We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.
Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.
SHOWMAN
"Dear W. A.:
Lord, I don't know what to tell you about myself. Why didn't you ask me about some politician?
Here is all I can remember. In the spring of 1905 at Madison Square Garden during the Horse Show, Col. Zack Mulhall brought on a few of us to put on a show. I was the roper. I stayed on as I had this stage ide?. and first appeared about May first at Union Square using a horse and a man rider in the act, went on to Hammerstein's Roof and stayed all summer. So you see I am one cat that broke in at the biggest theater and then worked down. The talk came in accidentally and I got mad when they first laughed at me and quit making the announcement for a week or so.
Went to Europe in 1906, Palace in London, and Winter Garden in Berlin.
Blanche Ring in 'The Wall Street Girl' was first musical show, opened the night the Titanic went down. Ziegfeld Roof in 1914 in the first midnight show, stayed there 67 weeks, then on the road with Tollies' for five years straight, and Roof while Tollies' was rehearsing, so was never off one night in five years. First name ever featured with Tollies,' as they billed them all alike, but this was in the '22 show, pictures 1919 and 1920. Then back with Tollies' for four years, then back with pictures, and the whole thing has been a lot of luck. I never did know what it was all about, just stumbled from one little success to another, generally through awkwardness. You were lovely and thoughtful of my daughter and you will always have a friend in Mrs. Rogers, Mary and I.
Happy New Year and all years to you and yours.
Will Rogers."
I was present at the Sixty Club the New Year's Eve that Ziegfeld first met Billie Burke— brushed his shoulder on the dance-floor as he was dancing with her— and heartily believe the story that he proposed to her that same night. Just to even things up Ziegfeld had an indirect part in my first meeting with Grace George,
192