Chats with the Players — Arthur Mackley, of the Essanay (1913) 🇺🇸

There are thousands of persons who watch eagerly for the Western films of the Essanay Film Company, and out of all these thousands it would be difficult to find one who felt completely satisfied if Arthur Mackley failed to appear as the sheriff.

In the public mind, he has become so thoroly identified with this character that few ever think to ask his name. He’s just the sheriff — that’s all, and, when he appears on the screen, the audience settles back, with a satisfied air, knowing that a perfectly consistent and realistic bit of acting will be seen.

“Yes, I’m a little bit proud of the character of the sheriff,” he confessed. “I created it myself, as you might say, and it’s a satisfaction to know that folks like it so well. Some of our folks say they miss the applauding audiences that they used to know, but it suits me to feel that millions of good, everyday people are enjoying my work, even if I can’t hear them applaud.

“You see, I’m a pretty old fellow,” he continued, growing reminiscent. “‘Twont be so very long till I’m fifty. I was born in Scotland, and educated all over the world. For twenty-four years I was an actor and director on the regular stage; then I came to the Essanay Company, and it suits me all right. I try to put my very best work into everything I do, and I like to watch my own pictures on the screen — it’s a great study.”

Questioned about his favorite interests and amusements, Mr. Mackley smiled.

“Not very much time for amusements in this business,” he said. “I spend seven or eight hours a day between the rehearsing and the real acting. I seldom go to the regular theaters, but I’m extremely fond of music. Most of my evenings are spent in writing scenarios, but, occasionally, mv wife makes me go to some social function, and, when I do go, I always enjoy it. And just put this down: I’ve been married twenty-two years, and the most interesting thing in the world to me is my wife!

“Yes, I like outdoor life and sports,” was his answer to another question; “the mountains and the seashore both please me, and I delight in a good sea voyage. Walking and swimming are both enjoyable, and, of course, I’m a baseball enthusiast. Politics? Any party that’s honest will do.”

In appearance, he is 5 feet 8-1/2 inches tall, and weighs about 175 pounds — but why try to describe the sheriff? You all know him on the screen, and he looks and acts the same in real life.

M. P.

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Collection: Motion Picture Story Magazine, April 1913