Norwich bulletin., 1920-08-11
OBITUARY James O'NeiII

James o'Neill, noted actor, died Tues day a. m. at 4:15 o'clock at The Law renee Memorial Hospital in New I.eaf.en
 James O'Neill was in his scvensy- sec ond year. He was bo;n Nov 15, la47. Death was due to an abdominal d-s- ease from which ne had suffered fer several months. Unt;l about | year snd half ago, MT. O'Ntu hai been in fine health and was 1s a-liye as 9. clar ri, ch younger, playing di'fcrlT roles ir ,uetro- pclitan successes with a vim and dash of his younger days. A year ago last winter he was s--lck by sn autcn>o;le in New York end severely injured, re- quiring hospital t-sa-''1e',t ar1d while tns accident had TO direct bearing upva his death, it left hIn in a somewhat weak- ered condition.
 It was last snr,ng that Mir O'Neill really began 10 f;.Il l.; health anI 10 lose his strength.
 James O'Neill was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, of poor a.id iirraeIe origin. He was brought to this collp7ry by h.s par ents when he was s years old, and To- cated0 in Cincinnati, o. As a boy, the stage had a keen appeal and fascination or young O'Neill, and about the first work he did was in theater. Although his education had been somewhat limit ed his alert and active mind absorbed everything theatrical, with the result that he soon secured the opportunity he sought of joining the stage. The op- portunity came one night in 1867 when a well-known actor, finding himself minus one of his players, asked young O'Neill if he knew the lines The pros pective actor quickly assured the mana ger that he did, and he was pressed into service Needless to say, young O'Neill not only knew his lines, but he displayed his latent histrionic ability.
 That was the beginning of the career of one of Americas foremost actors, and it has been one of the most brilliant in the history of the American stage.
 MT. ONeiil made his first regular ap- pearance 0 the stage at the National theater, Cincinnati, in 1868. The fol, lowing year he joined Bob Miles com pany. During the next three seasons he was leading man with the Ford company of Baltimore the John Ellsler company of Cleveland and the McVicker stock compnay of Chicago. For the following two years he toured California and the next three seasons he appeared with the Union Square company in New York. From 1877 to 1880 he appeared in San Francisco.
 It was during his appearance on the coast that MT O'Neill made his unusual attempt to impersonate Christ in the Passion Play, produced in 1880 in San Francisco where he was then popu- lar player. The effort was frowned upon by the authorities, despite the fer vor and reverence with which MT. ONein essayed the part, and after running for few weeks 1t had to be withdrawn. Later, an attempt was made by Henry E. Abbey to produce the Passion Play in New York with MT. O'Neill in the leading role, but it was prevented by the authorities.
 While in New York in 1875 MT. oNeill played Pierre in The Two Orphans; the Prince in The Danicheffs and Jean Re maud in 4 Celebrated Case.
 For more than 15 years and in more than 5000 performances, James o'Neill played the part of Edmond Dantes in The Count of Monte ICristo, until his name became so associated with that play that in the minds of drama lovers to mention one was to suggest the other. It was his great part, the char atcer in which he achieved his greatest success and despite his efforts to dis card 1t faE athaEA hs vas often >ccom