Universal Weekly (1914-1915)

THE UN1VERS A L W E E K L Y 1 i Al. B. Christie and his Nestor conipauy put on a humorous skit which creditably upheld his title as one of the most capable of comedy directors. Alan Curtis and his Joker company put on a side show redolent with fake •'freaks". The proceeds, which showed the success of the undertaking by netting some hundreds of dollars, wTent to the aid of the Children's Hospital. Bob Leonard and Ella Hall, those two Universal favorites, put on a mystery stunt, in which Leonard hypnotized Miss Hall and, through her sub-conscious mind electriried his audience with certain selight-ofhand tricks and black magic. Francis Ford and Grace Cunard made one of the hits of the evening in a one-act sketch with Oriental setting. Seldom is there seen, except under the "big top", so stupendous an animal feature as was staged in the open arena by James Barnes, the Universale animal trainer. Accompanying him and acting as his assistant was Mrs. Barnes. And superintending it all, riding here, there and everywhere to see that all was going, as it should, giving commands, bringing order out of chaos, General Manager Isadore Bernstein, acting as grand marshal of events at the earnest solicitation of the Board of Trade and che Chamber of Commerce, rode his little white thoroughbred from the Universale -tables, happy in the thought that through his and the Universale effort was being made one of the most successful and thoroughly enjoyable events ever staged in the vicinity of Los Angeles. HAL WILSON'S CAREER. Krlair Character Actor Began Versatile Roles Early. One of the best known and most popular motion picture Eclair actors appearing before the public is Hal Wilson, the character man and assistant director of the Eclair Film Company at its Western Studios, Tucson, Arizona. Mr. Wilson numbers a period of thirty-five years as his theatrical experience, during which time he has played every character, from that of Tom, the newsboy in "The Chimes of London", to the leading character role in the famous rural play, "Way Down East". He has appeared in England and all through the continent, in Africa. Australia, and has toured both South and North America from coast t<> coast . Mr, Wilson claims as his birthplace the small town of Lowell, a few miles outside at London, England. After many years of drudgery as a boy in the mills of that town, he ran away with an itinerant circus, whose uncertain route finally left him stranded in the southern part of Australia. He was fortunate enough to secure a small stock engagement, and. nfter gaining much valuable experience, joinpd a travelling organization of players which, with a repertoire of well known productions, toured in a vaudeville sketch entitled, "A Dark Night". In this production the veteran actor played seven different characters His travels brought him to America just at the time the motion picture was becoming popular. After a short engagement with the Biograpii company he was secured as leading character man with the Vitagraph company . He remained with this company for four years, and because of his many characterizations became known as the Vitagraph "trade-mark". He was induced to leave the latter organization last summer and join the American-Eclair company at the studio at Fort Lee. When the Eclair sent a number of players to their Western studios, Mr. Wilson was picked as assistant director and leading character, man MISS MERSEREAU FINDS LOST BROTHER. Violet Mersereau, the charming Imp leading woman, came home the other night and skipped lightly down the corridor in her apartment where she lives with her widowed mother and sister, Claire. Nearing the dining-room, she stopped suddenly, for there she heard a strange noise. She knew that her mother and sister had gone out. The little actress was just about to turn and flee in terror, when a tall, handsome man stepped out and confronted her. She stood her ground . "Well, what do you want here"? she demanded. "Why, Violet, don't you know your own brother, Harry? I've cleaned up a little pile, and here I am, back", and he assumed a most melodramatic attitude. That was all. Violet just let her big brother collect her in his strong arms in real movie style; And was she glad to see him again? Ask her. He had been out West for six years and had changed in that time. They may make a film of it. "THE TREY O' HEARTS". (Continued from Page 7.) As the two gain the top of the cliff, Rose catches sight of Marrophat's car toiling upward. Thus warned, the party run for the hydraulic mining outfit. The miner swings the hydraulic nozzle directly on the machine; Alan turns on the cock. The stream hits the car like a cannon ball, carries it back several feet and over the edge of the cliff. Exit Marrophat and Jimmy for good. t Allen Curtis' Display of Poster "Art" at Hollywood Mardi Gras.