The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1911-04-28
STAGE HEROISM
That WAS real
Instances Of Exhibitions OF
Rare Courage.
,Tnespians who Kept Audiences
While Suffering Great
Physical Pain.

appears are of two kinds, the fine,
swashbuckling gentleman of the play
and the actor behind the trappings.
According TO Rupert Hughes, many
fluffy little soubrette has to do sun
dry heroic stunts and does them cheer
full to
There is Sam Bernard, for instance
who declares that the hardest thing
he ever had to do was to eat "a dish
Of sharbert" every night in Nearly
Hero" He seems to think it justi-
fled the title of the piece.
IL had TO eat it eight times a
week with apparent RELISH" he means
That's real acting that it. And every
actor has some pot aversion that gives
him a trying moment on the stage.
Joe Weber, for instance, hates can
dy. 1t gives him frightful headache
But in one of the first baIrlesques he
had to eat nearly pound at every
Torrance.
You can't substitute properties.
He had to mash the candy between
his thumb and forefinger and nothing
but the real article would do. The
run of the burlesque shortened be-
cause the candy scene couldn't be out
and he couldn't go on playing II.
Almost everybody has seen the
hungry farmer gobble huge slice OF
turkey in Share Acres. Few people
know that the necessity for. eating
turkey eight times a week for years
hopelessly ruined the digestion of the
wretch who was lucky enough to play
the part. He tried slcies of angel
food cake, but that made little differ
ence because it was supposed to be
turkey, and his stomach grew hyster-
ical.
Charlie Ross had trouble with his
teeth for almost a whole season. Som
nerve disease, believe. He has been
ON the stage and kept the audience
bowling many a night when he could
scarcely keep the tears back on &C
count of the pain in his face. I've
seen the tears ooze out OF his eyes
the moment he was out of sight OF
the audience. s.sg
de Wolf Hooper tells me-, continu'
Hughes that he has a floating car
tfDsge in his right knee joint. He car
never tell when it will slip out Of
place but when it does he cannot
straighten his knee and every step is
excruciating Yet he gets Through his
dances and huts down his laughs as
if nothing were the matter but the
libretto.
ada Rehan opened in "The Greai
Ruby" in such pain that it was nee
essary to have a doctor in each wins
to inject morphine the moment she
left the stage or ON occasions, winer
she would seem to wander idly to {
window or a door and put out hel
hand.
"Dodson Mitchell opened in 9TH.
Dolls House in sich distress that
doctor waited for him i'm the wings
giving him morphine whenever he lief
the stage.
Blanche Bates played several per
forInances after she had developed ty
phoid fever The stage seemed Il
keep hitting her in the face and sh'
lived in hospital when she was no
on the stage. At length am ambu
lance took her from the theater u
stay.
Stuart Robson died on the stage
acting against the doctors orders
Sir Henry Irving acted almost to hi
last moment
THE late Peter f. Daley was |
mountain of flesh, as well as a mour
tain of JUNCTION. He was foreve
spraining his ankles, yet he contin
ued his grotesque dances and his pc
culdarly comfortable style OF comedy.
when his company opened in Chi
cago he felt he ought TO play at leas
the first performance, though he ha'
| already developed pneumonia Of whic
he died few days later. He wen
ON the stage with temperature O
\ LOG l-2 degrees and was so blinde'
with fever that he ran into the seen
cry once. hut he kept his comedy bul
o bling till the last curtain.
Mrs. Annie Yeamans told me o
the last hours of that splendid oh
: freshman, Denis oSullivan The oper'
Peggy Machree was making It's wa
r in New York when he fell III OF ap
. pendicitis Doctors ordered him b
quit playing and undergo an opera
! ton. but with all an actors horror 0
closing a run he refused He wen
without food and sang and acted
jovial Irishman while he was with
ing with agony On his last nigh