The theatre of science; a volume of progress and achievement in the motion picture industry (1914)

of Science ii9 were so short and so varied that Bunny fairly jumped at the chance to enter the field which he had observed closely, and as he put it himself, "Either I must make good on the screen or else starve to death." John Bunny's twenty-five years on the stage was much like the average stage career. That he never reached stellardom may be due to lack of managerial acumen. Certain it is that many play producers in the older field would permit him to write his own contract for a starring tour in the near future, and one has stated that he would be quite willing to grant the same terms if Bunny changed his name, indicating that, apart from his fame as a photoplayer, his value is nov/ recognized. A year ago the late William Hammerstein — as was his v/ont — paid Bunny $1,000 a week to appear in monologue. The Vitagraph star was kept a second week and later was rebooked. Moreover, as Mr. Bunny has persistently been offered a far higher honorarium for a prolonged tour of vaudeville and can become a Broadway star in a play expressly written for him, and has refused all such offers, it is reasonable to suppose that he is not earning much less than the president of the United States. Such has been the result so far from the plaintive appeal of the great laughmaker made three and a half years ago, an appeal for permanent work and a surely paid salary of $40 a week. Many there are who believe that the photoplayers should not appear in person, at least not in the theatres where their artistry is revealed on the screen, yet there is nothing to indicate that such appearances in the flesh detract from the player's appeal. Bunny certainly was a compelling attraction during the in