Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1905-12-30
THE PASSING OF A GREAT ACTOR,
Henry Irving and His Service to Dra-
matte Art

lhS removed from the tneater OF active
life a man who wrought more eff.
cheney than any other individual dur.
ing the present generation to make
the stage of the Anglo-Saxon world a
great engine for educational progress
"a master-agency for culture and ar
tistic intellectual education. He was
an actor of marked ability, though far
from being man of transcendent his
trionic genius. Indeed, he lacked the
great imaginative power that marks
the highest order of genius. He was,
in our judgment, incomparably infer
ior to Edwin Booth and certain other
OF the master-spirits who have walked
the boards during the past thirty
years. In certain plays he was dis
tlnctly great; in others his manner
isms were so conspicuous as to pre-
vent the audience from losing sight
of the play-actor in the role assumed
While, however, he lacked the rich i'm
agination that Is the browning glory
of the great poet, artist, musician or
actor, he brought 70 his work the SUI
perb determination to excel and to be
worthy of a worlds praise which COM
pels success, when, as was the case
firing industry.
Henry Irving was indefatigable in
his study and research. He was tire
less worker, with ever a high ideal
and aim to urge him to the heights
in his art work. Moreover, he pos
sessed in a high degree the artistic
temperament. His life is one of those
conspicuous successes of our time that
should prove an inspiration to ambi-
tious young men, for he was in high
and noble sense a self-made man who
rose by virtue of close and studious
application, perseverance, industry and
unremitting adhesion to a high and
worthy IDEAL
His real name was John Henry
Brodribb. He was born in 1888 at
Kemton, Somerset. His family de-
termined that he should become
tradesman and secured him a position
as a merchants clerk while he was
still quite young. Henry, however
had other dreams. When small boy
he set his heart on becoming an ac-
tor His first appearance was at the
age of twelve. The result was a dis
NAL failure, but nothing daunted, he
persevered. Failure only made him
more resolute. He did not permit him
self to be cast down. He had set out
to succeed and succeed he would. 1t
was the possession of this spirit that
carried him along through many dark
days when weaker natures would have
succumbed. More than this, he early
set up a very high ideal which friends
imagined preposterous and unattain-
able. Not only would be succeed, he
promised himself, but he would rise to
the head Of the profession. He would
enact the greatest roles and enact
them worthily. Such was the char
aoter and such the purpose of young |
Henry.
1t was not until the seventies of the
last century, however, that he scored |
a decided success in London. In THE |
Bells" "Richelieu," Hamlet" Mac |
BETH "Othello," Richard ILL.," Lear"
and other plays he won high degree
of success. In 1878 he became man.
ager of the Lyceum theater and from |
that time on he steadily rose by virtue
of the high character of his work and |
the exceptional excellence of the en-
tire performances produced unde his
management.
1t was the dream of Henry Irving's |
life to make the stage a noble educa-
tional agency. He strove to dignity |
his profession and to compel men to