The Washington herald., 1921-03-20
Negro a Leading
American Actor
Charles E. Gilpin Among
Ten Awarded High
Honors of Year.

The remarkable success of negro actor,
Charles E. Gilpin, IN the title role of Eu-
gene O'NcilPs intensely emotional one-ac.
play, Emperor Jones" has given New York
something new to talk about and also, for
brief space, at least, furnished for its artis-
tic social circles bit of race problem
Gilpin's big hit in the legitimate was made
upon the eve of the annual banquet of the
Drama League, and it is the custom of the
league to number among its honor guests
ten persons who have doAe the most dur
, ing the past year in the advancement of the
art Of the theater." Gilpin's name was
among the ten selected. But there were
some among the six hundred invited guests,
who, like the late laniented John L. Sulli-
van in another field of art, drew the color
line But the league decided that art-at
least, histronic arts color blind and Gil
pin not only sat in at the feast, an observed
OF all observers, but had his name enrolled
with those of David Belasco, Jacob Ben
Ami, Gilda Varesi, Dudley Biggs, Fred
Stone, Eugene O'Neill Lee Simpson, Mar
garet Severn and Lionel Atwill, of various
Caucasian branches OF the dramatic arts, as
one OF the ten entitled to wear the laurel
crown of supreme achievement for the year.
So that Gilpin finds himself suddenly thrust
into national spotlight and, it is said, bears
his honors modestly and with true artistic
composure.
4 =
Plays Difficult Role.
And Charles E. Gilpin is an actor On
that point the critics seem to agree. The
role Of Emperor Jones'" in which he scored
his big success, is a difficult one-a role
that runs the psychological gamut from the
nonchalant humor typical Of the negro race
to the grimmest terrors of fear, superstition
and sudden, inevitable doom. Jones is
former Pullman porter and convict, who
makes his escape from prison and goes to
the West Indies A group of natives fire
upon him in the forest and he escapes harm
as if by miracle, ,whereupon he proclaims
that he is of royal lineage, that he bears
charm against bullets and that he has come
to rule over the land. He is made emperor,
dons suit of old regimentals and sets up
his royal establishment In connection with
his prime minister" Cockney adventurer,
he imposes taxes and lords it over the na-
tives with high hand Finally, weary of
his tyrannies and suspicious of his royalty"
the natives revolt and adjudge his death.
Warned by his white prime minister,
Jones makes his escape, but is surrounded
in the night, in the density OF lonesome
wood. His majestic airs suddenly fall from
him and he stands in the grip of his natural
racial fears and superstitions and, in the
end, is ambushed and killed.
Z +
Gilpin's Own Story.
To the Interpretation of this role, Gilpin
brought naturalness in the lighter scenes
and a peculiar somber intensity Of emotional
expression in its tragic phases that fasci-
mated his audiences and stamped him as
real student of his art, skilled in its tech
nique and entirely alive to its psychological
demands New Yorks curiosity in this re-
gard was keenly intrigued and to the in
sistent "How Conner" of the press, Gilpin
finally told, in New York World inter-
view, something of his life and how he
came to be an actor. He said:
"How did l come to know how to in
terpret that part? Well, in a good many
ways l have been a Pullman car porter
myself and / think know how a Pullman
car porter would act if he came to be an
emperor. Then that fellow Jones lost his
nerve .out there in the woods because he
was hungry-you never know what's gong
to happen when you have belly full OF
wind And I know what that's like, too
l have had lots of ups and downs IN lite
and they've all taught me something. But
how to act? Well, l guess the credit Tor
the start of that belongs to a good sister
way back there in Richmond, Va, where
was raised. That was Sister Derome,
nun, who taught in the St. Francis School
there. She started me off. This Sister
Derome got a-hold of me when / was just
kid don't know where she got it from
and l don't know why she thought l could
do anything-but she taught me the rudi-
ments Of the business. She taught me how
to breathe-and that's big thing in this
game. She taught me gestures, tone, the
placing of my voice and she gave me good
books to read, and plays. | used to reqte
poetry to her. She started me out all right
wonder what she'd say if she knew what
Pm doing now?