The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-01-07
When the Star Was All the Rage
; OH Two Continents.
NOT ALWAYS oOOD-NATURED.
What She Did With All the Money
She Made Was Mystery
to the Narrator.

past. The subject that was of especial in
terest to this veteran was the early Amer
lean career of Nine. Janauschek. 1t was
brought to his mind by an announcement
that he had Just read in which Kate Clay
ton was represented as starring in "The
Two Orphans" with the leading support of
Mime. Janauschek.
"Ughv grunted the veteran. sit makes
me shudder to think of the great Janau-
schek supporting Claxton. IL appalls me
to think of the base uses to which all may
come. I have nothing against Claxton.
but compare ber career with that of the
madame-the uneQualed, unapproachable
mada me-and then regard the relations Of
the two in the present alliance. 1t is little
shor; of great shock."
The veteran player quaffed bis beer
slowly. He put his hand to his forehead
and leaned on it, his elbow on the table
One could see that he was twenty years
away in his thoughts Eyes, it was II
1874" he said at last. 81 was the property
man in Nine Janauschek's support and
when I wasn't busy with those duties |
was playing soldier, murderer, prince and
so on. The money that we made in those
DAYS would astonish the modern star in
spite of the growth of the business. 1t all
madame's huS band. who did not seem to
have an appreciation of the value of a dol
lar. He would cnme TO the box office get a
hundred, Two hundred, sometimes three, but
before the night was ended the money was
gone, The independence of the pair was
something wonderful. Sometimes the re-
ceipts in a town on the first night would
not be large. If they were unusually
small we would get orders to pack up aud
end the engagement then aud there. l
never knew the truth about the manage.
ment of this enterprise, but | believe Pill
lots word was law. l recall one instance.
We we're booked in a town for week.
The receipts on the first night were about
$500. When Pilot came into the box
office at the end or the counting up he
flew into rage.
Eight hundred dollars! he exclaimed.
1t is an insult to the madame. We will
play here no more. We Will go and find
appreciation elsewhere
And pack up we did. That was an
average example of the managerial method
of Pilot"
There was another pause. The old
player leaned back in his chair. "Ah, but
those were good times for the property man.
No questions were asked. Twas told to hire
so many supers at so much a head. In
stead of doing it in the usual way [ secured
a strong fellow With pull and made him
bring along the rest for nothing. lgave the
leader little money and turned in claim
for the lot regular prices. There was
no crime in this, for the madame knew it
and thought | was pretty bright fellow
for featherIng my own nest while l
could. Altogether. Janausehek was a
goOd-natured star. l recall one instance
that will Illustrate patience that is not
frequently found among women OF her
fame and position. She was rehearsing
hofS IF Ia nd
BaDquo. | was the murderer and was
doing badly. The stage manager had given
no the task and the madame took a hand.
Her English was Lad enough at best, but
when she grew the least bit excited she
was funny in her accent. The scene in
rehearsal was the third one of the third
act. Banquo and Fieance had just en-
tered and the former said:
g 1t will be rain Tonight
My line followed Immediately. Let 1t
come down. Try as l might l cou ID not
get it as the madame wanted it.
"'Here.' she said, let me show you
She grasped pasteboard knife, and. rush.
ing ct Banquo, exclaimed: Let him come
down. Then l took the knife ard tried it.
60 Let him come down. | yelled.
"The madame did not notice that ] was
making fun of her dialect, but the other
players did, and the scene was spoiled. At
any rate, my delivery pleased the star, and
she forgave my funmaking.
But Janauschek was not always so
good-natured. You Will all remember"
the old player said, as be pushed his
fresh one, 'that she was a magnificent
specimen Of her kind. Her strength was
something beyond belief and she seldom
wearied. One evening when she was
playing Mary Stuart super stood in
the entrance just at her side. At the in
slant before the madame was 10 go on in
the scene the helper eXpectorated a vast
sea of tobacco juice on the floor directly in
the line of the entrance. Although it was
time to go on, Janauschek turned to the
offender and with blow such as power
full man would give she knocked the
offender fat on the floor. Then she turned
and went on with her scene, u OF q second
late, as if the incident had been one of
ordinary occurrence. When other men,
bers of the company would be trying TO
snatch little sleep in the vile travelling
accommodations of those days the madame
would be sitting bolt upright in her seat,
reading some sort of book. She was a
great student, not only of serious litera-
but but of the very lightest forms of it.
when | stop to think Of the wonderful
dual WORK Of Janauschek in 'Chesney
Wold,' the dramatizati on OF Bleak House.
of her Macbeth and Mary Stuart | cannot
repress shudder at the thought of the
hardships that the old star has
suffered of late. Why, not long
ago | happened TO be going through
some little town in Ohio-New London, |
think it was-aDd when | looked out of
the car window | saw a Autograph an
nouncing that Nine. Janauschek. would be
at the opera-house that evening. Janaus-
chek transforming!
"What she did with all of her money Is
mystery to me. She was the rage in Europe
before she came here, and season after
season she commanded enormous busin ess
all over the United States. She went to
Australia. too. and it is my impression
that she did badly there. She had jewelrv
enough, it seemed to me. to keep an ex-
travagant family for lifetime. The Car
of Russia had decorated her with princely
gems. Indeed. doubt If there was a ruler
in EUROPE that had not bestowed a gift
upon this great woman. / would like to
see the Nine. Frouchard that Janauschek
is doing in THE Two Orphans 1t mu ST
be a wonderful performance, but | won't
see it, because it would crowd into my
mind too many painful recollections. st.
Louis Republic.