Picture Show (Oct 1920 - Apr 1921)

Picture ShOW, March Villi, 1921. THE EXPRESSIONS OF WALTER HIERS (Special to the "Picture Show. ' ) WALTER HIERS THE SMILING COMEDIAN OF THE SCREEN WHO STANDS FOR A LEAGUE OF RATIONS IT is better to be bom lucky than rich," says the old adage, and it j^ggMHHBk^. . might be said with equal truth in these days of the cinema, "get fat and you may be famous." It was fat that made the late John Bunny, the late Smiling Bill Parsons, and Roscoe Arbttekle, popnlar star* >*» . of the screen, for though all of them certainly had acting ability, it was . their fat that helped them to be funny on the lilm. Another fat comedian who has made a great name for himself i.; Walter. Kiers, Walter is really funny, whether he is laughing or wearing that pathetic look which begets the sympathy ot his audience. A Jolly Comedian. STANDING five feet ten and a half inches in his socks and weighing over sixteen stone, Walter is one of our jolliost comedians of the stage. Being on the fat side, you can readily imagine he is generally smiling, and perhaps because this is^his natural expression, the audience laughs loudest when he is not. He began his professional career on the music-hall stage in sketches. His fate has always been farce, and he was a great acquisition to the screen when he was cast for a part in " It Pays to Advertise." Among the best Known films in which we have seen him are. "What's Your Husband Doing," .with Douglas MacLcan and Doris May; "The Fear Woman," i'i which photo-play Pauline Frederick plays the lead; Spotli<rlu Sadie," a Mac Marsh film ; " Mrs. Temple's Telegram," " An Experimental Marriage," a Constance Talmadge film; "When Doctors Disagree," "Hard Boiled," and " Bill Henry." Real Fun. MRS. TEMPLE'S TELEGRAM" is one of the finest and funniest screen plays now before the public, and although Mr. {tiers piays with those splendid stars, Mr. Bryant Washburn and Miss Wanda Hawley, he is by no means a secondary character, as the genial ev;rwilling-to-oblige-a-pal kind of fellow, which lands him from one trouble to another with bewildering rapidity. Walter plays a par^ which is perhaps unequalled in that kind of comedy. There is nothing of the slapstick comedy about Mr. Hiera, he is reahv humorous. A welcome. Surprise. The Ideal Figure. WALTER'S fatness fits him like the proverbial glove. Like many other stout stars, his great weight is in no sense unwieldy. As a matter of fact Walter is an all round athlete, but though he takes an immense amount of exercise, he cannot grow thin, and since he, receives such a good salary for being stout, he doesn't worry any more about his waistline. When you ask Walter the reason for his great girth, he will tell you with a solemn look that he considers his the ideal figure. "If the world were made up of men like myself and Mr. Arbuckle," he saj^s," there would never be any trouble. War3 would disappear, because fat men are too contented to quarrel. There would be no need for a League of Nations though there might be a necessity for a league of rations. Fat is the milk of human kindness made in the churn of laughter. I V. you want to write to uiin address your letter — WALTER HIERS, Realart Picture Corporation, 469, Filth Avenue, New York City. [Mention the " Picture Show" to ensure ait early reiity.) don't believe that any really fat man ever committed a serious crime. What did Shakespeare say ? "Yon C'assius hath a lean and hungry look," and later. "Would he were fatter." Which shows he distrusted thin men. and believe me, William of Avon knew what he was talking about. A Universal Favourite. LIKE all jovial people Walter is a great favourite with his fellow artistes of the screen. His chief recreation is aquatic sports, and h^> can often be seen on the Californian beaches indulging in his favourite pastime. He is now devoting all his working time to appearing on the screen, so we shall see him in many more laughtcr-raisincr parts. The above photograph was sent specially for readers of the Pk tciib Show, and, humorous as ever, he had signed it "'Fat '-fully yours, Walter Hiers." Suspicious. Worried. His smile. Just wondering So innocent.