The New York herald., 1879-02-10
STAGE REV. ARDS.
AclurS Who Have Made Fortunes and
Those Who Have Not.
HIGH PRICED HISTRIONS
Lesser Lights Bearing the Burden
of the Hard Times.

three consecutive weeks suggests the consideration
OF salaries paid the stage people in general and
sstars'' in particular. 1t is evident that while sue
cessful artists make If they do not keep. enormous
fortunes average actor is no better of than the
average clerk for what he makes up salary is lost
in expenses The chief stars here and in England
coin money fast. sothern. BOOTH Nelson. Owens,
Maggie Mitchell Chanfrau and few Others have the
cream of the business. leaving the skim milk for
managers and pretty hard tack for the minor people
The past and present seasons have been far from
profitable to majority of metropolitan managers
and ruinous to many provincial managers. put the
popular have carried harvests Of cash outside OF
New York. which place. for inscrutable reason
has proved very Golgoths to nearly every one who
bid for public favor.
A GLANCE BOOTH.
The great prosperity of Edwin Booth dates from
period the easy recollection of the present genera
theatre goers In his earlier days he had no
drawing power. and when William Stuart the veteran
manager of the Winter Garden, announced him for q
season he looked upon with unaffected wonder.
Fortune and the quick wit of Mr.. Stuart favored
Booth that year. and to the bright suggestion OF the
manager that he should play "Hamlet. be Hamlet
and look Hamlet off well the stage can fairly
be credited the sudden jump he made into public
favor From that time his star in the ascendant
In spite of his bankruptcy Edwin Booths regarded as
performance and for this check must be
given ..before Edwin can go on" The present Mrs.
Booth is a capable business managers and to her Mr.
Booth owes much. In Boston, Philadelphia and San
Francisco Edwin Booth is powerful attraction. In
Brooklyn he played an enormous engagement, clear
ing in two weeks the sum Of $25O00, which, how
ever was but little in excess of the amount dropped
in the Lyceum of this city. His last engagement in
this city was terrible blow to him and to the man
agement. His terms were $500 performance but
the receipts next to nothing. comparatively
speaking. 1t is understood that Booth declines to
play more than thirty weeks in year. At his terms
OF $500 for each performance, or including matinee
$500 week. this would give him an annual income
of 100000; but he could easily play forty weeks at
the same terms.
soTHERN RAKEs
Mr.. E. A. Sothern estimated his property year
two ago at the pleasant figure of threequarters Of
million. Real estate values have fallen some since
then, but Sothern has made money STILL His terms are
always $500 performance. unless heplays shares
and the latter specially he has had high eighty
per cent of the gross receipts An engagement made
sor him by Mr.. Harry Wall netted him. in Canada,
that extraordinary percentage, and the management
made money at that. Unlike Booth. Sothern fur
nishes the play He either owns or virtually
trolls all his specialties. and rule insists that
certain specified artists shall support him in the
principal r6ies. Although he has made much more
than $500 week. it would be. fair average for
forty five weeks in each OF the fost ten years. In
other words, he calculate definitely Sl57 500
annual income, not counting benefits, OF which he
slways has ono in each city OF his circuit, or the
large made when he elects percentage the
gross receipts. Some years ago Southern invested
largely in real estate in this city aud elsewhere in
the United States, making q mistake common in
those times. from which he not only derives
income. but on which he has to pay heavy taxes.
Occasionally Mr.. Sothern has essayed the role of
ager, but generally with Indifferent In new
plays he has found but little profit but "Our Ameri
can Cousin and "Giarrick are mines which, al
though worked necessarily for many years, give no
signs of being used up. 1t was said years ago
that the man who would write o first rate melo-
drama for Edwin Booth would make fortune for
himself and add to Booths fame well give him
monumental estate. The actor has long wanted q
play in which Napoleon the Great should figure he,
of course, to play the leading r6ie. In this respect
he differs from sothern. who mas had many plays writ
ten for him. while none was ever written Tor Booth.
Like Booth, Sothern is married. He, however, lives
III style and spends literally in entertaining. while
Booth carefully saves and puts away tor rainy day.
DAVENPORT.
In some respects Adelaide Nelson the most
Fortunate star our American heavens have seen. She
never had unsuccessful season, and made money
where other favorites dropped money. When she
first here she well heraded and sprang at
once into favor. She has made much 81 900
nightsix nights week for four consecutive weeks.
AT times she has played as low as $1,000 week but
she found no difficulty in closing contracts for fifty
two weeks in the year at $500 performance matinee
included. indeed, the Nelson matinees in New
York and Boston were always features of
the week. ladies could attend without
escorts. fact which out-of-town and sub
sons property. real and personal is valued at
SJOO.00O. which large part 10 invested in real
estate in New York and Chicago. When she was out
West the surprising growth of the country impressed
her. and she was persuaded to buy heavily of prop
critics already well balooned. The subsequent heavy
declines affected her seriously, and had it not been
Tor the kind aid OF business friends her losses would
have crippled her. Stili woman who make
$500 week. not counting benefits. of which she
averages ten annually. cannot well be disabled
pecuniarily. Miss Nelson wisely declined to pur-
chase ne plays but contened herself with utilizing
her. yfIl is m he fi4h
provinces and doing we'll. 1t is said that she
templates another visit to this country and managers
ready for her at her old time terns!S
veteran manager said recently that next to Ade-
1ade Nelson. Miss Fanny Davenport is the most val
uable star in the country. BY that he meant that
she could always command big rates and that her
managers need have no fear about her drawing abi
played in burlesquc in Hooleys Minstrel Hall in
Brooklyn, dressed In boys clothes and appealing
the pathies OF the gallery youth Her is
pot large but she has made great deal money and
is always good tor 1000 week and benefit, when
She plays In popular dramas. In roles Miss Dav
tnport does not make much money. She pur-
chased the play OF OLIVIA and with a company of
her own organizing travels over the country Dra-
matte agents say that Fanny Davenport alone is of
thc best paying stars in the list but with company
nnd her own plays. she is like many others; good
here, bad there and indifferent elsewhere.
MONEY
Mr.. John L. Owens is reputed TO be the wealthcst
shares and oftcn from $1,000 TO $4OO0 week,
exclusive OF benefits. lie has a cumulated a prop
erty estimated a, s2,oo0O0O, much OF which is the
direct outgrowth OF real estate ventures For twonty
years. however Mr.. Owens has laid away handsome
fortune annually. Like all the most successful
actors Mr.. Owens is specialist As Sothcrn has his
Dundrcary. Booth his Hamlet and jefferson his Hip
Van winkle. 50 Owens has his soion shinge. Mr..
Owens has avoided spcrulations in his and
goes on the road with companies OF his He
plays on average thirty weeks in the year. gives
his receipts for about $4,000 aud spends the rest OF
his time on his farm
JEFFERSON MAGGIE MITCHELL AND LorrA.
Although Mr.. Jefferson is delineator of one char
acter rather than actor generally understood lie
stands near the head Of the rich men in his profess
sion. He generally plays Oh shares. and makes from
$1,000 to $4,000 week for forty weeks in the year.
His terms with the Fifth Avenue Theatre manage
ment were cxtraordinary-half of every dollar that
in until $1,000 received and three
quarters of every dollar above s. ,0OJ Mr. Jefferson
has been a pecuniary fayOrite Tor many years. His
fortune Is variously estimated at from 100000 to
3l.W0O00 lie owns property in New York. New
Jersey and Louisiana, and il very careful of 10 all.
Miss Maggie Mitchell is another favoritc on whom
pecuniary fortune has long smiled. She can clear
fn sln 4 with and havinn