Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-05-18
Stories CulIed From Is Years
Experience as a Manager-
How Some Noted Stars
Began to Shine.
From the Philadelphia Ledger.

| Daniel Frohman, n now published by
| Doubleday, Page & Co. In it Mr..
F'rohman tells how plays are put into
shape and gives some useful hints to
| playwrights; but the greater part of
it is given over to stories of the plays
he has produced, the actors with whom
he has come in contact, and things of
| that sort, all described i'm IL light, racy
style.
When Frohlnan was an ambitious
young a agent an incident oc-
CURED which gives a curious illussra-
tion of fulfilled ambition:
II found myself in Philadelphia.
William Gillette was then playing Il
part i'm a play not his own. One night
he. Mr.. Bradford Merrill, then Il thea
trical reporter on the Philadelphia
Press. and l walked about the streets
n talked of our several ambitions.
Each of us expressed the desire that
i lay within us. Gillette said his ambs-
zion was to be an actor in his own
plays. Merrill hoped some time to rise
to the dignity of becoming the manag-
ing editor of a metropolitan newspaper.
My ambition was to have a theater and
q company of my own. Some years
later we three met again. Each had
accomplished his WISH
When he acquired the Lyceum
theater in New York he engaged David
az SS SGl6 SiiNA "a
seems to have been about the same
chem as today, to judge by this anec-
iote:
I'm his work nc showed the same in
tense earnestness that he does now. He
was young, ambitious, always indus
trious, and very hot-tempered. Once,
in a tit of rage. he brought his fist
down with much violence OH an iron
safe. He rehearsed with II hand for
some days afterward."
Frohman's first play. at the Lyceum
was 1.-The Highest Bidder" He en-
gagged f. H. Sothern, then an unknown
Young actor, who had applied to him
several times for an engagement. Il
little thought them" says Frohman.
that l should at a later time be paying
him a salary of $4,000 a year and that
he would still later receive. as he did
rom Charles Frohman. "A salary of
500, 900 u year for two years." He
tells this story of the first week of the
plays run:
"One evening during that week we
we're dining at the old Ashland house,
| which vas located just across from the
%theater. sothern look ed across at the
play house, and pointing. e~xciteG-y.
said: Look! isn't 1t bully? There's a
;peculator i'm 'front.' Sure enough,
there was a hawker' interceptinG buy
srs with his offers.
1T was a significant sign. We felt
l lNaI SUCCESS was sure. lHeSC OlIuS Ol
,rey always anticipated theatrical sue
.esses then as they do sometimes now.
A few weeks later, when we were
playing to crowded houses, Sothern
asked one night:
Cant anything be done to stop
those Internal spectators ?'"s
When 1.-THE Highest Bidder APP
preached it's 18th night Sothern, who
was an artist. made drawings OF the
characters, and they We're embodied in
q brochure, which was given to the
audience as Il souvenir. Then FrOhman
ait on the idea ~ sending a cop to
each of the prominent actor folk in
London.
AT that time the messenger boy
service was in its infancy. I7called up
the head Of the district Office and re-
luested him to send me a reliable boy,
who could be trusted with a mission to
london by the next days steamer.
They sent me one OF their young
superintendents, Eugene B. Sanger.
II gave him his instructions. which
were to deliver so addressed souvenirs.
and bring back by the same steamer
the autographed receipts for each.
These included Henry Irving, Forbes
w. H. Kendall, George Alexander.
Beerbohm Tree, Buffalo Bill and 9TH
ers. The messenger afterward, pOssi-
bly, inoculated by q theatrical germ, ac-
luired from this experience. became
Al actor and was added to the cast Of
The Highest Bidder He Is now
prominent stage manager.
Buffalo Bill treated our boy very
well. He assembled his entire wild
west show of several hundred persons
and had the boy photographed seated
In the center Of this picturesque group,
with himself on one side and his fldus
Achates. Major Burke. on the other.
/ TheRe niCtNrn0 were ~renYOdflced I'm va.