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Photo by Witzel, L. A.
He reminds one of the poet Longfellow. There is the same gentle simplicity, the high idealism, the intense love of children — the poetic soul of a dreamer. Above, a portrait, center, an informal picture of him on the steps of his bungalow, and below, with his children
The Mellow Art of Aitken
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lence, kindness, deep affection and sympathy. One finds him often musing, always ready to praise a friend, yet apt to speak depreciatingly of his own attainments. Yet they have been' so multitudinous that a recital of his achievements would be like a chronology of plays past and present, and of association with almost every company nationally known in spoken and silent drama.
Mr. Aitken was born in Edinburgh, and there his first cousin, Sir Donald MacAllister, is dean of the University today. The Aitkens objected so strongly to their son's hope of a stage career that three times young Spottiswoode ran away from home. Mrs. Aitken is the direct antithesis of "Spotty," a nickname given the actor at all the studios. She came of the famous Corday family, of France, and for the past hundred years nearly every member of her family has been on the stage.
"Dont you want to try the. screen, Mrs. Aitken ?" I asked.
"No, I've no desire whatever to be a screen success. Isn't that odd? I just dote on the excitement of the stage, the traveling about, seeing new cities, new faces, endeavoring to win applause from strange audiences — to me that is exhilaration. I suppose because of my foreign ancestry I love my wine (Continued on page 106)
THERE is ripeness in an actor! The fulfilment of years of carefully garnered experiences, the mellowness which comes to old wine, old friends, old books. The ripened actor has that to give which warms the memory even as the mellowed grapejuice colors the blood. So I found Spottiswoode Aitken, one yellowish-hazy morning Crowned by "the silver livery of advis • among his household gods.
Mr. Aitken reminds one of the poet Longfellow. There is the same gentle simplicity, the high idealism, the intense love of children— and there are three of the kiddies— the poetic soul of a dreamer. I discovered him cuddling the babv to sleep with all the tenderness of a mother. Frances, the oldest, has been in pictures and is now in the screen production of Longfellow's "Evangeline." She is the picture of her . little French mother. "Spot" has seen the spotlight focussed on him many times; he is the junior, and also resembles his mother. But the cherub of the family is Shirley — a name famed on stage and screen. /i\ Spottiswoode Aitken has all the fine traits of benevo
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