The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-05-12
FATE OF FOOTLIGHT STARS
Prominent Actors Who Left the
Boards for the Madh0use.
OFTEN Too Great Indulgence in the
Pace That Kills the Cause of Their
Downfall The Last Appearance
in Pubiic OF John Mccullough.

Madness and the American stage are
getting to be Familiarity linked. Within
a little over a decade eleven of the stel-
lar lights Of the Thespan world have quit
the boards for the madhouse, hopelessly
insane, and there have fingered short
period until death has given most of them
a final release. Besides the eleven, there
have been scores Of other similar cases
whose fate has excited only the briefest'
! If any, comment, because of their incon-
spicuous position in stageland.
The recent sad mental collapse of Maui
rice Barrymore calls attention to the
many pathetic cases that strcw stage his
tory and eXcites enquiry into their cause.
In every instance it has been the same.
1t is the pace that kills that has caused
these mental wrecks and not overwork.
The victims of madness have burned the
candle from both ends. Strong drink,
late hours. all the so-called delights of
B0hemianism, the gambling table. being
known as good fellows and FOUNDERS,
have at last entailed the inevitable PEN
atty Reason has fed; madness and death
only remain.
A list of tine famous actors who have
succumbed to such causes within few
years shows: j. *. Emmett, Tony Hart,
steele Mackaye, Maurice Barrymore.
Charlie Hoyt. William ]. Seaman. Will
liam Hoey, John Mccullough, Harry Ker-
nell. BARLEY Campbell. and George S.
Knight.
II Is a noticeable fact that no women
appear in the above list, which speaks well
for the general character of the women of
the stage and their ability to Withstand
the temptations to which they are ex-
posed.
One of the first men in the above list to
succumb to the fastness of the pace at
which he lived was BARLEY Campbell, the
author of "The White Slave" and dozen
other plays which fifteen or more years
ago were all the rage. a play by Camp
bell was sure of a go, and managers fell
over one another and offered the most al
Turing terms to get a drama from his pen.
His income from royalties was away up in
the thousands monthly, and he spent it as
rapidly as it came in Once launched on
the wave Of prosperity, the adulation
showered upon him turned his brain.
| Champagne flowed for him and his COM
( pGniors day and night. and the gaming
table frequently held him for twenty-ioui
hours or longer at a single sitting.
Campbell was originally a reporter on q
Pittsburg paper. and it was while he was
The White Slave accepted for produc-
ton at a local theatre. He had te defray
some of the expenses OF Inc prOuucuOil,
and having no means of his own, had sue
ceeded in borrowing a couple OF hundred
dollars from friends for the purpose.
The night of the first performance his
nature was so wrought up by anxiety that
| he was afraid to go to the theatre and
watch the performance. Meeting friend
in the street he took him into an adjacent
hotel and, telling him OF his fears, be-
sought the friends company AFTER taxing
three or four drinks of brandy with the
friend Campbell mustered up enough cour-
,1,n 81 Th.a fret al Tt-ac
| almost ended as the~two men entered and
at its conclusion the applause was SO ire
mendous that all doubts as to the play 5
success was dissipated.
HAD DETERMINED ON SUICIDE.
Lets go out and get a drink said
Campbell to his friend.
The two men were soon back at the hote
with a bottle of champagne before them
this time As Campbell emptied his glass
DO you know what intended to do to-
! night, Dick?
Campbell reached into his pocket and
| bringing ont a wicked-iUoking revolver
: III THE White Slave had failed" he
/ said 81 was going TO blow out my Drains
there in the theatre.
, | Campbell didn't blow out his brains
! but in a few succeeding years OF pros
perity managed to drink them out. He
turned night INTO Day anu III d lew gSt,i
r the inevitable result of his reckless dis
i sipation developed itself Paresis came
and the madhouse became his home. =
brief period oof detention, and the brll
liant BARLEY Campbell was taken out
!. Jahn Mccullough, Genial John" as d
was known. was another case, only sllsht
!. IL dissimilar from that OF BARLEY camp
= bell. Mccullough was victim OF goo
, Fellowship Nightly after the perform
; ance. no matter in what city he mlgh
!. be. IL was McCullough's delight to get
congenial party of friends about MN De
fore a Widespread table, at some hote
= ! or restaurant, and there, after the Nlanu
/. had disappeared, TO sit with plentiful sup
!. ply of liquids and swap stories untH Ion
n after the daylight had crept into tn
room Not infrequenuy these conViVia
sessions would last so long that the &C
= tor would go directly from them 10 dp
L pear on the stage.
Y The end came suddenly in Chicago. Nc
: Cullough was playing at McNickers the
alter in THE Gladiator taking the roi
Of spartacus. The night before Mr.. Nc
J, Cullough had been out with TRENDS are
- the performance as usual, ana had ma
!. but two or three hours sleep w1en y
= was aroused to go to the theater. III
i manager at the time was T.. D. Price, an
he has described that last appearance a
follows: G.
act where the rugged Thracian, weight
ed with chains, is brought captlVe !
Rome the great actor STROBE feeply 10 IN
4 centre of the stage and stood with ciaspe
, hands and bowed head. When ne spoK
the empty sound of his voice struck terro
10 the hearts of the actors who stoo
about him and loved him. II was No
the Snartacus they knew who conIronte
n them but the ghost Of Spartacus. He al
!, not know what TO do or where TO NOV
\. What shall l sayY he enquired audlol
:. to the prompter.
MCULLoUGHs LAST PERFORMANCE.
1.-The last act was chaos. Some of I'll
+. audience OWNED the truth. But other
~ thoughtless and ribald, believing McCu
n Tough under the influence of drink, scofe
p and 1eered as the curtain fell. Utterl
d. exhausted, the great actor was lifted
-, his feet. 1t was the rebuke of his sympi
10 thiZers to the human Jackals who snarlt
4. at the fallen lion. He staggered in frol
e. of the curtain. For an instant be stos
IL irresolute Then came the remembrani
e, of insult. Ladies and gentlemen,
On said, If you had suffered tonight as
30 have suffered you would not have dol
or THESE were his last words in publ
~ from the stage. The applause this Tin
~ was ringing and admirative, and Joi
ar McCullough, with all his splendid digni
'' made his last exit from the stage.
AZ, Half an hour later he emerged FRO
ct, his dressing room refTeshea anu sii,,iifi
nj That's the way to play Spartacus!
e. said L never acted so well in my III
-e He had already forgotten the trouble
scenes Of that awful night.
HE held his last rehearsal the ne
. day Never was sadder scene enact
II, a theatre. 1t was a mock rehearsi
~ Again the tragedlan's memory was
., blank. At the end OF the first act he gu
Ill | denly demanded a rehearsal Of Rich
lieu 1t had barely commenced before