Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-01-04
BUsKY SONS OF SUNG.
The Kind of stuff Real Negro Ac-
tors are Made Of.
Drilled for the ssags-Thsir Pas.
sion for Dress.
phlIad.lpAl. Time.

Cceciuags WI. elEn DolltNec lule
to be the golden age of miastrelsy;
hr. Calender thinks the aggregation
bearing his name is a world beaten,
aud Mr.. Randall is of the opinion
that it is all due to the managerial
sagacity OF the Frohman brothers.
Before | went into the business,
said Mr.. Calender, strokiDg his beard
refectiyely, there wasn't a first class
troupe of colored performers in the
world
There was the Georgia party
suggested Mr.. Welsh.
Yes" replied Mr.. Calender, but
they were organized abou. that time.
| took out the first big party. and
there isn't a clever color ed minstrel in
the world to-day that has not been
under my management. | wish you
could have seen the first party / took
out Of New York. Twenty of EN-,
and such a rough looking crowd you
never saw. I'll bet there wasn't a mar
in the crowd that knew what il was
to buy and put on a new garment
Their baggage was q sight. Two
trunks would have held it all. Six
months later, however, there wasn't
a tailor in the land that could make
clothes good enough for those same
fellows.
STUFF COLoRED MINsTRELs ARE
MADE OF.
YES, since then I've had nearly all
the good ones, and the cream Of the
lot will appear at the Academy OF
Music tomorrow. Oh, they come
from all parts of the country. Billy
kersands was bootblack on the Bow
cry"
George Thompson dubbed him
Cudgo," put in Mr.. Welsh, "and for
years he was known by no other name.
Now be receives a larger salary than
any minstrel comedian in America
who is not q proprietor"
Mr.. Calender continued: BILLY
Banks was a levee hand at Wheeling
and Mcintosh was a rOustabOut on the
Mississippi; James Grace was q waiter
10 Richmond, and L. L. Brown, Of
Philadelphia, was a barber"
Brown is one OF the finest bari
tone singers in America" remarked
Mr.. Welsh. "MaplesOn offered him
500 a week and expenses for himself
and wife, to sing in opera in England
Ills present engagement prevented
him from accepting the Offer"
Wallace Kine,t the tenor, said Mr..
Calender, was a porter in a bank
Now he receives more salary than any
minstrel tenor travelling. Bob Fra.
zier was a stovedore, Ed Bowen open
ed oysters and Sam Lucas was a coach.
man. Those who were raised in the
North are in the minority, but they
are more intelligent than those who
hail from the South, many of whom
can neither read nor write. Kersands
is one of the latter, but he is as smart
as a steel trap. Salaries range from
s25 to $3.50 per week"
TRAINED FOR THE STAGE.
Speaking ofthem as performers, Mr..
Welsh, who is a minstrel of long ex-
perience, said: "ln jubilee songs and
plantation dances they are superior
TO white men, and they have the ad.
vantage of possessing natural dialects,
They have TO be taught everything
else. find them very aptpupils. Their
powers OF imitation are great. They
do not learn clog dancing easily. as
heir old fashioned, swinging style is
hard to eradicate. Then most Of
them have what we call feet with
kidneys in them, and a biz
footed nan does not learn
neat dancing easily. After months OF
work, however, | have ten who do a
first class clog. They pick up ballads
with wonderful ease, and once learned
they never forget them. No, their
natural humor is crude and coarse,
They all desire to tell gags that would
come very appropriately from white
performers, but are not suitable for
colored Ministries. / select all the
gags and sketches, and rehearse the
performers in them. No member of
the company is permitted to ring in a
joke until | have passed Judgment on
it. Like many white minstrels, they
are all anxious to tell gags and stories
that are SO long that they would
weary an audience.
GIVEN TO DRESS AND MATRIMoNY.
"0nly last week" continued the
speaker, zone Of them wanted me to
let him recite a pathetic ballad. Now,
Just imagine a colored end man re-.
citing 'Bingen on the Rhine or some
thing Of that kind OF course re.
fused to allow it. All the Jokes and
gags in use by them have been selected
on account Of their appropriateness,
aud the line Of thought in all is what
people would expect to come naturally
from oelored people. Yes, the major.
ity OF them are ambitious, and are
willing 10 take advice. Now, and then
one will make a good suggestion. |
think they are more provident than
white performers. Twenty. eight Of
them joined the Masonic Order when
we were in London. They support a
beneficial fund in the company. Half
a dozen Of the blacklist OF them mar.
ried very pretty white women in
England, and are living there with
them. They all have a strong desire
to dress"
"Y0s, that reminds me of Tom
Pease," said Mr.. Calendar. "Tom
was the most dilapidated banjo player
in the world when | picked him up in
Vicksburg. Two weeks later he came
out in white pantaloons, a red velvet
coat and a silk hat"
Mr.. Welsh resumed: "As a rule.
they are much better natured and
much easier to handle than white men.
W. have a great deal Of trouble tray-
cling with them in the South. The
people down there are fully 40 bitter
against colorvd people as they were
Immediately after the war.
THE COLOR LINE IN TEXAS.
1.-THE greatest difficulty is expert
enced in finding hotels that are
willing to board colored people. A
few nights ago the company was com
PEELED TO wait four hours for a train
at a railroad junction in Texas. The
station was a mere shed and the rain
was falling in torrents. In a few
minutes the floor Of the depot was
covered with water and the agent
marched the dripping performers to a