The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-02-01
Accidents Have
Upset Actors

Mr.. Mulholland tells tale of an
irish tour in his younger days, when
the company were to give a representa-
ton of Colleen Bawn" at a hall in a
country town. There being no dress
ing-room accommodations provided,
several yards of unbleached calico
were requiSitioned to supply the def
cheney, and to curtain off q corner
near the stage.
The actor playing Danny Mann ut
tered an impassioned speech, ending
with the words mot unless you give
me the glove, and then I'd jump into
the bottomless pit for We" But in his
fine frenzy he had forgotten where
the platform ended, and a crash was
heard as he fell, clutching as he did so
at the curtain, which gave way, and
disclosed to the audience several male
members of the Irish Gaiety company
atured, more or less, for a Turkish
bath!
Scarcely less embarrassing was an
accident that took place on the first
night of pantomime in a big midland
town.
The fairy queen had to enter in one
scene, dressed as a witch, the cloak and
hood fastened over her own Respondent
costume, and, at a given moment, she
had to make a speech, standing over
trap door, through which her witch
garb was to disappear, by means of
a string pulled from beneath the stage.
The moment came, and she spoke her
cue, the lights were turned up sud-
denly, but to the CONSERVATION of the
public and the dismay of the fairy
queen she had been left standing there
with very little on, in consequence of
the string that was attached to the
cloak having caught in her skirt, which
had also disappeared through the trap
door. After a moments speeches. hor-
ror the poor fairy bolted to the wings.
When Mr., Arthur Bourchier was re-
Gently honored by a command to play
at Sandringham before their maiesties
the king and queen, and H. I. M. the
Kaiser, he told the Prince of Wales
of an accident he once had When play
ing DR.. Johnson.
Part of the makeup Of the witty
doctor consists Of a routund appearance
Which is produced by a pneumatic ap-
pliance.
On one occasion Mr.. Bourchier hap
pened to collide with some of the seem
cry forcibly enough to puncture the
pneumatic fatness," which gradually
faded away before the eyes of the as
tonished audience.
Many years ago when the well-known
actor, Harry Cox, was playing at a
pantomime in Brighton, it was discoV-
cred that his costume, consisting of
monkeys skin, had been left behind
Luckily there was another among the
theater properties and into this he was
squeezed with a great effort Every
time he bent about, the skin burst
and showed his flesh, or rather would
nave done so had 1t not been that a
man was stationed in the wings with
large pot Of black paint, and Mr. Cox,
when he felt the split, gamboled to the
side and received a lightning dab with
huge paint brush, which covered the
awkward nd 1oI 70
unnoticed by the house.
Mr.. Leslie Morton tells how on one
occasion when he was doing a concert
and lecture tour with Mr.. Barring Gould
they gave performance at a little
Devonshtre town. The stage was so
hlmsiIy constructed that the boards
moved as they walked about, and con-
sequently the scenery logged up and
down.
Mr.. Morton knew that the impassion-
ed song he was about to sing would
probably bring down the property cot
tage, so took the precaution CT stand
ing with his back to 1t, holding the
intels with both hands, and then feel
ing himself the mainstay of the build
ing, sang out Justify, with no ill-result,
The one and only Dan Leno made
MS nrst appearance at the age of three,
when he wore pair of black silk
stockings made into tights.
III OAIS OCCdSlOn WI6n sara Bern
hardt was playing Princess Lointaine
she nearly had a mishap with her wig.
In one act the dying prince clutches
at her hair, which she, in a passion
OF scorn, cuts off with her dagger. For
this purpose it was necessary to tie
the tresSeS onto the main portion of the
wig so delicately as to enable one stroke
to sever the thread, and only once did
they nearly fall off before the right
moment came. They did last, how
ever, though they were breaking aWay
when Sarah raised her weapon.
A story is told of an actor who, in
olden days, had to play Othello, and
round at the last moment that he had
forgotten his black tights. No others
were procurable, so he covered his
limbs with black grease paint, and no
one was any the wiser.
The pathetic distinctly bordered on
the humorous in the case of a cele-
brated operate tenor, who was i'm
mensely vain of his personal appear
ance, and took the greatest pride In
MS costumes. On one occasion, when
singing a new role, he had procured
gorgeous dresses for the part, and all
went splendidly till the tragic moment
arrived when he was to fight his fatal
duel
Strung to an immense pitch Of feel
Ing, he wrenched his sword from its
scabbard, only to be greeted with
shouts Of laughter from the audience
Tor the weapon had appeared swathed
IN folds of tissue paper, and the ba-
thoS Of the display utterly snoilad tho