MR. PERLMUTTER

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 28, 26 April 1927, Page 5

MR. PERLMUTTER

FAMOUS JEW COMEDIAN AN AORANGI PASSENGER Who has not heard of Potash and Perlmutter, Abe and Mawruss, New York Jews, men of business, lovable Hebrew characters familiar to more than a generation of theatre-goers? Better known even than Abe, of “Irish Rose” fame. Well, then, meet Alexander Carr, the original- partner in the long-established firm of P. and P. Alexander Carr, the greatest Jewish comedian of to-day, is a through passenger for Sydney by the Aorangi. He will make personal appearances on the Tivoli circuit, and will in all probability subsequently visit New Zealand. TAKEN FOR A SCOT! To begin with, Mr. Carr is not Jewish in appearance. He told the SUN representative that once in Glasgow he had been mistaken for a Scotsman. And the Scotch are usually shrewd enough. They have indeed much in common with his own race. Neither is Alexander Carr typically American. He is a citizen of the world. His speech is evidence of that fact. Born in Russia, he emigrated to America at the age of four, though his stage appearances have not been confined to that continent.

Alexander Carr’s Hebrew characterisations are as well known almost in London as they are in New York. Once returning across the Atlantic he was immensely intrigued with a couple of stories by Montague Glass in the “Saturday Evening Post.” “They are positive gems!” the comedian told A 1 Woods, the well-known manager. “These Jews are alive; they are real!” WORLD THEIR AUDIENCE The characters he referred to were Potash and Perlmutter, destined to appear before audiences, both legitimate and film, the wide world over. Alexander Carr was the original Perlmutter. Barney Bernard, his stage partner, essayed the role of Potash. The famous combination was only dissolved by the death of Bernard in 1923. Even last year Mr. Carr appeared on Broadway in a new version of the old business partnership. The film “Partners Again” twice nearly cost Carr his life. “I am no aviator,” he says, “and my partner, he was no motorist!” Pei'lmutter was something entirely new on the American stage. Potash, meek, humble, subservient, was not unknown. But the bull-necked Perlmutter, keen, energetic, ready to grasp every opportunity (as represented by Alexander Carr) was a novel stage Jew. “Potash and Perlmutter” was emblazoned on the Broadway white lights for over two years. Mr. Carr has collaborated with Montague Glass, and also written new versions of the old partnership. “But there was no ‘Potash and Perlmutter’ like the original production,” he remarked with genuine regret. The deft hand of Kline, the American playwright who sailed to his death in the Titanic, was gone. “ . . .Yes, yes; but I must go ashore,” said Alexander Carr after he bad posed for THE SUN photographer. Under his arm he carried his little movie camera. When he meets Mrs. Carr and their small daughter—they are coming by the Sierra —the comedian will be able to show them his film impressions of Auckland.