The Coolidge examiner., 1933-08-18

boots spurs planters hat and coat of Legree,
followed by two of the negro singers from the
cast at whom he occasionally CRACKED his black
snake whip to the profound amazement Of the
passers-by.
"Noted actors have at times appeared In the
play: Joseph Jefferson, William Warren, George
L. Fox OF 'Humpty Dumpty' memory. John Gill
bert and William Lemoyne. who became favor
ties on the New York stage Lotta and Mary
Mcvcker, afterward the wife OF Edwin Booth.
each OF whom played both Eva and Topsy on
different occasions-in short, the leading men,
bers of every dramatic company OF record In the
United States from 1852 until William A. Bradys
revival of Uncle Tom In 1901 with Theodore
Roberts and Wilton Lackaye. Among those who
have played in Uncle Toms Cabin one finds
such other notable names as Lawrence Barrett,
John Mccullough, Louis James, John I. Ray
mond, David Belasco, Edwin Adams. Annie Rus
SELL Mary Pickford, Maude Adams, Fay Temple
ton, Mrs. Fiske Henrietta Crosman, Charles
Thorne John S. Clarke and Efie Shannon.
"The part Of Topsy was sometimes acted by
men, records show that John Drews uncle,
Frank Drew. and Fred Stone appeared In it.
Even Little Eva was once played by William
Seymour"
The "Simon Legrees" have been legion but
there was perhaps never a more unusual one
than John L. Sullivan! J. W. Goodrich, who had
managed a wagon circus through Connecticut and
New York state for several years, one fall or
ganized an Uncle Toms Cabin" company to
play theaters throughout the East.
He secured as his big feature John L. Sulli-
van, who played Simon Legree and used up in
the course of a few weeks half a dozen Toms -
who, no matter how much they padded under
the red flannel shirt could not stand the rough
usage received from the famous pugllist in the
whipping scene Ern G. Estey Of Lynn was play
ing "Tom" in the show and he probably lasted
longer in the role than any other actor He wore
under his red shirt vest that lined an
inch thick with cotton. This oftentimes was in
adequate to afford sufficient protection from the
lashings he received some evenings when John
L. had been entertaining friends in his dressing
room and desired to give them a good account
of himself as an actor later John L. re-
maned with the Goodrich show as long as it
was on the road.
Mention has been made of the fact that Harriet
Beecher Stowe never made a penny of profit
from the dramatization of her book. For there
was no copyright law in the 1S5Os and there
was no way for the novelist to collect from
the playwright who made use of the material in
the book More than that Mrs Stowe knew very
little about the theater-it wasn't proper" you
see for the daughter of New England clergy
man to have anything to do with such a wicked
institution as Cne stage. Sne was greatly sur
prised when the play proved to be such a sue
cess but she does not seem to have resented
either the dramatization For the success. Once
she made a dramatlzation of the book herself
but it wasn't good theater" it was never
staged.
The only profit she ever received from the
dramatization of her book was in the form of
free box in a theater IN Hartford Conn., where
she was living in her old age. road show
playing Uncle Tom" came to town and she
went to see the play for the first time with her
friend Charles Dudley Warner, the essayist and
novelist And Warner sitting beside her in her
free box. had to explain the plot of "Unce
Toms Cabin" to Harriet Beecher Stowe for she
could not understand it as the actors and
actresses were presenting her immortal story
CG by Western Newspaper Union)