The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-09-27
DRAMATIC AND LYRIC
JIa 81
"reminiscences Of Fonr Old
StagerS
.vaow DR.. KANE'S SCRAP BOOK
.,,o and an Exchange OF Me
IA oS stage Names and
mo- Incidents-Dramatic Notes.

=, .be four ole stagers menione
mr. Kane = who fayors TIL
nefe' ,n with this articles the sol
II h. 1ror the others having long sine
SUI, SUI over to the great majority.
SALT LAKE. CITY, Sept. IS, 1885.
.,.or weeks of toll of body and brain !
a,nsctedIy found myself with whole
I'm 1inp's leisure, and casting aside al
@ongbts of wings, fats, P. S. and
.oou.room, as a school boy forgets his
ssoE. on a holiday. sauntered forth
-oam along the streets of the Ores
.,rt City, and to catch the cool, soft
t,asges that blew gently from the river.
i.dsv dwindled away glorious night,
.ear and starry, set in; and still l
~ondered in all the delight of leisure, a
bsppy idler. 1t was the Spring of 1861,
bsfore the war had left its sad rehec-
ions to embitter the contemplating
moments of so many OF our people.
Toward 10 o'clock, fatigued by my
ling ramble, 1 walked into the Phoenix
saloon. on st. Charles Street, to take a
little necessary refreshment and to have
sebat With Andy Parle, a genial fellow
and an unsurpassed master of hospital
itv Scarcely had raised the glass to
nv lips when in came the figure known
in wears that had fed with other years
70 the ever reeeding pRst-the figure of
ane who, like myself. was IAN old
stseer." 1t was poor Jim Charles,
Qeteran in the profession, and whose
talent, in his palmy days, was not more
admired than his amiable qualities were
esteemed. Pleasant was our mutual
recognition, and an invitation to
smile was hear lily accepted. when,
nv one of those condolences that occa-
sonally occur in life, still another ''old |
stager" joined us. 1t was Charley
Smith-no longer Charley the dashing
baau Int q little later edition of that
nr;nce of good fellows. 1t was Charley,
The lean and slippered pantaloon.
His ewes lighted up with something of
the ia fire as he found himself unex-
nectedly the third OF what had become
a Trio OF "old ST -ers." A new order
set ANDY at work, and he did his mix
ing with will for he fully participated
in our satisfaction. But tie had not
vet gone to the bottom OF its surprise
box' for last but oh! not least, at that
moment George Washington Dixon en-
tered. and the trio became quartet!
The old fourl
The pleasure of so unlocked for an
assemblage could only be equalled by
the wonder it excited by its occurrence.
It was an instance OF link in the chain S
Of events when the fortuitous out 1
maste- the intentions of calculations. {
Four old stagers, all in the "sere and
yellow leaf" full OF kind feelings to-
ward each other. All of US had seen
life under many phases and whose mem {
prizes were brimming with a thousand 6
sad, racy and merry, thus q
brown together in that snug corner in I
he Phoenix. '
First was Jim Charles, once gay, G
a>hing fellow, "the glass of fashion 2
nd mould of form" He had inst re- n
Irned from Shreveport, where he had Il
dramatic company. The "
'ar breaking out had destroyed all his q
chemes, for just then nothing but what
-as war-like could be made to pay. e,
rom his youth upwards Charles had ii
cen an actor While yet young be D
larried the divorced wife of Thomas S. W
1amblin. They had a son and a il
laughter, both OF whom were reared in c
Memphis. jim Charles was one of the v,
hrst managers of dramatic establish S;
lnent IN that city. Along with Dave d.
ASH ne conducted the theatre at the old b.
church on Washington Street He after W
ward became leading man with Lud- Il
oW q Smith, at their theatres in st. al
4ouls and New Orleans. He was very hi
much liked both as an actor q I'd a vocal d,
81: he was Irish by birth, but came to
MS country when boy, and grew up m
9 manhood in New York. While re- in
lalng In that city, and being very pop n
Jar with the young men, he formed q p;
ompany OF volunteers-the Lafayette q
IuardS - of which he was captain. d.
1hen the cruel war deranged his oN
iamatlc prospects his poverty and not hC
y VIII sent aim into the army, and his CT
"a sklll coming to his aid he went on to th
IGGIhmond as drill-sergeant with the M
alhoun Guards. He fell i'll after serv- to
lg year, and shared in several en- or
agementS and left the army. At te
richmond he formed a company COM be
Iislng Miss DeBar (sister of Benz, VIM. III
: Crisp and others. They met with gl
.uch favor. At the cessation of hostil- ev
res he returned to the scenes of his SIP
nldhood, and resided there with his tn
other until his death. th
me second of our company, in the sa
deT OF their arrival, was Charley fie
NTH When young, Charley was a t.
isendid fellow-handsome with mag ha
hcent hair and fine black eyes. He wi
IS for years scenic artist for Ludlow no
omlh and James S. Caldwell. He ar
Ways drew a fine salary, but he COM Al
TIED the common error of expecting MI
nth to be endless, and in thoughtlesS rec
o : his money melted away. On -
{ nig9t Of our unlooked-for meeting
was homeless, friendless and pennf- i.
= ; lbs wife and son had gone before.
q poor, hnd.hearted Charley was left !
ins IN this fint-hearted world. feebly asl
Donng abont on his stick as his only S
pport. Charley was a New Yorker m,