The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1894-12-22
STAGE ACCIDENTS.
PeRILs FROM The CARELESS USE OF
PROPERTY WEAPONS.

cnpe.-The Greatest Danger Il From the
inexperienced 'supers" Who Fail to Fol-
low Instructions.
The tragic ending OF the charade In which
young Mccoy lost his life from an acciden-
tai dagger wound In the heart, innicted oy
Miss Clara King, was the subject OF gen
eral comment among actors.
MA Kennedy, the veteran comedian.
said that the tragedy could not have come
10 pass had the amateurs known few
stage tricks. Real daggers are never used
by the profession" said be- though TO the
xpectators I'm the orchestra chairs the blades
that clash In Caesars body seem very real
What Is commonly used is the property
dagger. the blade OF which Is controlled by
A spring and runs up the handle when the
point IL struck against the body OF the stage
victim. Sometimes a dagger with cast
iron blade and blunt end is employed, but
the spring dagger is the most satisfactory.
$50 much care is taken TO exclude edged
tools from the mimic warfare OF the stage"
continued Mr.. Kennedy, that the use OF
the poinard gives us small concern. What
we really dread Is the musket in the hands
OF an excited actor or careless 'supe.'
bear vivid recollection Of having my coun-
tenance filed with powder and burning
wads when | was playing with Lucille
Western In 1862 at the old National theater
in Washington. The play was called The
Flowers Of the Forest and had the part
OF Lemuel a young lover. 1t was in the
play for Lucille to kill me, and she nearly
succeeded Grasping a fowling piece, she
discharged II full in my face. fell like
log. and as ! lay there writing the star
placed her foot on my neck and exclaimed,
He is mine at lastP felt certain that she
was right, for | thought my final hour had
come. The curtain rang down at the end
OF the scene, and Lucille skipped to her
dressing room without a look at me My
head was streaming with blood, and some
body called her back. She gave one look
at me and tainted. ! always congratulated
her on her realism after that and keptiout
Of the range Of her fire"
The stage has many traditions OF the In
jury done his fellow actors by Junius Bru-
tus Booth when in the heat and fury Of his
tragic scenes. Mr.. Kennedy, who often
saw the elder Booth and was on intimate
terms with his son. John Wilkes, thinks
that some Of the tales are exaggerations.
1T is certain, however," said he, that the
wise player did not venture too close to Mr..
Booth in scenes where he was armed, for
be was generally absorbed in his part. His
tendency at such times was uncomfortably
realistic. can't say that he ever hurt any
body but he once raced a swordsman all
over the stage at Richmond and finally
sent him flying over the footlights into the
audience. The man saw blood in the ira
gedian's eye and simply stood from under.
On the whole. the profession thought it was
the proper thing for him to do under the
circumstances"
DO ! know OF any cases where actors
have been cut or shot on the stagei" said
Charles Dickson as be put the finishing
touches on his costume yesterday Just be-
fore the matinee curtain rang up. "Well,
there was the case OF Frank Frayne and the
woman whose life he took in his William
Tell act. You remember that Frayne was
a marksman and shot an apple from the
head OF a female character in the play. for
get the actress name, but she was Frayne's
bethrothed. He had performed the sharp
shooting feat with her hundreds of times,
but finally grew careless and sent bullet
through her brain. Frayne was tried and
acquitted. He vowed be would never do
the act again, but in less than year he was
at IL as usual
Then there was Bob billiards adven.
ture billiard was playing in a military
piece called Across the Potomac There
WAS militia detachment on the stage to
do firing. and in one Of the scrimmages
billiard got full charge Of powder and
wad in the right side Of the face. He was
badly disfgured, but came on the stage In
a day or two in bandages
II remember the case OF an actor whose
name ! don't remember now, but who
starred in Russian piece. 1t was re-
quirement OF his part to be shot by a squad
OF soldiers. The troops were made up OF
the usual assortment OF riffraff, and one
OF them took fair aim at the actor when
the time came for the volley. 1t is always
the rule in such cases for the supers to aim
! high, but this one was in dead earnest and
thought be would wing his man.
THE minute the curtain came down the
star let loose blast Of profanity that
caused the paper to wither on the wall. and
then he fred himself at the supe like 10
inch she'll For about three minutes one
would have supposed that Dublin insur
rection was in full swing. The Russian
soldier began yelling for help in pure Irish
: and the rest Of the cars forces sounded tn,
Limerick slogan and piled in The stal
had things his own way, however, and die
= not cease until he had left his trademark
, on the whole crowd. It was the most de
moralized army the car has had since tn,
Crimean war, and every mothers son O
them filed out that night with either ,
bloody nose or black eye The star haa
l not been hurt by the charge, but be nigh
have been. and be thought II time TO teacl
5 the supe lesson in stage etiquette.
, As a rule" continued Mr.. Dickson
a accidents rarely happen. The creates
!, care Is taken with the guns that are place,
In the hands Of the stage rabble. The,
, are loaded by the property man and hel,
In bis possession until the time comes I.
I use them in the play"
Q During his long theatrical career |, r
0 Stockwell has had various experience
3 with the stage assassin, one Of which r.
' tired him from duty for several weeks
He was playing in Uncle Toms Cabin.
and an actor fired at him with a pistol int
the muzzle Of which the drip from a tai
low candle had fallen. The tallow tor
through Stockwells hat and wig. burvin
itself in his scalp A piece Of it also hi
= his arm and badly lacerated it.
Q Al another time Mr. Stockweu wa
Q siass,ed and driven of the stage by Graz
i supernumeriry. He was on again whe
a Donald Mckay. the half breed chief of Nh
Warm Spring Indians, who had been n
duced to take box at the performance t,
a piece based on the Modoc war. leaned n