Motion Picture Story Magazine (Feb-Jul 1912)

132 CHATS WITH THE PLAYERS opera and always attends when she is in town. She is not interested in politics, nor in baseball, but is fond of the seashore, of swimming and of walking. So, these are the main points I gathered from the one hour's talk I had with Miss Bertram, and upon leaving I shook her hand cordially, and said : "Miss Bertram, I am greatly indebted to you, not only for the many interesting facts you have given me, but for one of the most charming hours I have ever spent. I shall now tell all of the great Motion Picture public about you, and assure them, as I do you now, that they are to expect great things from you in the future." EARLE WILLIAMS, OF THE VITAGRAPH COMPANY Earle Williams, like Young Lochinvar, "came out of the West," but the similarity stops right there; for Lochinvar, as every one knows, was a bold, dashing, roistering fellow, whereas Mr. Williams is the modest, rather reticent type of gentleman. He greeted me cordially, however, when I sought him out at the big plant of the Vitagraph Company, and answered my queries with a kindly, if somewhat abbreviated courtesy. He seemed to understand that it was part of my job to ask impertinent questions, and that it would not be fair to blame me for it. There are few photoplayers who have risen in their profession as rapidly as this young man has done, for he came to the Vitagraph Company from the "regular" stage less than one year ago, and is already classed as one of the popular favorites of the Photoshow audiences. Born and educated in Sacramento, California, for a few years he shifted about in business, going from wholesale hardware to jewelry, then to photography, which is still his hobby. On every possible occasion he takes pictures — delightfully artistic ones — developing and finishing them himself, and enjoying the process as only a skilled artist can. A recent trip abroad resulted in four hundred photographs that are a treat to any one who is fortunate enough to see them. It was in New Orleans, with the Baldwin-Melville Stock Company, that Mr. Williams — then twenty-two years of age — made his first bow to the public. "How did you happen to take to acting as a career?" I asked. "Well, I needed a job," was the frank response, "and it occurred to me to try the stage. Thru my family I was familiar with its history and traditions — James Padgett, the great character actor, was my uncle — and I had haunted the theater since my childhood, tho it wras with no definite thought of becoming an actor myself." Mr. Williams was soon playing leading parts with the Baldwin-Melville Company, going from them to the James Neill Company, and later to the Grand Opera House Stock Company, of San Francisco. Then he played with such stars as Henry Miller, Margaret Anglin, Mary Mannering and Henry Uixey. A season with Rose Stahl, in "The Chorus Lady," followed, and another with "The Third Degree," in the Hudson Theater, New York. In 1911 he came to the Vitagraph Company for a summer's engagement, and there he has remained. "Yes, I like the picture work," he said. "Of course, one misses the applauding audiences, which are a great inspiration and incentive, but there are other features in the Photoplay work which make it attractive." "And now your applause comes by mail," I suggested, thinking of the many ardent epistles concerning Earle Williams which have come to the office of The Motion Picture Story Magazine since the photoplayer contest began. "Please dont discuss that," he replied, looking a trifle annoyed. "I suppose every actor gets hundreds of letters, and I'm not an exception. However," he added, brightening up, "when they contain intelligent criticism or commendation, it is helpful." Out-of-door life appeals strongly to Mr. Williams, and he loves tennis, boating and riding. As a schoolboy, he excelled in field athletics; now he is an indefatigable mountain climber, and many of his photos have been snapped from dizzy Alpine heights. He lives in New York, "just off Broadway," but declines to believe that the public would be interested in details of his life. I managed to learn, however, that he prefers the old masters of fiction to the modern novelists, and the old-fashioned, thoroly feminine type of woman to the suffraget. "Put Williams down as a heart-breaker," ordered one of his fellow players, strolling in just as my notebook was closing. "Dont let that shy and modest manner of his deceive you. He's a dangerous man!" Honestly, I'm inclined to think this statement is true. Dozens of girls have sent us poems about Earle Williams' eyes, ascribing so many different colors to them that I had fully decided to settle that question definitely when I saw the gentleman. So I looked at them all I dared, and I have to confess that the question is still in doubt. Just as I had decided that they were hazel they seemed to turn to a dark gray ; when I mentioned suffragets they grew black, but before I could make sure of that they melted off into a tawny brown. When they began to throw off purplish sparks, I gave it up in much confusion. But whatever their color, girls, they are effective, and worthy of your sonnets.