St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-01-17

ARTIFICIAL DkRKIES.
Hen Who Have Won Fame aud For
tune as Imitators of the
Negro.
Charley White Tells Funny Stories
About Old and Favorite
Ministries.
Ex-Minstrels Who Sell Coal, Manage
Theaters and Practice Medi-
cine, ETC., Etc.

name on the "Wnite Slave" company'S
programme as Mr.. Charles Il. White,
who plays Old Job in BARLEY Campbell's
drama. He has to black up for it, but
of course he does no minstrel business
i'll the part.
Il think Daniel D. Emmett is the
oldest minstrel now living" said Mr..
White, as he reused his memory and
made it work diligently. "IIe is the
oldest l know of. He was born in Mount
Vernon, o.. in October, 1915. He was
one of the first men in America to put
burnt cork on his face and amuSe the
public with negro songs and the spark
ling Jokes that you can hear even now
in any well-regulated show. That was
in 1913, so you can see that the funny
artists who make pictures nowadays
about minstrel jokes eighty and 100
years old are really unjust TO our fellows.
Even before 1913 Dan Emmett had
BACKED his face and sung negro songs
10 the accompaniment of his banjo in
other companies. He has quit the stage
now and lives in Chicago.
Let me see how many of the old boys
can recOllect." Mr.. White spurred his
memory harder than before, says the
New York World. Il think there are
more than fifty of Us who are not far
from three-Sc0re years of age. I'll try
TO tell you of some of them in the order
of their ages. There's old Edwin
DeaVeS, who used TO whOOp things up
in Whites SerenaderS in the BOWery
forty years ago. He's more than sixty
five years old now. but he retired only a
few years ago. He mas two daughters
on the stage. l think l come next
on the list. I'm over sixty
six. and l gave up minstrelsy in
1882, but Eve been playing a black
part in the white Slave" company
ever since. Samuel Sandford, who lives
in Philadelphia when he is at home,
still takes his company around the coun-
try. He is another man who has passed
the siXty-SiXth milestone, but he plays
as lively as ever.
You've heard Cool White lots of
times, of course, but I'll bet you don't
know his name. OFF the stage he is
John Hodges, and just now he is super
intendent of HOoley's theater in Chi
cago, and a mighty good one, too, al
though he was born in 1921.
William ID. CorriSter, who used to
play in Whites MINISTRIES, has retired
now. L don't know where he lives.
He's another of our Sixty-siX-year-oldS
So is James Lynch, who was one of the
most popular burnt-cork men forty years
ago. He doesn'tget paid for making
Jokes any more. He runs the billiard
Md. :
Richard NJ. Hooley, 1 suppose, is
better known by name than any other
minstrel in America, except. perhaps,
Dan Bryant. He is only little more
han SiXty-five years old-quite young
fellow, you see. He began in Christy'S
MinstrelS, in 1913, but he soon branched
put in business for himself. He was
for years the manager of Hooley's Min
in
York, and now he devoteS his time al
together to the management of his thea
ter in Chicago. Andrew J. Leavitt can
point proudly to the record of forty
years or SO of minStrelsy. He's sixty
i've years old if he's a day, and he still
sticks to the business.
John Raynor is the man who first
charmed the heart of the British pub
lie with burnt-cOrk artists. He used to
be with ChriSty'S show in 1S47. In
1856 he took company called ChriSty'S
Minstrels TO England, and made such a
big hit with them that even to this day
all negro MINISTRIES over there are
known as ''ChriSty'S,n
NO MATTER WHO OWNS THE SHOW.
John gave up burnt cork years ago,
though he is only siXty-four years old
now. He has lived in Patterson. n. J.,
for long time, where he has been JUS
tice of the peace. and has filled other
honorable offices with credit and re-
nOwn.
Every BOstOnian with an ear for
good joke knows old Joe G. Trowbridge,
who for years was the great man of the
Morris Bros, Pell IL Trowbridge min
Strels. He's young man of siXty-three
now, and has retired from the stage to
settle down and take things easy in Bos-
ton.
This brings me down to Pony Moore,
Or George w. Moore, correctly speak
Ing. He's clipper youth of siXty-two,
and can tell story as good as ever.
Nowadays he shows what a humorous
fellow he is by offering to back Jake
kilrain against our own John L.. but
every one knows he's only joking He
is one OF the most successful minstrel
managers, and, although he owns other
theatrical ventures, is one of the pro-
prletorS OF Moore d BURGESS MINISTRIES
in st. James's hall, London.
Did you ever stop at John It. Hunt
ley'S hotel in Mamaronek? No? Well.
John, who doesn't look bit over forty,
used to be rOusing burnt-cork man in
Whites MINISTRIES in the BOwery forty
years ago. He's only sixty-one years
old.
"'California Bill Smith has sung ne
gro songs all over this country, but he
gave up that sort of thing years ago.
He is the proprietor of the Standard
siXty-One years old. Robert Smith-no
relation of hiS-iS year younger. He
missed the luck of the Smith family,
and although he quit minstrelsy long
ago, he is only the janitor of Brooklyn
theater. George S. Goes, who will be
sixty years old on his next birthday, has
been IN the profession forty years and
is still swineSg around the circuit
every year. His home is somewhere in
Massachusetts.
Charley Howard, another man who
is treading close to the sixties, is one of
the best masters of the African dialect
that we have. Uncle Ben Cotton is not
far from fifty-nine years old, and he
still sticks to the banjo. His tours are
chiefly in the West. He has two daugh-
tiers on the stage. Dave Reeds name
was once familiar to thousands. where
hundreds know it now. He was the
original singer of Sally Come Up
The bones are his favOrite instrument.
and he still rattles them after forty
years service. He is fifty-seven years
Old. so are Fred Wilson and John
Slvorl, who began to wear black on the
stage about the same time he did. Fred
is still In the business, but John SivOri
is now well-known physician i'm this
CITY. George WinShip is another old
Tuner. A stroke of paralysis retired
him from the stage a few years ago.
"Nell Bryrnt, L suppose, is as well
known Ill this town as anybody could
wish to be. You remember Bryant's
theater on Twenty-third street. near
Sixth avenue, where Nell held forth so
long with his blacked-up songsters. He
was one of the first players of the
French ACCORDION in this country. Billy
Birch is another name to conjure with.
Billy still lives in this city, where, with
Dave Wambold and Charley Backus. he
has delighted thousands. He is only