The San Francisco call., 1909-05-30


out in the street. said: IF you drop
me III break your id head. That
broke up the show. No baby ever had
such an awful voice and vocabulary"
ASKED Edgar Davenport If he
knew in what theater it was that
lie played his childs role in "Pi-
zsrro."
Heaven only knows" said he. I
don't People suppose have had the
advantage of training under my father.
wish that were true. But he died in
1871 At that time I was just a lad of
Il. and by no means certain what
was. 10 be when I grew up. l re-
member. however. two roles in which
my father appeared that appealed to
my boys msgination keenIy. I re-
member him as the Rover in Wild
cats, and I recall him as Sir Giles
Overreach in a New Way to Pay Old
Debts Probably these two parts re-
main my most distinct recollections of
nay fathers art because they are so
oissi lilar. The highly tragic role of
tie one contrasts so distinctly with
the light comedy character of the
other. ] know that his portrayal of
the role in the Massinger play used to
be so forceful at times that he would
knock the lines out of the other play
ers heads by the vigor Of his imper-
sonation; and when you can make your
associate players sit up and notice
you are. as we say now. going some
My father originated the expression
good parts make good actors TO which
] have added this qualification, but it
takes a good actor to make (retrieve)
a bad part. Similarly with his art. his
finest assumptions were. great, because
OF the art he brought to them II
would have been a different story TO
relate had he not been the master of
his profession.
For instance, I played Sir Joseph to
J. B. Mason's Charles Surface in The
school for Scandal Now. the rollick-
ing role Of Sir Charles is an agreeable
thing to play. It is breezy. joyous. ir-
responsible and lively. Joseph is quite
a different thing TO do. Yet Joseph can
be played so well that the audience
will hate him furiously, and the misses,
suppressed or expressed. are as balm
TO the actors heart who is struggling
with the littleness and nieanness of
Joseph"
r DGAR DAVENPORT for several
l. years in the ninefies was leading
l. man for Charles Frohman, and
played the principal role in the pro-
duction OF Thoroughbred" in this
assumption he earned favor for being
one OF the best examples of the old
school actor. II he did not have the
advantage Of tuition under his illus
trious father. at least he was heir to
the traditions OF the stage. and his
style was. so to say. bred in the bone.
In 1887 he joined the Boston museum
company. At that time he was quite
unknown 10 the profession, and he
asked no odds on account OF his father.
who had been dead 10 years After
five years he rose TO the position of
leading man, and as such created many
roles. I have clipping from the II
Illustrated American, written by Henry
Austin some time ago, which will serve
10 show how this actor. who is some
what of stranger TO us, is ranked
elsewhere:
I remember with keen pleasure his
Julian Beauclerc in Diplomacy his
Clement Hale in Sweet Lavender his
Charles courtly in London Assurance
snd his Jacob Mcclosky in The octo-
room struck me as an exceedingly
clever villain. This. in contrast with
his Mr. Toots in Dombey & SON. evil
6cnced Davenport's variety of range