Omaha daily bee., 1886-08-09
JOE JEFFERSON, The ACTOR.
Tie Career Of Great Comedian and Pop
ular Tavnrits.
An Interesting sketch by william
Winter. The Dramatic Critic. in
Harper's Magazine

.Ipsguh Jefferson. the fourth Of q dis
tiuEushcd dramatic dynasty, was born
al Philadelphia ON February 20, 1929 The
home oi his birth Is still standing 80 the
northwest corner Of Spruce and sixth
streets He was reared by thautucM
parents and among theGtr Csl friends
aud the surrounding, Of q thCater and he
WAS EN- barkcd on ms thoatricu. career
while yet o little child. His first appear
anry upun the stage was made I'm S8b
when De was only four wears Old, al
thputCr in Washington. The negro com
cdi8n. Thomas ID Rice .lSOS-6il. once
and iCr a long time known and popular
a. Jim Grow, carried him on in Tag
ur basket and at u certain point. while
singing the sony OF Jim Grow. emp
ticd from il TINS yOunster, blaCkened ana
made mp rs d fac sImlle OF himself
who immediately struck the attitude OF
I Rice. and danced and suDE n exact lul-
tation Of the long, lank, uuraiuly hu-
morous original. -Four years later his
Lad was at the Franklin theater in New
] ORR with his parents and ne appeared
there Septem her so OF that year in q
sword combat with one Master Titus,
whom il was his business 10 dlscomilt,
| and over whom he triumphed in good
old brnvadO manner. Early III lsSs
Young Jefferson was taken 10 Chicago,
together with his hall brother Charles
Burke, and both Of thom we're there kept
in continual practice on the stage The
whole family, indeed, went wandering
in the west and south and many and
varied were the adyentur,s through
which they passed, earning precarlous
livelihood 10y the practice OF an art al
most unreCoEnized as yet IN those
regions.
During the progress of the Mexican
war, the Jetiers ons followed, IN company
with other players, in the track OF Gen
Gral Taylor army, giving performances
10 Please a military and boisterous audi
ence. Those were the roprh and wild
days Of the American prUvnclal theater.
Readers Of such records as Ludlow
Dramatic Life and Sol Smiths Remln
lscences" may therein catch impressive
Cimpses Of this period in our theatrlcal
history, and they will find il recorded
that the pioneers Of the profession IN the
", ST often had TO pursue thO /" journeys
in tlAt-bOals down the great rivers from
town 10 town, living On fish and BIRDS,
sometimes shooting wild animals on the
river banks; and stoT ping at intervals 10
act IN the settlements. Land Journeys
were frequently made by the poor player
il wagons or OX-catS and sometimes he
travelled on foot. Jet1ers on had expert
,noe Of al those itinerant methods, and 0
il was in the school Of hardship that he
ing. He saw General Taylor on the
banks OF the Rio Grande. he WAS suffi-
Gently near III the hattle OF Palo Alto
May s, 1S46, 10 hear the report Of the
cannon He saw the bombardment OF
Matamoras, and ne acted in that city at
the Spanish theater two nights alter the
capture Of the place " the American
forces. Al enc time in the course OF THIS
gypsy period be was SO hard up that
ne ST.. " p.n u
cation Of acting by opening coffee and
cake stall as one OF the camp folio wers
OF General Taylor. But when adyerting
to this incident, IL q talk with the present
writer, he Indicated what has been the
law Of hls life and the ecret Of his sue
cess IN All things. II sold good coffee
and good cakes he said, and the little
stall was not failure Jefferson did
not return 10 the New York stage until
1S49, when, on September 10, he came
out AT Chanfrau's National theater, act
ing Jack Rattlebottle in the play OF
Jonathan Bradiol - Here he met
Miss Margaret Loekyer, q native OF Burn
ham, Somersetshire, England, TO whom
81 b ,eeuently May ~, 1850 he WAS mar
ried. From 1919 onward he drift d
about the country for several years. At
one time he was in partnership with Mr..
John Ellsler, now q prominent manager
and admired comedian II Cleveland, and
together they took dramatic company
through the Chief cities OF the southern
states Al another time he was festled
in Philadelphia, and later in BALTIMORE.
In the latter city ne was allied with that
eminent manager, since so Intimately
associated with some OF the blighie 81 and
saidest pages of Amer can theatrical hls-
tory, Mr.. John 7. Ford; and Jefferson
WAS there the manager of the Baltimore
museum. In 1856 he made a summer
trip to Europe IN order 10 observe and
study the art OF actIng as eXemplIfed on
the stage Of London and Paris A poor
man then, but then, as always, devoted
TO his art as TO Il sacred aligion, he oould
face hardship and endure trouble and
pa for the accomplishment OF n high
purl ose; one OF the ocean voyages he
made Il the steerage OF q packet. But
all things come round to those who wait,
making ready 10 improve opportunity
when il arrives. and Jefferson : 1 me
came in good season, after much pIlva-
| tion and many disapponItments. On
August l8 1857, Laura keene opened her
theater N New York al No. 622 Broad
way and her company included Jet1er
son, who on the first night made a hit as
DR.. Pan gloss, in The Heir al Law" But
| il wns not till October Is following when
the hrs time on any stage was pre-
nted Tom Taylor's comedy Our
| American Cousin. thai Jefferson gained
his first permanent laurels, and estab-
lished himself in the juditious thought
and the popular favor of his time as "A
great comedian. This victory was oh
tanned by his mEtchless performance of.
Asa Irnehard. The piece had run
oi lao nights. Sothern was in the east as
Lord Dundreary,h and that was the be
ginning OF the almost worldwide success
! afterward gained by him, Jefferson re
/ manned al Laura Keene theater ill july,
! 1862 when the season ended Once, at
| Hobart town, IN 1asman!a, among a peo-
/ ple whom the late u, nry j. Byron used
! 10 call the Iasmaniacs, he acted Bob
| krleriy," the rustic hero al Tom Taylor s
/ play OF ''The Iieket-of-L ave Man, in
/ presence of about G000 ticket -of-leaV c
4 men, and this formida ble conoourse OF
/ canabe critics, Al first hostile, ended by
! accepting hIm with delighted aeelama-
] tiOn. Ee visited the Pacific coast of
/ South Amer ca and the lsthInus of Pana-
ma on leaving Australia, and from the
/ u Ter plnee he went directly TO IL u Ion.
where he induced Mr.. Boneicaul: 10 re-
arrange aud rewrite llle hlhy Of Rip
! Van NInkle and where he came ont.
! giving his exquisite performance of
'lap, IN September, 1861, n the Ad Ell
/ HI theater, In Mr. JelleI o. : hands, -
! wrote John Oxenford OF the London
/ Times, 1.-THE character Of Rip Van Win