Arizona republican., 1913-01-26
MEMORIES OF JEFFERSON

Nowadays some critics complain that i actors are engaged for their appear ance-because they look the charac- | t3rs-regardleSs of their fitness or ! unfltnesS to play them Of course. 1 that is going to the other extreme
 put It Is fact the actor now must
 i'll the eye as well as the mind You cant cast a tall, portly woman for an
 ingenue with white muslin and blue
 ribbons; and you can't put small.
 slim, lightly built man in the role of the traditional cowboy. "Once, when was visiting MT. Jefferson. I showed him a photograph of myself as Falstaff I was in bad
 health and very much run down when I played the part; I weighed only 15O, and was really not fit to play it; but I had achieved a suf-
 ficiently plump figure by judicious
 padding, and the makeup-1f I do say it as shOuldnt'-Was an excellent makeup as Falstaff MT Jefferson looked at the picture very carefully
 and said, Well William, that's very artistic makeup of Fastaff but don't knoW-I can't see any Crane in it.. I said, That's just what I'm proud of. That's what I want He | said, That's very fine, but it's not l what the public wants. People who | have seen you all these years, you
 know, they love their Crane Then | he went on to explain He said, You | have been before the public for
 thirty five years. The people who ! come to see you want to see some trace of the Crane they have known ' so long. They want both Falstaff as Crane and Crane as Falstaff. It's l exactly the same with Rip Van l Wrinkle. People say they always know l it is Jefferson. Of course they do. 1 I want them to. If they couldn't recognize my voice or some char acteristic of mine it might as well be
 played by John Jones. There is no reason why an actor should not lend his own personality in the artistic
 reproduction of the character he is representing
 "I have always thought that splendid argument Then he went on to say that the very critics who complained that they always recOg
 nized the man, whatever character he played, would be the first to find fault if there was not some trace of
 the man they had known so long.
 There is today one of the best char
 acter actors on the stage who has
 not the position to which his ability entities him, from that very fact that he so dsguises himself in each
 ! character that often when he comes
 on the audience does not know him. , People like the character as he plays r it. but they don't associate it with
 the actor, and he never gets his full , credit.
 Jefferson was a great lover of , painting, as you probably know. He , took me with him, one time when i, was visiting him, into the old Dutch , windmill which he had fitted up as 7 studio, and showed me a large 1 | painting on the easel. I said. I I think that is the best thing of yours f I have ever seen. What do you think
 about it yourself He answered
 Well. I think it is Then he said, [ thoughtfully, Do you know William , think that whatever fame will be , mine when I'm gone will come l through my brush And he had s been on the stage then for fifty
 years. Well, he painted some charm
 ing pictures but he knows now, f suppose. that his fame rests securely
 upon his acting.
 p His Judgment of Painting. , He was a great judge of painting & though. He once asked me to go Q with him to an art store to see a
 new picture. told him l didn't ] know much about art; that my studies
 Ihad not run in that line. Well, he 9 said. come along and look at ii f anyhow We examined several pie tures and finally one of the assist n ants took him upstairs to see the
 new painting. While he was gone P took the opportunity to ask the I proprietor. for my own qualification n Is MT. Jefferson considered a very Q fine critic by artists or art dealers? f He said: MT. Jefferson is one oi f the best art connoisseurs in this : country. If he should come to this
 store and buy a picture for eigh f thousand dollars it would immediate
 Iv become worth nine thousand tC 2 anybody else.
 During the all star tour of The Q 1 Rivals he went to MT. P. A. B II wideners gallery in Philadelphia s His collection was one of the fines n in the country, I believe. He hat f just bought a new picture and want Il ed MT. Jefersons opinion of it, but h' : did not tell MT Jefferson where
 abouts the picture had been hung. H' , told me privately that he was curiou: }l to see if MT. Jefferson could picl ! out the picture. We all walked ! through the gallery and admired { ! number of pictures, and finally WV $ came to a little painting, not mor' { than three feet long, and MT. Jeffer ] son suddenly stopped before it an; ] looked at it very intently, without word. Then he looked at it between ! his hands, the way those art expert ! do, you knoW-for fully five minutes $ MT. Widener nudged me. I said, I { that the picture?' Yes he said; h $ found it At last MT. Jefferson z turned to MT Widener and asked ] When did you get that, Widener; ! About two weeks ago. MT. Wide < ner answered. What did you pa, $ for it?' Ten thousand dollars. lief { ferson examined the picture again and then he said quietly, but earn IL