The New Rochelle Pioneer, March 27, 1915, carried a sketch by John William Kellette which discussed Shep and his trainer, Jack Harvey: “[In addition to his work with Shep] ‘Jack’ has done other things, directing Thanhouser pictures, for instance, which makes him a full fledged member of the ‘Laurel Wreath Association,’ and as Dewey once passed the word: ‘You may fire when ready, Gridley,’ I’m going to shoot. I’m going to tell all about this blue eyes further along in the story; the little dinky mustache that takes its four-hours-a-day training to curl symmetrical kaiserwilhelmward; his even tampered manner and enchanting voice, but the beginning must deal with Shep. [The paragraphs about Shep have been reprinted under Shep’s biography in the present volume.]
“And now to the man—the fellow with such power to exact intelligence from the animal kingdom. Harvey is an author, actor, director—which says a heap in three words. He was with the Vitagraph Company of America prior to coming to New Rochelle last summer. There he worked in pictures and on pictures. In all the dramas that required dog work Harvey was the directing spirit. Many of you who read this will remember ‘Jean, the Vitagraph Dog.’ All the good work done by Jean was at Harvey’s direction.
“He has blue eyes—the orbs of a dreamer—occasionally he’ll wrinkle his brows and almost hide them—they become slits in a dramatic setting. He’ll do that when he’s visualizing underworld stuff. He’s lived in the Avenue B section and fraternized with gunmen to get atmosphere. How he even escaped getting plugged nobody knows. He’s elbowed with ‘snowbirds’ to get suggestion for dope pictures, and he’s listened to the vernacular of Delancey street to be able to read between the lines. He knows underworld from the zero basement to the level. And he claims that the underworld is not half as black as it’s painted. Many of the things done in high life and called shrewd is done in the underworld in a crude fashion and called crooked. He doesn’t defend the ‘rough stuff’ understand. He’s an American and law abiding; but he believes there is a lot of ‘frame-up’ stuff going on with the down-and-outers.
“Then the eyes will be those of a joy-filled youth. They’ll shine and flash. A smile plays around his mouth and Jack is at peace with the world. He lives through everything he directs. You won’t have to watch the actors before the camera. Watch Harvey. His movements will show you what the cast is doing. In private life Harvey is a fine fellow. He belongs to the Screen Club, New York City, and spends much time there at night with his pals. He’s as straight as a string, else they wouldn’t accept his dues. He’s a good mixer and a hustler. The only regret is that he doesn’t live in New Rochelle. He may yet; after he finds that New York life is humdrum—the same thing over and over. After we get him to spend a couple of nights in ‘The City Beautiful,’ when he can wake up in the morning and hear the earth breathe, and listen to the grass growing, the flowers talking to the birds and experience in that peace that could never be found in ‘Busyville,’ he may wonder why he never took up a residence here. We’ll get him yet. Just watch. Now, take another look at that photo. Don’t be afraid to say ‘Howdy’ when you pass him on the street.”
