The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-04-28
SOL SMITH
RUSSELL DEAD J /
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nUO0ELL. D.E,AU1
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in full as it gives most complete re@lew |
of Mr.. Russell's professional career.
Born in Missouri.
am a, western product, having made my
debut as an infant a half century or so ago
in the town OF Brunswick, Mo-, and my debut
as an actor about fourteen years later in
Cairo, Ill. had no expectation Of going OIL
the stage when j went to Cairo. was i'm
bued with the patriotic spirit and wanted to
go to the&war. had occasionally seen play
or a minstrel show, but they were usually
pretty bad ones, as i remember now, although
they did fire me With ambition. There. was
not a song that heard or a dance that /
saw that I didn't practice until became
quite proficient as a Juvenile song and dance
artist.
But there was little prospect at this time
that would ever realize my ambition to shine
In minstrelsy. Certainly, the atmosphere of
my house was very different from that of the
theater. My father had never seen play in
his life, and, while my mother, who had
taught music in Cincinnati before her mar
riage, was the sister-in-law of Sol Smith,
the then celebrated actor and manager, the
subject of the theater was rarely mentioned
| in the family circle.
| Too Young for War.
! When was about IA the war fever was
at its height and being a boy of spirit de-
termined would answer my country's call.
| &c. as drummer boy, went to Cairo, Ill,
where large force of troops under General
Grant assembled. I allowed to drum
| to my hearts content there in camp, but
|
preparing to fall in and march off to achieve
glory, they asked me where the written con-
sent Of my parents was. I didn't have it, and
knew 1 couldn't get it. Therefore I had to
remain ingloriously behind. used to enter
tain the soldiers with comic songs and jokes.
| and applied toNthe manager of the Defiance
I theater for position in his company. He re-
fused me at first because of my extreme
youth, but after hearing me sing song or
two and learning that. i could play the drum
| he reconsidered, and engaged me for general
| utility at Sc week. I wondered how I could
be worth such large sum, but soon discov
| cred that had to earn it. played the drum
! in the orchestra, sang and danced between the
! acts, and played parts ranging from heavy
vilans-imagine a boy of IA as heavy vii
| iain-to tender and blushing maidens
\ EARLY Work in Blackface.
The first part 4 ever played was a negro
/ girl, Pit-a-Pat, in play called .'The Hidden
Hand" I became quite popular with the SOL
/ diers who made up the audience, but found
that my salary was not sufficient to give me
any better sleeping place than property sofa
at the theater. Here the manager, Tom Hol-
! land discovered me and took me home with
him.: Afterward- slept in his house and
\ read the books in his dramatic library This
! readings was start In the right direction,
1 and I feel even yet great gratitude to Tom
Holland
But one day manager known as Old
Cary came to me and said that he liked the
way I sang and told stories and that if iii
addition ITO these things l would learn to
walk on the slack wire he would give IS
i week.. This offer was too tempting to de-
cline, and so | resigned from the Defiance
4 theater and began to practice iLdustriously on
the slack wire. But fell one day and the
: desire to shine on the slack wire was knocked
out of me. I confined myself to the songs
and stories until the company stole my
!, wardrobe, when, / drifted to st. Louis and
cttainei an engagement in Deagle's theater
at SIS a week. Here the character of my work
i changed somewhat as l appeared in heavy
meodramas, such as were in vogue at the
Bowerysin New York. a,2 ;s755s ~,
i ThenATs playedsa somewhat disastrous and
humiliating ne-ntght engagement in Chi
cago and then, with no possessions to bother
me, I moved to Milwaukee. where I met
. d manager named Caldwell, who gave me a
, chance to sing burlesque parts, and what was
more important, a salary Of $12 week. You
see L was working upward by easy stages. !
next fell in with the Peake company of bell
ringers as their singing comedian, and then
:, i, fell out with them because / couldn't collect
my salary. .}z.9 sI% ~.
went back to ST Louis, where I was re-
engaged at weekly salary of S25 at Deagle's
,heater, My shifting fortunes next carried me-
to Memphis and then to Little Rock, where IN
little company catering to the army oc-
cupied for the first time the position of first
low comedian. At the close of the was
second low comedian in the old theater al
Nashville, Tenn.
AS the 'vNhole Thing"
At latter period was the company man
ager, advance. agent, treasurer and everything
/ else all in one remember that in one town
1 announced my advent with big bell
which I rang Justify as l walked about the
streets. I played that night to 60 cents
which receipts considered rather good. An
) other time sold eye water at 10 cents 6
bottle as a ! side issue 20 my performance
and once the boys of the town thought il
: would be good idea to have some fun with
me, and SO escorted me to the creek and
made an applauding audience on the bank
while 1 involuntarily went in swimming.
v But these little things didn't worry M
E much AS look back now 1t was an inter.
: estfng and not unhappy period of my life
. was very young and full of hope, and was
. absolutely independent-thst means a grea
: deal, you know.
Climbing Toward His Coal.
MY star began to glimmer above the horizon
in 1866, whe1. I was 1S. l secured an en-
: gagement at Ben De Bars theater in ST. Loui
: as second low comedian, and learned there
good deal about the art of acting through
9 contact with many Of the prominent actor
' of the day. During the season / supporte
i Lawrence Barrett, who was then just be
> ginning his career as star and who greatl
J. impressed me with his gentlemanly name
I and scholarly bearing; and there was Maggi
2 Mitchell and Paddy Collins. who yer.
: popular Irish comedian at the time, an
Charles Dillon, the celebrated English TRACE
! dian, and Ben De Bar himself who was an ey
y cellent comedian. His Falstaff and Toodle
!. were portrayals difficult to improve upon, an
e in addition to this ability he was capita
| eto No Lon no