The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1916-01-08
Famous Actress Makes Public Hitherto Un-
seen Pages in Own Book Of Life
Eleventh Child in Family
OfFourteen
CLEARS UP MYSTERY
OF HER MARRIAGE
No Love for Stage at Start But Worked
Hard and Early Won Prizes--Credits
Victor lingo for Her
Inspiration

BY United Press.
NEW YORK, Jan. S.-Anticipating
that possibi, she might not live to he
l 5O,' Sarah Bernhard personally gave
to the United Press and the Universal
Film company, those mysterious pages
in her book of life containing the gen
uine facts of her birth, marriage anu
career, which heretofore never have
been publicly talked of by the Divine
Sarah.
During the production in France of
Jeanne Dore," in which Bernhardt
starred, the Encouragement she ex-
perienced because she could not walk
with her artificial leg and the physical
distress resulting from her becoming
stout through her enforced lack of ex-
ercise, led the Divine Sarah to agree
to make this statement to the United
Press through John Tippett, European
producing manager in charge of the
film The facts here disclosed clear
up the mystery as to who her husband
was and why she married him.
The records of Bernhardt's birth
were destroyed in the burning of the
Commune The alleged facts have
been published many times, some stat
ing that she was born in Havre, others
that she was born in Holland; but
Bernhard said:
81 was born in Paris at 265 Rue St.
Honore, Oct. 23, 1874. My blood is a
mingling of French and Dutch-Jewish.
My real name is Rosine Bernard. !
was the eleventh of IA children. OF
my father l knew but little. When I
was a baby he went to China why
have no idea. My mother was by
birth a Dutch Jewess, by sympathy a
French woman and by habit cosmo
poitan. She Travelled much.
GAS much because there was no
home as because the French Danish
infants flom the household, | spent my
childhood with a. foster-mother, first In
the Breton country near Quimperle-
where l fell in the fireplace and was
badly burned-then at Neuilly. My
mother came seldom to see me, but
/ loved her.
"When / was seven I was sent to
boarding school at Auteuil, where
spent two comparatively happy years.
My mysterious father then ordered me
transferred to a convent.
"At Neuilly my Aunt Rosine came
one day to see me- insisted that
wanted to go away with her at once.
She went away. could see nothing
but the dark. black hole behind me,
and in despair | rushed out to my
aunt's carriage. After that knew
nothing. | had fallen on the pave
ment and broken my arm in two
places and injured my knee cap. 1t
took me two years to recover.
"At the Augustnian convent at
Grandchamp. Versailles, l was bap-
tized and confirmed a Christian and
became extravagantly pious. ! was
fractions and more than once expelled
when I left the convent I was ca
PRECIOUS. sensitive and religious,
problem for my mother. was
strongly inclined to be man. When
was fifteen I was sent to the Con
servatoire. had never heard of the
famous school. That same evening
was taken to the Theater Francais.
left the theater weeping.
"In 1860 | began my studies at the
Conservatoire with no love for the ca
reer. Beauvallet said would be a
great tragedienne; Regner maintained
I would be a comedienne while Provost
nut them in agreement By declaring
would be both.
'T was no beauty. was decidedly thin.
had kinky hair and a pale face. But
1 worked hard, and when | left had
won two second prizes, one for tragedy
in 1861, and one for comedy in 1862.
Almost Immediately I received call
to the Comedie Franchise and re-
solved that If the stage was to be my