The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-10-26
SUDDEN RISE
TO FAME.
How Some Actresses and Actors
Suddenly Became Famous.
Sketches Of Number of Footlight Favorites
Who Are Well Known to the San Fran
cisco Theater-GoiDg Public.

from the open windows below, and up
among the turret tops of the charming roof
resort, writes a contributor to the Boston
Globe,
Actors" said the man who slipped caret
at the next table, "live life as unreal of
the stage as on"
"Nonsense."
"Their whole existence is an animated
jugglery. Twenty years ago they were stu
dents, toilers. plodders, with change of bill
every night through the season; but nova
days the average actor plays three or Tour
characters in a year, and he jumps from
Milford the carriage waits TO Lay on Mac
duff with nonchaance that is staggering.
The lie OF a modern actor is a dream,
phantasy, a continual metamorphOse. Why.
bless you, twenty years ago l heard little
trick in short clothes sing in fourtll-rate
show in Boston-Bunnelps, they called it
one of the first dime museums that started;
and inside Of ten years | saw the same girl
with the American public at her feet, and
managers ready to pay her the highest salary
ever given in comic opera-who? Sadie
Martinez. In any other profession such
record is unheard OF.
And yet the stage is full of them.
"Who was Pauline Hall? Ten years ago
she was a chorus-grl at So a week.
| ago she did swell representations III San
! francisco on the Ella Wesner order.
"And Dixey? The hind legs Of ENange-
| lines heifer..
| Irish act with red whiskers and a tin dinner
.'Anid Frank Wilson? A nigger-song- and
dance man.
And Nat Goodwin? I remember seeing
Nat Goodwin and Minnie Palmer thirteen
in and Hanpp tDppfhpr nt
Josh Harris old Eagle Theater, New \ DIRK
81 tell You, my boy, there isn't business
OF profession in the world so full Of the I'M
probable. Did you ever hear how MOdleSka
made her first appearance -
Il never did,
IT'S LIKE A FAIRY TALE.
6" was in San Francisco in 1877, and was
going past the California Theater one Mon
day afternoon when Blake Il think his
name was Blake, the manager there, sung
l, Whats on?' Well. I'll tell you,' says
lie, looking terrible solemn, got tele-
gram yesterday chat was Sunday saying
Joe Murphy was stuck fifty miles this side
of Salt Lake, and couldn't get here to open
on time; so / wired down to Los Angeles to
an amateur there who has been boring the
life out of NE for q chance to act that here
was her opportunity. She is in there now
rehearsing.'
at seems that the lady was the wife of
count SUIlelHlDS-OE-UlHGI. W ITO lldu lUSi al
his money in hOg-ranch In Southern Cali
forna, and every week for months she had
been vainly struggling to get an engage
ment To make long story short, my curl
osity was aroused, and, although | expected
an amateur show, o'clock found me at the
theater awaiting the rise of tie curtain i'm
patiently. The play was 'Adrlenne Lee
eouvre and Bill MeStayer was the vii
lain"
"What?"
hnF1 ln
thought of We. Us Il CO. and Tom Keene,
the tragedian, did the juvenile. Well, when
the curtain went up there wasn't 200 people
in the house, but those of them WHO came ex-
pecting fun were simply amazed. Even
Blake sat with his chin dropped till the cur
tain went down, when he turned and says
! he, The greatest actress on the stage to-day
a-feedDS hogs all spring. Think of it,
THE news spread. The critics were
chased up and dragged in, and would you be-
lieve it, before the last act was over fully
thousand people were in that theater shout
ing themselves hOarSe. and poor dear Nine.
Modjeska and her unfortunate husband were
the happiesI two people on the face of the
Western Hemisphere"
''REo1ARKABLE, TRULY"
''Look here. Did you see yesterday how
Mrs. Harry Sargent was without dollar to
her name, and how the New York actors got
up purse and bought ner ticket home to
her friends i'll Eugland?"
Yes"
well, her husband went out to San
| Francisco with Heller, the magician, who
| died there, leaving Prince Harry. as he was
| called in those days, dead broke. The night
Modjeska opened Sargent was in the audi
| ence, and before the third act was on he had
| a contract with her, signed and sealed, and
before that contract was ended he had
J cleared 100000 on it.
| land yet his wife was sent home by
charity. 1t illustrates just what said; the
| lives Of these people form one great kaleido-
scopic human phantasy.
Il found myself in Baltimore about 1880,
/! patching up Minnie Palmer's Boarding
| School, and fellow came to me and offered
| me SI00 to fill out the scenes of a comedy,
the plot of which lie already had-a play
with a Hebrew character in it. l hadn't the
| time to attend to 1t, so | refused. He
offered 500. | refused again. Said he:
Write the play for me and I'll give you one
quarter interest IN it and agree to put it on
low comedian in Milton Mobiles Phoenix
company, and | wouldn't touch it. Two
| years atterward | met him in Union square.
"' Hello says he. Hello. says |. You
made a big mistake. says he, not wiring
| that play for me- if you had done rs /
asked you to you'd be drawing $4,000 a
! year as your share in i. That man was
| Curtis and the play Samuel of Posen,' the
| plot and dialogue of which he carried round
| in his pocket five years before he found any
| one to take hold Of it,"
| There was a pause for q moment while
| the speaker thought of what he mad missed.
Did | ever tell YOU" he at length contin-
ued, "hOw Annie PiXiey
| FIRST MADE A HIT?
1t was in this way: Along round 1875 there
was an old actor named Cox in San Fran
| cisco-'Daddy Cox every one called him,
and the old fellow, like all actors. dabbled
! more or less in play writing. He was pretty
old, and when at last Ire was taken down he
didn't live long Before dying, however, he
| turned to little actress named MavheW
| who had for months nursed him like a
daughter, and says he, Katie, there's pile
| OF manuscript in that trunk of mine and
| when l die you take it
when it was all over Katie Mayhem, Sla-
| son Thompson, Clay Greene and got together
one afternoon and went through his plays;
| among the lot was the play Miss Greene
touched it up here and there. and the May
hew girl pat it on, and it made great hit
She was little darling, that girl was-same
sunshine of the stage as on, great favorite.
pretty as picture, and good as gold, too.
After a run with it in San Francisco, she
| started East, and engaged to open at Niblo's,
| New York, but about three days before the
production she discovered that John Nc
| Donough, the manager of the house, had
put up his name on the printing as big as
her own. Of course, that meant a row, and
they had it. As Mac wouldn't take his name
down she simply refused to open.
| very wen, says NE we IL play Tue
piece without you
"'You can't says she. it's copyrighted
We will says he, for it is nothing but
a dramatization Of one of Bret Hnrt's
stories. It's not original, and you can't
prevent us
"'Play it. Them says the actress; play it.
if you can, but my name don't go up, except
as sole STAR
$50 off she goes, not dreaming they'd do
| the play without her--which they never
should have done; but Macs blood was up
and he was bound to play the piece, espe-
cially as he felt that he couldn't be enjoined.
He went up to the Rialto and made a great
hustle for a soubrette. All day long he was
at it, till at night, tired out, he was thinking
he'd have to square himself with Mayhem,
when some one said, John, saw girl ten
minutes ago from Australia, great locker,
| and just what you want
Where?'
| up at Wallis"
$50 to Wallis they went, and by sheer
| luck they found the girl, gave her the part,