New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-03-17
LESTER WALLACK.
rHEArR1cAL TRAITS AND ANECDOTES.

Illustrated with seyentyfour ,I portPrS PES DID, 100
| 49, SMILES Printed at the De Flhhe if'00 Pr
Charles Scribners Sons.
The custom of writing autobiography no'
| one TO be much commended eef'esI S. .lIu
| If vanity mingles with almost every puDho FORM
Of artistic expression but in most cases 10 10
harmless and endurable. In the case VI oi'
pntobiorrapher it is usually COLOSSAL anu Vn'
loss his life contains that is worthy VI 100
the more strenuously does he insist upon 49,,
inc II The result is that our horafies !" eno
--e ao,, for Of late autobiography has neen
rI-.o.4 ocidcnie--absolutely TEEN with tne irlvo-
-, .bronicles Of self-eele brated nobodles Inc
Io+a lester WaIlack was not man OF tnaO oi'0S,
| and in giving welcome to ms meinoiie
! EYftv Years IL ought to be said lor nun U"',
,ybile he had lived life well worthy VI te0 90.
| he certainly never would have mace even .iis
| sNgbt essay toward q description Oh ~ 1912
AZ the urgent request Of friends lncsc men IT,.
,,oro extracted from him by Mr. baur''oS
ton-an able. devoted and bborlous "hnnH9O ~, ~
opr stage-who captured the comeolan "l'N .s,.sJ
the aid Of q stenographer, ana VIM n ra.dsou,o
and published it in this luxurious anu - IA
~ 49, Nv wallack valued thoughtful ana
,,atont annreeiation, but he did not entertain
Lied oninion OF the average popular lhtei-
- ard left to himself, he was aDouC Vne
, De -, A. +bs world who would have thougn'
% .ooos+,no that intelligence with halr"u1'
'. "a No. and adventures It is neNet1ne,cos,
IN tho, be was persuaded TO do So ana in'ee -,
We - rsoret that the reader Of this DOCK WIN
s-s, a. a rroret that the comedian ala not oesiH
~ u.orarv chronicle before his spirits ana l"oui-
10 nod heen in any way detected oy oe'
"a iIlnoss and that he did not i've 10 Gun
,,1ota n That the work was begun YOU ~
= o,,oorcnt in the somewhat frall char"oV,t
- DE- snbstance Il is Furthermore
VIII bowever. IL may not be regardea Is "n
.n+iro1,, odeouate memorial OF Lester
oor, rrnbcnsive ample and conclusive Lie-N 90
noyertbeless n book TINT must enoear i'o.i
- readers. and must take It's phcS ",.'ns
standard theatrical works because IL 10 i.H. ~,
,bo yas exceedingly brilliant in, the arI oi
oo.iro and very interesting ana loVaos ~ lND
rcrxonal character Mr.. Hutton certainty nus 0DD
tbe literary world a signal service IN oo'ait,ns
aairo sueb n ~ lie for its enjoyment ana pre"er-
,,a,ior and Il should be added that ne mas SHOWN
excellent discretion and taste IN his tre'Inen' -
:. Tbo biograpbicni sketch of Mr.. Wailack' WIN
which he has introduced the elEnU cn"p','
reminiscence anecdote and oommeh" woul' -,
hans. have been more effective ior
ANALYSIS of Mr. Wallack's acting, anu Tor soiHe ~
fusion Of warmth and color in dc1neauon VI r.o
personality; but the writer has prei'Il" "
severely methodica and reticent; MS cnrouieio %
correct. and with the excellent virtue Oh aeou
Lo % content. The surface facts OF the comcdiau
career are stated in eighteen pages OF ciet' ~
concise narrative. A fun alphabetical list oil inc
80 .ho, Mr. WaIlack acted-29l in numbers
aiven In An appendix, and the work Is rounueu
,,dtb q thorough index. The pro!uson OF Illus
tratiops-many OF them unique, all OF them lh'ef'
estino and oil but few Of them very good-en-
bances the vn4ue OF the volume The tone oil 'he
preface "a tender and graceful. The warmth ana
the brightness OF tho marathon says Mr. hutOoh
have been ureserved, but the accents inc mouu''
tions. the gestures and the exprcssion-a very
great part il not the best part oil ms Hh-
the open chimney hos received ana uspeiseu
forever
A sucgcStion Of the Characteristic charm oil
lester Wallnck's personality is conveyed IN
this sentence, and especially 10 is conveyed 10
,bose who knew him we'll lie was essentially
p;ouant and picturesque, and down TO the very
last Of suffering aud decline his monner never
lost the high-brcd distinction, the couruy grace
the airy viyacjty, the whimsical humor, ana the
sweet kindliness which were his essential atui-
butes He was not representative man Of our
times. He held indeed n prominent posluon' uhu
both as q theatrical manager and social R'uer
he was active and popular; but he always seemed
90 no far lcss the practical American citizen Of
to-day than the gay and gallant Enshsnnah
Of the Regency-in which he was born and reared
His father was an English gentleman, his mother
an Irish lady; his birth here, In New-iork, was
nm accident Of travel; his childhood ana yonth
were passed in England and in Ireland; ana
essentially he never ceased TO be cavalier OF
the old world and gentleman OF the old school
His ancestors, for two generations, were actors,
and on his mothers side he was the GRANDSON
of the brilliant Irish comedian, Jack tombstone.
His paternal grandmother was an actress in the
company Of Garrick. From these progcnitors
he had inherited uncommon sensibiity ana
sprightHness OF temperament, peculiar lucidity
and animation OF mind, and denghtlul
elasticity and lash Of manner That extraordinary
capacity which his famous father possessed, Of
filing the scene with splendid pomp OF demeanor
and glittering celebrity Of movement reappared
TO some extent IN him; nnd 1t was blended with
the traits Of romance eleg ance and fancy. The
spirit Of the characters that he habitunlly en-
bodied. after he became an actor intensified in him
those picturesque attributes, that nobility OF bear
ing, and that romantic charm which was the
union Of piqusncy ardor and grace. Such on in
dividualty, richly endowed by nature and favored
by circumstance, could not fail to have bright
career. TO fill an eminent place in society, ana 70
crystalline around itself many interesting expert
ences, incidents and persons. II Lester Waliack
had written his own life fully and thoroughly, and
had written il before his enthusiasm began TO be
cooled by the perception TINT the new age was
pushing him aside, IL must have been vital and
sparkling narrative; for it would have described
the progress Of Dramatic Art and Of the Theatre
through half century OF viclssitude and labor
and it would have glittered and throbbed with
the living images of the many lovely and brilliant
women and rare and fascinating mon who were
his contemporaries and friends Such narrative
can only be produced by the strenuous labor OF a
vigorous mind, working in its full maturity and
with full command of the implements ot literary