Show I f t A New Y Yorker at Large Lare Bv fly y GILBERT SWAN By GILBERT SWAN SWA NEW YORK July 16 16 On On the day they were burying Harry ReIchenbach ReIchen- ReIchen bach back I happened to be passing a nondescript second hand and auction auction auction tion store in lower Sixth avenue In one corner of ofa ofa a window in a pile of ot dusty mirrors minors and dishes I noticed noticed no no- no-I no a worn time-worn copy of September Septem ber Morn Remember Remember Remember Re Re- member it And Anti how shocking it was supposed to tobe tobe tobe be Well I 1 mention this because it was Harry who ho caused an entire nation to get excited over this ordinary picture picture pic plc- ture lure He had been retained by a certain picture dealer who wanted to sell more snore wares And Anc millions of copies were sold when Harry made almost everyone believe e that something naughty was being perpetrated This was to be sure one of the earlier stunts of this fabulous press agent Barnum and Reichenbach would have made a great team For Harry had a a. flair for the fantastic and bizarre in advertising and anti was prepared to stage e any sort of stunt to introduce his clients to the thc pub pub- lie lic This often involved invoked the hoodwinking hoodwinking hoodwinking hood hood- winking of many editors Harry was in fact one of ot the last of the big buncombe type of press agents What he did was often spectacular and even hilarious but a a. tr tremendous tremendous men men- dous change has come como over the publicity publicity publicity pub pub- business within the past live five years or more Broadway gents who once spent sleepless nights trying to think of schemes now resort to no film flim- They let news of the stage or screen speak for itself HseH They write writ well and half a dozen of them have been taken from their old tasks to hold down serious writing Jobs Several have ha become stage producers ers era and have presented successful plays any number are in Hollywood and others are well l known authors When the war came Harrys Harry's reputation reputation tation had reached the point where Uncle Sam let him be a press agent for tor the American forces Before he reached this status however however how how- ever Harry had participated in hi hilarIous hilarious hilarious hi- hi fakeries that have since be become become become be- be come Broadway legends There was the case of ot The Virgin of Stamboul Stam- Stam boul for Instance Harry had planted halt half a dozen mysterious Turks in a swanky hotel They re refused refused refused re- re fused at first to be seen by the press and there was much conjecture conjecture conjecture ture as to their mission Then one day admission was made that they were searching for tor a I Turkish maid known as t the e virgin of Stamboul A reward of was as offered When the newspapers had tumbled for it it announcement of the movie of that name came cameOn cameOn cameOn On another occasion a lion was discovered in a hotel room It had been jeen delivered Innocently enough in n a crate Police were called and there here was no end of excitement The papers thought it a funny tale and ind followed the many incidents until the owner was discovered to tobe tobe tobe be a certain T R. R Z nn Meanwhile the efforts to dislodge a lion ion from a midtown hotel room was proving a most whimsical novelty novelty novelty nov nov- elty 1 if not a difficult task And of course the T R R. involved was later conn connected with Tarzan of the Apes S II S 45 One might assume that such stunts would have ha caused ReIchenbach to have lave been tossed out on his ear by every editor in New York Fact was that Harry was friendly with most of them though eyed with great suspicion suspicion cion don until he reformed reformed reformed re formed Most of his Jokes were so w good that even an editor who had bitten h had d to laugh The day of the hoax type of i publicity passed however and Harry Harry Harry Har Har- ry adopted more serious methods He took on the personal publicity of many movie stars and anti even cven 1 toured with Sarah Bernhardt Harry will be remembered longest longest long long- est eat for his pranks which will wUl be told and retold for many a year I Copyright 19 1931 NEA Service Inc I |