Film Fun (Jan - Dec 1916)

KING BAGGOT. HIS CAMERA MAN AND HIS PROPERTY MAN WATCHING A NEWCOMER TRYING TO DRINK FROM THE FAMOUS " DRIBBLING GLASS." King Baggot, the Joker TT SEEMS to be fairly true that men who play comic parts on the stage are serious in their private life, and those men who play serious parts are inclined to be jolly. This is true to a considerable extent of King Baggot, leading man of the Imp Brand of Universal Films. To say that Mr. Baggot is frivolous outside of his working hours would be far from correct, as he is noted as a very level-headed and serious-minded business man. At the same time he never overlooks an opportunity to put over a laugh on some one of his friends. He indulges in this practice mostly around the Screen Club, of which he is the founder. Not far from the club there is a store where all sorts of joker's material is sold, and Baggot is a star patron of the place. A search of his pockets at almost any time would reveal some sort of mechanical contraption for fooling somebody. He has had considerable success with his famous "dribbling glass." He worked it around the Screen Club until every body in the place had fallen for it, so he changed the scene of its operation to his dressingroom at the Universal Studio. Baggot's dressing room is a very popular spot at the Universal Studio, and there is always a number of his friends visiting him. The "dribbling glass" occupies its place by the water cooler. It is an ordinary thin glass tumbler, with fancy frosted flowers on it. About an inch down from the top, hidden among the flowers, are small holes bored at intervals all around the glass. When a thirsty and unsuspecting individual endeavors to quaff a draught of the cooling water, it trickles down his chin and neck in a most peculiar manner. Few of the victims but fail to blame their own carelessness, and their efforts to hide the effects v/ith a handkerchief while away many a dull moment for Mr. Baggot. Howard Crampton, an actor in Baggot's company, has furnished said amusement several times. He fell for the dribble three times at the Screen Club before he wis made acquainted with the habits of the glass. But he wasn't looking for it in the leading man's dressing room and got properly sprinkled the first time he came in to get a drink. Howard grabbed the glass with one hand and kicked it out the window with a very able football toe, and that was the end of that "dribbling glass." But human nature is forgetful. There were plenty more glasses to be had, and on the next day Howard hurried into Baggot's room to get a drink. And history repeated itself. Why Boys Shed Teeth Richard Stanton, a Universal director, has evidently forgotten that when he was a boy the fashion in teeth was exactly the same as in the present day dental circles. A gap here and there was the rule, rather than the exception, in the mouth of every boy in the gang from the age of seven to twelve. Director Stanton had weightier things on his mind than teeth when he was trying to find a little fellow for some scenes in "Graft." He picked a fine-looking boy for the part, who promptly and most delightedly reported for work. Stanton was congratulating himself on his choice until he saw the lad laugh uproariously at a comedian. That laugh fired him. For two of his front teeth had departed, and none had yet appeared to take their place. The director sent out an S O S call for boys. Five or six were brought in. They seemed to answer all requirements until the director ordered them to open their mouths. They were all toothless Tommies. Stanton collapsed. Three more boys reported, but he refused to examine their dining-room furniture. "I haven't the heart, " he groaned. "Something tells me that there isn't a boy in California with more than five teeth to his name. Try the girls next. " So he passed up the boys and found a girl with Castled locks and put her in knickers. Suffrage in California may have its defamers, but in the second episode of "Graft" you will see a girl taking a boy's part because there was no male human being of the age of nine in California who had enough teeth to take the part. Navy Recognizes Educational Value Admiral Fletcher will have the picture of "The Nation's Peril" shown on all the training ships for its educational value. In the picture is Secretary of the Navy Daniels, with the Newport War College, Admiral Fletcher; Admiral Winslow, of the Pacific fleet ; Captain Roger Welles, Lieutenant-Commander Frank Taylor Evens and Lieutenant Ernest Durr, of the Naval Training Station at Newport; Captain Hugh Willoughby, of the Naval Aviation Corps; Captain Newton and his staff, of the U. S. S. Patterson ; Captain Fitch and staff, of the U. S. S. Yankton; Commander Watson, of the U. S. S. Utah, and Captain W. S. Sims, commandant of the torpedo flotilla. * m She Liked His Act; But, Oh! the Clothes Mrs. Jones gave her faithful cook a dime one evening and told her to go to the new picture of Chaplin around the corner. The next morning she inquired how Mandy liked the show. "Yas'm," said Mandy earnestly, "I sho' laffed at dat man's actions; but, my goodness, Miz' Jones, who am dat man's tailor?"