Show BEING FUNNY IS ISA ISi i A SERIOUS THING Life of Screen Comedian Is Not One Bed of Roses Says Famous Actor HARDSHIPS ENDURED Bangs Cuts Bruises and Broken B Bones nes Are Common Corn Com mon luon Occurrences By Bill Billy Ruge MOST people ha have the Idea lilea a that the life of a n screen comedian I Is one ana anahed bed hed of roses that there is Is no sort softer r 7 job on earth than playing In motion picture comedies and making an n audience audience audi audi- l. l ence laugh laught nt t t the funn funny capers and md incidents In Sn n the picture Contrary to the general opinion In the matter I Insist that to be bo funny la iii serious I used to think that performing on 1 the aerial trapeze wa way above the ground round with no rio nets underneath to catch m my partner Bill Frobel or m myself my- my el self pelf was a dangerous Job for a healthy man but this appears mild to me since i the experiences I have gone through brough I j while contributing to film humor I My 1 first experience In pictures w s wasP I with the Edison Elison company compan be before foro I Joined the Y Vim m comedy forces to play t i Hunt flunt In the tho Plump an and Runt series 4 of comedies In which Babe Hardy andl and l- l Tn myself seH are arc featured I had Ju Just t. t re returned returned re- re turned from a seven en years' years cn engagement J In the variety houses of Germany German England Eng Eng- Eng I land France Russia South America Belgium and Spain I was as persuaded to toJ J take lake a leap Into pictures just for the thep p fun of It My h her er very first I day n a at t the convinced con me that a come comedians comedian's lans lan's existence tence Is not ilot all that It is cracked 1 up to be beI I shall never forget the first picture pic plc- 1 ture that I did ld for the Vim In m my I Vcr very f first scene I was called upon to toI I tip toeS to the top o of a flight hl of stairs J lie he shot at b by a burglar and fall down the steps rolling down the bannister for a ways I slipped on the top step all right when the tim shot was fired n 1 I hit i Vi but hut did not roll down own It I slid over o It and n l landed ed on m my back bacle at nt the side of the stairs black I was Everything suddenly grow grew taken to m my dressing room for a few moments until T recovered sufficiently enough to continue work wad That night the scenes of the da day were run of off In the projection room an and soon came tho the er very ono one In which I did m my great tumble It certainly looked to me mo mes as s If I had brol broken n everything everything every cry thing thinS there Is to break brcak In the tho human ana anatomy tO l Take Talce that scene over o again suddenly called Ix Louts Burstien the general manager Get a funny funn fall 1 this time Ruge nuge and not ono of ot those stage e tumbles The They dont don't look real It Is no wonder that I awa away This Is Just one Instance to show how what we have ve to go through to tomake tomake tomake make the tho pu public laugh Sometimes we Just dodge a speeding auto anto h by Inches nn and the tho audience howl bowl but we do not Join In with them We Ve e can only onh think of or what we missed Anything that will wilt got get a 1 laugh with nn an audience Is tried whether it calls for us to risk our lives lI or net In one of m my first pictures for the Vim company com corn off orr the deck decle of or a f pan pany I had to jump steamship Into the water below and I couldn't swim n a stroke Believe Belle me I certainly took tool great pains to master the art of swimming after this It seemed as I if IC I would never come ti to tC the top I was wag down so lon long that Babe 1 Hardy Hard Hardas was as about to dive lI for lor me when I appeared This scene brought a a. big lau laugh h from the tho audience in the theatre where I saw the picture but hut not so much as a snicker from me mc Bangs cuts bruises broken bones and other calamities are aie common oc occurrences oe- oe I at It the thc Vim Im studies In Jack Jack- sonville Sometimes It is a premature explosion a 3 falling box hOx or bruises and cuts received from a hard fall and still wo vo show up for work every da day for more althou although h we dont don't know why There Is some strange e fascination Inthe inthe In Inthe the work nt at that We Wo enjoy getting together ether and discussing how the scenes arc to be taken In lii planning the they seem all nIl rl right ht but when it comes to the entirely making It is a different story ston They hardly ever er are taken the way thc they are aro planned Some Somo new Idea II is I thought of or on the spur 0 of the moment that will help to add a n little humor to tho the situation and the scene Is changed chang to suit tho the new Idea After Arter viewing man many escapes I had in one of our comedies at a Jacksonville 1 theatre I walked out into tho the lobby lobb r A young woman wom came mc up to me rne and said Oh Mr Ir Ruge fluge you certainly do have havo the cas easy life Nothing Noth oth othIn In ing to do but to tu think up funny tricks to make the tho audience laugh ugh and with the aid of or trick photography you 1 do douch such uch funn funny things that would really look dangerous if wo we didn't know the they were ere fn fake e. e feel fecI awful guilty 1 when you rou go So to collect your salary y dont don't you ou Oh yes I r replied very er gulf guilty 1 This ju Just t goes to show for an nn example example exam exam- pie how th the tho public look Iok upon the tho come como than dian A man who is fortunate enough to be In motion pictures to do some sonio funny tricks be aided b by trick photography photography photography pho pho- that makes sorno scenes look really dangerous erous and draw a n hi big sal sal- hr ary I am sure however that If r the tho thet t Public could but bul chan change e places with us 2 for one or el two taso days as the they would entirely en en- chan change e their opinion about the tho theT T CC easy mode of living for tho the a abused comedian When Kathlyn Williams entered the the other morning the sun was shining brightly A few tew hours j later liu Williams her work worle completed for tile the da day started for tho the main entrance TILe The sun Bun was still shining as lS she sho crossed d the tho yard ard and entered tho long corridor that threads tho a u e j Aa 9 s Sue she reached th the tho front frunt entrance she he was astonished to find that It was w pourIng pour- pour I In Ing rain Being in a hurry Miss Williams Will Will- lams iams borrowed an umbrella and plunged cd 1 Into Into a n made home-made rainstorm ml DIrector Di Director DI- DI rector W. W D D. D Taylor Talor who had charge of ot the set lut Jut out a shriek o of protest but It W ivas g too lat late as Miss Williams was wa already In the picture Then rt r Tay ra t lor ordered the tho scene painter r to prepare prepare pre lIre pare a sign reading Keep Off Oft the be Rain Itale |