The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-25
FIFTY YEARS AN ACTOR.
Veteran Couldock Tells Some of His Ex-
periences.

va N1~S 80
periences.
From the New York Mail and Express.
I interrupted Mr.. Couldock in the
act OF completing the final details of
his first-act costume. A Acouple ofgood
cigars, furnished by the actor, put us
on easy terms.
:.When did you make your initial
, bow on the stage?'
"My first appearance occurred at
SaGler's Wells Theater, London, in
+ 1885.
"How did you happen to seek the
boards?" was the next question.
''Well, had always been extremely
fond of the theater, and had a num-
/ Der of friends who were in the pro
fession. Constant companionship
with these whetted my appetite and
made me ambitious. The consequence
was that visited good performances
as often as l could, carefully studied
| the methods of the great actors OF
that time as exhibited in their strong
est roles, and then I began to work on
my own hook. conscientiously did
good deal of it, too, because &C
quired sufficient confidence to under
go the ordeal of public appearance.
Finally my chance came, 1 was al
lowed my selection OF part, and l
, chose Othello."
"When did you come to American
"Let me see," said the old man,
meditating in cloud of smoke. cit
was in 1S49. In that year Charlotte
| Cushman visited England. 1 went to
! call upon her, and shall never forget
+ how she impressed me. The power OF
/ determination written upon her face
was wonderful. And may say here
| that I have seen no photographs or
paintings which did her justice. AS an
outcome to our interview she engaged
me for her leading support. She pos.
sessed will of iron. and the course OF
rehearsals through which we went pre-
vious to her English debut were both
exhaustive and instructive. In Oc-
tober of the same year she returned to
America. I accompanied her. and
opened at the old Broadway Theater.
The play was The Stranger, Cushman
appearing, of course, as Mrs. Haller.
When she returned to London in 1850
I declined to make the trip with her.
America had taken so complete a hold
My first heightened engagement on this
side was for four years IN the stock
company of the Walnut Street Thea
ter, Philadelphia.
"What did you think of Cushman?''
ssShe was a genius-a woman pos
sessing the expressive force OF man.
Obstacles were unknown to her, Or, at
least, so easily surmounted that they
! .-l.4
Meg Merrilies captured London by
the theater whenever she appeared.
Her makeup was a marvellous study,
and from her first entrance she swayed
the audience as readily as if she had
been some shriveled old hag with a
fairy wand who had infinite power
over them. At one moment they were
wildly applauding, the next they were
mopping the tears from their faces.
She was a woman to inspire thosewho
were acting with her, believe me-"
81 presume you appeared with all
the principal actors Of the day while
you were in England?"
ayes, I played with Macready,
Charles Kean, John Vandenhoff, Ellen
Tree, Helen Faucit, Nine. Vesttas and
many others
Chow did Macready impress your
"He was grand, and owned one OF
the most magnificent voices l ever
listened to. His power in strong dra-
matte passages was thrilling, and his
pathos .mdescribable. L never wit
messed a representation of the Lady
of Lyons,eaual to that which he and
Helen Faucit used to give. It was in
In
inch a prince, and she was an ideal
Pauline. Macready' IS Othello, Cassius,
Richard IL and Claude Melngtte prob
ab2y presented him at his lbest, al
though there were portions Of his Mac
beth which fairly took your breath
away He was always conscientious
always sincere. They tell ofihim
though I do not know this to be q
fact-that in different portions of his
plays where he was obliged TO appear
suddenly on the stage in a STRONGLY
excited condition, he would frequently
spend three or four minutes working
himself up behind the scenes before he
rushed into the presence OF the aud
ienoe."
GLOW didyou regard Helen F'aucit?'
"As almost every one else did-as a
charming artist. [ previously re
marked that, her Pauline i'm The Lady
of Lyons was exquisite. 1t was not
so fine porarsiture, however, as he,
Rosalind in Nut Ado. Her rendition
of the latter cole was one of the finest
creations ever given to thestage. She
understood the secret OF being per
fectlysnatural without being common
place, and shenever missed one parti
Gle of the poetry of Shakespeare"
"What are your favorite parts, Mr.
Couldock?"
'.They were," was the answer, mean
ingly, -~Iago, Eing Lear and two o,
three Others. Years have passed
though, since heuched any of them. n
How many times did you play
Dunstan, the miller, in Hazel Karke?'
81 played that, should say, quite
little over thousand times, and to
do that q must have Travelled nearly
6O,O miles. Somewhat ola stretch
of ground, isn't it? This travelling is
o,,o Of tho rooSt f1pocovoo ond u-oa srpe