National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1882-05-13
ABOUT ACTORS.
JOHN E. OWENS AND THE BOOTHS.
Early "reminiscences Of the well.Known Comedian
John Brougham, Penle, Scott, IngersolI,
A. A. Adams, the Booths, McCul-
longh, and Others.

longh, and Others.
Meeting John OVENS tho univorsaily known nc.
tor day. asked him few questions Incident
ally about matters connected with the stage, but
only regarding the larger drama, which relates to
public life and to biography. Mr.. owens told me
that he began to play In 1872 80 that he has been
at work ms long as / have lived. He said he was q
clerk in n drug store IN Philadelphia at the corner
Of Tenth and Buttonwood streets when he became
stage-struck. "And after that" said he, al was
not safe to mix drugs. would have poisoned the
whole nelRhborhood. When tho proprietor of the
store opened the senna-box ho found "Jane
shoro" when he opened the mama box he found
n farce" owens said ho first appeared In Phila-
delpha at q thcater called the National, which
stood on the site Of the present Continental Hotel
said! 81 hear that you are going, to play five
years for these Madison Square people"
"Wen" said OWENS "many more things arc
said than man can keep up, to. As far ms know,
/ am going to play until October"
told Mr.. ovens that In the record Of old actors
he had given many n hint to novices, and men.
toned John 8, Clarke as one who wes considered
to have picked up many n point from owens.
"Are you oldGf than Joe JefTersong
"Yes; am nt least four years older"
This led to some amusing talk about women
couccalng their ages, and Owens said that tho
best women he had ever known were q little
tiers are growing up. He referred TO one lady who
had married son and several mnrringeablo
daughters, and who related that she was married
very y0ung-when she was not much more than
Gurtcen-and tho intctlocutor looking at her
wrinkles, she said; IN tell you how th9'e
come-,on my fathers side. My mother married a
very old man."
Owens Is wonderfully preserved. His eyes arc
ms dark md rich and foil Of laughter rs girls,
and his cheeks nre round and rosy. I asked him
If he liked Baltimore Ms u place of residence rs
well as New York, and he seemed little dubiouss
about answering, He sad that. while no had
spent good deal of his time among his fellow
actors, and always liked them, he thought actors
made Il mistake when they left the stage aud made
any further assumptions to being exceptional Hc
mentioned John DrOugham. "There was n man.
said he, " who had remarkable reputa ion in so
ciey. hut II was ut sacrifice, TO some extent OF
his station In the profession. was never able to
gee more of All actor in him than y bright, viva
eious man, WHO wa; pretty much the same az iin IN
playing himself for the benefit of the few insead
of for the multitude. There were about ioriy per-
sons for whose favor he played, and thosc persons
were much complimentcd but the people who
supported he theater were not so happy about H.
asked Mr. owens Il he was aware WHICH Psaie ",
Baltimore for SO many years on the corner by Bar
nv" II think.H he qa!d "thnt was nephew of REM
brandt Pealc-probaby direct descendant Of
Charles Wilson Peale the painter, who Established
the first museum in this country. The ba timore
| Peale was q curious fellow who affected great
| respect for religious things, and lie had one eye
| nearly shut and the other not very square; and
when q religious man came along he would roll
| his eyes and be very pous, and the next minute,
when he was alone with his little boy, he would
| call him very hard names"
| l told MIR. owens that once hoard Edwin For.
| rest say that John II. Scott had 80 much natural
talent that he anticipated that Scott would oustrp
q have seen Scott said Mr. Owens "There
| were three men contemporary with Forrest who
bid fair to take his raiment away. one was
scott, another wus Ingersoll nnd u third was A..
| A. Adams They were all mon good deal like
| Forrest in size aud features lio deserved much
credit for passing them al! in the race; and sup
| IL xVu n n his Rtu1iOuS habits
aud his ahsiemiousness 1t is often said about n
man that liquor killed him, when possibly with
out tho liquor he would never have been OF much
force. Occasionally an actor loses his bashfu-
ness and finds his strength with little stimula-
ton, hoqsh think i Is dGpgerMSIs M wSy. tn There =,
ways played the best II he drank nothing all day
and took little before the performance, and
added, perhaps, during the performance.
"Mr. Owens, has Booth been exaggerated by the
old man witnesses Of his acting? suppose he was
TO play at the present day beside his son, Edwin
Booti-or suppose we could bring old Booth out
of the grave and put him to play beside his son,
Edwin Booth, when Ned was in the vigor Of his
health-which would excel2'
Thinking q moment MIR. Owens said: I" / rather
think old man Booth would hold his own against
any OF these newcomers. have seen him play
though 1t is rather faint recollection to me now
lie was n small man, not much over five feet high
aud have been in the theater when lie was sur
rounded with men like John II. SCott-tall
splendid looking men-and he playing promi'
nent part in the middle of them would rather in:
spire smile but as the play proceeded he seemed
TO risO up, and they correspondingly TO sink down
until he looked to be the largest man on the stage
He owed much of his strength TO his remark able
countenancc. On that small low body he had O
large, complete head in which the lines and char
Gcter seemed to lie in chunks. He had even power
over the texture Of his skin, and his eyes weIt I,
glorious and black and would shoot fire. Hi
son, Edwin, has very fine head and the Booth
boys generally get good, large head from thei
iath0r."
"Do you remember Mrs, Booth, the mother o
"My recollection of her is that she was a ruddy
| aIn bad ltgb. .Ipnl L 1gx / mn
rocollect the color of her hair. Booth bought Q
fam north of Baltimore, and II is said that he
| thought ho was buying another farm when he go
a lawyer TO prepare the deeds, and moved his
| effects into house. where a man carried them
of. Many Of the stories told. about him are in.
yentioms or legendary. There Is one thing. about
him TINT have not seen printed. He held u
every dollar he made with tenacity. Peculiar and
eXLravagant as he was under cornin conditions
so lie brought up his family much better than
might have been expected of a man apparently SO
| careless"
"Was there not little vein of lunacy in himP'
| 81 think there was. His son, John Wilkes
| Booth, who killed President Lincoln, had that
| vein pretty strongly marked. never had much
doubt but that his insane strenk affected his de-
signs on the President. He was with me In Boston
during tho war, and his conversation at that time
three points which he stuck to down to the time OF
| the murder, Although he is dend, and died under
| these rcprehensible circumstances, l can say OF
| John Wilkes Booth that he was one of tho most
| mature boys / over knew. From his childhood
| UP nc WIS manly, HutuIeu BEOWu Ills lNiileT
| had brother in Baltimore who kept an anti
dunrian bookstore-I think at the corner of Elbow
| Lane and Calvert street. He was ono Of those
| g anky men ALSO and was now and then sending
| to Paternoster Row Tor books for some old book
| worm of Baltimore; and he was bOok-worm,
| too and was always screwing his black eyes down
at some old letter.text Booth len sou named
! Joseph, who has the business instinct. You never
see him on the stnge,. but he is very attentive
| around the box. office"
Taiking to Il. A. Buck, formerly of Cincinnati,
and now an editor in New York and Colorado, he
| said to me the day before he went TO the West:
| "The two theRters in New York which are max
ing money are WnlacE's aud the Madison Square.
The Madison Square Thealer, through It's travel
ing companies and through the money they bring
| to bear to secure TALENT Is making probably
$500 goo this year. The proprietor of that theateI
is II clergyman, or an ex. clergyman, but he has
| executive ability. You can see II In his engaging
| a man like John Owens, with whom, IL is said, he
has an engagement for five years. The theater In
New York starts the pieces and practices them
aud then travelling, companies take them ou
through the country"
Mr. Buck embarked with Haverly, the theatri
cal manager, IN tho development of mining inter
csts in Colorado, ana retains his Interest, having
| bought Hnyerly out He said:
al don't believe that Hayerly had much none!
to begin WITH and wherever he made money II
one theatcr OF play there were several Others los
, ing It,"
He said that John Mccullough would max
/ $4,000 this year.-"Gdth"
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' LANGHElMER AT LIBERTY.