Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-28
ACTOR AND AUTHOR.
Chat With Joe Jefferson About His
Popular Autobiography.
he WROTE 1T ALL FROM MEMORY.
Sometimes BE Woke Up in the Night With
Thoughts for His Book.
COLONEL BRICE AND CALICO CHARLIE
CORRESPONDENCE OF THE D1srAroH.I

| CUuVNEu DhlCE AMI CALlCV CAAhLlE
CORRESPONDENCE OF THE DIsPArcH.I
WASHINGTON, Dec. 27.-Joe Jefferson
drew crowded houses this week in ''The Ri
walls" and he is as popular to-day as when
he first made his appearance on the Ameri-
can stage in Washington theater. This
was when jackson was President, and little
Joe Jefferson. boy OF 4. was carried to the
stage in bag by the famous minstrel, Rice,
who was making a hit by dancing Jim
Grow. Rice came on the stage, and, turn
ing the bag upside down, tumbled little Joe
Jefferson out, and then began to dance.
The boy was dressed just like Rice, his
face was blackened, and the two sang verse
apart as they danced. As they finished the
song the audience were so delighted that
they threw dollars and half dollars on the
stage, and little Jefferson received $24 for
that nights acting. He now receives, no one
but his manager knows how much, and he is
as well off as any actor on the American
stage. He is said to be worth 81, 100000,
and he has a sugar plantation in Louisiana,
beautiful country home in New Jersey,
| quaint seaside cottage on Cape Cod and
bonds and stocks and gold galore.
YOUNG AS HIS GRANDCHILDREN.
Since heSropped down upon Washing
| ton stage until now, he has been tickling
the sides and delighting the souls of a fun
| loving public, and every cent of his
money has been we'll earned by him
self, and his great, genius has
has children and grandchildren, but his
soul is as young now as when he tumbled
out of that bag, and his blue eyes are as
merry and his voice as CHEEKY as that of a
boy. He will be 81 in February, but his
acting is as good now as it has ever been
and he enjoys a good story, a good laugh
and good theater as well as any man in
the country.
He goes to the theater whenever he can,
and caught him at the hotel to-day just as
he was about starting out to see ''The Lill-
iputians" with Billy Florence. He is a
| delightful conversationalist and his voice
and his manner are as gentle. and good-na-
tured as those of Rip Van Winkle. During
| the short chat had with him 1 asked him
| some questions as to his autobiography
which appeared in the Century Magazine
and which is now being sold over the book
counters. This book is one of the great
books of this generation and it is the belief
of many good judges that it will be one of the
lew DOCKS which VIII last.
MERELY FROM MEMORY.
asked Mr.. Jefferson as to whether it was
not made up from a diary. He replied:
mo. L have never kept diary and had
no notes. am fortunate in having good
memory, and wrote the entire book from
j it. / felt very doubtful about undertaking
1 the book. 1t seems to me that an actor at
tempting to take up the role of the literary
man and to write book is much like the
| part of literary man who decides to go on
the stage and makes his first appearance in
the part OF Hamlet. ] am glad to see that
my work was popular, and it is a wonder to
4 me that have succeeded in making it so.
L have had-she -4bsek~iH-aay .miud for long
time and had intended to have put the mat
ter forth in book form and not in a maya.
zine. My friend, Mr.. Glider, however, ad-
| vised me that be could give me wider cir
culation through the magazine, and the re-
suit shows that he was right"
| "Did you have any regular habit Of writ
| ing?" asked.
NO." replied Mr.. Jefferson, 'T began
| the book about three years ago and wrote at
| it by fits and starts as the humor took me.
AT first l kept no notes at all, but after I
began my writing found that my memory
of events and persons would be very vivid at
some times and that I could not recall them
and made memoranda of material for the
book wherever it struck me.
HOW HIS MIND WORKED.
SIT seemed curious to me the way nv
mind worked. would awake in the middle
of the night from sound sleep for no
reason that I can see, ana would think of
some part of my past experiences. II
went to sleep again I would find in the
morning that I knew that had remem-
bered something during the night which 1
intended to record when got up but
could not think what that something was.
Alter this had pencil and note book by
my bedside, and at such times as awoke
and thought of matter l would arise and
write out the material. In preparing the
book finally found these memoranda of
great value, and that in most cases the first
records were better than anything that I
could write.
ST think on the whole am fortunate in
not having kept a diary. 1t might have
caused me to draw my story out to an in
sufferable length and might have magni-
fed details which were better omitted. 1 4
am, of course, pleased that the book did
succeed, and l am told that the sale of it
has been good"
BILLY FLoRENcE's MEMOIRS
The conversation here turned to Iitera-
ture and actors, and Mr.. Jefferson spoke
very kindly OF the memoirs Mr.. Florence is
now writing, and which promise to be full
of interest. Mr.. Jefferson said: ST don't
see why an actor should not have a natural
bent toward literature, and why he should
not write fuently and well. His whole life
is made up of the Interpretation of litera-
tqre. He has to study and play the classics
He has to appreciate all the phases of
thought and expression, and in the render
ing of these great literary productions, his
whole life is to a certain extent a time of
education.
''It would be strange indeed If he did not
absorb something, and he has also to study
the people and to make his idea of his parts
plain to them. feel a delicacy in saying
anything about such subjects. I am not
professional writer and 1 doubt if I ever
write again. had story to tell and nv
life has been so eventful, and I have met
30 many men about whom could talk, that
this is perhaps one OF the reasons of its sue
cess"
MAN OF MANY PARTS.
There are few better read men than Mr..
Jefferson. He possesses remarkable culture.
has done some work as an artist which has
been well spoken of by the art critics, and
he carries his paints and easel with dim
during mis- acting. was curious to know
how he found time for such a variety of
work, and asked him as to whether he had
been systematic student during his life
time. Beginning his career as boy on the
stage for the past 30 years he has been play