TV Radio Mirror (Jul - Dec 1956)

Family Man (Continued from page 51) make us — I can thank working with Grandfather Weber for such craftsmanship as I may possess today. Not only as an actor," Karl laughs, "but also as a stone mason, mechanic, carpenter, gardener, house painter and paper hanger — in short, a journeyman. "In the old country," he explains, "Grandfather Weber had been an apprentice blacksmith. In America, he worked for the railroad, clearing rights of way across the Mississippi Valley. But, whatever the trade to which he turned his hand, he learned well the tools of that trade, and he valued his tools and respected them ... as I learned to do, profiting by his experience. It was a lesson I needed, because— prior to that day in the forest when the falling oak gave me my first awareness and respect for true craftsmanship— I used to prepare for a day in the timber by giving my ax a few slipshod swipes with the file and then, hacking away with a blunt blade, I'd soon conk out. . . while Grandfather, who had patiently filed and polished his blade to razor-edged perfection, would be as fresh when the sun set as he'd been when it rose. 'I let the tool jwork for me,' said Grandfather. "Grandfather talked a lot about the value of a long apprenticeship to the true artisan. He had a lot of maxims about the laborer being worthy of his hire and the job worth doing is worth doing well. He spoke often, and with respect, of 'cleareyed, clear-headed, competent men.' He liked the word competent. And he said you could always count on the honesty and dependability of 'the family man.' "Everything Grandfather said and did — above all, everything he was — has been invaluable to me. In everything I do with my hands. In everything I do professionally— stage, radio, television. But especially television, because TV is breeding a new species of performer ... a closely related species with similar work habits, interests, home lives, values and ultimate aims ... a group of actors unlike those in any other medium or in any other age. A 'new-fashioned' species which, curiously enough, functions pretty much according to the precepts which Grandfather Weber both practiced and preached." Karl points out that most of the people he works with, on TV, have put in many years of hard apprenticeship. As he himself has done: School dramatics at Cornell College in Iowa and also at the University of Iowa, to which he later transferred. His first professional job, playing Shakespearean repertory at the Old Globe Theater in Cleveland, Ohio, during the Great Lakes Exposition. (In that company — all college boys — were such later-famous actors as David Wayne, Arthur Kennedy and Sam Wanamaker.) Then, from the University of Iowa to radio in Chicago. Several years of radio, during which one of Grandfather Weber's maxims served" as both prop and spur. "We all do our best when playing Shakespeare," Karl observes. "But when the material is indifferent or downright bad . . . when, for instance, I was doing what I felt were inferior radio scripts ... it struck me that I was doing them, nevertheless, and 'any job worth doing is worth doing well' Suddenly, to do them well became more of a challenge — and a victory —than winning applause for a Shakespearean role." After radio in Chicago came New York . . and more radio, and a couple of flop plays on Broadway, and one successful play— "The Respectful Prostitute," which starred Meg Mundy. . . . More recently, before he comes .C/ • « • splash yoursel ith freshness Deodorant Cologne with APRIL SHOWERS fragrance Wrap yourself in the alluring cloud that is April Showers Cologne. It's the nicest way we know to say, "Darling! You're home!" A light-hearted splashing of April Showers makes YOU feel happy, too . . . Always fresh, and delectable. Because it contains a new kind of deodorant that eliminates body odors, releasing that springtime April Showers fragrance . . . use it tip-to-toe . . . such heavenly luxury for only ^^ y^v , 0 CHERAMY PERFUMER 69° ^»-^ <*^plus tax 71