LAUGH-MAKING FOR A LIVING.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 26, Issue 64, 6 August 1915, Page 8

LAUGH-MAKING FOR A LIVING.

DISCUSSED BY A LAUGHTER Maker. Those who sit in the stalls and crack their sides with laughter at the funniosities—What ho ! What ho ! Toodle-oo—of a 'omeiiian, seldom think, I suppose, that to h ive to make people laugh frr a ling is a very different matter to mar.ly ;.e ing funny for the l.tn lit of one’s friends. For one thing, it is a t, t.e be somewhat of a strahi to ha c tbe funny when in reality one is .uif fering from a fit of the blues -te which, believe me, a comedian is just as liable as anyone else. And, apart from that, in however good spirits one may he, there is bound to be a certain amount of strain in keeping up a high measure of mirth—Mirth, I said 1 Be off, you boys ! My first appearance as a laughmaker was matfe at the Victoria Theatre, Bolton, where I appeared as an extra turn nearly twenty years ago. I was fortunate in making a hit right away. It was not until about six months after this that I adopted the stage name of Dunville—a name redolent of good spirits—which I have retained ever since. It was not long after I had adopted this stage name that, when performing in a certain provincial town, I happened to be introduced by a friend to the Mayor of the place. As I had been making a great success there my friend imagined that my name would probably be familiar to this worthy man, so, upon introducing us, he said, “Let me introduce you to Mr. Dunville—the Great Dunville, you know 1“ “Dunville, Dunville,” muttered the Mayor, apparently puzzling his brain as to where he had heard the name before. “Ah, to be sure ! Capital stuff ! Capital stuff ! 1 never tasted better !’’ “WHERE’S THE RASPBERRY 7” Quite early in my career I learnt by experience that a change of makeup is sure to meet with disapproval from one’s audience. From my earliest appearance* 1 favoured the red nose and baggy trousers that have since become so strictly associated with my name— I have not for years varied my costume and make-up on the stage—but on one occasion I deviated from this and was immediately greeted with loud and insistent cries of “Where’s the raspberry 7” “Ain’t he getting lazy !’’ and so on, and the audience refused to be satisfied until I had gone behind and resumed my ordinary stage appearance. The early days of a comedian, even though he wins considerable success in the provinces, are not always very rosy from a financial point of view, and laugh-making for a living is seldom a too profitable profession until the laughter-maker makes a hit in London itself.—T. B. Dunville, ij the “Leeds Mercury.”