The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-10-28
VIM. HENDERSON DEAD.
THE MANAGER OF THE ACADEMY
sUcpUMBs no PNEUMONIA

r"MN.
Mr.. William Henderson, the proprietor
of the Academy of Music, who has been
lying seriouslyiM Of pneumonia at Stock
bridge, Massachusetts, died yesterday.
Mr.. Henderson was one Of the best known
and most respected theatrical managers
in the country. His upright character
and his kindly, generous disposition won
for him the lasting friendship of all who
knew him. His charities were many,
though transformations. He was a mem
Der and an officer of the Actors Fund
from its organization, and at the time OF
his death he was Second Vice President
and a member of the Executive Com
mittee of the Board of Trustees of that
institution.
HIS DEBUT.
Mr., Henderson began his theatrical
career as an actor, and made his debut on
the stage Of the Odeon Theatre, Albany,
in 1851. He played small parts there for
ayear, but the next season he went to
Chicago and played under the manage
ment of John b. Price. Soon after that
he was associated with Parker & Ellis in
Detroit, where he acted in important parts
with such stars as Julia Dean, Eliza
Logan, James Murdoch and =. l.. Dayen-
port. Subsequently he played at the
Troy and Albany Museum, and it was
during his stay in the latter city that ne
concluded to make his first venture IN
management. He went to Newark, N. j.,
and managed q company there. This ex-
pertinent was successful, and he continued
in that line of the theatrical calling. In
1856 he was associated with a manager
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Street Theatre in Albany, where all the
principal stars of that day played.
FAMOUS STARS.
In the period of the foul years from
1854 to 1857 Mr.. Henderson was connected
in management with such stars as Lola
Montez, Edwin Eddy, Ayonia Jones,
John Collins, Mrs. Davenport, Mrs. Ian
der and Mr.. and Mrs. Barney Williams.
In 1858 the young manager succumbed to
a general adversely in the theatrical bust
ness and had to eSume acting. He
played leading parts with w. H. Crisp in
Nashville n Memphis, but left the lat
ter place in 1860 to assume the manage
ment of the Pittspnrg Theatre, which
was known OF that time among actors as
''The Old Drury." The business OF the
place had run down to the lowest ebb,
and it was commonly predicted that
the new manager had undertaken q
great deal more thar he could
accomplish. He was ~undaunted
by the unpromising outlook, however,
and by shrewd management built up the
house to i'm enviable place among the
country theatres. His policy was to Sc
cure the best and most popular stars, aud
to charge for their performances accord
ing to their cost. He would have none
but the best, and he would not bubble
about the cost Of obtaining them. Whlie
managing the Pittsburg Theatre he paid
Ristori, who was then at the zenith of her
fame, 81, 900 for two performances in his
theatre. This is only an illustration of
his policy and his pluck.
SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT
1t paid him well, and in 1867 he under
took the management of another theatre
in Pittsburg, the new Opera House. This
had been a failure from its opening, but
Mr.. Henderson succeeded in building up
o. good business in it. For eleven years
he remained in Pittsburg as a manager,
He prospered so much that in 1871 he was
a rich ma and quit Pittsburg, the scene
of his great success. The last night OF
his management there was made a mem
orable occasion by the citizens, whose
unbounded respect and admiration he
had won, and he left that city with
enconiumS from both the press and the
public. For the next year Mr.. Hender-
son rested. Then he invested in the
Providence Opera House and managed
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went to New York and purchased the
Eagle Theatre, on Broadway, between
Thirty-second and Thirty-third streets,
and changed the name of the place to the
Standard. This house had also been a
failure, but Mr.. Henderson turned the
tide of popular favor into its doors by
producing, with John Duff, "Pinafore,' y
the first of the Gilbert and Sullivan
operas to be presented to the New York
public. The splendid run of that opera
Is still fresh in the minds of New York
theatre-goers Mr.. Henderson retained
the management of the Standard The.
atre until it was burned, producing other
Gilbert and Sullivan operas and other
operas and plays i~ntermediately.
IN THIS CITY.
When the present Standard Theatre
was rebuilt on the site of the old house
Mr.. Henderson refused to accept the pro
posed terms of the owners of the property
because the rental, IN his opinion, was too
high, and because he thought that the
general chances for success In the e
house were too slim. He then secured
the Academy of Music in Jersey City, a
theatre which had beer a failure, like
others which he had revived. When hi
received charge of the Jersey City place
its auditorium was on the second foo
and its general condition was deploraDle
He ripped out the entire interior and at
cost of many thousands of dollars rebuilt
and refitted it. Then he put into practic,
his old policy of presenting only the bes
attractions, and prosperity nee NOR,
waited upon his efforts. He made none.
steadily, and at the time. of his death h,
was still its manager and had in 1t q valu
able property.
STAGE PARTS.
During his career as an actor MI
Henderson essayed starring, nj in tn,
latter part of the fifties achieved con
siderable distinction for his vigorous per
formances of Ingomar and Macbeth
With Mr.. Mcvicker, of Chicago, and MI
John Ellsler, of Pittsburg, he was, at tn
time OF his demise, one of the tire
oldest managers in America. EARLY II
his theatrical life he married Miss Henri
eta Lewis, an actress who shared all hi
theatrical struggles. Mrs. Henderson
survives her husband. She has writer
several successful plays and enjoys tn
distinction of being the first woman
to play Fanchon in England. MI
Henderson also leaves two sons
William T., a member of the staff o
the New York Times, and Frank, VIII,
has been connected with the manage
ment Of the Jersey City Academy o
Music since his father assumed mana
gerial charge there. Mr.. Henderson ha'
one daughter, Hettie, who adopted tn
stage. but retired from the profession O.
her marriage to Mr.. Donovan, tn
sculptor. Mrs. Donovan died about tw
years ago.
Mr. Henderson was one of the founder
of the celebrated colony of actors at Lon
} Branch, N. j., where he has owned som
sixty acres Of and and has had q cottag