National Republican., 1880-12-15
DEAR DEADHEADS.
A SPICY Box-oFFloE INTERVIEW.
Tribulations OF Theatre Hanager-The Way Some
Folks Try to WORK Their Way Into the
show--The Irrcpressiblc and Tena-
eious Female Correspondent.

eious Female Correspondent.
A deadhead, according to Webster, Is One who
obtains something Of commercial value without
special payment or charge; especially ono who
receives free tickets for theatres, public convey.
ances, &c." How the name originated would pug.
zle the most skillnl philologist Any number Of
plausible explanations could be suggested. The
old custom Of counting heads TO determine the
number Of an audience and the possibility that
the manager skipped the persons having free
passes probably gave origin to the term dcadhcnd.
Washington abouuds In de0dheads. A RBrvB-
IiCAN reporter invaded the lair Of nh old theatre
manager the other evening to get some inforina-
ton on the subject Of deadheads II was nearing
the hour for the curtain to rise, and themanager's
assistant was standing up before the little hole,
wicket through which the peoples money passes
into the managers locker in exchange for the
slips and checks admitting them To the theatre.
What do you call u adeadhead?" inquired the
dThats the way to begin We had better get at
that first" remarked the manager, putting his feet
upon the edge of table and skillfully balancing
his chair on Its two hind legs. Now, the legiti.
mate members Of the press VIC don't consider as
dcadheads but there nrc folks here representing
papers at every crossroad In the country, the cor.
respondent of the Bungtown Bug'e, and such. All
of them have credentials and they expect TO get
complimentary tickets Representatives oftho New
York Htrold, Tribune, and other firstclass papers
never ask for them"
Aren't there some dcadheads outside of the
newspaper dcadheads? 2" asked the reporter.
Whats the dnmnge7" interrupted nervous.
looking stranger, sticking his frowsy head through
Orchestra circle, sevcnty.fvc: dress circle fifty;
gallery, twenty-five" replied the licketseller In
rapid monotone, stamping a couple Of tickets ~.
Gimme a gallery replied the man. jerking his
"The regular deadhcnd,r resumed the manager,
"is great nuisance; You meet him everywhere.
II you ask him the time Of day, and he knows you
are a theatre man, after telling you the time he
will very gracefully nsk you for pass TO go TO the
Snd enroSnFP yo in nc M hand yd out
cigar and ask yon to smoke II you accept, he at
once bones You f9r pass to the show There aIe
them that always hand the cigar back and say,
No, thankco don't care to smoke These folks
look at the matter in the light that 1t don't cost
Give me a good seat" yelled a young man.
thrusting his head into the window.
Right next to the bass drum. enjoy music"
And the young man, having secured his seat, dis
appeared TO revel In the delightful music OF the
| bass drum,
"There is another class Of deadheads," contin
| ued the manager, "who are the most unrcnsOna-
BILE Of all These are the good nntured people, who
come mp and say, I've been buying tickets reBu
larly for long time, and think ought to be put
on the free list II a manager once gives way to
these folks he's lost. Once q dcadhead, always q
| deadhead. If you let a man in free once, he will
never pay again. He will always want to come in
"Cant you let me and my gal in for ifty ccnts?"
| inquired a specialized old lady, whose head ap.
peared at the window.
| "TiI give you seventy.fve cents"
Can't do II" replied the ticket manipulation i'm
'"Weii, s'pose III have to pay, but think It's
mighty hard on poor woman and the old lady
shelled out Of her purse $50.
| "A fellow came here the other night said the
manager nnd wanted Us to give him % fres f. , ticket
| hn'h ha ratd ta1l hn IN In no
show HIS railroad ticket and pass in" ~,
"Do you have any official dcadheadsT
| "FOr long time we gave the frclnen enfrte.
| They used to station man outside, and IL the FIRE
bells rang, no matter what was going ON on the
stage, he would rush in and give the cue: Up all
Often II created much excitement in the theatre as
people. would &c! the idea that the theatre was on
| fire. Now they don't come in free"
"What claim does the professional dead'head
make TO managerial indulgenceY'
"He has all kinds Of pleas to make. Sometimes
works on the stage or Miss So.sndso stops at my
house. or something else like that. The most trou.
blesome dca,iheads are the illegitmate press cor.
respondents"
etsT =, 49,. ,,., .',, :,
was connected with the Olympic Theatre in New
York, although we advertised in twenty ncwspa.
pers the free list wos not as large as II Is here In
given to the dramatic editor Of each paper, and
that is all the paper gets" -
| "The deadhehds are ratner pcrslsteht suggested
| the scribe.
"Wcii, yes. When Miss Mitchell was last here q
lady sent a note to her room stating that she was
| a great admirer Of Miss Mitchell, and would like
three seats for that night and II she couldn't send
| the tickets, wouldn't Miss Mitchell be kind enough
to send her the money with which to purchase
| them"
"What did Maggie do?"
| "Didnt recognize the note at ALL The lady sat
down IN the waiting.room when she sent the note
| up, and suppose she is still waiting"
"Do you have many female deadheads?'
| "Oh, yes. The female correspondents are very
tenacious. They are irrcprcssble. An old woman
| with gray corkscrew curls and a nasal twang:
| She opened the conversation by saying she had
| lost her glove and had been hunting oil around
| town. She had to stay here, she said, until Con.
| grcss met, and wanted TO know II could extend
TO her the courtesies of her house: A letter
for some tickets, the writer saying II would
send them he would write Iotta up, think
| said in my answer that Lotta had already
| been writ up and was now on top Off wave
| bigger than any At Cape May. One of the worst
| kind of deadheads is the gentemanly deadheads,
party in the evening, You are introduced TO some
very pleasant and genial gentleman, and are Just
getting to like him, when he calls yon aside and
asks for couple Of seats. Folks always intro
duce theatre man as Mr.. So-and-So, OF the -
theatre. never heard any one introduced as MT
Smith, Of the corner grocery, or Mr.. Jones, Of the
| book store. Whenever manager is introduced to
any one he is liable to be boned the next minute
| for pass"
As ut this point the rush of business at the box
| window commenced, the reporter closed his note.
book, struck the manager for couple of deadhcad
| tickets, which can always be told, as they have
the corners clipped and passed out OF the cosy
| nffi int m nf trp. Crs