The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-31
CALLBOY HANGED HIMSELF.
ALL BUT STOPPED PRODUCTION
Of CESAR AND CLEOPATRA"

BIAnd enforcement % Police Rule Prevents
Manages FrOm Getting Can nook.
ms Property. From Dead Mans
EHccts -HastY Copy solves Problem.
William Watson, who had been engaged
and instructed rs call boy for the actors
in George Bernard Shawb play -C@sar and
Cleopatra" which was introduced at the
New Amsterdam Theatre last night, was
found dead shortly after 5 O'Clock in tn
evening in an attic room he had occupied
In q boarding house at $40 West Forty
fifth street. He had hanged himself with
a rope that had been fastened to the
slylight.
Watson was last seen alive on Monday
evening by Miss Annie Callaghan, who keeps
the boarding house. She tried several times
to get into his room yesterday, and finally
at S o'clock called In Policeman Boyle OF
the West Fo~rty-seventh street station.
The policeman broke open the door and
found Watson dead. An ambulance sur
geon said that be had been dead for many
hours.
The stage manager Of the New Amster-
dam Theatre was greatly worried over the
failure OF Watson to appear at rehearsal
yesterday. When word Of his suicide
reached the theatre, the stage manager
hurried around to the station house and
pleaded with the sergeant to be allowed TO
20 through the effects Of the dead man
The police and Coroner are usually very
soueamish about letting folks see or ex-
anime the property Of lead people and It was
with great difficulty that the stage man
ager finally prevailed on the sergeant 70
let him pick out 2 small memorandum booS:
IL .,o sho ell hnnL for Tho NAV In II
were the names Of all the actors, ranging
from the stars, Forbes Robertson and Ger
trude Elliott, down to the most unlmportanC
! ~supernumerary. With each name were
entered the cues on which they went on the
stage. In the cases OF the prominent n
I important actors in the piece there were adj
vance cues that called them from their
dressing rooms to the wings to await the
second or what Is known as the entrance
cue.
The stage manager said that the book
found on Watson w the only one in exist
ence, and that il had a prepared with
great labor. He further stated that with
| out the call book there woul probably be
no performance. Police and (%oroners'
rules are one thing, and theatrical troubles
| are another, so the order went forth that
the call book should not he removed until
the Coroner arrived. The stage M ger
got out Of the difficulty by hurriedly taking
copies of the various names, notes and cues
and he hustled of to the theatre not much
before curtain time.
Watson was ~ years old and had been
connected with the show business for a num-
; her Of years. The men around the New
Amsterdam Theatre said last night that he
mad started in as a CallbOy ana never got
| above il. He bad played minor parts in
several productions and was employed IA
! Callboy nv Some of the leading actors Of
this country and England. His last engage
ment had been with H.. r.. IrVing's COM
PAW.
Watson left nothing that would explain
! his act. The men around the the8tre say
! he had been melancholy for some time,
As far as could he learned, Watson had
never spoken Of having relatives and il is
not known whetherth ne body will be claimed
or not. He had lived at the boarding house
for nearly two weeks, but had never talked
TO anv one there or told who he was.