Show COHAN TELLS ABOUT AUTOS AUTO I Famous Comedian Gives Some History Regard Regard- Regarding Regarding Regard Regard-ing ing Theatre BV fly M conAS COILAN I In Xo o has had Jad moro more ef If effect on tho the theatre than the be In- In Influence Influence In Influence fluence wielded by the tho automobile the ery beginning tho motor driven was In Its very earliest the themen themen themen men and women of the theatre It a us as an aset and tra tm- tra- tra tradition tradition has It that OHr oer 01 er 25 26 sra el 3 ago a comedian end and a the tro manager were 1 QuIck to take tako adl ad of o the motor motorcars motorcars cars care and end not only pack the h- h h-atre h atre but use uso A ft reference to Rl al on tho the stage Th The occasion nas as aS brought about llY by the tha appearance In Ne New York City of a 11 man named Durica turca ho aho had an Rn tn In s he expected to travel frOlO fro n rOn NoVa 1 York to San Francisco The Tho were werl tilled with Ith Ith photographs photo photo- photographs graphs o of the man and his cn and the enterprising nager m of othe the tho Star theatre Duryea t occupy II a box boc bo at the tho performance of I the drama Paul Jam Kau Kamar ar am It was 05 a II story of the Frenc r and In the last act net the e waa as shown bhonn In ono one of the the d death nth carts eort on his way woy to the guillotine During the scene when the mob was J hooting and at the the comedian of the company turned to the audience and remarked To To bad e 13 ha ent one of Mr tr Duryea's auto auto- motors auto motors at nt the tho same time glancing g ot at Ih the box whore here the tho Inventor ft IlS as sitting Such Sucha a is 5 s one of the first If It not earliest the U earliest connection bet between en the tho automobile ind the I was not there theme but tradition has record recorded ed ad the e ent h t h w hit t I can remember hoe ever 1 ns my first sl l L of a n carriagE ord ard how It occurred to towe inc at nt once that It If I Z was as as to be con con- con considered a smart ioune oung comedian I must mike make mention of o the event In one of ot m mI mi m foke I was as as the country with my pare nd nd us IS our route took us ia through New ew York City one ono Sund I J stopped oer o 0 r e Ion long enough to call on Sr several eral frends trends One of f them lI d i i lone lonc way ny ay from the dl district of that dl div dv on fifth onI firth street and al when hen I left th the house I all w allied 1 through LOTI LOTIS rl CT square then i q puce pl of dIg dIg- dl not at all like the th trl district which bIch was as as then be- be be below low Jon ThIrty Thirty fourth fourth street As I neared the corn corner r I heard f somebody y ell ind nd I saw se ral po t running I ran too eager to see eec ee ome lome cl excitement Maybe It wi i r- r fire I thou ht or a i 1111 u away ay aay horse but neither of ot thes I tee seemed possible for 1 I noted that teril beral t eril drIers dr of o hansom a cabs 11 1 Iv ere re cli down don from their boxel boI to stand at nt their horses j bendt What hat I Is Ic it I asked a 0 man who eho ho was ass also running horseless carriage the fel- fel fellon's fellows fel fellow's lows low's going to start It up The Thc sav It belon belongs to a man from Boston Doston I had hod heard t aboLt of course cours and wis 5 ery so ao I went closer There It IL was as as looking something like a buggy shafts and sure enough nough a man 11 started d It up and oft off ho went ent up Broad Broadnay not very fast as I r remember but actually movIng without horsepower Such was as my first of an automobile and like hundreds of f other men and women of the tha the the- theatre theatre the theatre atre the tha thought that came to me meat meat meat at once was vas Can I use the ot of this new contraption In my stage work orle 2 No 0 one but the mechanically In- In Inclined In Inclined dined 1011 od the automobile d develop Into the power It has today and no one ona lIa gae e It a thought as 3 the tho subject of a II long play but all of the tho comedians of the day had a 11 few remarks to tomake tomake make about the tha horseless car car- carriage car carriage They dropped the popular phrase My ly ly girl wouldn't be satis- satis satisfIed tied satis-tied fled fIed It If she owned 0 nod tho the earth and substituted I Hm Hm I guess ou want a a horseless carriage fire sure fire laugh was to tell tella II a story about a II smart chap who tried to tomake tomake make a hit with his and ended up by having to bo be pU d home by a team or of o hors horses s and the old Cl cr Got Get a horse origInated originated mated In the tho theatre and anti Wn was hard for years along Cry ery high high- highway highway way In this country Not many seasons sons had assod howe cr before the authors of oflas las sand and the managers who pro pro- produced produced pro produced them began to realize that the automobile was as not a fad but that It was M ft quickly becom becom- becomIng becomIng becoming ing a part of American life That as v a why hy authors whoso whose plays were Iere supposed to mirror the varying of American life began to ho tae 0 Ih cried chauffeurs appear Instead ot or footmen and conch coachmen men and tho the smart characters talked about motors whilo tho the man yuan managers managers agers ord ordered red their players to dren In automobiles attire and Planned scenes In which they could run an automobile on the stage staga Unless ss I am mistaken one ono of the tho first of ot tho smarter American Amerlean comedies In which an nn automobile ns used on tho the stage wa was Clyde Fitch's The Tho Way of o the World produced about 1902 Fitch wa the tho author ot or many smart com corn comedies edies edIs In this play phy of 1 political life of which Elsie Do D Wolf Volf was the star she sho appeared on the stage in automobile attire There Ihra was waa one scene In which an electric automobile was as used Still another scene that caused a sensation oc- oc occurred occurred oc occurred In ono one ot or Lincoln J Carters Carter's melodramas when an automobile rl raced ced a railroad train and a I some some- somewhat somewhat what similar scene seene was used In inThe The Honeymoon Express one ono ot of th the first Winter Garden n spec spec- spectacles Another first appearance of tho tho motor car In a 0 play was In laMan Man an and l Superman by George Dern haw which Robert Lor- Lor Lor maine 1 played l in this country for f haw aln alwais quick to grasp a anew anew anew new theatrical situation probably greeted the automobile as a boon to the theatre I talked a great deal about automobiles In La Get Get GetRich Rich Quick one ono of I my first successes as oa a Il playwrIght anti and also there was The Tho Vander- Vander Vander blit Cup a 0 musical play built about the tho first automobile road races which elevated Elsie to when sho was 0 only 16 10 That play ran three ears and thu lews of ot tho the chorus girls In motor clothes mado more than one ona woman In the audience decide dl that she simply must have havo a II motor coat and ana cit eil ell If It not the car for tor 1 15 or 1 16 G bars leare ars ago automobiles were ore not recognized aa as household necess- necess orI I tie ties necessities Looking backward l what hat hat a Ben Sen- nation sen-nation nation Dation those first automobile plays I mode made and wh what Lt a funny tunny attitude en 0 all had towards the th motor motorcar motorCar motorcar car Today no one dresses for forthe I the tho millions but automobile automobile but oh tho the mil mu- mil mil- lion lions of yards ot or eUln that was Used In those days doys nn and the thou thou- thousands thou sands Bands of ot square feet test of glass that as was Vias t cut tut ut Into With nth the advancing ad year It was only n natural that tho th automobile should be perfect perfected l and 8 become one ono of the assets of lire lIfe And as the tho American the the- theatre theatre the theatre atre has hM always LI tried to mirror the changing phases of o our national existence It was as only natural that w we should ha haie hae e 1 plain plas la that rally hinged ed on the tho motor car not mere merl- Ily ly dragged In at t mention ot or auto auto- auto I Most of or the successful plays dealing with aith Ith automobiles hate hale ha e been I com comedies dl s largely because at nt heart the American people are a picas s loving ure I loving ure race and that while th the automobile may have Its distin- distin distinti I th ti sly ely commercial side we as oJ a whole think of or It In terms of own own- owning lug ing a II car so that tho tha family can go gotor for a II ride when the tho day days s work ork is 15 completed Se Seventeen en teen a Mry ery successful comedy based on Booth tons ton's ton tons ton's stories of the same name wasI easI as I I really an automobile play for tor the tha action hinged on the tho fact that thai the tho fellow who eho 01 owned ned a 0 car stole Billy Baxters Baxter's girl and so ended his first love affair Well V II you can t describe the automobile as DS hating ha a sense sena of humor But Dut It has hns made happy And as most of the jokes joltes of this country arrie 0 by way eay of the theatre it cnn cah bo be truthfully remarked that nf motor car has been a boon to tho world of ot the tha theatre een e en It If It did nothing else elS but 1 roldo the comedIans with the subject ct for tor n a anew anew new laugh roe For laughter Is the great stabilizer It enables us to readjust our sense alno of o lifes life's true truo proportions by letting us ua see see ou- ou oui oui selves as others othen see us r |