The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-11-04

4
Denver and played the part of Sir Regi-
maid in The Dancing Girl The lines
make me say something about leaving
my comfortable bachelor apartments in
| the Albany to play Robinson Crusoe for
| the seagulls in this beniShted spot
1.-THE next day the critic Of the Denver
| Times remarked that while Denver was
| generally considered pretty far West. IL
was not so benighted that 1t would per-
| init man to advertise his hostelry be-
fore an intelligent audience. You see.
there was a hotel there named the AL
bany, although I never knew 1t until
then. being guest at another hotel.
| After a couple of days I had a note Of
apology from the critic. / was little
offended at the unmerited roast. and after
a little elaboration wrote the critic some
thing like this:
| Dear Sir: Next week in THE Mas
queraders" Henry Arthur Jones has me
say: you can write letter to the
| Times" Neither Mr.. Jones nor Mr..
Sullivan will refer to the Denver
| Times
This note seemed to add fuel to the
flame, and the critic has not spoken to
me since
How did you become identified with
heavy roles?"
II really don't know. / have never
played many parts of that kind. my first
being that of Joseph Surface. Then did
the heavy in 'Heartsease' with Henry
Miller and afterward the lead and heavy
in The White Heather Now, everyone
Identifies me with disagreeable parts and
will accept me in no other. Really. I
think my leading business was pretty
good. but the public doesn't appear to
stand for 1t, and / must go through my
artistic career hated by all men. Sad,
isn't it?''
ut seems strange how a little altera-
tion in an actors paper will raise a hrs
and cry among his friends quoth Tim
Murphy III the lobby of the Columbia the
ether afternoon. For years and Jears
people in the profession and the news
papers have been urging me to change
ny name. saying no man with so Celtic
a cognomen could ever shine in anything
except farce-and horsy farce at that.
Well, in a curtain speech up in Pennsyl-
vania a couple or three seasons ego I
made little talk. in the course of which
1 jollied the audience by saying 1 thought
So much of the town that l seri-
ously contemplated taking the name Of
Wilkes Barre. That set the newspapers
agoing and in three weeks the incident
gave me more notoriety than-I had ever
gotten from a new play.
Then / determined to spell my first
name Tym. and that set them off again.
After that decided that IL dropped an
l and subs tituted a Y. 1t would be fair
exchange to substitute the much used
vowel for the Sometimes one. The result
was that three sheet, which is attract
ing so much notice. Since it has appear
ed and I have had it three seasons, pro-
fessional friends by the dozen have writ
ten me in this vein: For heavens sake,
Tim. don't commit suicide by doing the
Italian with your Irishness. Stick to
Murphy with a Y and big one..
mo doubt they all are trying to be
lovely and all that sort of thing. but. by
actual count, six out Of seven who now
protest are the ones who formerly ad-
vised me to change my name or course.
in all seriousness. Murphy is good enough
to suit ne. think it was Mark Twain
who pictured some would-be society Irish
right here in Washington as assuming
foreign airs and expressing surprise at
the sight of potato. Yes. it was Twain
in The Gilded Age But you can't Twain
me and aside from the advertising get
out of it, the terminating Il is of abso-
lutely no consequence to me. Murphy 1
am and a Murphy shall ever remain"
Just then a former fellow sign-pailser
came into the lobby and Actor Murray ex-
cused himself from The Times man TO
shake the whitehead bedaubed hand Of the
old friend.
A Times" representative who met
Madame Marie Tavary yesterday after
noon found her in the sociable mood
which all her friends know to be the
habitual one of the prima donna She
was induced to talk Of her work. her
b,,t nv les
hersels-and talk right interestingly she
did. Madame Tavary speaks with a pro-
nounced French accent, being native OK
Franco. and frequently supplies little
French phrases when the English lam
guagc does not prove adequate.
LAS to my work. love it. 1 love my
voice, and never in any way have been
guilty of misusing it. 1t is company TO
me. and delightful company. too l am
now making arrangements to introduce
into vaudeville scenes from grand opera.
but have been delayed in doing this
merely through the failure to secure the
proper people, which is. OF course. the
most essential thing but I believe have
them now, and so l hope to complete my
plans very shortly.
Grand opera, rs you probably know,
requires an immense amount of money to
be properly supported ard I should never
other than as an important star. so con-
cluded to enter vaudeville. and since I
have done So find my old friends well
coming me- and by their generous appre-
citation, offering me the same incentive
that they did during my operate career.
/ try to vary my selections with the view
to pleasing everybody. and 50 in giving
both operate and popular numbers sup
ply the demand which the tastes or my
audiences may warrant.
Nine Tavary has been and is still a
great traveller and an earnest reader. Sci
entifc works have fascination for her and
she is as well informed in this branch OF
literature as the average woman is on tho
matter of dress. In this latter connection.
by the way. she has some interesting
things to say of the American woman:
"Of course. the Partisan Tiliner. the
modeer who makes a study OF color blend
ing FORM and such. does and always will
rank first. But when it comes to the &C
tual matter of dressirg-what YOU call
putting on the clothes'-the French women
cannot compare with the women Of this
country. Even the girl of sixteen knows
how to dress. and in point OF style the
American woman goes far ahead OF her
foreign sister. While on the subject Of
the French woman | should like to say that
she has been misrepresented through the
medium of the stage and by the women
that traveller meets in seeing Paris.
Everyone knows that in visiting place
city-one goes to see the gayety. not 10
study the life Of the native. and SO i. is
that the woman Of Paris who carries things
with high hand has come to be considered
as the representative French woman That
is not SO. l have lived with them. studied
them. and know them like book. And I
know th,Tn n 10 vOr1anI,. in causa