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Show ROBERT B. MANTELL. -1Wf ,T George M. Cohan, vaudeville ami the moving picture principally Cohan Co-han are first driving Shakespcre oil the boards. Robert B. Mantell, l'ie last of the great Shakesperean actors, 3Hdly says. Mantell ascribes Its passing to two reasons a perverted public taste and the passing of the actor in every nemo of the word. The last is partly les-ponslble les-ponslble for the first, he says. "American actors cannot play Shakespeare," he says. "They have not had tho education, the tramine. Actors are not made of the same slufl c's thirty years ago. They have nut tbp ambition, the experience, the training or the stage etiquette. "The public used to demand Shakespeare. Shakes-peare. "It would yet, had not the combination com-bination of poor Shakespearean act-I act-I ing and George M. Cohan's school per-, per-, veiled its appetite. When people ' found that they could not get good , j Shakespeare, they quit patronizing j houses playing Shakespeare. 'ihe j ; managers, naturally, changed the toll. '. "The musical comedy, with its eac- phony of rag time music, clog dance, j I siuging and general bolstcrouiu-is, j ame into bMng. The public, with the bad taste of inferior Shakespeare sllU'in its mouth, thought it liked it. T hen George M. Cohan began to crowd the board of Avon. "Vaudeville helped. A sort of refilled re-filled variety. It appealed to s."me. When they began to refine vaudeville. It appealed to more. Then came tne popular-priced moving picture. 1 he Cohan school of play acting r. is I;sh actors don't come over? Because they cant compete with Cohanim. They stay at home, where Siiawej-pear Siiawej-pear is acted and where Shakespeare is appreciated. "The legitimate and the classic drama dra-ma is In imminent danger of extinction. extinc-tion. Girls from the rank and lile cannot be lifted into Grecian theaters by New York millionaires and preserve pre-serve traditional greatness. Younq men who adopt the stage career Instead In-stead of the office because ot itt better bet-ter opportunity for well-tailored appearance ap-pearance and for grill room lobsters will never make Hamlets and Mac-beths. Mac-beths. Unless conditions cinne. iat actors and great acting w?ll become be-come as rare as the dodo. 1 fear conditions will not change. "The men and women who aspire to dramatic honors in America ate set-Un.? set-Un.? more and more incompetent. The infrequency of big plays a '.Ml ihe inefficiency of the ma'jorlty or present pres-ent day actors is terrible to cimt'Mu-I cimt'Mu-I T.te. Over 39 selected actors im-gaged im-gaged for me at the opening of this soaron had to be sent back n New I York because of their Inability to do what was required of them. "The sad part of It all wr.s n-t i';al.they lacked experience, hui that they were totally without the c? one into in-to learn and were unwilling to woik, Y-'t most of them were doubtio-i counted fairly good actors ler the p'&ys of the moment. The actor or actiess who would shine as a star Iti cr.e of Fitch's comedies, or who would bring tears In a Belascoe melu'ranu play acting was gaining ground ail tbc while. , And so It continued to gain, so that now the public halt expects ex-pects to hear Juliet lea1 the clic-m from her balcony, while Rome.) cip up andlowu the stage chucking ihe chorus girls under their respective chins. "If the American actors had given tho people the Shakespeaie thy cMipht, there would be none of this today. to-day. I wouldn't be the only Shakesperean. Shakes-perean. actor still working at the trade. You ask why more great his- o- excite roars of laughter in a George Ade play, falls mlsera'.ily by tbo wayside and becomes ridiculous w lien put to a genuine test of fcelliu "it the show business of America depends upon an examination as ti the knowledge and ability or rne big-gpst big-gpst Ananias club on earth, the mora-ie.s mora-ie.s of the 'profession' of act.n, mnc-tenths of American 'piece ot Amusement' would be dark indoUnlte- iy. "Truly, the sock and buskin is go-h'Z go-h'Z to the dogs." |