Los Angeles herald., 1906-07-29

I his Irish plays, especially THE Kerry
Cow and kept the money. Some Of his
colleagues say he stlll has the first
dol r he earned in The business. He in
vested it ell In real estate in different
cities and today has more money than
any of his profession.
Maggie Mitchell owns a large block
of real estate on the upper West side
and has built several :. lrtment houses
there which represent a very comfort
able fortune. She also owns other par
cells scattered throughout the city Will
liam Florence left his wife 100000, and
half as much more was disposed of by
his Will.
Daniel Bandmann, when he died last
year, owned valuable ranch in Wyo-
ming. which he had bought with the
money he earned acting Shakespeare at
cheap prices throughout the small west
ern towns for several years. Lawrence
Barrett, on the other hand, It nothing
behind him, although he had spent
many years In producing worthy plays
In the most artistic manner. Edwin
Booths fortune was more than half a
million and would have been much
more had he invested 1t in the business
like way that actors do today.
Richard Mansfield is one of the richest
to retire when he wants to at the end
of the three years his press agent has
allotted to him. He plays lcng seasons,
always draws large audiences and has
inexpensive companies. Joseph Jeffer-
son, who did business himself on the
same meager scale during the later
years of his career left more than half
a million.
No woman ever had a greater vogue
here than Helena Modjeska, who has
been in financial troubles during the
last few years. Most of her money dis
appeared through her western ranch
and her family. She always supported
practically in the west a small colony
of Poles who lived on her ranch. That
has now been sold for 100000. She
earned $25,000 from her tour last year
and Will keep on acting for several
years to come, so she will probably be
able to retire in comfort Hortense
Rhea, who had a period of prosperity
here, died penniless. Her savings were
in measure exhausted by i'll health,
but it was a matter of su. prise that out
of her earnings she had saved so little.
1T is always a little difficult to tell
just how actors spend their money" a
manager told the Sun reporter the other
day. 'for very few of them live in
luxury. They may have a house and a
valet, but with expenditures Of this
kind they stop. They rarely keep
yachts or horses and few of them make
the least pretense to keeping UP an
establishment. I've often thought they
would be much more sensible If they
did Yet with all their earnings they
come to the end of their days, without a
cent.
"One way they use up money is, of
oh tri lr ind of bon
tation in which they live on their
travels. They take suites in small
hotels, have their meals served upstairs
when they are, If possible, a little bit
worse than they are downstairs and
they give suppers to the members of
their companies md in other ways that
do not show but cost a great deal they
let their money sip away.
81 know one star now who travels in
the most etravangant way and l sup
pose she enjoys it. She takes a motor,
two maids, a valet and always a large
suite of rooms in which there is sup
per almost every night. OF course that
may be fun but it is using up every
cent she earns. Yet that woman has
very modest house in the country where
she spends her summers and no home
at all in New York. She never lives
with the least pretense to elegance in
her own home. All the money is
spla shed out in life on the road
"It is the same way with most of the
managers in this city. They don't seem
to have much fun out of their money.
They never spend it as other men who
made the same incomes would. One
sees them around the hotels and chop
houses on Broadway just as if they
were still agents on a small salary 1t
is true that they have begun to live a
little differently during the past few
years. but there is still no good reason
why they should work so hard to make
money from which they have SO little
pleasure. Usually it goes after a while
and they might as well have paid it to
authors and actors. Go into one of the
Fifth avenue restaurants where you see
men of all kinds Enjoying their money
and tell me if you ever saw a manager
among them. On the other hand none
of them-with very few exceptions
ever buys his own home and lives with
any degree of comfort or luur..- in it.
Yet in spite of the little fun they have
out of it the money goes"