The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-04-09
MoDJEsKA IS DEAD
END COMES TO THE AGEI
 ACTRESS.
Polish Tragedienne Had Been III Some Time And Her Death Was
 Expected Hourly.

Los Angeles. Calif.. April s--Madame Helena Modjeska. the famous Polish tragedienne and one of the most noted actresses of the American stage died at 10 o'clock today at her island home at Bay City, Orange County. at the age of s5. after an illness. of about two monthA
 For several days she had been un- conscious and her death was almost hourly expected. Brights disease complicated with heart disease was the immediate cause of death.
 Gathered around the bedside of tho noted actress when she passed away were Count Bozenta, husband of Madame Modjeska: Ralph Modjeska and his wife, @ son and dauRhter-in- law, Of Chicago. and pr, J. c. Boyd. the family physician.
 The body of the actress will be em- balmed and taken to Los Angeles. where It will lie fin g vault for some time. Later Count Bozenta will take the remains to Cracow. Poland. the early home of Modjeska and there they will be inferred.
 NO arrangements for any public funeral services have yet been made Sketch Of Modseska.
 madame Helena Modjeska, who, with sarah Bernhardt and Duss formed the tripie constellation of the greatest actresses Of her time. was born in 184S A-'
 Her father, whose name was Benda. l was Polish patriot. man of great rennement and musical ability. who taught music to support himself and nis family. He died while Helena was stiii . child. but left his family in a
 fairly comfortable position. At an yearly age Helena gave evidence of a singular intensity of feeling and an unusual interest for the stage. She was seven years old when her mother took her to theater for the first time. l1ttie Helena became So excited over the performance that her mother did not consider 1t advisable for many years to allow her to see another the-
 atrical performance.
 That first yisit to the theater had awakened in Helena an unconquerabi desire to act and she and her brothers ana sisters improvised at their home theater. where the most wonderfully imaginative dramas were performed d.
 Helena was sent to a, convent for her education and there she attracted the attention of the nuns by her dramatic talent. While she was at the convent aer family was greatly impoverished by fire and Helena decided to mak e her living on the stage She found small engagements. but did not attract notice nor win encouraging success. Finally she married her elderly guar i dian, an actor named Modrczewski, who soon afterward died, leaving her with scAnt means and baby son. named Ralph. This boy later came to the United States with his mother and Is now a weil-known civil engineer in Chicago.
 After the death of her husband, in isss. Mime. Modrczswsks returned to Cracow, where her family still resid- ed and obtained a position in 6 stock company. She worked hard and con- tinued her studies under the direction of the friendly stage manager. In 1887 the younger Dumas asked her to come to Paris to play the part of Ca- milie. but her French was too irnper- feet and she did not succeed. While playing an engagement in Posen Mime. Modrczewska met Count c. Bozenta Chiapowski. the editor of 6 newspaper in the Polish language. He fell des- perately in love with her and married her in September. 1868. That same year she played in Warsaw. where she achieved a remarkable success in her art. For two months her performances were but series of ovations by her enthusiastic compatriots.
 In the following year her husband settled in Warsaw. where she contin- ued her stage successes, adding sev- er or eight new parts to her repertory every year. The hard work gradually undermined her physical strength and In 1870 she was compelled to abandon the stage for long rest. After a long Illness the doctors recommended to her q sea voyage and ip 1878 she and her husband, accompanied by a number of friends came to the United States They visited the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia and then continued their trip to California, where they in- tended to found Polish colony
 The colony plan failed, however and Mime. Modrczewska- Chlapowski decld- ed to return to the stage to earn a livelihood. She went to San Francisco, where she began to study English, with a view of going upon the Ameri- can stage In six months she master cd the language and, with the assist Rnce of Mccullough, the actor-man- ager. she was given the opportunity to mako her debut in "Adrienne Le- convreur." Her success was beyond all expectation and immediately after the performance Sargent engaged her for two years. For obvious reasons she changed her former stage name to the simpler form ''Modjeska."' under which she became known throughout the United States.
 After successful engagement Mime. Modjeska returned to her native coun- try. where she met with an enthusiAs- tic reception. No effort was spared to persuade her to settle permanently in Poland, but she preferred to remain in America, visiting her native country from time to time. Even these occa- sional visits were made impossible