CHARLES HAWTREY'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 170, 19 July 1924, Page 18

CHARLES HAWTREY'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

SUCCESS AND FAILURES ON THE STAGE AND TURF. "The Truth at Last," from Charles Hawtrey, is the title, presumably selected by Somerset Maugham, who edits these autobiographical notes, for an interesting and amusing story of the experiences of a popular comedian and actor manager who died a year ago. The writer gives a very frank statement of his life, from boyhood onward: The son of a House Master at Eton, he frankly admits that he made no progress at that famous school, and was sent to Rugby, where he was equally disinclined to study, while an adept at cricket and football, and always intensely interested in horse-.racing. His pocket money was very freely invested in bets and during the whole of his career he backed horses on a lavish scale, to the depletion of his exchequer apparently; notwithstanding some big wins. One gambling incident he narrates, in which a club acquaintance, after inviting him to dine at tho Continental, introduced him to a "Scots lawyer" and suggested a game of chemin-de-fer. Before Hawtrey got away from the company of this shady pair he had been relieved of £1200. Nevertheless, he had such faith in his luck, that, when absolutely stuck for £200 on tho eve of the production of a play, he took £25 out of the theatre receipts and went to the. New Club, where play ran high, and after an allnight sitting left at eight o'clock in the morning with £285, sufficient to satisfy his pressing creditors. In the course of this evening he saw the Jubilee Juggins win about £18,000 and lose it again, together with an additional £23,000. Mr. Haw trey's turf experiences cover many famous races, and his descriptions of these events are very graphic. He also gives personal anecdotes of celebrated trainers and jockeys, especially of Fred Archer, with whom he was intimately acquainted, and who, in his opinion, was never equalled as a rider during the thirty-six years that have elapsed since Archer's death. But public interest will centre chiefly in Mr. Hawtrey's experiences as an actor and manager. This business was quite as speculative as betting on the turf. His lirst great success was with "The Private Secretary." It was adapted by him from a ' German play, but completely reconstructed. Its first production at the Prince of Wales Theatre was only partially successful, but Hawtrey then removed the play to the Globe Theatre, and was lucky in securing W. S. Penley, at £8 a week, for the part of the Rev. Robert Spalding. The play was reduced from four to three acts, and Penley was given a more prominent place. The receipts jumped from £50 a night to £90, and closed with £050 for the week. The following week the receipts went up another £200, which was the beginning of a phenomenal run. Subsequently Hawtrey received an offer of "Charley's Aunt," on most favourable terms", but turned it down for another play called "To-day," which proved a hopeless failure. At tbe same time, Penley, who with great difficulty had raised £500 to produce "Charley's Aunt," made a fortune out of it. The book abounds in racy anecdotes and little character sketches of celebrities. It is published by Thornton Butterworth. j