Motion Picture Magazine (Aug 1918-Jan 1919)

mws&ssph When a Menage Becomes a Menagerie (Continued from page 65) beautiful, but this silvery Persian, with a ruff that would have made Queen Elizabeth turn a regular verdigris, was even more so*. "Caiius Brutus," explained Mr. Roberts. "We called him Caiius, for his father is Brutus, a world's champion Persian." "Have you been upstairs yet, papa?" Mrs, Roberts strained her ears. "I suppose it's all right, isn't it?" Mr. Roberts flew upstairs two steps at a time. Anyway, Theodore Roberts is lithe, alert, a splendid, straight figure and one of the handsomest men in private life ever photographed by eager photographers. "Every one of the babies is all right," he announced, as he handed me a pup that would soften the heart of anybody with a speck of feeling. "We have the little mother in the spare bedroom. It is bright and cheerful there and she knows her babies are safe." "We've eleven dogs on the place now," added Mrs. Roberts, proudly. "Will you sell most of them?" I queried. Mrs. Roberts exchanged glances with the head of the menage. He was trying to look very decided and emphatic and for once in his life failed to register the proper emotion. "We cant keep eleven dogs all the time, and 1 suppose we ought to sell at least five, pups, but Florence changes her mind about which ones we'll keep almost daily. I believe it's because she just wants to gain a little time until my heart is so wrapped up in them all that I'll do what she wants — keep the menagerie intact," he concluded ruefully. Then we settled down to his life-history, and it was uncovered that Theodore Roberts began his real career as a ship captain, for his father deeded a fine schooner to Theodore, and the your.g man felt in duty bound to try to become the "ruler of a great navee i" The vessel plied between California and Washington, and while Mr. Roberts enjoyed life at sea for a time, he soon found it irksome. There was no real home, he faced the bad storms of the Pacific Coast constantly, was in numerous hair-breadth escapes via shipwreck, and thrown among undesirable companions, rough Portuguese and American seamen who could not become congenial pals for a coiiege-bred youth. _ Yet always the young man read extensively, studied Shakespeare, acquired a large library dealing with the stage and its people, and spent his evening at the theater whenever he struck port. In 1880 Theodore Roberts finally decided that the lure of the stock company was too great to be resisted longer. He found no difficulty in getting a hearing, and not long after that played "Richelieu." He was successful from the start, traveled with Robson and Crane, of blessed memory, during 1881-82, later went again to California and had the joys of a barnstorming experience. "Just what is barnstorming?" I asked. "Stopping for one or two nights at a place, engaging anything from a barn to the city hall, or even the big dining-room of a frontier hotel — in fact, sort of storming the chief citadel of a village, see?" Mr. Roberts shook his head soberly. "There's nothing funny about it — oh, rfo ! I've seen myself walk 125 miles right up this coast — we did it in three and onehalf days and set up the scenery and played the night we arrived. We had wagons to pull the scenery about, but the cast had to walk! I've played in the early days when everything was done in r ;ality as the Motion Pictures now reproduce it — played in Reno, Carson City, at the base of Mt. Shasta, in logging camps, goldmine towns, and dear knows where I've not laid my weary head after a barnstorming tour !" "I suppose most of the cast had ;o double, didn't it?" "Yes, many did." "Are any of the rr.cmbers of aiat organization now living except yourself, Mr. Roberts?" "Oh, yes, I come across them occasionally, just a few — only a few. I hate to think of how the old boys have crossed the Divide! But there is Edwin Hclt, and I might mention Frank Hatch. We played 'Arizona,' which made a hit for years. 1 was on the stage for thirty-five years before going into pictures, so you see I had more experience than most photoplayers. I'm the oldest in point of service at the Lasky studio, too." "You were in the 'Girl ot the Golden West,' weren't you?" "Yes, Mabel van Buren and I were cast in it. Seems strange how we both drifted to Lasky afterward, doesn't it? And I did 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' in which 1 was a very wicked Legree, and traveled for many years with my dearly loved great Dane, a dog who weighed 180 pounds and who created a sensation everywhere. You know I'm a pretty tall man, six feet two, and yet that dog would stand on his hind legs and put his front paws easily on my shoulders and kiss me. I had him ten years, and it was a terrible blow to me when he died last year. He was one of the finest, truest friends I ever had in my life." Has it ever failed, I wonder? Have vou ever known a man whom dogs trusted who was not a true friend to other men? I'd stack my estimate of Theodore Roberts' kindness against anything, just from the way a male Airedale pounced on him at that very minute, sure of a warm welcome from his master. "Ask him to fetch his ball for you," whispered Mr. Roberts. "Do 30U know where yor left your ball, honey?" I queried obediently. The handsome, intelligent Airedale ran over to a window and wagged his tail like a Dutch windmill. Well, of course, you know the kind of a :ail an Airedale really has, but anyway, .e did wonderfully — considering. Ther he barked and looked at Mr. Roberts and out of the window again. "So I did, boy, so I did," nodded Mr. Roberts. "This morning I was plajdng with him, and I threw the ball over into the next garden, and we've forgotten to go back for it. Poor fellow, he cant get it for you after all." "What other pets are included in this menagerie?" I '.aughed. "I have th? most wonderful pigeons in the back garcen. Do you want to see them? Each one is as big as a large chicken — wonderful ! And we have an aviary, and some golden sardines are bubbling up that aquarium — excuse me, I rrust go and feed those children this very minute. You dont mind, do you?" Just imagine the cruel monster who shocked ycu in "The Plowgirl" dabbling c tender hand in the clear water of a rmall aquarium, while fan-tailed fish foolishly fought for food from it. 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