Let's get Harry ove 5 LS how musdrearas Often 1} ¥ — . e 9 AL B Gt £ they will bs. s les for: the screen. 1 mmed glasses, L L 4 ishee sesved!In manyicay o He has beep ''gaz e : s into & 1m really one of the saddest pe n the world man—one who evolves f . s . S “Honestly. I'm just a big baby. I wept bitte & y to see if anyone was watching me P a1 o - Why, say—when I go to bed a e z z He is a bit c 5 y teens he be. i . : - S 3 ; attles when 1 was a kid—the way she I e L d play. He 0 my lessons, the w he tucked . s An thelBomin i i hen 10 eit) achibing.| el they.c - . it t 2 , T \ few years me a comediar t s a fun . it “How did 1 get starte dles? Wher o a - 2 BELS A , o x por. 1 was playing vaud 1 aappened 1 : 2 : across a few stunts that by a laugh or It sort of : I wanted to e o ~ . . & e s s s is gauging the proper ...vo the wor 1 t is als o ot THE SADDEST MAN e ter Keaton has ne n known to sm according to his prees agent. He is one of the - most serious persons in the movie world—and one of the saddest. It takes Buster months to m picture s some )t the delay is caused serious petsonin Rollywaod does 1ot laugh with them. %udevx\le fans will remem- o ber the act of "Ye Three ' KHestons” ltwas about this i time that B{.\ster fordot how ~ Whv. tinery ces are Heartaches adness \Vth ~ o % vl B Pk L 3 . e _ cfiuu When Harold Lloyd remeves his glasses he charé.s into & serious sedate sort ofa fellow - a youngster, practiced the faclal expression that has made him famous. He was taught not {0 smile—it would ruin the act it the public thought for a moment that the ehild was enjoying being handled ro roughly. FORGOTTEN HOW So Busf 15 long ago forgotten how to smile. 1is directors implore him to smile for photog- raphers—but all in vain. Just the other day Bus- ¢ arrived back in Los Angeles from New York— cameramen were on deck, Surely he would smile now—for Buster was returning to the wife and two littfe kiddies. He jumped off the train and grabbed Natalie and the little ones in his arms—no one doubted' that it was one of the happiest moments of his life, veryesame that always adorns it—implacably som- But the expression on his face was the ber Rust ers' intimat friends claim he is the most serious person in Hollywood. Probably, they be- lieve, because Buster has never really had a chance to play. Since only a few months old he has been work d there was many a day when the Three Keat ye ndered where their next meal was com Perhaps that is why Buster, knowing the t s of life—wants to make the 9 oorid a has one secret ambiflon—he , wants to dire stance Talma in a picture. But despite | nbition, Buster's box office c < are far too great to allow him to leave the e ¢ 1l probabiy go on making the pub- 1 Zasu Pitts lonzs to be a tragedian! The happlest days of he were while she was making Greed Notv she s going to live In f some ng a similar character. 8 ik T funny,” says Zasu, “I'm really wdent. 1 don't know how I got —except that 1 started doing edy—and they are linked so closely together. MOPDY—FRIGHTFULLY MOODY me started me in the movies—I had to And 1 just happen to be | I'm moody—frightfully moody—always longing to be able to play just tragedy. But you can't have everythipg, you know, and I have a W derful hust 4, an adorable baby and a con- en though it is for comedy parts.” ex lians zre, in reality, the saddest per- Their lives have baen too full jid of langhs—that is why they are to making the other fellow the world gdon, when he rolls' those big on the screen s probably doing it with to smile they a&)( dea of cheering up those who, like himself. have had a life, x.'§t'l*,\‘ uster Keaton, as he e ol depression that & m ¥ things goes Wfs stunts, is hoping he can bring & laugh to don’t go just right some Mt kid, who, like himself, has forgotten Buster has been on the stage 29 years—and he I to smile; Loulse Fazenda is trying to amuse years old. Vaud fans w eca e sor e girl whose heart is breaking because t “The Three n wHich Bus laughed at; Raymond Griffith is proba- ed untif the movi iy »f some unfortunate one who has lost When or 1 b b su Pitts is trying ® bring happiness tossed out: over t lien e in a to rome irl whese dream castles have tum- laugh. THe act was known roughest one Lied In vaudeville. It was this & at Bu ¥ aftersal aged ak to med Glor 1 man %fibly see wh anyane aughat: evern if he does wea spées Little Stories N the House of Comedy stalks the Figure of Tragedy. Wherever there are smiles, tears are somewhere near. This is not a cynical viewpoint, merely the result of tabulating secrets in the llves of some of the leading film comedians Raymond Griffith, the funny little man with the mustache and bulging Adam's apple, nurses a misfortune that would drive most anyone to the brink of drama or tragedy. Years ago, he lost his voice. Today, he can only talk in a low muffled whis per. And what does he say of the fu- ture? Is it brightly illuminated with hope or is it dotted with the mile-posts of lost desire? “Things never looked better for me,” he says. “I've just signed up a long term contract which guarantees the bread and butter menu for, at least several years. “And I'm getting a lot of fun ouf of life despite the fleeting spells of despondency which sweep over me." " B N TURPIN did not choose the field of comedy because of hie own fres volition. He was cata pulted into the comic ranks because of the tragic crossing of his eyes Mack Sennett, knowing the laugh weaknesses of the American public, seized upon Turpin’with his crossed eyes and by exploiting them to the world has made a fortune both for himself and the comedian, And in Turpin's life, besides his own misfortune, {s another sadness. His wife is critically i1l and has been for some time. Her recovery I doubtful. For months Turpin worked in the studio in the routine comic roles, his forced smiles and humor hiding the tragedy that lay back in his home. The other day, Turpin threw *the sponge into the ring.” “I quit,” he said. “Life is too short to go on this way. I have enough money saved up. I think more of my wife than I ever could of motion pictures.” The following day, Turpin and his wife left Hollywood in thelr family filvver for the “wide open spaces.” “We won't be back until my. wife {s completely well. Then we can be happy once more,” he told friends before departing. . e LO'L'XSE FAZENDA, “the queer looking girl in the queer oid clothes,” makes a living by having persons laugh at her. "And each time they do, despite the big check she recelv week, suffers a bit of heartache. “I dreamed of being a wonderful heroine on tim screen,” Louise says in discussing her cinema pfight. “And look what I am today—garbed in funny clothes and doing silly things to make people laugh at me. “Every wish, every dream I've ever had for my futurs has been each Louiss terribly shattered. We are all dreamers, I guess, but I have dreamed in vain.” “ e THE case of Zasu Pitts is similar to that of Louise Fazenda's. Zasu longs to be a tragedian, with seductively thin eyebrows and heavy lashes, breaking the hearts of kings and wrecking empires—in the movies. “One cannot have everything I've learned,” says Zasu. “My mother started me in the movies—I had to make a living some way. And ) happen to be lucky to @ certain ex- tent. And though I have . been cheated of my one ambition—to play tragedy—I have a wonderful hus. band, Tom Gallery, & baby and a contract—even though it is for comedy parts.”