The Washington times., 1931-05-15
STAR MAKER
! DIED WITH
'BOOTSON'
llluStriouS Genius of Theater
Was Great Figure Until the
End; Planned Play at II

Broadway paused today to bow
in tribute to David Belasco, one
Of the great figures of the Amer
ican stage.
He died yesterday afternoon
in his hotel apartment Of a
heart ailment.
He had planned to celebrate
his seventy-Seventh birthday in
July by producing another play
Death came while a large
matinee audience was enjoying
q performance of his latest play
Funeral Is Sunday
Funeral services will be held
ut IL a. m. Sunday at the
Central Synagogue. Rabbi Jonah
b. Wise will Officiate and Edwin
Milton ROyle, playwright. will
deliver the eul0gy.
The honorary pallbearers will
include Mayor Walker, Daniel
Frohman, Lee Shubert, George
M. Cohan, Al Jolson, Judge
Mitchell Erlanger, Frank Gil
more, president of Actors Equity;
A. o. Brown, shepherd of the
Lambs Club; Edward C. Car
penter, president of the Dra-
matists Guild, and E. D. Cob
lentz, editor of the New York
American.
His body will be placed in the
Belasco Mausoleum at Linden
Hills Cemetery, Brooklyn, beside
the body of his wife, who died
in 1925, and his daughter, Mrs.
William Elliott, who died in
1911.
Knew Death Was Near
His other daughter. Reina-
Mrs. Morris Gest, wife Of the
theatrical producer, was with
him when the end came. She
had been absent from his room
for some time and when she
returned her father said:
Reina, DEAR"
He raised his eyes and in them
there was a message of defeat.
Mrs. GeSt said he seemed to
know he was about to die.
A few seconds later he was dead.
In addition to his daughter,
Mrs. Gest, three brothers, Edward,
Walter and Solomon, Mrs. Sarah
Mayer, a sister, survive. Edward
Belasco resides in Los Angeles
and the other brothers and sister
in San Francisco.
His death, coming when one of
his most successful plays was run
ming, fulfilled a prophecy he made
on his seventy-fifth birthday:
81 shall retire when 1 am car
ried, feet first, out of the the
ater."
When Helen Gahagan, star of
his current play, came to her dress
ing room after the final curtain
of the matinee, she was told of
Belasco's death and collapsed. She
appeared in the production last
night with the rest of the cast.
Of ancient Portuguese extrac.
ton, Belasco'S ancestors fled to
England and Belasco's father
emigrated from England and
settled first in Vancouver, British
Columbia, moving thence to San
Francisco, where Belasco was
born.
At IA he wrote his first play,
which had the title of Jim
Black, or the Regulators re-
venge."
At 19 he became manager of
the old Baldwin Theater in San
Francisco. About that time he
began to write and manage his
own plays.
The "Belasco touch" even then
was so distinctive as to win him
recognition on far-off Broadway.
Arrives In N. Y.
A Belasco play, La Belle
Russo" written in 1879, first
gave him recognition. The NAL
lory brothers, operating the old
Madison Square Theater, sensed
BelaSco knew something of drama
and StaSecraft. So Belasco &C
cepted the Mallory brothers offer
and became manager and stock
dramatist of their theater, ar.
irving in New York in the sum-
mer of 1882.
TWO years later he produced
his first success in New York.
1t was called May Blossom. :"
Three years later he presented
E. H. Sothern in Lord Chum-
ley" Then came "The Heart of
Maryland" with Mrs. Leslie Car
ter reaching stardom. "Zaza. I"
Madame Butterfly" and The
Darling of the Gods" and then
David Warfield. in the Music
Master" in 1904, followed.
Identified with 400 Plays
Success followed success for
BelaSco. The younger generation
saw such of his plays as 'IKiki," ="
Mimi" Lulu Belle" "The
Bachelor Father" Its a Wise
Child" Dancing Partner and
Tonight or Never" his latest
success.
But older theater-goers recalled
today THE Girl of the Golden
west" Andrea" Rose of the
Rancho" The Grand Army
Man." THE Return of Peter
Grimm" Hearts of Oak" and
"Deburau."
In all, he wrote and staged or
aided in the writing and staging
Of about 400 playS.