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Show Leon Ames: old time actor BY STEVE RUDMAN The eyes are merry, yet sad. The hornrims wrapped neatly around them give him an aura of the business-like, and they come off frequently when he emphasises em-phasises a point. The voice is new, yet old. It has a resonant quality about it and its warm but stern tone permeates the largest theater or the smallest cubicle with equal force. He can puncture pretense or bombast with an acid verbal thrust that can send an audience cowering; yet, he can soothe one artistically and genuinely, and his ideas about the theater, both old and new, come from his 40 years of work in it. Although he does not look a bit over 53, Leon Ames, in Salt Lake City for the current University production of "Front Page" is a youthful 68 and in a state of semi-retirement. But he recently activated himself him-self and will play the role of Walter Burns in the Ben Hecht-Charles MacArthur play opening Oct. 2 in Pioneer Memorial Theater. The play centers around newpaper life in the 1920s. Mr. Ames decided to take the role as Burns in the University production because "I like everything every-thing about Salt Lake City and I think this is one of the great universities uni-versities in the world." "Besides," he adds, "this is one of the great plays of my time and Burns is a great character. "Front" Page is beautifully constructed con-structed and that is rare in the theater today. It is potent and the audience likes to react to it." "Front Page" will be the first in a series of University productions this season. It deals specifically with a man bent on one thing: "Get the story." While Ames will be trying to "get the story" in "Front Page," several University journalism students stu-dents were trying to get the story from Mr. Ames in an interview Thursday. , "I had a yearning to be a newspaper news-paper man myself, "Mr. Ames said jas he carefully removed the horn-rims. horn-rims. "But I got sidetracked into the theater. "Now as I look back over my career in the theater, in films and in television, I can't help but wonder won-der where we are going. 'The theater -is an enchanting medium and I don't agree that it is dead, although it seemed to grow and prosper more when I was playing in New York . Mr. Ames seemed a trifle preoccupied with "his time" and mentioned that he once starred in a George Kaufman production. "The theater was alive and vibrant vib-rant then," Ames said. "Let's see, I think there were about 70 theaters at that time and all of them had plays going. "What is there now, about 12 or 16 or 20? I really don't know, but I'm glad I'm not playing New York now. "It's not really the same theater that I started in. I really don't know where the theater is going today." Mr. Ames is definitely beyond the stage of musicals like "Hair" and "Oh, Calcutta," and he doesn't have any firm opinions about them. "I haven't seen either one of them, so I really can't make judgements." judge-ments." He does have something to say about nudity on stage, but he seems somewhat disturbed speaking about it all. "Of course, the argument is that nudity on stage is allright because be-cause it is a part of life. But so is going to the bathroom. Next I suppose they'll be doing that on stage. "I think those plays are like what the New Yorker critic said of them, 'More for the Cocktail continued on page 12 rock group, Blind Faith. Leon Ames: old style actor continued from page 1,1 part set than for the theater.' I believe be-lieve people come out of curiosity." Although Mr. Ames primarily a theater actor in the sort of old-fashioned vanishing definition that seemed to fit another time and another place, he has made some adjustments in his career, especially in the last few years, and has accepted roles in films and television. He recently completed work on "Tora, Tora, Tora" and said that its script was "one of the most delightful de-lightful ones I have every read." And he appeared somewhat surprised sur-prised by it because he feels that there is an o verall lack of quality I work being produced in the ; creative arts these days. ' "When I was starting," he said referring again tc his day' we had a number of ,xcellent men. I really don't ' iow how much of this current ,tuff will last. I also went into television, for money, of course, so now I can look back, as you might someday, and see this thing in perspective." "I think the University here is a good way to begin. It's important for an aspiring actor to learn the history of theater. But I don't think anyone can be taught how to act. My theory is that you place the actor out on a stage in front of an audience and let him make the mistakes; that's how he will learn." Mr. Ames further commented that the Repetory Theater, currently one of big mediums on campuses and in some areas of the legitimate theater, is good. m |