The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-13
"Burt, Dasher and Hoyt.


The appearance here last week of Hoyts
"A Day and a Night" with so many of
Hoyt's old employees in the company, fur
nished occasion for discussing the many
heartless stories which gossip mongers have
been industriously circulating about Play
wright Hoyt's health. Mr.. E. NJ Dasher,
of this city, who is to-day the oldest en-
ploye in the Hoyt household, having been
Mr.. Royt's personal friend and his most
popular road manager for eleven years. is
plainly more worried by these extravagant
tales he has been hearing than he is about
the health of his best friend. While in the
city he called down a party of gossipers
good and hard and then proceeded to tell
them more real truth about Playwright
Hoyt than they had ever read in the news
papers.
Dasher, who on this occasion came nearer
having tears in his voice than ever before,
that Mr.. Hoyt is as strong mentally as he
ever was You seem surprised, but that is
because you have been reading these bru-
tai lies which have been put in circulation
recently: They started in Washington, be-
cause Mr.. Hoyt was not able to give the
necessary time to preparing his new play
A Dog in the Manger. so as to prevent it
from being a failure: In all these years
had, but how many other playwrights can
point to such a string of successes? Mr..
Hoyt Is just as able to write another Mid
night Bell or Texas Steer or Hole in the
Ground as he ever was. The present state
of his health is solely the result of the
nervous strain that came with the loss Of
ms beautiful wife, Caroline Miskel, and his
little baby to which he had been looking
forward with more joy than to any play he
GoT w renv spent fo some him time With MT
proved He has personul friends in this
city, who saw him recently in New York,
and they will tell you that Mr.. Hoyt,s brain
a W. iS wit fC aC
crisp his satire as pointed and his gen
eral flow Of humor, always delight in his
friendly conversation, is just refreshing.
Mr.. Hoyt has suffered for several
months from insomnia, and was being
dragged down until he changed his physi-
clan, who Is now with him day and night,
and is having remarkable success in restor-
ing his health.
''These brutal and cowardly stories have
almost disorganized his companies. Take
Big BIZ De We're; when he heard certain
story he broke down and cried like boy.
Another member of "A Day and a Night
company came to me with tears in his eyes
when ] arrived the other day and asked
about a story he had read in Cincinnati
paper. He said he had a beautiful home
down East which he owed to Mr.. Hoyt's
generosity. A girl IN the company, who
has substantial evidence of Hoyt's generos-
lty, received a telegram from her mother
asking If another story were true, and she
met me with face looking as if her dear
est friend had died. I have a letter in my
pocket from q man in another Hoyt COM
pany man who has a little farm, all he
owns in the world and he says Hoyt lifted
the mortgage for him. The world doesn t
know Of these things. At Christmas times
l have seen Mr.. Hoyt and his wife go out
and buy 5000 worth of presents to hang on
the stage Christmas tree. He has had as
high as 156 actors on his pay roll, and the
many people in his companies and in Others
are being unnecessarily grieved by the lies
that are circulated. ] want to do my part
to head off any more of these ridiculous
yarns about Charles Hoy is mind failing /
shouIQ not be surprised to see him perfect
ly well again soon, and q--'ckly turn out a
play more bitter in satire than anything he
has ever done, getting even with certain
unfriendly gossips who seem to take a saw
age delight in trying to wound his feelings
and the feelings of the many friends who
love him as q BROTHER