Screenland (May-Oct 1931)

114 SCREENLAND tactless people. He'd rather be tactful than President. And he boasts that he is willing to try anything once. That probably accounts for the varied roles that have been assigned to him. Al Woods, the producer, called him into his office years ago and inquired if he could sing. "I'll try," Ruggles told him. "All right, let's have a sample," was the response. He sang part of the chorus of Oh, What a Pal Was Mary, but was soon interrupted. "Don't!" the producer pleaded. "Please!" Later Ruggles was called in and given a part in the play Woods was producing. "But you didn't like my singing," he began. "That's true," Woods admitted. "But you're to read your lines — not sing 'em." He hasn't attempted vocal renditions since. But he points out that by attempting anything, you might "hit" once in awhile. Often what an actor thinks is bad, a director likes. Undershirts are taboo in his wardrobe. It started back in Leadville, Colorado. It was during his days, and nights, of "one night stands." He was learning "David Garrick" and "East Lynne" while playing "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "Camille." And his laundry failed to come back in time. Out he went in search of fresh linen. All the stores were closed, except one. Unfortunately this store carried only long red flannels. In despair Ruggles decided to purchase a suit. "But the smallest we have is size 44," the clerk told him. And he wore size 32! He bought a size 44. By employing a pair of scissors and innumerable safety pins he thought he had altered the garment successfully. But after one matinee performance he cast it aside in disgust. He has never worn an undershirt since. Being a horse fancier, he once purchased some race horses. This venture ended with the sudden illness of one of his prize mares, Goldbar, through bad treatment by a drunken trainer. Days and nights between performances he spent at the animal's stall. Finally he sent her back to the pastures. Charlie denies, however, that they gave him all those drunken roles because he has "vet" ideas. Naturally Ruggles likes the theatre, but he attends purely from an educational angle, he explained. "The Green Pastures" is his favorite play of the past year — and the Pulitzer Prize judges have agreed with him. All kinds of sports appeal to him, though handball is the most fascinating. He is recognized as one of the outstanding handball players in the country. For several years he held the championship of the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Boxing and swimming come second with him. He is the only actor in his family; his brother Wesley Ruggles is well known as a director. Wondering where his liking of the theatre originated, Charlie decided once to investigate the family tree. The only Ruggles he could locate with theatrical connections was a man who lived during the Stuart reign. He wrote a play and had his head chopped off because of it Charles decided to stick to acting. Aviation appeals to him. The first time he flew any distance — from New York to the West Coast — he was scared to death until the nonchalance of a woman passenger put him to shame. Superstition is unknown to his nature. "Horrorscopes," palmistry, and handwriting analyses bore him. He'll confess rather shyly that he is "terribly grateful for just being alive." He expects you to think him silly for saying it. But he claims that he held the same attitude even when the breaks were not on his side. Ruggles almost had the career of a pharmacist. That was the choice of his family. At fifteen years of age he was working in his father's wholesale drug house, when a friend began to sing to him. of the glories of the footlights. He joined a stock company in Los Angeles; played there and in San Francisco. Later he joined the Oliver Morosco forces and acted split bills in Long Beach, California ; El Paso, Texas, and spots in between. His first New York appearance was in "Help Wanted." Then came "Rolling Stones," which established him with NewYork audiences. He played in "Canary Cottage" for two years, supported by Trixie Friganza, Eddie Cantor, and Thomas Meighan at various times. The Morosco Company, you'll recall, was the training school also for Bert Lytell, Lewis Stone, and others who later achieved film fame. After a fling on the road in "Hawthorne of the U. S. A.," the play that Douglas Fairbanks made famous, Ruggles came to New York to open at the Morosco Theatre in "Canary Cottage." Then he went to the Messrs. Shubert and played in the "Passing Show of 1918," and then in "Tumble Inn." He had the lead in Edgar Selwyn's "Rolling Stones," and also played for a long time in "The Tick Tock Man of Oz." With A. H. Woods he went in for a career of bedroom farces, including "The Girl in the Limousine," "Ladies' Night," "The Demi-Virgin," and "Lonely Wives." At one time he was leading man for Agnes Ayres in motion pictures, long before talkies came around. If you ever have the good luck to have luncheon with Charlie, ask him to tell you about the rabbit venture he undertook. To hear his detailed version of it is to provide yourself with enough laughs to last you a week. Briefly, he had always liked rabbits. Ordering an imported pair of Belgian hares from Wyoming, he decided to raise a few. In a few months the farm threatened to be overrun with rabbits of every color, shape and size. Ruggles, amazed at the productivity of* the one pair, discontinued the experiment when the offspring totaled 167 ! "I never cared for mob scenes," he explains. Gary Cooper looked fit as a whole string ensemble when he returned recently from his European vacation. Gary will make his next picture in the East.