The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-08-18
LncLo Z0M ana Little Ena

I'm August 1873, Jarrett & Palmer, an enter.
prising firm of New York managers, made a small
fortune by taking the play overseas to England,
Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Holland. In
the company Marie Bates who is still re-
membered as playing long and prominently with
David Warfield in The Auctioneer' and Harry
Hawk, who was on the stage of Ford's theater
In Washington at the moment that Lincoln was
shot in the box above him by John Wilkes Booth.
Another in that company Harold Fos-
burg gorgeous specimen of the old-time heavy
man. Harold was of the stage STACY; he seemed
to think in the terms of melodrama and blank
verse. While the troupe exhibiting in Ger
many his delight to parade through the
streets of Berlin and other cities dressed in the
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, Lolita and Mary
McVicker, afterward the wife of Edwin Booth,
each of whom played both Eva and Topsy
different occasions-in short, the leading men,
bers of every dramatic company of record in the
United States from 1852 until William A. Brady's
revival of Uncle Tom in 1901 with Theodore
have played in Uncle Toms Cabin one finds
such other notable names as Lawrence Barrett,
John Mccullough Louis James, John 7. 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 Fife Shannon.
1.-THE part of Topsy was sometimes acted by
men: records show that John Drew's uncle,
Frank Drew. and Fred Stone appeared in it.
Even LITTLE Eva was once Dlayed bv William
Seymour"
The Simon Legrees' have been legion, but
there perhaps never more unusual one
than John L. Sullivan! ]. w. Goodrich. who had
managed wagon circus through Connecticut and
New York state for several years. one fall or
ganzed 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 dozen Toms"
who, matter how much they padded under
the red flannel shirt. could not stand the rough
usage received from the famous pugilist In the
whipping scene. Ern g. Estey of Lynn was play
ing atom" in the show and he probably lasted
longer in the role than any other actor. He wore
under his red shirt a vest that was 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 good account
of himself actor later on. John L.
manned with the Goodrich show long as II
on the road.
Mention has been made of the fact that Harriet
Beecher Stowe never made a penny Of profit
from the dramatzation of her book. For there
copyright law In the 1S50s and there
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 the stage. She was greatly sur
prised when the play proved to be such sue
cess but she does not seem to have resented
either the dramatization the success. Once
she made dramatization Of the book herself
but it wasn't good theater' so II was never
staged.
The only profit she received from the
dramatizaton of her book in the form of
a free box in theater In Hartford. Conn.,. where
she was living In her old age. A 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 "Uncle
Toms Cabin" to Harriet Beecher Stowe for she
could not understand it the actors and
actresses were presenting her immortal storyt
&c by Western Newspaper union.)