The Washington herald., 1908-08-30
Adeline BillingtOn Famous
Forty Years Ago.
TELLS OF HER DAY ON STAGE
"Reminiscences Of Four Decades Ago
When stars Made a Few Dollars n
Week and Knew Many Roles.
Time OF Good OId-fashiOned
Drama with Thomas Jefferson

Ingt0n IS practically unknown To the
pIavgoer Of thirty and forty years ago.
however. il is Synonymous with the best
traditions Of Drury Lane and AdelPhi
rneIod-arna and stock companies. when
principal actors and actresses were glad
70 receive $40 OF So per week-it was
often less-for acting a different char
aCter each night
Mrs. Ellington. who is the widow OF
John Ellington fne old actor. who
was contemporary with Ben Webster. ST.
Tom TAYLOR. Dickens. Leach. Thackeray.
and many other literary and dramatic
giants Of the '5Js and 'Sjs. many Of
whom he and his wife numbered among
i1heir personal frends-is now eighty-two
years Of age. and looks not a day older
than sixty This Is no extravagant com
pliueut. but a fact which viii be con-
drmed by all who know Mrs Ellington.
who. although not quite so active as when
she created the character OF Mrs Cregan
in The Colleen Bawn' forty-eight years
ago. IS a wonderfully preserved old lady.
who promises 70 live vel into the SOS
And her memory is as clear to-day
Us it ever was. says London TIt-Bits-
I still renembe-.' she said during the
course Of an interview ar her residence
at St Johns Wood. my theatrical debut
IN a booth at Croydon I was about
twenty years Of age at the time Il was
There that I met NIr. Ellington. who uIii-
rnatelv gave Up his engagement because
the Management wanted him to paste
posters on the walls as wen as play prin-
Cipal parts
An actor had 70 be . man-of-aIl-work
in those days. II appears. Mrs Billing
1on2-
Yes. and for very little money When
my husband reached the dignity Of lead
ing man he got IS per week. and con-
side-ed himself well paid. while I was
satisfied with so per week while playing
leading parts IN the country with Phelps
II was then that I was offered s. per
week 20 unterstudy Nine. Celeste at the
Adeiphi- I refused the offer at the cime.
but accepted SO later on. and was
pleased 10 get such sum. for II meant q
three years engagement and regular paw
uen- all the year round I was at the
Adelphi with Ben Webster. ST, for about
sixteen years. and my weekly salary
never exceeded Sz7-
Those were the days Of good old-fash-
toned drama. Mrs Ellington
Yes; and il paid. which IS more than
can be said for the majority Of the pieces
which are put on the stage to-day And
there is money Yet in one Touch Of Va
rure- Green Bushes Flowers OF the
Forest The OctoroUn.' Rough and
Ready and other oI5 Adelphi pieces I
am sure. toe. that a revival Of the old
stock companies would be profitable
what splendid training they we're for
an actor and actress One night Shakes
peare. next night ulelodraua. next night
COMEDY. with one rehearsal and the same
scenery for each piece II you did not
know your unas-weL you said what You
could and filed in the rest
Very few Of The famous actresses and
actors with whom you PLAYED are alive
today. Mrs Ellington
4 am one Of the last Of the old school
Toole. jefferson. Charlotte Cushmau, Paul
Bedford Ben Webster. Phslps-au have
Joined the great majority Toole was a
great friend OF my husband and myself.
and we often visited him during the last
years Of his life which he spent at The
Ship. Brighton. What man He was for
jokes OF the staEe- / remember once
playing him a practical joke on the stage
We mad gone 10 Birmingham 10 play.
among other pieces. The Birthplace Of
Podge-s.' and on The first night Mrs
T00le. who usually accompanied her hUs-
band and attended to his comforts behind
the scenes. came TO me and said.
There IS a pint Of champagne in one
beer jug and the usual haIf-and-half in
the other This was the usual arrange
uent made in providing the stage supper
IN the farce. Nj Tcoie. Of course. drink
ing the champagne. while l. in the char
acter Of Nancy, drank the half-and-baif.
After the opening lines Of the dia-
l1EIe. he said Two pets q beer. Nancy.
alL-half, and this is my clear ale. and
! picked Up the jug containing the cham
payne and pretended 10 drink .the con
tents. T00le gave the cough thar was
habtual 20 him and said. as he noticed
the trick Drink fair. Nancy Change
jugs. Nancy gal After teasing him a
Bit I cid so. He drank. and then said.
TO the amusement OF Mrs TOols- IN
future. Nancy. gal always have clear
ale
I have happy memories. too. Of Jeffer-
son. Of Rip Van Winkle' fame whom
supported as Gretchen in his first Lon
don performance at the Adeiphi, although
the character gained for me the reputa-
ton among some people. I fear. Of being
q woman with a bad and harsh disposi-
ton just because in the play. 1 turned
my husband out Of doors in a storm
One night I was going home in an
omnibus ard heard two young ladies' and
a gentleman giving their opinion Of the
PLAY. .Jeffersou-Oh. wasn't he beautiful .
said one lady But Mrs. Ellington
GreJcheu-what a woman A terma CANT
A tigress- And they proceeded 10 reviie
ms in such terms that At last I raised
my veil and made uTself known. Apollo
gies followed Of course. cards were ex-
changed. and the incident led 70 a friend
ship which lasted many years"
And what do y0U think Of D-ury Lane
dramas Of today Mrs Ellington. a.
compared v5ch the rnaI1drauas produced
by Sir Augustus Harris in the DAYS when
you appeared AZ the famous theater2-
AS regards staging. the productions Of
to-day are. Of course. far ahead Of those
Of the old DAYS. but 1C< so the acting
IN my opinion Il Is no worse. perhaps
but II Is certainly no better; faults n
gesture and eiocuti1n, however, are ofter
overlooked nowadays by the public in ad-
uiration OF the scenic display. Sir Au-
gustus was always very kind TO me- and
7 stiu remember the manner IN which he
thanked me for my rendering Of Mrs
Bowker IN 'Formosa' thirty-nine years
ago. Henry Irving appeared in this
drama and II was. I think the only time
! acted with him
BY the way, I often wondered what
was the amount Of Sir Augustus hat bill
for year On. the hats he smashed al
rehearsals. by throwing them into the
flies when in a rage It was q favorite
trick Of his. but his III temper never
lasted very long.
For six years Mrs. Ellington toured
with Miss Mary Anderson in America