Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-10-27
MUSIC AND DRAMA.
EDWIN BOOTHS EXPERIENCE AS A
MANAGER.
Sudden Deaths of Actors on the Stage
Flashes from the Footlights of
Many Theaters.

FLASHES from the FootI1ghts OF
Many Theaters.
Edwin Booth is credited with the follow
ing experience by the New York World
"About my first experience as manager D
said Mr.. Booth, "was in the year 1854.
and four others were on our way to Aus
tralian to fill professional engagement.
Two of the party were d. C. Anderson and
his wife. We were in slow old sailing
ship, and we were compelled to stop at the
Sandwich Islands for supplies and to make
some repairs to the ship. We found, to
our surprise, that Honolulu had a rude
sort of theater, and as we were to be de-
tanned there for several days we thought
we might earn a few dollars by giving per-
formances. We were told that the King
kamehameha, think his royal name was
was an enlightened monarch, who had
visited Europe and come back with great
admiration for the drama. and that he
would graciously patronize our perform
ance.
ave determined to give Richard Ill
and | was elected manager. Now, the full
strength of the company was exactly FIVE,
and there are about twenty five parts in
the tragedy, as you know, to say nothing of
the lords and ladies of the court, citizens,
murderers, messengers and the two armes
of Gloster and Richmond. So you can un-
derstand that the manager had no easy
task of it. l was to play Richard, and by
an ingenious scheme of doubling up, by
which each Of the others was to play at
least two parts, We managed to arrange for
some sort of performance until suddenly
discovered that | had no Lady Anne.
Mrs. Anderson was the only lady in our
company. and she had to do two parts
the Duchess of York and Elizabeth.
81 was almost in despair until learned
that there was white man in the town
who, as was told, had once been an actor
in a humble way and would be glad to
help US out, and that as he was an under
sized man he might do to dress up as a
woman. So | sent for him. Meantime
had another trouble. We had some bills
printed with a brush and marking ink
and / sent some natives out to bill the
town. But flour was entirely too scarce
and high priced in the Sandwich Islands
to make paste of, and as a substitute was
advised to buy some stuff called poi-poi,
the sticky juice of some tropical plant of
which it appears the natives make an in
toxicating drink. i innocently gave the
stuff to the bill stickers.
"But the rascally natives, instead of
using the stuff as | had intended, drank up
AL the paste, got gloriously drunk, and
didn't post bill I! At the last moment
had to take pail and brush and bundle
of bills and go through the town posting
the bills myself. The new member of the
company, who was to do Lady Anne,
almost gave me a spasm when | saw him.
He was about four feet high, stumpy fell
low with handy legs, cross-eyed, and with
all his front teeth gone. Ee chewed to-
bacco furiously, and he spoke with strong
German accent. His only knowledge of
the stage proved to have come from once
working grip behind the scenes of some
theater in the States
81 shall never forget that performance
of Richard III Its like was never seen
before nor since. The two English armies
were of course made up of native Sandwich
Islanders, and to see the followers of Rich
ard and of Richmond fighting the battle
of Bosworth field in burnt cork was some
thing never before attempted on any
STAGE
'But the Lady Anne l regret to say
that her appearance when made up was
something worse than grotesque. If she
had been homely in mans attire she was
hideous in skirts, and when | had to
make ardent love to her as sweet
saint ? divine perfection of a woman
fairer than tongue can name thee,'
and tell her of her beauty which did
haunt me in my sleep thought should
burst with modification, for her bandy-
legged waddle, her cross-eyed lear, her
toothless mouth, and her German accent
were something indescribable. And, horror
of horrors! while she stood mourning at
her dead husbands bier, her ladyship had
broken her solemn pledge and was actually
chewing tobacco p
SUDDEN DEATHS OF ACTORS.
The death of the comedian Charles B.
Bishop on the stage Of the Lyceum Thea
ter, in New York recently, adds one more
to the sad list of those who have died on
the stage, and which includes some once
noted names. In Great Britain Palmer,
playing before Liverpool audience. Peg
Wellington, while playing Rosalind. was
paralyzed and never recovered. She had
lust uttered the words, 'Pd kiss as many
of you as pleased me-" when her voice was
hushed and was never again heard upon
the stage. The once famous comedian
Foote was also paralyzed while performing
in his own comedy, "The Devil on Two
Sticks" sSand never recovered. Another
case was that of Moody, who held respect
able rank on the British stage and whose
last appearance was as Claudis in ''Meas-
ure for Measure" Just as he exclaimed.
"Aye, but to die and go we know not
where" he sank to the floor and was borne
off a corpse. James Bland, who also had
a respectable position in the profession,
expired in the Strand Theater. Edmund
Kean affords another impressive instance.
While playing Othello in London, Just as
he exclaimed, "Oh, then, farewell he fell
into the arms of his son (who took the role
of Iago), and he had just strength enough to
say: Speak to them, Charles, / am
dying" He was borne off and revived for
awhile, but death soon closed his check
cred career Hanley, the comedian, be-
came speechless on the stage after uttering
the words OF Launcelot Gobbo, 'I have an
exposition of sleep come over me-" and he
never spoke again. Cummings, who occa-
sionally appeared in tragedy, expired
while performing the role Of Duement in
Jane Shore" Barrett, who was so clever
in old mems parts, died after playing
Polonius, and was carried home a corpse.
Mrs. Glover was struck with paralysis on
the occasion of her farewell benefit, and
died three days afterward Mrs. Lindley,
the once popular vocalist, expired at con-
cert while singing al Know That My Re-
deemer Liveth." A very remarkable oc-
currence of this kind took place at the
Holiday Street Theater, Baltimore, in
1874. John Ferris, while playing the
leading role in Lady Audley's Secret
was borne off the stage in a helpless condi-
tion and died before morning. McCul-
Tough broke down on the stage in man
ner that proved worse than death, for he
only survived to become a lunatic, and
now we have the shocking death of poor
Bishop.
AN AMUSING INCIDENT.