The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-03-22
OLD TIME. END MEN.
EMPERORS OF MINSTRELRY
Death of Billy Cotton Calls
Forth Memoirs of Famous
Funny Men" of Years
Gone By-Billy Emerson
and His Famous rip
Tearing Johnny" Song.
New York SUM-

New York Sum-
When Billy Cotton, okd-tinne min
strel, died the other day, Lew Dock
stader expressed the opinion that Bill
ly Manning was the greatest end man
that ever held the place and that Bill
ly Emerson was next Perhaps he
knew these famous Ministries only in
/ the days of theft greatness. As some
OF the old-timrers remember him, Billy
Manning at the height of his fams
was never OF more CONFUSING huInor
than he was on the day, now almost
nifty years ago. when he and AMI s.
Mott George Hardenbrook and
George Mauser, none OF them over
twenty, started out of the little city
OF Piqua, Ohio, where they had much
local celebrity as minstrel performers
and trudged westward, seeking wider
fame and incidentally money
Billy Manntng from the time he
could toddle had been a continual
laugh producer in Piqua with his
quick wit, his quaint, rollicking hl,
NOR, his extraordinary talent for min.
icry and his indescribably funny sing.
ing voice. In a different way Amzi
Mott was as great humorist as Bill
ly Manning, and he had the sweet
est, most sympathetic natural tenor
voice one ever listened To.
Billy Emerson also in his early days
was funnier than, when he was known
only in a limited circle. than he was
when his tame was worldwide. He
was originally song and dance man,
although he wasn't a man yet at that
and his admirers declare that in the
list u all great song and dance men
none can be found who was his peer
There are no song and dance men any
more
Who that ever saw Billy Emerson
in his song and dance '.Riptearing
Johnny. which was his great turn
forty@fiTe years ago or so, doesn't re-
member il as the very mastery OF
comic art in minStrelsy? He had
quaint, drawing dialect, catchy laugh
and regular leYee darby singsong
voice, with use of his legs and feet
that gave them constantly changing
variety Of comicaI twists, steps and
poses It was in 1863 that the writer
last heard Billy Emerson in this song
and dance. but he still can see him
come on in his rouStabout makeup,
swinging his napless old gray hat In
one hand while he took a few pre-
liminary steps around the stage and
then drawled out the song. The first
stanZa ran:
Oh, give me your attention fair la
dies of this town.
And listen TO what I'm goin' to say:
Never put your affections on any
young man.
For fear that he'd go and run away.
And then you'd sail UP into the air.
Like Mr.. Johnny Anderson's bal
loon,
And you'd go to California by the gas
light of the moon,
And no rip-roarin' Johnny'd meet
you there
Oh, thick lip and crooked stick.
Won't you come and kiss me quick,
My rip-tearin' Johnny's gone away
This was at Fox's Casino in Phila-
delphia. a famous free and easy music
hall during the war. This song and
dance made Billy Emerson, but with
his latter day success and eminence
the naturalness that gave an incom-
parable quality TO his humor in those
early days was replaced by an afEecta-.
ton that in the opinion Of some made
his art inferior to what il was In the
song ambulance period
Lew Dockstader said that next 20
Billy Manning, Billy Emerson was the
funniest end man ever. but did he re-
member Dan Bryant, Neise Seymour
Eph Horn and some more that have
split their buttons off? or course,
naodesty forbade him TO except him.
self. Billy Emerson was a funny end
man, but even in his ''Moriarity,
vogue he fell short of the comicaIity
he showed as an end man in a sort or
imprOvised minstrel first part at this
same Fox's Casino in 1863.
And that was quite a first part. Be-
sides Billy Emerson there were
Hughey Dougherty. Fatty Stewart.
Lew Gaybird. John Muiligan, Andy
Leavitt and one or two others. Every
one of these was an end man whose
equal it would have been hard To find.
They took turns on the end.
Hughey Dougherty is the only one
OF the lot alive today Who remem-
bers John Mulligan or Andy Leavitt?
But they were famous star players of
that time and later. Andy Leayitt be-
ing a banjo player and comedian
never excelled in his line, while John
Mulligan's song and dance, "Old Bob
Ridley" was always what would be
called headliner now
Mulligan was more than six feet
tall and very thin AM his style was
that Of the plant9t;rH darky. The
Essence Of OF " ~ has never
been danced sin.a San Mulligan
passed away His s3eeiaIties were
hits representing plantation negro
types of character, a school OF min
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