The San Francisco call., 1909-05-30


There's a name to conjure mern-
ories of the stage. 1t suggests
and connects nearly century
of theatrical historys in Amer
lea: it recalls one OF the greatest hS-
ures that ever loomed before the foot
Iights-Edward Loomis Davenport
who played everything from Brutus to
Parson VIII in Massinger's old English
comedy, "A New Way to Pay Old
Debts The patronymic reminds one OF
, the early days of the Howard Athen-
aeum which Edward, the father OF Ed
gar. managed so years ago. 1t links
the generations through the medium of
brilliant and intense Fanny Lily Gypsy
Davenport. and it touches with signih-
cant finger every city in the United
States where there was a stage and
some benches under cover half cen
tury ago. Following in the wake of
the memories it calls over the horizon
of American drama are the names OF
Barrett and Booth. To the formers
Cassius Edward the father played Bru-
tus in Edwin Booths theater. Play
goers Of 1875 will remember the great
revival of Shakespeare's tragedy. "Ju-
lius Caesar" which was the biggest
theatrical event in the history of this
country up to that time. The great
Macready is another name linked to
this. for Edward supported him during
an English engagement. and it was
then-whiIe Edward was in London
that Fanny was born. she. whose third
given name was appropriately be-
slowed, Gypsy. This little one was a
wanderer from the country she should
have been born in
| Edgar Loomis Davenport the son of
Edward and brother of Fanny. is now
in San Francisco playing one of the
important roles with John Drew in W.
Somerset Maugham's frothy comedy,
Jack Straw"
1T is not easy to interview such
man as Edgar Davenport. His life
has been so close to things the
atrical and so intimately connected
with it that his talk is like history
| interesting and thrilling. but difficult
to recover for reproduction His mem
ory roams at large. here and there:
now in the midst of the present and
again 1eaping decades to concern itself
with the days of the full voiced TRACE
fdians of the past.
In his own name and aside from the
shed glory of his fathers art Edgar
has been a doer in the land If you
doubt it listen to some of the pieces
he has played in and some of the roles
which 1 grabbed at random during his
chat with me in his apartments at the
St. James the other day.
Charles CourtIy, in London Assur-
ance"; Jack Milford. in "The Road to
Ruin; two roles in Hands Across the
Sea-; he was the original DuvaI in
''Phillis"; he created the role of Father
Michael O'Malley in ''The English
Rose; Private Manners. in ~The So
licitor'; he originated Ralph lizard in
the first production of "Ye Earle
Trouble" and created the part of
Harry Westward in "A Sailors Knot
He was one of the first to appear as
Adrien de Mauprat in "Richelieu" when
that play was produced by the Boston
museum company; Armand DuvaI. in
Camille; Kyrle DAILY in THE Colleen
Bawn"; Captain Randall Northcote in
the first performance of Crust of So
Eciety," and he created leading roles In
Darkest Russia" War of Wealth."
"Pudd'nhead Wilson" and "A WOman's
Reason This list is quite incomplete
and by no means chronological and it
only includes his work up to 1895. L
believe.
That is certainly a record for an ac-
tor who. in 1s96-he told me himself
was just 80 years old BY a process OF
mathematical reasoning which I recall
from my schooldays his present age
would thus be only As, and he is still
young. ambitious and confident.
= DGAR doesn't clearly remember his
first stage appearance. 1t was in
- '.Pizarro," he says, that he made
his debut. My father held me aloft.
1 was very much frightened. for fear I
should fall, and 1 remember that SEN
sation distinctly as my father. bearing
me on his arm. shouted. He who dares
10 STR step 10 IOhoW me uieS upon
the spot. That is the way 1 made my
debut, and my next important role
was as the child in Damon and Pyth-
las
They used to tell a story of Forrest
who played in .Pizarro.' too. There was
no baby in Forests company and they
used to borrow one when they reached
the town in which they were to play
They struck babyless neighborhood
once. The stork had not found the
town. it was so small perhaps. or per
haps there was no mother willing to
\ expose her offspring 70 the temptations
popularity supposed In those days 10