Salt Lake Telegram | 1923-07-15 | Page 31 | Preacher Leaves Pulpit for Career in the Movies

Preacher- Leaves -Pulpit -j For Career in the Movies with Ann I.lMla In thr'Ulnf r.aL f'f l'nltifct F iutuiM - - -- "I ra i I " n t li a v to lcnn an actor." Tbompion inmrcij, I don't a-t haif mn h o-w a- 1 had to whm a mtn.iT, a pastor I always acting J don't Tnun li Inaincara, but In clfrln to ha pa rind ton. era ha can liim ta m a trait fit from tha llmuiimr, b'it mut clotha evary tiHrai.i in tht solemn It j which Cfmi to La ra-quirad ra-quirad of tha cloth." I "', Tha Rev. Free1 Thempeee, doing a mavla gtunt. y JACK JDHOMBTstet K gsi'ilss Witter. itoLLVWOOH, . July 14. While many clergymen view the movie asksnce. or openly denounce It as s tlemorallsfna influence, the Rev. j Tee Thompson has fnrsss.ee the I Culplt lor actors msk-up because s reasrds the screen aa a great .ehenael of ministry. . I Kleepy seiigresattons and las 'hamper of church formality, he : says, sent him to the rlWns. where, 1 In his vigorous Idiom, he la "operating "oper-ating as a flaierloti.es aa ta tas Interests of fhrlstlsalty " ThonapeoB he doesu't cars mucn for the llev.." although hss ea-tltl-d to It was a famous college athlete before he donned the rlotn. pasr of Memorial chapel la Washington, D. C. At Prlnretsa kls prowess In feot-hsll feot-hsll baseball, with the .llsrus and jawlln. In Jumping, hurdling end vaulting berams traditional lit I 1 0 ha won ell-round national Meld and track champlonehlp at Chlcsgo. later he waa pastor of the First presbyteries church at Oeldflele. I Nov., and during the war was eaap-I eaap-I lain with the A. B. F. COULD VCH MOelB, -I left tks church and entered m-vlea.-. he ys because by so doing 1 felt I could resch tea thosj-sand thosj-sand where before I wse lucky If a few huadred attended my aer. lessons of right and courage 1 have full scope for my eaerglea" ed Thompeon was Mary Pick, ford's leading ma tor a time, and It wae through the star's Instrumentality Instru-mentality that he met 'ssd msrrled Prances Martoa. famous scenario writer. In 11. Stare thea he has woa aa eavlable asms la plcturee aa a stunt man. aa well as romantic roman-tic actor, being at present costarred -Neither tha church aer the school, ae at present organised, can compete with the screes as sa Influence. eepeslally . upoa the r"Movlea set the morsle and aty'ss for youth of this country. Ask serbodr about a picture be saw a year age. end he's likely to remember remem-ber It; ask someone aSout a asr-moa asr-moa he beard laat month, and set his look of blank amssement. "I do aot mesa to preach la plcturee plc-turee In the sense of forcing a moral. mor-al. Toe obvious prsachlng hss robbed the church of much of ks power. Pulpit Christianity has become rubber stamped and through shesr monotony of repetition nss lost appeal. Many mli.lstsrs become be-come mere aanctlmonlous sutoms-tons, sutoms-tons, figuratively only wardens of beautiful edifices. , rra ci rro - "Many people attendlag. church don't herd lie teachlsga They st-tsnd st-tsnd beeauss It la cusiomsry'-most of there middle aged. Young folks, who need guldsnce through life, go to ths movieg or dsnce hslls. "After flvs yesrs of formal ministerial min-isterial service. 1 found 1 couldn't resch ths young minds I wanted to touch. In pa let. Ip and cooperatloa. go four years ago, J first entered movies as aa actor. I feel that by portraying . clean, ' decent fellows whose et niggles teach subtly the