The herald., 1898-03-07
coLoRED ACTOR IN CHICAGO
rRAGEDrAN JNo. @. MILLS sERv'
ING IN A CHICAGO HOTEL
A Captain Of Bell Boys Who Deliver
His Orders in True shakepe-
rean Style


! ~ cantain of bell boys at the Chicago
Reach hotel. Mills has had long experi-
enca nm the stage, but just now he is out
| Of an engagement In his profession anu y
us,ne his time to the best advantage pos
sible. He is not song-and-dahce artist
or anything of that kind. but straisn.,
away actor, who can tread the poarussanu
A. ~. redv melodrama and almost any
| thing which is not funny. All this time ne
is ar the stage he Is not allowing himseiI
| to get rusty by any means. MOST oi 'ns
time when he Is off duty he Is IN oemahu
among the hotel guests as an entertainer.
Just now the favorite selection OF MILLS, %
1t is with his audiences, Is the soh.oquy y.
| Othelio The negroes claim the Mov. ts
me of their own race, and in tragedy he is
ALWAYS their prime favorite. Tney say
| that the only place in the play wnere
| Othello makes a mistake Is where ne Kills
| Desdemona by smothering her with com
| forter. instead of finishing her up Win
| razor. A.
When new bell boys get positions at tme
hotel and go on duty under captain M,is
| thev often have pretty hard time getting
used to the ways of the tragedian. Inc
other day new boy came on and had a
| disastrous experience within the first tnir-
| ty minutes after he began work. An oroer
came down from room 800 for hot Scotch'
| Mills had a hot Scotch prepared. IL nap
pened to be the new boys turn to take an
order, and Mills handed him the tray Win
| tha ola IS containing the steaming hot drink
| on 1t. This was the first time the captain
had given the new boy an order. The pear
| er of the drink started toward the elevator,
and Mills said, in deep, stentorian' tragic
tones: Take thou this drink OF heateo
LIQUOR to the apartment numbered wy
The new boy. thinking Mills had SUDDEN
| ly gone crazy, started to run, dropped the
/ fa11 the tray, DenQtnk
| Il double. The boy hurriedly scrambled
| to his feet. but before he could start to run
again an old-timer in the service seizeo
| him and n assured him that the cap n was
all right.
| GUESTS GROW UNEASY
| Then. sometimes new guests at the notei
| get a little uneasy when they near ions
| rolling tragic notes come down the cor-
| rdors with peculiar hollow sound. Tnose
| WIN are inclined to be superstitious get
nervous and make inquiries or complaints
Then they find out that it is only NILS 40
1 ing tragic soliloquies and other snatcnes
| on his rounds and that there really are no
ghosts about the place. Then they IKE II
better and very soon they begin sehdihg
| for Mills to come to their rooms anu oo II
| over again at short range.
| Eyes, I've done quite a little on the
stage" said Mills. Acting is what ike
and am going back to 1t when get gooo
| chance again. Why shouldn't coloreo
| man act If he knows how, providing ne Sc
| lects the right kind of plays and parts
Then, too, If he plays with actors all OF his
| own race most any play will be suitable.
am not so sure but the time Is coming
when there will be distinct and well-de-
| fined field for colored actors. There nave
been actors of our race who have long since
distinguished themselves. Ira Aidrlcn was
a colored man and he played Othello to the
- L. fvnr n.
Othello is my favorite character ana re-
cite more from his lines than from those
of any other character in the drama
MY experience on the stage was down
in Texas, where belonged to dramatic
company that played all over the state. We
made several hundred towns and had very
| satisfactory success. The name of our or
| ganization was the Izelyle Dramatic COM
pany Among other plays we gave Tony,
| the Convict" Simple Silas; or the De-
| tective from Plunkettsvile, and "A Noble
| Outcast' Those were pretty fair plays
| but of course, not of a very high ciasc
| What like is tragedy. And there is where
/ am going to land myself. / have COM
plete set of Shakespeare and l study that
great master whenever have the time 1
don't waste much time when I'm off duty.
but put most of it in on that kind of work. ="
ANOTHER STRANDED STAR
Another star of the Izelyle Dramatic
company Is also at present STRANDED IN
Chicago. His name is H. Lee Rubirth and
he is running an elevator over on the north
side in the Hotel Ontario. The tragic muse
is also close to his heart. Oftentimes when
| on duty Lee is communing with the patron
| saint of tragedy. A faraway look comes
| into his eyes, he throws back his we'll
| shaped head, humps one shoulder up lit
| tie higher than the other and shoves one
hand in between a couple of the brass but
| tons on the bosom of his coat. This is
while people are getting into the elevator.
Then Lee shuts the door with bang, gives
| the rope a yank and as the car starts up
| ward he begins:
" oh, that this too solid flesh might melt,
Thaw and resolve itself into dew"
| The passengers begin to look around to
see If there is any back door out OF the
elevator or a trap door to the roof. Of
| course only new guests al the hotel do that
| All of the old residents have long since
| grown both used and attached to Lees
| dramatic reflections. They are especially
delighted when an evil glitter comes into
| the boys eye, a hump in his back and hi
| starts in with:
Nov is the winter of our discomfort
Made glorious by this summer sun o.
York"
Lee, like Mills, is rather strong on Shake
speare, and his fondness is for the tragic
| characters altogether.
| "Yes, 1 am certainly devoted to the stag
more than to anything else, said Lee
| "Pd rather act than run an elevator an.
day; but, you see, the proprietor needs ele
vator boys more than he does actors Il
| work for him, and in these days wer'
glad to do this, when things are not livel,
in our stage business. Chicago Chronicle