£200 A WEEK

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 15 November 1927, Page 6

£200 A WEEK

ACTRESSES’ SALARIES ARE THEY WORTH IT? London, Oct. 8. A discussion has been going on in the columns of the “Daily Mail” concerning the high salaries paid to a small number of musical comedy actresses. Miss Isabel Jeans rightly points out that “the really enormous salaries one reads about are always connected with musical comedies or revues which are done in very large theatres, where if the show is a success the takings ar* 1 so large that the exceptional salaries are possible. “Musical comedies rely much more on stars. A ‘straight’ play can run for a year, although the public has never heard of any of the actors. I doubt whether a musical comedy could succeed without at least one famous name in the cast. In London nobody in a ‘ striaght’ play receives anything like that had to pay it.”

MISS GERTRUDE LAWRENCES VIEWS.

Miss Gertrude Lawrence, who recently returned from the United States to play in the musical comedy “Oh, Kay,” at His Majesty’s Theatre, has also given her views. Miss Lawrence believes that no one is overpaid “in this fiercely competitive world,” but she said:

“I entirely agree with the London managers who states that they cannot pay the enormpus salaries demanded by certain stars. I take this stand because the seating capacity of most Lon. don theatres is not so large as in the United States, nor are seats as dear. At the Imperial Theatre, New York, where I played in ‘ Oh, Kay,’ stalls were 5.50 dollars (£1 25.) each; so were the front balcony seats, and there was no pit.

“ Look what the popular screen stars earn! Their work is certainly not as strenuous as our is on the stage. And look what that man Tunney, the boxer, earned in less than an hour! (£200,000). I cannot agree that actresses are overpaid. “I have turned down great offers for the films because I was anxious to return to London. I slaved for many years for a meagre wage before I won success, and not a day passes but people who knew me in those difficult days write and remind me of my struggle. Success never comes easily, and when an actor or actress reaches a point where he or she can demand a large salary, you may be sure every penny of it is deserved.” MONEY WELL EARNED. In the opinion of Mr Claude Hulbert most leading actors and actresses are called upon to supply original ideas in a show in which they appear, and during rehearsals have much work to do. He said:— “Taking £lOO to £2OO a week as a fair average salary for a London stage star, I think the money is well earned. The fact that many stars are responsible for drawing a percentage of the audience to the theatre is an extra reason why they should be highly paid. Many persons go to see a show because a certain star is featured in the production, and this means added revenue to the management. THE RIGHT ACTOR. Sir Gerald du Maurier maintains that certain plays can only succeed so long as some particular actor or actress is in the cast. “Miss Marie Tempest is an example of this. Audiences drop off directly these indispensable artists aic away from a part. “It is better to pay £5O a week for the ‘right’ actor or actress for an important part than £5 a week for ‘anyone.’ Tree always held that opinion and acted on it, and so do I. Once in a certain play I insisted on having a wellknown actor to come on for two or three minutes at the end of the play, and I was told that I was made to give him more than £5O a week for doing so.