Motion Picture Classic (Jan-Dec 1916)

HljW #“Ham” and “Bud”! By HECTOR AMES wenty-two years ago an impudentfaced, undersized youngster m a d c his appearance in the field, over in Brooklyn, which served as a ball-ground for the boys who lived in the neighborhood. A ball-game was about to start. All that was lacking was umpire, and, since umpire-baiting was a popular form of amusement at the time, none of the youngsters present evinced the slightest desire to act in that capacity. The leader of one of the teams — a sturdy, well-built boy of twelve — spied the newcomer. Because of the latter’s size, he looked easy to lick, and so he was appointed arbiter. It was apparent from the start that the stranger was to have hard sledding. Sure enough, trouble raised its grinning head with the very first decision he was called upon to make. A youngster sliding for home was called out. With one accord, his teammates headed for the luckless umpire. The latter, however, put up a surprisingly good fight — so good, in fact, that he aroused the admiration of the BUD DUNC-VN leader of the band. The latter, wiping his shirt-sleeve across a bleeding nose, halted the attack, and declared the little lad duly elected to his gang. Now, all this is of particular interest to photoplay patrons, because the principals were none other than Lloyd V. Hamilton and Bud Duncan. And the friendship formed at that time was destined to eventually prove a powerful factor in dispelling some of the worries and woes with which this old world is afflicted. As “Ham” and “Bud,” Hamilton and Duncan are known wherever Kalem’s famous “Ham” comedies are shown. It was Hamilton who told of the manner in which he and his little chum chanced to take up Motion Picture work. Here is the story, just as he told it. “You see,” Ham began, “I suppose the law of opposites had as much to do in cementing the friendship between Bud and me as anything else — altho the bloody nose he gave me, when the gang attacked him because of a poor decision he rendered, helped considerably. “Bud is about knee-high to a grasshopper, while T am well over the sixfoot mark,” Ham continued, laughingly. “He hates what I like, and I despise what he is strong for, and so we agree perfectly. “But, to get back to our first meeting, the boys put Bud thru the usual initiation. Have you ever witnessed the sizing-up process which takes place when a new boy makes his appearance in the neighborhood ? The most merciless cross-examination ever conducted by a district attorney is mild in comparison with that of a bunch of youngsters who want to get a line on the newcomer. “Well, Bud was compelled to undergo the usual third degree. Everybody in the gang felt of his muscle and put a thousand and one questions to him. Finally, one of the boys, who proudly boasted of the fact that his father was a prize-fighter, asked Bud what his father did for a living. “ ‘My father’s a ventril ’quist ! ’ Bud replied. “Right then and there he became the envy and admiration of the crowd. Why, every one of us had ardently longed to be a ventriloquist ever since one of our number had seen one at a variety show. And now, right before us, was the son of so wonderful a person ! “Bud and I became warm friends from the start. We took bites out of the same apple, played ‘hookey’ from school together, and fought each other’s battles. Of course, with the coming of Bud the thoughts of every boy in the neighborhood turned towards matters theatrical. “Then, one day, Bud’s father gave us a couple of passes to a ‘ Jekyll and Hyde’ show. The performance impressed us both so deeply that we decided to stage it ourselves. We let the other boys know, and, before long, all arrangements had been completed to produce ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ in a cellar under the cottage in which one of our crowd lived. This chap consented to grant the use of the cellar upon condition that he be given a part. So I told him that he could be the victim who is choked by Hyde. “We charged one gunnysack or two bottles for reserved soap-box seats, and one bottle for general admission. The performance commenced when the house was filled. Now, the show would have been a grand and glorious success but for one thing. The mother of the boy I was choking came down into the cellar while this scene was taking place. She broke up the performance, to save her son ’s life ! “Altho our first histrionic attempt was more or less of a failure, Bud and I weren’t at all discouraged. The ( Forty-one )