Actorviews (1923)

Melting the Ice With Miss Lynne Fontanne 199 It was the humor of an American actor, whose name I lost in the enjoyment of the yarn. She had filled a brief idle term with the traditional adventure in vaudeville. “And,” said she, “I thought that American humor surely was a superstition when I rehearsed this sketch, in which I had to say to my brother, who was about to demean himself by marrying a hard-working stenographer much too good for him : ‘Look at the portraits of your ancestors ! Think of the honor of your family !’ “We rehearsed without scenery, and in the excitement of the opening I did not look at the setting until I came to the fatal line. The actor who played my brother looked up with me. And what we saw, where the ancestral portraits should have been, were pictures of the Lord’s Supper and Christ turning the moneychangers out of the temple. As I said, ‘Look at the portraits of your ancestors,’ he said, under his breath, ‘Evidently a Jewish family.’ ” Enter on our laughter bellman bearing telegram — two telegrams, in fact. “Yours first. Read aloud what she said to you,” Miss Fontanne demanded and aloud I read : “ ‘Dual letter received. Lynn talks best on the subject of me. Use that as basis of interview. Give her my love, and tell her to remember all the nice things I told her about myself. Yours very truly — Laurette!’ ” “I don’t think I’ll let you see mine,” she said, “it’s so terribly intimate.” But she did; and it wasn’t — not so terribly. It ran : “So, my dear child, your career has led you to a twosome with A. S. No matter how you play, when you leave the interview you will find him the winner. Do