Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-19
Stories of Comedian Toole
spondence Of The Star.

LONDON, August o, 1905.
WITH the possible exception Of Theo-
w dore Hook, ]. L. Toole, the vet
eran comedian who died last
week, must have been about the most
persistent and successful practical Joker
that England ever produced. II would
not be surprising. in fact, If the famous
interpreter Of Paul Pry" and caleb
Plummer" were remembered longer for
the fun he made outside the theater than
that which he produced in it, and since
Toole's death stories without number
have been told about his pranks.
One of the best of these comes from
Bran Stoker. who describes a laughable
Joke which Toole and his lifelong chum.
Henry Irving. once played in the salad
days before either the comedian or the
tragedian had become world-renowned
The scene was an old inn at Wavertree.
where the two actors had gone to dine
one Sunday.
Late in the evening" says Sir Henry's
late manager. having been sitting long
after dinner, they sent the waiter for the
bill. While he was gone they took the
silver-of which they had plentiful sup
ply at Wavertree, and of which they ha d
always a liberal amount on the table -
| and hid 1t in the garden upon which the
| room opened. Then they blew out tho
| candles and got under the table. Ths
| waiter came back and was thunderstruck
| to find the room dark and the door open,
and to note. by what moonlight there
was, that the silver was gone. He rushed
| away at once, rousing the house by the
wild cry Of 'Thieves Thieves?
| "The instant he had gone Irving and
| Toole emerged from their hiding place,
closed the door, brought back the silver
and relit the candles. When presently
there came into the room wild rush Of
hn nr6 md tic 70 md l,o
guests of the house, half-clad, they found
| the two men sitting at table slipping their
wine. and Irving smoking his cigar with
his usual placidity. One can see his calm,
benign face as he quietly asked the land
| lord. DO you always come in Hike this when
gentlemen are dinfng?'"
Toole literally never missed an opportu-
nifty to play joke Going along oxford
street one day he noticed handsome
closed carriage drawn up outside a GER
| tain well-known establishment. The coach
Stoldly ahead. Mr. Toole shut the door
with a bang, took off his hat to some
imaginary occupants, and told the coach
man to drive home" The equipage was
driven smartly away. just as its rightful
| owners came out of the shop while. in a
safe coign of vantage, Toole hugely en-
| joyed his joke.
The actor also liked making himself out
| a perfect simpleton, and was never hap
pier than when policeman or some official
had informed him pityingly, in answer to
some ingenious inquiry of his, that he must
just have come up from the country. He
invented, too. the hoax. of demanding food
and drink In business offices. One night
he and Lal Brough were going down Fleet
street early in the evening when Tooe;
noticing the great arc lamps over the Daily
Telegraph office nudged Brough to follow
and entered. He went over to the advertise
meHt counter, and, lolling on one elbow,
said in an offhand way to the clerk who at
tended, Bring me two brandy and Sodas'
Then he went on talking to his friend. The
clerk tried to explain, but he would not at
| tend to his words; he and Brough were
| talking with too much animation to attend
to any one. The situation was only re-
lieved when the young clerk brought one
of the managers of the department. who at
/, once recognized the two actors and under
stood the joke.
Another story of Toole has been told the
| world over, though 1t is often fathered on
local characters. During one holiday sea-
son he and another player, who was quite
game for the little adventure, attired them
selves in the shabbest Of clothes. the most
venerable Of headgear and the most down.
at-heel- boots they could find Thus dis
guised, they went for a walk in the west
end and went no to the entrance OF a