The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-10-25
York Theaf riCaLS.

this season, which he SAYS win be his
last before retiring into afiuent private
life, makes il pertinent TO tell how he
passed resOlutely from negro minstrelsy
at $l60 week to membership in a dra-
matte stock company at S25, because he
was bound 70 rise from song and dance
TO legitimate acting. 1t was not long
however, before his antic disposition
or maybe il was the comic face which
masked all his sober purpOses-Ied him
into the very first Of what became
known as farce comedies, and in which
the late Nate Salisbury was Ihe prime
mover and a low comedian. and Frank
w Sanger was an actor also. SAILS
bury subsequently originated the
scheme Of Buffalo Bills Wild West and
made fortune as the managing part
uer in it, Sanger is rich. too, through
Investments in theatrical property.
Wilson's desire to become a strictly
orthodox comedian was not gratifed,
because he made fame and fortune with
the ditues, jests and capeTs of comic
opera, and is wealthy enough to retire
from the stage if he really wishes to-
He began in this field, and declares he
viii go out of it. with "Erminie." That
play holds the distinction of having
. been performed more times consecu-
lively than any other. the first long
terms of 'Adonis' and "a Trip to Chi
natown" having been broken by sum
mer vacations. And 'Erminie" intro
ducea to our stage two comic charac-
ters. the big, bTazen thief and his small
coWardly pal, who have been multiplied
since in farce, extravaganza and vau-
deville The story of "Erminie" was
taken from the French meIOdrama of
Robert Afacaire," in which the leader
Of the jailbird pair came to a tragic
death, anG provided a role in which
such serious actors as Frank Mayo,
Edward Eddy. James w. Wallack and.
once in a while Of a Saturday night
even Edwin Booth, used in a one-act
version Of the French piece. But IL was
the late Mark Smith and Francis Will
son who typified them in the manner
now familiar-that of q. tall bravo and
a short craven. SO faithfully has the
contrast in stature been adhered to that
in The Runaways,' which happened
to Immediately precede "Erminie" on
the stage of its revival. one of the ac-
tors of the nefariOus pair is six feet
four and the four feet six-almost quail
flied to pose as giant and dwarf IN a
dime museum.
Imitation is the rule on the stage and
originatiOn the exception. So far as I
know, Joseph Weber and Louis Fields
were first to couple a tail. thin German
and a short, fat one Cor vaudeville dia-
4 logues. in which the one talked non
sense down into the wistful face Of his
credulOus COmrade. Mind you, L don't
count Max and Gus Rogers among the
I cOpyists Of Weber and Fields. for they
are particularly original; but probably
there are fifty similarly assorted pairs
Of German dialect cOnversationalists in
the variety shows most of them steal
ing Weber-Fields and Rogers wit and
humor audaciOusly And see how Will
Gams and Walker set an example for
negro followers with their dapper dan
dy econ, whom YOU feel like kicking.
and the long-legged. loose ointed
clown. who makes you laugh with the
wagging Of a hand or the shutting Of
foot. a Williams can be picked no
any time on any corner of any negro
quarter in this town, but Walkers are
/ born ludiCrous and therefore are hard
TO duplicate Still. lately saw Walker
very closely aped I'm his singing and
dancing Of I'm Jonah Man" The
spontaniety wasn't there. but every
tone and action was reproduced.
At the same time that Sothern has