Julius Steger (1915) 🇺🇸

Among the most popular stage stars who have recently been induced to appear before the camera, none is better known than Julius Steger, who will soon make his debut in the World Film release of The Fifth Commandment, a story replete with heart interest, based on his famous vaudeville offering of the same title with which he has scored the most remarkable success ever known in that branch of stage entertainment.

Mr. Steger’s career on the American stage has been as varied as it has been prosperous. Born in Vienna, where the light operas come from, and educated in that city, he came to New York when not more than a youth. He first attracted attention on the stage as the leading support of Marie Tempest, and since then has created the principal part in many of the most prominent musical productions on Broadway.

His last appearance in light opera he made in Victor Herbert’s It Happened in Nordland, with Lew Fields. Soon after he appeared in vaudeville as a serious actor, presenting The Fifth Commandment. This was a remarkable transition, but made so successfully that he has held a most conspicuous place among the headliners in high-class vaudeville for the past seven years.

The verdict of vaudeville audiences has been approved by the discriminating critics from New York to San Francisco. Among his several worthy contributions to the vaudeville stage. The Fifth Commandment has been singled out by editorial writers of the country as the most striking example of what a fine offering and a fine artist has done toward the elevation of modern vaudeville.

Mr. Steger is gifted with the rare dramatic talent that reaches the heart, always perfectly natural, and therefore the more impressive; and he is also the possessor of a fine voice which has long ago made him famous.

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Doings at Los Angeles.

I came North to Santa Barbara to be at that place with Mr. and Mrs. George Blaisdell and to visit the studios. The people here are the most hospitable in the world. Met all the old faces who have been recruited from the Los Angeles studios, and it was like a home coming. Mr. Blaisdell is telling about his experiences, so I will tell of mine. Harold Lockwood bought a King eight-cylinder and he said that he found out that the car will not climb a hill on the high speed with the emergency brake set. But anyway he can drive the beautiful car now.

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We stayed at the Potter hotel, one of the most beautiful in California, and the manager told me that Vivian Rich, and many other leading folks of the Flying “A” took dancing lessons at the hotel, and that they were becoming very proficient in executing some of the latest imported steps.

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The Harry Pollard Feature players returned from a trip to Los Angeles where they did scenes in a real theater, the Republic, with a full house, and the players working in the boxes. The audience liked being photographed.

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Tom Ricketts blew up a house while I was here, and it certainly was a big scene. It was for The House of a Thousand Scandals. A big mob scene added to the realistic atmosphere and the four reels ought to make quite a feature.

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George Field of the Henry Otto players entertained a few notables this week, the first being Mrs. George M. Pullman of Chicago, widow of the late builder of the cars that bear his name. Mr. John S. Field, retired Chicago ice maker, was another distinguished visitor.

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Wallace MacDonald of the Tom Ricketts company left for San Luis Obispo where he was to sing Easter Sunday at two Easter services. He was there last year and was asked to sing, which he did. and this year the request came by mail, and he answered it by going north. His baritone voice is well known to photoplayers’ everywhere.

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Lottie Pickford, working in the big serial, The Diamond from the Sky, finished work one day here at 1.30 and found that she would not have to work the next day. She left home at five minutes of 2 and made the 2.15 train for Los Angeles to visit her sister Mary, and their mother. Up here they go to town in a hurry.

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Bob Daly has been elected president of the Film Club here and is working hard on the new organization which has rented a bungalow and grounds and installed everything to make the club one of the best in the south. The members are all working with the one idea of making the club a regular place for everyone connected with the film industry here. We saw the new quarters and the club is to be congratulated.

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Now for a little Los Angeles news. Irvin S. Cobb, the noted humorist and war writer, appeared at the Trinity auditorium to lecture to his many friends and admirers. It was his only appearance on the coast. He used some war scenes to illustrate his talk which had never before been run in America.

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Again we say a word for The Clansman. Nine solid weeks. Packed. Also Hypocrites has done three weeks. every six shows a day packed. Manager Freidlander of the Majestic inaugurated the new plan at the big Majestic theater by putting on a feature. Bayard Veiller’s big play, The Fight. The first run was made at 11 o’clock Easter Sunday. The policy of the show house is to exhibit only big reels of big features.

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Thomas H. Ince has added an artist to his big staff of workers at the canyon studios. This time it is a youthful sculptor, Paul Zombardi, who came west as a poor young man to search for work with George Beban in The Sign of the Rose. He failed to get in the picture work so asked for any kind of work, and he demonstrated his ability by making a madonna, using Bessie Barriscale as his model. (The whole story sounds funny, but Kenneth O’Hara vouches for its truth.)

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Damon and Pythias are having their first showing in the city at the Alhambra theater at 15 and 25 cents. Every performance draws one of the biggest houses of the season and the picture is well received by the fans.

John Noble, directing The High Road with Miss Valli Valli starred, did one of the most gigantic scenes ever attempted in this city last Sunday. The script calls for the burning of a big factory where many girls are at work. The set selected was a real factory downtown. The scene was done just after church and you can draw your own imaginative picture of the scene that followed the fire alarm. Smoke pots aplenty, with black fumes and white puffs of exploding chemicals, 35 mounted police and 50 regulars on foot, a hook and ladder truck, a real smoking, screeching fire engine, streams of water plying on the building, and twenty girls jumping into fire nets. Real jumps, too. The mob scene was the big one too with several hundred extras, with the immense Sunday crowd as a background, Mr. Rolfe’s [B. A. Rolfe] enthusiasm is unbounded and his one motto he says’ is “More people, big scenes,” and he surely had them that day. Noble exposed 3,100 feet of film and got 81 good scenes in the day. The interior of the factory was duplicated at the studio and then fired.

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Since the birds have come and spring is here a number of new faces are to be seen at the wheels’ of fine looking motor cars. Among the latest are Lloyd Ingraham, Mutual; Harold Lockwood, American; Eddie Dillon, Mutual; Olga Gray and Tod Browning, Mutual, and George Larking of the Features Ideal is being pestered by a salesman for the Scoot Arrow or some sort of speed vessel.

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Fay Tincher is being copied. Some Oklahoma squaws saw her in a Komic picture and the exhibitor bought one of Fay’s famous contrast dresses and now the women of the Indian reservation are wearing them gleefully. Bennie Lubinville says it is not a press yarn, but he ought to be made to prove this one even if we did tell the story as he did.

Collection: Moving Picture World, April 1915