The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-12-30
VARIED CAREER OF
A GREAT ACTOR
WarfeId Tells of His Fifteen
Years on the Stage
FAILED IN SAN FRANCISCO
Fiasco Which Sent Him to New York.
Slow But Sure Rise-contract
With Belasco-ldeas on
Stage Methods.
FAILED IN SAN FRANCISCO

he ever had was that of mnding a dis
play of assorted wares outside small
drygoods store. Before that he had been
at school,
He thinks that he was destined to be-
come a Sherlock Holmes drom playing
watchdog to the pins and needles and sus-
penders) or else a merchant prince. But
he got tired of the process and began his
theatrical career by standing in thea
ire lobby and giving out programmes.
All of this part of his life was spent
in San Francisco. The theatre at which
young David took his first engagement
as programme boy-was the Standard.
After that he continued to mount the the
atrical ladder by going to the Bush Street
theatre as an usher.
This was a lucky move,' he says in the
Bohemian. I'm those days ushers had a
way of taking turns about. The audience
was seated by Sis, and as our positions
gave us the entree to the other theatres
in the city, some of the four ushers en-
ployed in the theatres could see the pro-
auctions at the other playhouses without
interfering with their duties at the Bush.
Accordingly L saw everything to be
seen in San Francisco. The Baldwin, the
leading theatre, was the home of first
class stock company, which included
James ONelll, Rose Coghlan, Lewis Nor
rison and Jeffreys Lewis. The stage
manager was David Belasco. We young
sters even then looked upon Belasco as
a great man.
However, what made me determine
more than anything else to become an
actor was not the good acting that I saw,
fft,r hot
ter, 1 said to myself, why shouldn't 1 try :?
was confident l could act better than
the worst I saw, and made up my mind
to make the effort.
His First Appearance.
II had an opportunity to join a little
repertoire company which was barn
storming the outlying towns In popular
melodramas; and this was my first APP
pearance on the stage. The engagement
did not last more than a week. I Joined
several such companies-I never played a
part twice. 1t was really tragic.
If only I had a chance to play
said to myself If only l could have
enough time to learn my lines, | believe
l could do better
I'm all candor, however. l was pretty
bad. l had always been so apt at imi-
tations and dialects that l wondered
whether 7 couldn't be more successful in
tHe variety theatres.
This led up to my memorable engage
ment at the Wigwam and my splendid
fiasco, which has been so often written
about since that | need not go into the
painful incident again.
II will only say that my fiasco was
not made in a dancing act, as some have
stated, but in speciality of artistic i'm
itations and dialect stories. l had been
very successful at clubs and in private
entertainments. and my failure at the
Wigwam, / am now convinced, was large
ly due to nervousness.
"All my friends were there mingling
their applause with derision of my enc
mics. But the tide would not be turned
1t was a heartbreaxing experience and
I felt utterly discouraged; yet / have al
ways argued that it was the best thing
that could have happened to me.
Il was really and TRULY ashamed of
myself. I loved my home, but the dis
grace of failure and the cheerless pros
pect that confronted me there determined
me to bid farewell, shake the dust of
San Francisco from my shoes and go to
New York to make fresh start
THE prospect was hard enough, good
ness knows 1 had never been far from
home: l had no resources, no trade
nothing. I was not fit for anything, and
had I failed should have been In a sad
condition.
Gave Him Benefit.
Il was facing a long, weary journey,
but the boys that belonged to the clubs
I had often entertained gave me benefit
Cat my request, and $50 was raised to de-
fray the expense of getting me out OF
town. My mother gave me $50 and her
blessing, and with balance of $45 land
ed in New York, unknown and unlimited,
to carve out a career for myself in this
great busy, busting city.
my early days in New York were dis
couraging. The desolation and lonliness
/ felt during the first week or so was
really tragic! What a great big city 1t
was The further / walked the larger
1t seemed to grow.
II wondered how people could ever be
happy here I wondered why they did
not all move to San Francisco, my home.
Right then, If I could have gone back
with some little dignity with even a
playful to show that ] actually had ap-
peared here, l should have done so-oh,
most willingly.
Il didn't even try for an engagement at
a theatre. | turned my attention to vau-
devile and actually obtained an engage
ment at an Eighth avenue concert hall.
1t was only for a week, but I congratu-
lated myself on my success when wasn't
discharged the first night.
II told dialect stories and gave imita-
lions of noted actors. But when that
week was over I couldn't get another
engagement.
About this time w. A Brady appeared
on the scene as a good samaritan. He
had seen me in San Francisco and knew
that / was not an actor. But he found
out how badly | needed an engagement
and as he was going to produce The In
spector' he offered me s25 a week to play
in one of the scenes
Il honestly thought Brady was fooling
when he said he would give me $25 a
week; but he meant 1t. 1t was the first
substantial lift / had received. I remem-
Der that we opened Christmas week, 1890,
at Newark, and played till the middle of
February"
Soon after this start warfield attracted
John Russells notice and was in his
ments followed. for by this time the
young actor had gathered some good ma
terial and was something of headliner.
San Francisco began to seem less allur-
ing.
With Weber G. Fields.
Next he had three years at the Casino,
and then three years with Weber &c
Fields. About that time came what he
calls "the most important change, in an
artistic sense" of his life thus far
~ had been with Weber e. Fields n
year and half when one day received
letter from Mr.. Belasco asking If I
would call on him. did not let the grass
grow under my feet before | went to see
him.
HE was then in little office in Car
negie Hall, where | found him among an
assortment of boxes and bundles, pack
ing up his effects to get out. Our intro
duction was brief.
After few words he asked me if 7
would like tn a h;