The San Francisco call., 1899-10-15

keep the audience busy while we patch
this fellow up" he said. and then Nor
risey found himself in the middle Of the
stage without an idea in his mind and an
angry Black Crook glariqg at him. A
derisive laugh from the front of the house
aroused him. He gave yell. rushed at
the Black Crook, forced him into a cor
ner and then. at the top Of his voice.
roared the whole length Of a stump
speech he had learned when with a min
strel show. II made a hit and by the
time the audience had finished applaud
Ing this unrehearsed innovation Zamuel
had been aroused from his trance and was
ready TO go on with his part.
He had hard discipline under old Ben
Trimble of "Trimble's Varieties" THE
old fellow used to listen like a cat to the
performance" Mr. Morrisey says land
his way of letting US know that some
thing was going wrong was to shake
down the ashes in the stove with such
rafting as might have frightened
any one. We always listened for the
shaking"
Mr.. Morrisey declares that he mads
the "hit of his life" in Cincinnati. where
he played Robert Forester in ''Nick of
the Woods" The part Of Forester is
goody-goody sort of role, with a lot Of
talk and no action, and feminine guar
dian angels continually stand between
him and threatening danger. The play
had long run, and every night in the
last act Tillie, the Indian girl, stepped
in between him and the bullet that
really ought to have ended his milk
and-water career. On the very last night
of the play. however, just as Tillie self
sacrificingly did her duty. one of the
set trees fell over on Morrisey and
knocked him senseIess. to the uproarious
delight of the discriminating but utterly
unsympathetic audience.
"I never got so much applause before
or since says the veteran manager,
land I never deserved it less. for ii was
not I but poetic Justice that arranged
matters that time"
zone of the funniest performances that
I ever assisted in" he states twas a
presentation Of the play popularized by
handsome Montague. in which great
interest centered around the afrec-
tion existing between a big New
foundland dog and his master The
leading mans own dog generally ap-
peared in this drama, but on this occa-
sion he was invalded and we had to bor-
row another one that knew not Daniel
He was thorough amateur and got stage
fright in its worst form, but he was too
good-natured to bite. and so all through
that long performance one or the other of
US, to the delight of the whole company,
the places where he was supposed to
bound with much alacrity and wagging of
tail because Of his love for his prosecuted
owner
'In the last scene. where, Jack comes
into his fortune. and in the exuberance of
his happiness orders his dog admitted to
his ancestral drawing room. the spectacle
Of the leading lady pulling that reluctant
beast along by the neck while he dug his
f,X1
she said admiringly, See how he loves
his masteri There must be something
very sweet IN your nature, Jack. to make
a poor animal care for you like this
made audience and actors roar in unison
and the curtain went down untimely in
the midst Of gale of laughter"
John Morrisey does not play drums now
adays nor pitch circus tents nor ride on
pole wagons. He does business IN softly
carpeted offices above the Orpheum and
often people come there to ask his advice
about starting on the stage Sometimes
he gives them encouragement and some-
times he sends them away disappointed.
1t takes him less than five minutes of
talk to decide.
People from years old to 90 come to
him. If the applicant is a woman and is
determined to be heard he takes her
downstairs to the big empty theater some
morning and lets her show him what she
can do If the applicant is man he does
not grant him trial unless he gives real
promise.
"You can talk to a man, but you can't
refuse a woman" he says.
Everything in the vaudeville business
goes by fads. If we have a child per-
forming here mothers from all over town
will bring their own darlings to me to
beg for an engagement When Mrs. Shaw
was here had calls from more than
hundred whistlers."
Mr. Morrisey has great faith in Cali
fornia talent, especially that of the chill
dren. Little Arnold Grazer is his newest
discovery in this line. The youngsters
amateur work caught the managers eye.
and Arnold is row fairly started on his
career.
To protect Mr.. Morrisey. let me add
that all infants are not Arnolds,