COMEDY WRESTLING.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 August 1931, Page 11

COMEDY WRESTLING.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—Shades of Dan Leno! Certainly not of Hackerischmidt! The latest humorist to arrive appears to be a gentleman by the name of. Sam Burmester, introduced the other, evening, on the occasion of.the fairious music hall fiasco, chief parts played by the two “P’s,” Penscheff and Pinto, who appear to be only third rate comedians, as no decent comedian overdoes his stuff. Mr.. Burmester’s .humour is apparent in his effort to appear serious,' but lets the alleged wrestling fraternity down, badly by taking up the cudgels bn behalf of such , a pair, of stunt artists in question. Evidently outspoken remarks on the performances of these- overseas tourists have got under his hide—another proof that tickling plays a big part in the serio-comedy stuff, styled grappling. The writer would further suggest, that if New Zealand papers, instead of reporting affairs like .that of the other night as though they were real contests, would show these visitors up in their true colours, we might be spared,the yearly invasion of various Bulgarian Bugs,, Wild 'Cats, Bears, etc., who evidently find the good matured New Zealanders easy to please, and likewise easy to extract money from. He suggests that the police should have stopped the unseemly behaviour—lagree with him.. But then again, our police, as well as public, have a sense of humour. And why should the public leave if they didn’t like it? They are entitled to some form of amusement, even if they were deceived into thinking that they would witness wrestling: they saw some of that in. one or two amateur bouts, the star turns of the evening. A little comedy, eve.-, if overdone, tends to make one forget depressions, etc.

' But why not advertise these turns would be just as well pleased, as long as straighUout comedy? The public as they know—that’s where the rub comes in. The poor type of comedy offered the other night would be paid at its value, which would be unfortunate for the actors. A shilling or less will admit us to our various zoos, where we can witness the antics of animals emulated by some of these invaders, and I will say, in their favour, they make a fair job of it. I would in all seriousness suggest that it is time our papers should show up these unwelcome visitors from foreign parts, tell the public as truthfully as they can (without being libellous, if it is possible) what they are likely witness by attending these , so-called wrestling matches, thereby piitting them on' their guard against blatantly dud shows. Also, surely there is an authoritative body in the country controlling wrestling who could more or less control these fellows, by refusing to pay out good money under such circumstances. How this fraternity must smile when they realise how easy it is to get away with a “wad” in such an easy manner and we can imagine them, whe.. boarding their boat after their sojourn here, grimacing in their “ferocious” manner, with the thought uppermost in their minds, “There’s one born every minute.” In conclusion, I would remind the New Plymouth Wrestling Association, if they propose putting on any contests in future, that the performance the other night is not likely to-gain them support, and that clowns, good or bad, perform better in their natural environment, the circus ring, and are paid according to their -drawing power.—l urn, etc., KIDSTAKES.