The Circus   1927   1928   1929   next   previous

The Circus Clippings 132/376

Cobina Wright, Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio, April 2, 1927.

The Circus Scenes

„From the Phonograph“

Editorial content. „Music and Musicians

      By COBINA WRIGHT,

      Famous Songstress and Society Leader.

      (Copyright, 1927, by Universal Service.)“ (...)

      „A few evenings ago I gave a small dinner party for Charles

Spencer Chaplin, that tragic-comic comedian who has

made the whole world laugh. Despite the rather melancholy

shadow which comes into his eyes, I find it as impossible

to resist his humor off the screen as it is on. The face of a poet

appears beneath a shock of almost white hair – a sad,

dreamy poet, meditating perhaps upon the futility of things.

But as suddenly as the melancholy expression covers

his face, it is banished by his irresistible impulse to make people

laugh, yet when he chooses to indulge in the general

chatter of a dinner table, he is a well-informed young man

with a great knowledge of music and literature and

a genuine love of everything that is beautiful in art and literature.

      It was only a little dinner party, including Mrs.

William K. Vanderbilt, Feodor Chaliapin, Prince Christopher

of Greece, Miss K. Wright, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Barton,

Paul and Mrs. Kochanski, Hoytie Wiborg, William Rhinelander

Stewart, Jr., George Gershwin, Pierre Luboschutz

and James Cromwell, but it was the greatest fun, for after

dinner our distinguished guests, content to find

themselves in such a small gathering, proceeded to entertain

us in hilarious fashion.

      Gershwin played delightfully, and Chaplin set the stage

for his inimitable trick with two rolls and a fork. His

stage was a bench covered with red velvet. Then he gave

an imitation of a blind man, and later gave an

inimitable take-off of Russian, Italian songs, in fact, songs

in every language, much to the delight of all of us.

      Then Kochanski, whose sense of humor is always to the

fore, gave an imitation of a man walking the tight

rope, which had everybody sitting on the edge of their seats,

fearing he would fall from his imaginary umbrella,

that he handled about over his head.

      Chaplin knows a series of sad Arabic and Turkish

melodies, which he loves. I asked where he learned them, and

he said ,From the Phonograph.‘

      Another eventful portion of the impromptu program

was contributed by Chaliapin, who sang bits of Boris, and

Mr. Luboschutz played magnificently. The success

of their entertainment was apparent in the fact that the party

didn‘t break up till after three in the morning, and even

then we were loath to let our guests depart.“

      Also in Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania,

      April 3, 1927; and Wisconsin State Journal, Madison,

      Wisconsin, April 3, 1927. The last one‘s title:

      Many Notables Present at Dinner Party for Chaplin

Redaktioneller Inhalt

     The Circus   1927   1928   1929   next   previous