Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-12-07
SOME OF THE CHANGES WROUGHT
BY TINE IN SHOWS.
some "REMINISCENCES OF RICE,
A Man Of veFsatile Talents-Few
New or Striking Ideas Nowadays
Bareback Riding May He Revived
Something About the Animals.
washington Post.)

| "hine' the euTsle on the nlppopOtamus
and the bleat Of the fawn, a riot OF notes
from natures keyboard. from the sololsts
OF brute creation. To these symphonies
from the zoo John q. Doris has given cal
these thirty years and more. man and
boy. For Doris was reared under canopy
| of canvas. Oft in his babyhood days was
he folded In sumber by the geological or
chestra, by notes from the throat OF the
| wolf bowling at the brightness of the
| suffering caroline lamp Doris, even to-
| day. partakes Of the SAVIOR of the saw
dust as he turns back the panorama OF a
busy, eventful past and recalls In memo
RVS eye his early days with Dan Rice,
daddy OF clowns, sporaive wearer OF the
cap and bells.
Looking backward through vista of
years. Mr.. Doris can trace the circus
from its genesis in we day OF ye red was-
on to the little show world encfrcled by
miles Of canvas. peopled by up-to-date at
fractions gathered by the agents oil
Bailey, the nabob latter day Snowman.
In his circus days Doris was one Of the
most enterprising Of the Snowman In
America, with his hand ever in touch with
the public pulse and his purse strings
loosened and ever ready for investments
in the latest sensations in freakdom. the
HtNGSL IONtlliGS III dSlObdNS rhN
tics.
NOW A THEATRICAL MANAGER.
Doris fattened his bank account even
to hundreds OF thousands. But the ca
reer OF the circus resembles night OK
stairs with its ups and downs. Doris
career partook Of the see-saw or uncer-
tainty and speculation, though, on the
whole, the circus has been kind TO him.
And 80, after life OF action, fever, un-
certainty he Is still ready to buffet the
storm Of adversely that Is often the por-
ton Of his lot. Mr.. Doris however, has
bowed himself from the glamour and din
OF the circus, and IL now engaged In
what is known in theatrical circles az
1.-THE legitimate" He Is tho proprietor
OF the Doris Amusement Company,
which controls the latest farce success,
I'm Paradise" Mr.. Doris tilted back In
his chair in the box office at the Column
bia theater the other day and dreamily
recalled the days of his youth with ye
IL can see back thlrty-slx years as
though 1t were but yesterday" said Mr.
Doris. my first visit 10 Washington
was in 1853, Is an agent for the old Dan
Rice show. lie played that season down
on -Four -and-a-half street, near the ave-
nue.. Within a stones throw was the gov
eminent reservation. afterward trans
formed by the landscape artist into one
OF the most picturesque parks in the
world. Four and-a-half street wasn't
a very swell neighborhood at that time
It was low, damp, Misunderstanding, and
from the door OF our tent | could see for
blocks over vast eXpanse or mud and
lowland But Colonel Shepherd, the
Michael Angelo OF Washington, came
later on and gave the nation city fit for
a location In the corner of a star. Dan
Rice was. of course, the reigning attrac-
ton IN those days.
PRESIDENT ILNCOLN'S VISIT.
we played here a week in 1868, and
President Lincoln and his wife were
among our distinguished callers. The presi
dent was a personal friend of Rice, and
came around TO Dams dressing room
after the performance and recalled Dams
transforming tours through Illinois in the
BUS
Mr.. Rice never tired of recalling that
visit of the martyred president; of how
the great man tossed aside all austerities
and dOcorum and sat on the edge Of huge
trunk, his long legs entwined, his knees
I'm his hands, and his high. fiat trimmed
tile on an angle, as he chatted, laughed
and cracked a batch OF favOrite gags.
We played Washington every season
from 1863 10 the early '10s. In 1867 we rent
ed a lot near the Baltimore az Potomac
station. on Sixth street. That was my
first year with the Forepaugh show. In
the early'G0s Rice was under the manage
ment of Spalding d Rodgers who made
a fortune in the '0Os on the Mississippi
river with their boat shows. They had a
floating circus, and played the towns
along the levees. The ring was pitched
I'm the middle of the boat, and the per-
formance consisted OF trained dogs and
horses and the old clown specialties.
Spalding left an enormous fortune, and
his son, Colonel Charles Spaldlng, the
owner OF the Olympic theater and a mill
ion dollars worth or property In 81. Louis.
IS the wealthiest theatrical proprietor in
America, though few, even among theatri-
cal people, are aware of that fact.
Dan Rice signed contract for term
OF years with the Forepaugh show at a
salary OF $1,000 per year. The younger
generation of theatergoers who hear their
daddies and mommers rave over Dan
Rice have but a hazy idea of the talents
of this great genius of the sawdust ring.
NO CLOWN SINCE DADDY RICE.
Rice was a man OF versatile talents
and fine mind, deeply read in every
teal and sporting events. To be sure, he
depended first Of all on his success as O
clown, but he wasn't the sort OF conyen-
tonal clown we see in the circus to-day.
Rice was a talking clown or jester, sort
Of Touchstone with eloquence, W.T. poesy
and mirth, the originator OF all his qupS
and savings. 1T required an actor OF no
mean ability 70 produce the entertain
ment provided by Rice. His artistic
Tombstone style Of the clown was never
eauallsd before or since. The Rice clown
died with his retirement ana gave way
70 the hybrid species OF the buffoon. Thl5
buffoonery replaced the legitimate Jester
OF the Rice type and the clown or to-day
ia NEARLY an incident Of circus, filler
in on the programme, tickle shadow or
the brilliant substance or the Rice Gays.
But RiOe's talents were not connned 10
the clown speciality. He was a trainer or
animals, horses being ms Specially: uis
trained horse Excelsior was one OF the
most intelligent animals that ever bowed
10 the beck Of its master. Excelsior was
as blind as a bat. Certain. words from
his master ment certain tricks. The Feat
OF training a blind horse was regarded az |
a sensation In those days and would be
tust as much of sensation to-day, Tor
that matter. Rice's trick stallion, step
hen A. Douglas, graceful ARABIAN steed,
was another OF Rice's pet trick animals,
and he was almost as big faVOrite WIN
the public as old Excelsior
FEW NEW OR STRIKING IDEAS.
~ have often been asked If the circus
~ to-day IS much of an improvement over
the shows OF the Dan Rlce days wen, 4
suppose the circus business has spread |
ana multiplied In its various departments !
llong with every other enterprise I'm this |
great country of ours. But In the grown
md progress OF the circus l have failed |
10 observe any new or striking IDEAS. IN |
mix and volume. I'm the number or at |
.ractions and the size OF the canvass, we |
make the old time circus look IKE q mere |
.ide-shOw. There are more animals ana |
nora freaks, but the trained animal leat-
Ires are not retained. while the old-fa-
'hioned feats I'm bareback riding which,
o my mind, should never have been
stricken from the list of circus attrac-
ions. are regarded by our managers OF |
o-day as back numbers. The talking |
down or jester has been relegated to the
helf. and the so-called up-to-date acts,
UGH as trick bicycle riding and the new
st thing In acrobatics, are featured In
he programme and have become FIX
ures in the circus attractions, which
hows that the circus OF the past fifteen
hnu dr. WI or fha NafiAIY and WILL |