Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1909-04-09
NINE. M0DJESkA DEAD
NOTED ACTRESS SUCCUMBS TO
LONG ILLNESS.
End Comes at Her Home in Los Angeles
Closing a Life Made Famous
on the Stage.

LOS ANGELES, Cal, April SHINE.
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
TO, after an illness of about two months.
For several days she had been uncon-
scious and her death was almost hourly
expected. Drignt'S disease, complicated
with heart trouble, was the immediate
cause OF death.
Gathered around the bedside of the
noted actress when she passed away
were Count BOzenta. husband of Mime.
Modjeska; Ralph Modjeska and his
wife, Il son, and daughter-n-law. of Chi
caSo. and DIR. j. {. Boyd, the family
physician.
Funeral arrangements have not been
yet announced.
Nine. Helena Modjeska who. with
Sarah Bernhardt and Duse formed the
triple constellation of the greatest act
feSseS of her time, was born in CracoW,
Austrian Poland, October L.. 1874. Her
father, whose name was Benda, was a
Polish patriot, Il man Of great refinement
and musical ability. who taught music
10 support himself and his family. He
died While Helena was still a child. but
left his family in a fairly comfortable
position. At an early age Helena gave
evidence of a singular intensity of feel
ing and an unusual interest for the stage.
She was Z years Old when her mother
took her to Il Uheater for the first time.
Little Helena became SO excited over
the performance that her mother did not
consider it advisable for many years to
allow her to see another theatrical per-
Torrance.
That first visit to the theatcr had
awakened in Helena an unconquerable
desire to act and she and her brothers
and sisters improViSed at their home a
theater, where the most wonderfully inn
aginatiye dramas We're performed He
lena was sent to Il convent for her edu-
cation and there she attracted the atten-
ton of the nuns by her dramatic talent.
While she was at the convent her family
was greatly impoverished by fire and
Helena decided to make her living Gu the
stage. She found engagements, but did
not attract notice nor win encouraging
success. Finally she married her elderly
guardian, an actor named MOdrcZewski.
who soon afterward died, leaving her
with scant means and 4 baby son, named
Ralph. This boy later came to the Unit
ed States with his mother and is now a
well known civil engineer i'll Chicago.
After the death of her husband in 1865,
Nine. Modrczewska returned to Cracow,
where her family still resided and OBJ
tanned Il position in a stock company.
She worked hard and continued her stud
les under the direction OF the friendly
stage manager. In 1867 the younger
Dumas asked her to come to Paris to
play the part of Camille, but her French
was too imperfect and she did not sue
coed While playing an engagement in
pOsen Nine. ModrczeWska met Count &.
Bozenta ChlapOwSki, the editor of a
newspaper in the Polish language He
fell desperately in love with her and
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 en-
thusiaStic patriots
In the following year her husband
settled in Warsaw, where she continued
her stage successes, adding seven or
eight new parts to her repertory every
year The hard work gradually under
mined her physical strength and in 1870
she was competed to abandon the stage
for a long rest. After long illness
the doctors recommended to her a sea
voyage, and in 1876 she and her hus-
band, accompanied by a number of
friends came to the United States. They
visited the Centennial exposition at Phil
adelpha and then continued their trip
to California, where they intended to
found POlSh colony
The colony plan failed. however. and
Nine. Modrczewska-Chla decid-
ed to return to the stage to earn a live
lihood She went to San Francisco
where she began to study English, with
q view of going upon the American
stage. In SIX months she mastered the
language and. with the assistance of
Mccullough. the actor manager, she
was given the opportunity to make her
l. in Ilpin1 I
success was beyond all expectation and
Immediately after the performance Sar-
gent ragged her for two years. For
obvious reasons she changed her former
stage name to the simpler form. Mod
jeska." under which she became known
throughout the United States.
After Il successful engagement Nine
Moieska returned to her native coun-
try. where she met with an enthusiastic
reception. 10 effort was spared to per-
suade her to settle permanently in PO-
land. but she preferred to remain in
America. visiting her native country
from time to time. Even these occa-
siOnal visits were made impossible about
fifteen years ago, when the Russian au-
thorities prohibited her from entering
Poland. for fear that her presence would
lead to anti-RuSSian demonstrations on
the part of the eXcitable Polish people.
About five years ago her failing health
compelled Nine. MOdZeSka to retire from
the stage and seek rest on her beautiful
Iy situated and picturesque ranch, known
as Arden, in Orange county, California.
Her estate is located in the mountains
near Los Angeles, at the end of a pic
turesque canon and comprises about 400
acres. There she spent the last years
of her life with her husband, leaving
her charming home only occasionally to
take part in charitable performances or
patriotic celebrations of her Polish com
patriots.