The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1894-06-24
HER POOR BEGINNING
BUT, AS THE PRovERB DECLARES, 1T
MADE A GOOD ENDING.

Mary Andcrscn's First Romeo Describes
Her Debut as n Ridiculous Faiiurc-For
Months She Peddled Tickets to Secure q
| Sufficient Guarantee Fund.
Among the actors who compose the
stock company of Richard Mansfield lie the
man who was the first to play a leading
male part with Mary Anderson. This 10
W. M. Griffiths, who was Romeo the night
she made her debut as Juliet
Yes" he remarked to the writer, 81
can well remember the first time Mary
Anderson ever racited to show professional
people what she could do The scene was
too thoroughly ridiculous ever to be for
gotten. / was then member of Barney
McAuley's stock company here and was
the leading actor After tho performance
one night Twas just going out of the stage
door when Johnny Maokey, now dead,
called me back
Hold on, he said, you don't want to
miss the fun We've got a stagestruck
girl here, and she's going to recite.
II walked back to tho theater, and there
on the stage was a strip of an undevel-
oped girl who couldn't have weighed as
much us 100 pounds. There was but ono
thing about her to attract attention, and
tltib wis DCr Eyes htNbI odW eyes WHICH
seemed so large and furtive In the front
row sat Barney McAuley and lot of
newspaper men. Soon she began to recite
from Romeo and Juliet" and when she
came to the part where the lovelorn lasa
refers to her ancestors bones she got down
on the stage and rolled all over the place.
She wore a dark dress of tho cheapest ma
terial. The stage was never scrubbed and
not swept with any great regularity. The
result was that she caused quite cloud of
dust, and Barney and the newspaper men
applauded uproariously, laughed immoder-
ately and shouted Bravo' with such in
tensity that her words could scarcely be
heard.
This was Mary Anderson 8 first appear
ance as an aspirant for dramatic honors.
Later she came to Barney McAuley
and said she wanted to make her debut in
Romeo and Juliet.
My child, said Barney, you can have
my theater if you will pay me $500 for it
whonever you are ready to appear
But whore am l to get that much
money! she asked in despair
Barney then suggested that she go
around and get people pledged to attend
the performance. If they didn't want to
buy tickets, he would accept the pledges
of business men in good standing So out
she started, trudging the streets from place
to place For four weary months she kept
going daily. l would frequently meet her
on days when the sidewalks were covered
with this miserable slush you have here
SO much in winter. Plainly attired and
with no protection from the rain, have
often stopped to let her walk under my
umbrella. Sometimes would meet her
coming out of store with a smile on her
face and she would say delie htedly:
:" i sold two In there
tOnce asked her if men never insulted
her.
oh, yes, often, was. her response,
but / pay no attention to them. l am
working for one object That is to raise
$500, and I'm going to accomplish it,
Finally she raised the amount and
went to Barney, who had never dreamed
the girl would succeed. Only Barney and
Mrs. McAuley were present when the de-
lighted girl told of her success. After Bar
ney realized the girl had actually raised
tho sum he had fixed, he asked her what
play she had chosen for her debut.
"ss' Romeo and Juliet, was her an
swer.
s-'"'B But my dear, he demonstrated, the
costumes will cost you at least $3.50
AT this the poor girl tainted. She felt
she could not raise another cent. When
she had revived Mrs. McAuley said the
aspiring girl should wear her costumes.
The idea of a strip of agirl in Mrs. Nc
Auley's costumes was absurd, but she was
too happy to think of this. When she came
to rehearse the part, she was utterly unfit
ted for it,
my greatest difficult was in showing
her how n art whom she oa111a tO tho ljpas
My life, my love, my SOUL At the first
Juliet should gently caress Romeo, at my
love her arms should be thrown passion
ately about his neck, and when my soul
is reached Juliet should fairly throw her
self at Romeo. She was afraid even to put
her arms coldly about my neck.
Have you ever been In lover asked.
No, sir, was the timid reply.
Didn't you ever put your arms around
mans neckH
/" No, sir'
g Then how the world did you happen
to select Romeo and Juliet?"
- L do not know, sir. That was what
recited
Though it was Saturday night, the
house was packed My, what failure she
was! never saw anything so awkward
since 1 was born. She would go across the
stage in three steps l have never ceased
wondering how she managed it, This put
a stop to her career for % time Ben Debar
of ST. Louis wrote b 'ney McAuley, stat
ing he had an open date and would like to
have an attraction. Barney responded that
there was girl here who had packed his
house, principally on the claim that she
was the daughter of a Confederate general,
though he didn't know whether her father
had been in the army at all. By working
on southern sentiment Barney thought
St. Louis people might be worked too.
This was tried with capital results John
Norton was attracted by this and under
took to star her, with the result that he
lost every copper he had. Prior to this
Dr. Griffin had persuaded his brother to
put up 81, 900 to take Miss Anderson and
her company through small Kentucky
towns They came to me, and / refused
to go, saying it was pure madness. The
brother backed out then. Miss Anderson
has since thanked me for my action, say
ing that but for my good sense she would
never have become famous. She was not
known in tho little towns, the money
would have been spent, there would have
been no returns, and she would have come
back utterly disheartened.
81 have always been amused at the peo-
pie of Louisville so fondly referring to Miss
Anderson as Our Mary When she re-
turned here after travelling through the
south, she was seen at McAuley's. The
first night we took in $42, the second $36,
the third $28, and, with the exception of
the matinee, when her school friends