Universal Weekly (1925-1933)

26 Universal Weekly June 13, 1925 Wanda Wiley Thrills New York With Traffic Dodging Stunts To Aid Free Milk Fund Bouts Popular Century Comedienne Stages Demonstration in Times Square and Fifth Avenue While Thousands Gasp as Advance Publicity for Big Benefit Bouts Filmed by International Newsreel. WANDA WILEY, popular star in Century Comedies, came to New York City last week on her first trip East, to be thrilled by the sights of the great metropolis. Instead, she gave New York one of the best thrills it has had in many moons, by a nervy traffic dodging exhibition, staged by her as advance publicity for a local charity. She risked her life in the crowded traffic lanes of Times Square and Fifth Avenue, while thousands gasped, in order to help the publicity campaign for the Free Milk Fund Benefit Bouts, New York's greatest charity fight of the year, which the International Newsreel Corporation filmed for special distribution in New York State. The Free Milk Fund Bouts are promoted each year by the Mayor's Committee of Women, of which Mrs. William Randolph Hearst is chairman, and the event is one of the outstanding society-sporting events of the season. The bouts just held saw the passing of the light-heavyweight world's championship from Mike McTigue to Paul Berlenbach, the principal sports upset so far in 1925. The bouts were held Decoration Day evening at the Yankee Stadium in New York and were attended by more than 50,000 fight fans and society personages. The International Newsreel Corporation made pictures of the fights for regular motion picture showing in order to swell the Milk Fund. Carl Laemmle, president of Universal, is distributing the films and contributing his share of the film rental to the Milk Fund. Distribution is limited to New York State by Federal laws concerning fight films. Miss Wiley's breath-taking stunts for the Milk Fund came about as the result of a dare. On her first day in the city she recklessly darted through the moving traffic on Broadway, and upon being cautioned, announced her lack of fear of moving automobiles, despite her recent sojourn in a Los Angeles hospital as the result of an automobile accident. She was dared to stage a traffic dodging demonstration. She accepted and it was decided to work the stunt for the benefit of the Milk Fund bouts, then several days away. Permission for the demonstration was obtained from the municipal authorities, who were only too willing to co-operate in a Safety First demonstration for crowded traffic intersections. It was planned to work the stunts to show how surely a person courts death or accident by dodging through traffic. Patrolman George A. Reynolds of Traffic Squad "B," New York police force, was assigned by Police Headquarters to assist in the demonstration. His part was to save Miss Wiley from speeding automobiles when she became trapped in the traffic. The Safety First and Milk Fund tie-up was by means of banners placed on the car in which Miss Wiley moved from point to point to stage her demonstration. The banners read: "PLAY SAFE— Make your arrangements TODAY to see the FREE MILK FUND BOUTS— Yankee Stadium— Safety First Demonstration by WANDA WILEY, Star in Century Comedies." The demonstration was staged three times in the Times Square district, and twice on Fifth Avenue, at the busiest corner in the world, Forty-second street and Fifth avenue, and at one of the busiest hours of the afternoon. In each place the demonstration lasted from fifteen to twenty minutes and drew enormous crowds. Miss Wiley entered into the spirit of the thing wholeheartedly and made her traffic dodging as life-like as possible and with the maximum of thrills. Taking her stand in the center of the street intersection, she would wait until traffic was flowing by her at a rapid rate and then would dart as if to dodge through the stream of cars to gain the sidewalk. Directly in the path of the speeding auto she would hesitate, appear to be confused, teeter on one foot, scramble around, and finally dodge back in the nick of time. Patrolman Reynolds entered into the gam* like a veteran trooper. He would dash to her assistance and drag her to safety. Miss Wiley afterwards stated that she would have been hit many times but for the quickness of the New York patrolman, and that she soon found she could rely upon him to jerk her back from beneath the wheels of the on-rushing cars. Very few of the motorists appreciated the stunt until after they saw the grinning screen star when they had missed her by inches and slowed up with grinding brakes. Several times she was trapped in extra-tricky traffic pockets, and escaped only by her quick wit and nimble feet. Once, at the Fifth Avenue and Forty-second street crossing, she actually lost her balance in the path of a Fifth Avenue Bus, bearing down with its heavy load and unable to stop suddenly. Reynolds and two other traffic officers dashed towards her. The crowd which lined the sidewalks groaned. Luck wras with her — and so was Reynolds. He lifted her to safety by the coat collar. She had to stand for a reprimand from him, however, on the subject of doing her stuff in front of buses, trucks or other heaviiy laden vehicles. Miss Wiley later admitted that the traffic at Forty-second and Fifth Avenue was almost too much for her. The demonstrations were witnessed by crowds totalling to many thousands. William Farnsworth, noted New York sports editor, in charge of the Milk Fund Bouts, asserted that Miss Wiley's volunteer stunts were of great value to the Milk Fund Committee. The New York American ran a four-column layout of pictures on the stunt, the following morning, while Miss Wiley turned back to the prosaic business of visiting the Aquarium, the Brooklyn Bridge and other exciting New York sight-seeing meccas. The traffic dodging demonstration was arranged and directed by Henry Clay Bate, assistant director of publicity for Universal.