The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1894-03-23

but natural that its votaries should
excel in the production of entertaining
stories and anecdotes. Many volumes
have been published which were de-
voted to the bright sayings and witty
repartee of famous actors, but few
hitherto unpublished anecdotes of
living Thespians may prove both new
and interesting.
In Nat Goodwin's early days in the
! profession he had the misfortune to
work under u manager who was much
addicted to drink, and who, in such
cases, became very irritable and quar-
TelsOme. When laboring under the
| influence, it was not unusual for him
to discharge the whole staff, from star
down to property man, but of course
the company took little notice of
these spasmodic ebulltions of temper,
as they were pretty well used to him
One night this manager, while mo-
rosely nursing one of his periodical
'jags" came across Goodwin i'm the
green room.
"See here, Goodwin" said he, try
ing to steady himself, and closing one
eye so as to get the right focus on the
comedian. give a id good notion
to discharge you on the spot"
"No doubt" replied Nat calmly,
"and perhaps you would if you were
sober enough to flud the spot"
Roland Read boasts of nasal organ
which is certainly not obscure. lie
has been frequently twitted about his
prominent feature, but never more
rudely than one winters day when an
acquaintance accosted him on Broad
way with, "IIallo, Reed, l met your
nose on the other block and it looked
awfully cold"
Cant help it, my boy" replied
the comedian without stopping, II
scratched it as far as could reach."
Walter Q. Seabrooke was formerly a
bank clerk in Mt. Vernon, N. Y. The
first position he secured on the stage
was at very lenient salary and he
sometimes found it difficult to make
ends meet. A Wall Street broker
owed him little money, and one day
Seabrooke went to see him with the
intention of collecting. While pa
tiently waiting in an ante-room for an
interview, another gentleman, evil
IDENTIFY a stranger, came in in some
what of hurry and asked, Excuse
me, are you the broker?" "No," re-
piled Seabrooke doggedly, "but Pm
the fellow that Is brOke!"
When Henry f. Dixey was playing
at the Gaiety Theatre in London he
gave very successful and artistic i'm
personation of Henry Irving, the pop
ular English tragedian. A certain
section of the Cockney play-goers re-
sented Dixey's burlesque, clever as it
was. To make fun of Henry Irving
seemed almost sacrilegious. Said one
bitter critic to DiXey, sarcastically,
But of course you are bound to intro
duce that part, as your caricature of
Irving is the only meat you have
in the play" eyes, that's so, replied
Adonis sadly, "and Pm bound to make
game of him, you see!"
De Wolf Hopper, of wang" and
''Panjandum" fame, as those who
have seen him will remember, pos
sesses pair of wonderfully long legs,
which he uses to good purpose in his
grOtesque and amusing dances. On
one occasion the comedian had to
travel from the depot t6his hotel in
the regular stage, which was nearly
crowded. The man opposite to Hop
per complained loudly about the lat
ter's knees and rather rudely ex-
claimed, "Your darned legs fiji the
whole car" "That's nothing" re-
piled Hopper cheerfully, they fire.
quently fill the whole house,"
JOHN KINGSTON. |