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SMALLEST STAR OF ALL
But What is Mere Size? Ask. Mabel
Taliaferro.
TALK WITH POLLY OF THE CIECUS
Plays Don't Haw to lie Wrlltrn to
Fit Her, Evtii If fhe Wrltki
Only Mnety-SIx
rounds.
NEW YORK, April 4.-Malxl Tallfcrro,
who Is playing in "Polly of the Circus" at
the Liberty theater, Is the smallest star on
the stage. She looks especially petite asl
she greets The Bun reporter at the door
of her apartment, for she la holding an
The
Is
Only
"Skin Deep"
,riepnani in ner arms, u is noi a rem era
B pliant, perhaps It may be well to state,
w but one of china, a recently acquired mas
1 cot of her husband, of I, una Park fame,
fr who has adopted the elephant as his crest.
The panels of the library are of elcphunt
hide, the piano seat Is et on the same
pachyderm's four feet, there Is nn enor
mous elephant head on the wall and va
rious bits of brle-a-brac are done In that
special model. Mrs. Fred Thompson, as
she Is known In private life, looks espe
cially well against the background elephan
tine, and If It had been selected as con
trait It could not fulfill It mission more
successfully.
Polly Is only a bit over flvs feet In
height and weighs at present ninety-six
pounds, which, she says. Is very normal.
Only once in her life has she gone over
the 100-pound mark, and then she tarried
but a moment Just to show what she could
do.
As soon as people get well enough ac
quainted with her, so she says, they hum
and haw and then out with soma question
as to Just what the secret of her tiny waist
and hips really Is. One Inquirer insisted
upon knowing, as girl to girl, if the story
that she wort lung Iron braces was a
I fact and If so, how they were fastened.
r Meantime Mrs. Thompson goes on feed
ing, eating all aorta of sweets and starchy
things, fairly reveling In malted milk and
Imbibing stout when she Is troubled with
Insomnia.
"I don't want to get fat," she avers, "but
certainly a few mora pounds would nut
hurt ma." The tlnv bones of hands, arms
J and ankles seem absolutely to preclude
the possibility of her ever succeeding In
ousting the fat lady of Mr. Huber's
t'.on.
"It does seem hard, doesn't It," she asks,
"when so many people really want to get
thin that others are Jubt as anxious to add
a few Inches to their stature and a few
pounds to their weight?"
The difficulties of being the smallest star
ara not so many. It la learned, as might be
fancied. The fact that one has to take her
tiny frame into account in writing plays
is only a legend of the press agent, for
even the popular "Polly" was not written
primarily with her in view.
During the ten yeara that Mies Taliaferro
was under contract with Liubler Bros. It
frequently happened that there was no play
suitable for her, and at such times she sim-
- i ... .a .. k, aalu-u l ... .
) Uadtattnctlon to this, many time a play
t has been written In which it was unques
tLanahlv itMiurv that the leading, aesund
or other important role should ba played
by a small woman.
This happened, for Instance, when "The
Land of Hearts' Desire" was used as a
curtain raiser in the tour of Mrs. Le
Mt OtU Bklnnsr and Misa fclUalon, who
TTirvr
mncip
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Omaha. Iwt
Try A Pail of Diamond "C" Kettle Rendered Leaf Lard.
Guaranteed Absolutely Pure and
A'lL. IL, H, E A IF
"" 1 1 1 ' " TTT ', - -ssa . . i i i ! -
played "On a Balcony" In the principal
cities a few years ana... Tho. elf pact In that,
fantasy nautrally suggested the little Talia
ferro girl, as she was popularly known, and
she played In It successfully. Lately when
she was visiting nt Mr. Yeats' home with
her friend Lady Gregory of National Irish
theater fame he expressed his pleasure at
her performance and her physical suita
bility. When "Plppa Passes" waa put on for
some Eeclal matinees Henry Miller selected
her for the part of tho little peasant girl,
and the same thing occurred when "Lorna
Doone" enjoyed a brief popularity. Her
part of Esther In "The Children of the
Ghetto" seemed to have been written with
some idea of her limited size and in various
other plays In which she has taken part,
"The Price of Peace," "You Never Can
Tell," etc., the same condition of having
a part written with a petite woman In mind
and then finding the woman has been the
experience.
Once Miss Taliaferro admits that she
came a cropper. It was when she was
billed to play Nance Olden In "The Bish
op's Carriage." Nance was a tough girl
out and out, bred In the bone and out In
the flesh, and to save her life the smallest
star admitted that she could not look tough
enough, lier small, delicate features get
all puckered up when she .tries to ahow how
she worked to look tough and simply
couldn't.
"You can see for yourself," she says, put
ting It up to the Interviewer, who Is forced
to admit that certainly there never was a
less tough-looking specimen billed for such
a part. "I used to beg my friends when
they came tor see It to wait until after the
first act, for I was tougher there than aft
erward, or was supposed to be. If they
didn't see me then I - thought they might
be able to stand It. Oh, but I was bad!
But not bad in the way I should have been
to make a success; Just dramatic school of
acting bad, or something like that."
MIbs Taliaferro has a gentle little voeabu
lark which Just suits her. When she talks
along and gets Interested in her subject
such words as sweet, nice, dear, love and
amiable come as naturally to her. phrasing
as strenuous, suffragette or solar plexus
to those of more heroic mould.
But do not be deceived by this for under
the placid exterior of an unruffled counte
nance and the harmony of a kindly vo
cabulary she has mighty thoughts and
stern purposes
"It is perfectly absurd," Isn't it, she
M Ififl Til UhL'l'Ufl llld11'udL'a 1 fl'TI L.
inrr
IN THE WINDOWS
Midi!
u
And when you order Ham and Bacon, specify
CUDAHY'S D I ALTON D "O."
coos, "that any one -should think that all
the suffering and tho tragedies and heart
rending experiences come to the large
women, the tall, statuesque kind.
"I believe wo all get our share of the de
velopment .which comes with suffering,
no matter what our physical stature may
be. Oftentimes men and women aro kinder
and more gentlo and thoughtful for the
little woman, but fate Isn't. Fate makes
no such distinction, and so on the stage,
which, after all, deplclts tho workings of
circumstance, deHtlny, what you will, It
may happen that a very small woman may
carry a tragic part through successfully If
she Is only sure of hereslf Hnd has the
simple, sincere way of looking at her work.
"Tlw moment that she become self-conscious,
believes that she is In any way
handicapped by her lack of Inches or walBt
measure, that moment she fails to be con
vincing and to get, to use the stock ex
pression, over the footlights. Maude
Adams to my mind was Just aa successful
In 'L'Aiglon' as Bernhardt was, but con
sider the difference In their appearance.
"You naturally think of Bernhardt as you
do of Olga Nethersole, for example, aa com
ing on the stage with great sweeping ges
tures, throwing her arms out from the
shoulders in long expansive curves, big,
tremendous in tho expression of herself.
If Maude Adams did that uho would be
absurd; the limited range of her gestures,
the quiet stage manner, the delicate re
straint, are fully as effective, and her per
sonal following is proof of that."
Maude Adams is only pne of the contem
porary actresses whoso work the smallest
star speaks of admiringly. Although' she
haa no Intimate frienda In the profession,
keeping her stage and domestic life now,
as she has always done, far apart, she is a
mine of Information In regard to methods
and manners. To her all theatrical women
are brave, and men fair. Not all, either,
for she says frankly that she can t endure
big men.
"They're so babyish, you know," she savs
from the superior height of her five feet
some and her ninety-six pounds. "Abso
lutely babyish. They've got to be flattered
and they throw away their money like
geese, and they have all sorts of kittenish
ideas. I can't endure small men, either,"
she confesses, "men with little bones in
their wrists and queer little strutty ways
cf walking, and high silk hats to make
people think they're taller than they really
are."
For no apparent reason at this point of
the Interview Mrs. Thompson begins to
speak of her husband and tells how. In
stead of having "Polly of the Circus '
especially written so that he could furnish
a medium for his wife and his Inventive
genius at the same time It was really
Polly that brought them together and after
a ten days' courtship for Mr. Thompson
was awfully busy at that time-made It
seem the only thing possible for them to
do to get married right away, so when the
subject of Polly came up again they would
be conveniently placed to talk It over.
Misa Magaret Mayo having written
"Polly" and, thinking of Mabel Taliaferro
as a possible heroine, read the play to her,
and afterward she and Mr. Thompson dis
cussed its possibilities and probabilities.
Later on. after the material fixings were
out of the road, they settled down to the
Idea of the circus lady In good earnest,
and from their united efforta the play was
evolved. '
When the play waa first put on a double
represented the star In the bareback riding
scene and consequent fall. Here is where
one of the difficulties of being so small
that one cannot easily find a counterpart
came In. After a few nights the commenta
made In the orchestra and gallery were so
audible that the scene was cl.angtd to a
:0) A
frfrn rvn
i
119
MABEL TALIAFERRO A3
From Photo by Davit) & Eickemeyer.
more artistic finish.
"Think of it," whispers Miss Taliaferro,
"I actually head one horrid man hay right
out when the double came on: 'Why, those
ain't her legs.' Isn't that ghastly? And
I thought until then that they matched
perfectly! That's when I commenced to
take malted milk, but there was no appre
ciable effect, and not being able to change
er them well, we simply change the
finale of the piece instead. It was a good
dual easier."
To return to the fact of MIbs Taliaferro's
strength of character and purpose, she
laughingly confesses that she hus abso
lutely no ambitions to play Lady Macbeth.
MUs Tullferro is about 30, and says that
her wide txperlence lias taught her many
lessons which she Mpea to put Into work
ing use. Bhe refers to her dramatic aims,
dUcuases playa and says among other
things:
"I do not object to the immoral play if
It Is written by a master hand Shake
speare, for example, for I think he wrote
one or two, although many do not. Ber
nard Shaw is all right for the library table,
but not fur tho stage. He teaches you no
great lesson, which ia the only excuse for
a risque play, I think."
Speaking of risque situations, she ad
mits that her first engagement waa made
under circumstances which, unless a full
explanation were given, might caue un
pleasant comment. She was sitting on the
kneeof the author ut (lie picve la which.
I
lMmt$ mi Iroeeiry.
1
JV
POLLY OF THE CIRCUS.
she made her debut when the offer was
presented to her.
Joseph Arthur was the playwright and
she war at that -time 214 years old. In a
photograph of that time she Is shown as a
smiling young person holding her foot In
her hand.
She had been playing with a niece of
Mr. Arthur's that special day and Mr.
Arthur had been listening to their baby
talk. It suddenly occurred to him that
her special brand of conversation was
rather remarkably enunciated and he lifted
her up and' told her to say several things,
among the rest, "There goes Santa Claus,"
and odher lines of his pioce, "Blue Jeans,"
in which she afterward took the part of
Baby Banscouibs, with a long page to be
memorised.
At L'H years most youngsters are still in
the high chair stage, as likely as not
strapped in, and their vocabulary Is lim
ited to a "Zing of valer" or something
equally bromldlan. Her training for her
part was conducted on the plan, that hah
succeeded well wltb horses, seals and fluffy
kittens.
If she did well she got a present, any
thing on which she had set her childish
heart, and the plan worked admirably. Her
memory of the time is very clear, showing
her precocious In that respect also.
"I remember it as if It were yesterday,"
she says, sitting forward on the edge of
her chair and holding her knee with her
enclosed aicua. "Ail tha rehearsals at
OF
u
home had gone along beautifully, I wasn't
a bit afraid and remembered my lines all
right.
"Tho one rehearsul I attended In the
theater was the one before the final dress
rehearsal. The curtain was down and the
place was to fnc Just like my room.
"1 was successful there, too, and every
body was craxy over me. You know chil
dren were not very common on the stage
at that time, which, of course, accounted
for my popularity.
"At the dress rehearsal something terri
ble happened, something perfectly awful.
For years I used to wake up with a night
mare in my baby mind at the recollection
or It.
"I was supposed to be sitting In my chair,
when the curtain went up with my eyes
closed. Then I was to open them and begin
my lines.
"On this occasion the curtain waa up and
when I opened my eyes instead - of the
familiar side of the room which I had ex
pected there was a horrible black hole, for
the lights In the auditorium were not on.
It was the most awful thing I had ever
seen. It seemed to be something that was
going to swallow me up or I was going to
fall Into, and with all the might of my
young lungs I screamed and kicked and
choked and did all sorts of original things
not done in the business of the play.
"The cast were completely demoralized.
If I was going to act that way the whole
piece would be a failure. Naturally they
didn't know what to do. but they coaxed
and pleaded with rao and gave me presents
and tried to make themselves believe that
it wouldn't be quite so bad the night of the
opening.
"When that came and I repeated my per
formance of opening my eyes, to my sur
prise and delight the awful black hole that
had so terrified was no longer there. In
stead I looked out on a world filled with
the nicest, kindest faceswho all smiled at
me, and I cooed and waved my hands and
was Just too pleased to see them for any
thing, and they laughed back at me and
the members of the cast laughed, too, and
the terrible ordeal was over and it wasn't
until I grew older that I could make them
realize what it was that had so frightened
me.
"Before I was ( yVars old I had played
before more than 1,000,000 people In all the
towns end cities of America and had trav
eled 1S.00C miles. I learned to play Irish
character parts with Chauncey Olcott and
with Andrew Mack and Katie Emmett. I
put on long drosses for the first time when
I played Lovey Mary in 'Mrs. Wiggs of the
Cabbage Patch' and had to obtain permis
sion from the Children's society before I
could appear. Just a little time before my
marriage I toured through the cities of
Itiris
iffs
Tho
QUALITY
Goes
Clear
THROUGH
Australia playing leads wither. Willis
Collier in 'Tho Dictator' and 'On the Quiet.
"How did you know that Mr. Thompson
was writing a play all by himself in which
perhaps I mht appear?" asks the smallest
star Ingenuously, as If she had not been
telling that all through the Interview when
she seemed to be talking of other things.
HUMAN SIDE OF NOTED FEUDIST
Newspaper Man Tarn a Dangerous
Trick and Kara pes with
Hide Whole.
The late Jim Hargls, king of Kentucky
feudists, was, first of all, a vain man. Ho
knew the extent of h;s power In the region,
where law did not count until Floyd Byrd
became prosecuting attorney, and It satis
fied him. But his vanity had it limits.
Hargls detested photographs and photog
raphers. His enemies say that the rea
son waa not a lack of vanity, but that the
Breathitt king did not want Ms features
too well known tc the people and other
sections of Kentucky. For years he had
decreed at Intervals that no ono should
ever take a photogiaph of him. During
the feuds, several daring photographers
who went to Jackson for the purpose of
napping the king were glad to escape
with their lives. They did not return
until the eve of the first trial of Jim
Hargls for tho Callahan murder. Th
Judge knew of their presence and vowed
that his rule would not be broken. Oi
course all tho leading papers of Kentucky
had photographers at Jackson, especially t
get the picture of Jim Hargis. The Louis
ville Courier-Journal had sent a young
man named Robert Hooe.
When the day came for the opening ot
the trial, the photographers were lined ur,
along the main street Trom the store of
Hargls to the court house. The Accused
waited In the rear of his store until the
hour arrived for court lo open, then cov.
ered his features with a quilt and made hi
way In that manner to the trial.
Several of the newspaper men thought
that Hargls had won out and gave up the
attempt for the time being. Hooe, how.
ever, went around to the rear of the court
house and concealed himself near the en
trance. His Idea waa that while Hargls
was bound to be covered with his quilt If
he left by the front entrance, he might dis
card It In leaving by the rear. This proved
to be the case. When recess came Hargls,
accompanied by some of his men, left by
the rear 'way. The Courier-Journal man
thereupon came out from his concealment
and snapped the Judge before he could hld
behind one of his friends.
Hargls, In a rago, shook his fist and
swore at the photographer. Several of his
friends, knowing the rule of the Judge,
seized the Courier-Journal man and were
about to smash his camera, when the Jud
Interposed. "Don't, boys. His paper ex
pects it of him, and I suppose he's got to'
make a living." The Ice was broken, liar
gin posed for several pictures and wa
never reluctant to be photographed after
ward. -Harper's Weekly.
To Fat .far Ills Cell.
"Dan" Wadsworth, Hartford's heavy man,
and said to be the fattest man in New Eng
land, is In Jail, serving a sentence of sixty
days. But Wadsworth is not In a cell,
nailher does he wear the regular Jail uni
form. The reasons are obvious. He weight
110 pounds, and there is not a uniform It
tho Jailer's outfit which hu could get into,
At present it is Just possible fur him U
squeeze through a cell door, but the Jallei
realizes that in the quiet of a cell, w it a
wholesome food and little, exercise. Wads,
worth's inclination to take nn flesh would
meet with unusually favorable condition..
And though he might be squeezed In, at tha
end of sixty days It U a question if he could
be jot eal wlUiout guUlii tUwtft
