Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1883-08-23
THE HAIR WON BY ACTORS.
Gossip About Feoh.,r, Booth aud Rose
Ooghlan.

A wig-maker's shop is curious
place. The heads of hair and boards
that hang up in glass cases have more
interest than ordinary shopwarcs, and
the customers that drop in are almost
always sure to have odd traits of char
acter. ''You might almost fancy that
n wig has intelligence under it," said
Mr.. Hellmer, of Hcllmer d Gluth.
whose shop is near Wallacks old thea
ter. He took down from q shelf box
full of wigs, which looked like SO MANY
human heads. TO demonstrate what a
complete transformation is made by q
wig, he put one with long white hair on
his head and hung a flowing gray beard
on his chin. 1t gave him the appear
ance of Rip Van Winkle after he has
taken his long sleep, or of King Lear.
Then he put on black wig with long
black hair, ragged and forked at the
ends, which gave him Il fierce aspects;
the beard was long, sweeping almost to
| his waist.
"This would do for weird enchant-
er," said the wig-makcr, ''or for vii
famous jew"
| AS he took out one wig after another
from the box. Mr.. Helmer was trans
formed into sleek millionaire with q
shiny bald head, an English Squire,
man about town, grisly and rugged
| person suggestive of mick o. the
Woods" foolish boy and an Irishman
with coarse. red hair that might pass
| for ''Pat' Rooney. Another box con-
tanned wigs for women. There were
yellow wigs to make the wearer look
youthful and blooming on the stage,
and wigs with crisp black hair, suitable
for the sparkle and dash of French
adventures. The cap TO which the
hair is attached is made to resemble the
color of flesh, and comes we'll down on
the forehead.
''How is the cap made to correspond
with the color of the faceph asked the
reporter.
1.-THE face is made mp to correspond
with the wig" was the reply.
''Do actors usually wear wig on the
stage?"
''Some of the parts they play with
their own hair, but usually they have a
wig for each character in their reper-
tory, rs they wish to change their APP
pearance each time they assume
part.
"Are boards worn in the same man.
ner rs wigs?"
"Fechter would never wear n beard
on his chin. He always had his beard
made up each evening when he appear
cd in character requiring beard on his
face"
"How was this done?"
81 went to the theater and pasted sim
gle hairs on his face with spirit gum.
A beard made in this manner looks very
much like natural beard. George Ed
gar was also very particular about his
stage beard. When he played some of
his stage characters his beard was also
made every nihgt."
The wigmaker pointed to n collection
of photographs hanging on the wall;
among them were those of Rignold, Kate
Claxton, Clara Morris, Rose Coghlan
and Mrs. John Wood.
"Thcy all have wigs on" he said,
"although you would not think it.
docs Rose Coghlan always wear
wig?"
"Sometimes she appears with her own
hair. The Lady TeaZ,e wig, which she
wore on the night that Wallack's new
theater was opened, was the most ex-
pensive | have ever made for that char
acter. One of Clara Morris wigs cost
$3.50"
''Do actors frequently require the SER
vices of the hair-dresscr?n
"Some of them have their hair-dress-
er every night. Aimee was one of the
most fastidious actresses that / have
ever served. She always wore false
hair, and never wanted it dressed twice
in the same fashion. When Offenbach
was here in 1876, he had his hair dress
ed every time he appeared in public.
But wigs are made now so substantial
that they do not require rs much dress
ing and attention as they did formerly.
l made the blonde wig for Charles
Fechter TO play Hamlet in. which was
severely condemned by the critics. For
my part. ! think that was the right col
or. for Danes, YOU know, are tow-hcad-
ci. Booth never wears n wig in this
character, in which he is quite right,
for he has classical head and his own
hair is becoming to the part. "-NcO
York Tribune.
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