| Show Memories of Players Of 01 Other Days N TOMMASO SALVINI SAL VINI i i By ROBERT GRAU GRAD I Copyright 1512 b by Th The Press Co Tb The New Tork York World t O ON September 24 24 1873 at the Academy Academy Acad Acad- em emy of or Music lusic on E. E Fourteenth street Tommaso the italIan Ital ital- ian fan tragedian made his American de debut debut de- de but as Othello In the tho Interpretation of which ho he had been proclaimed by Charlotte Charlotte Char Char- lotte Cushman to be the greatest t ac actor actor actor ac- ac tor the world ever saw came here with Ith an Italian supporting company While he had an extensive repertoire the public was in indifferent indifferent Sn- Sn different to his appearances save In Othello Every Even time the ponderous Italian portrayed the ferocious Moor the tho vast auditorium was sold out de despite despite de- de spite the fact that 3 was wag the prIce price for tho the majority of ot the seat seats The Tho spectacle of oC an Othello night attracting 2700 followed b by loss less than for Hamlet or or La La Morte Civile Civite was wag so common that Maurice Grau who was the Impresario to bring bring- Sal Sal- vial hither pleaded for tor more performances mances of ot Othello and less of ot the rest of oC the repertoire But Salvini absolutely refused to ap appear appear ap- ap pear as the Moor more than once a week and as he also declined to act more than four times a week the engagement enragement en en- en- en r threatened to end Salvini claimed that It was wae a a. physical Impossibility for tor him to play pla Othello within four tOUr days das of oC a previous performance a st statement that ma may well be believed ed by anyone who witnessed witnessed wit wit- this tremendous effort Salvini's company was waa about the worst ever perpetrated on a public forced to pay double prices for tOr seats It was generally believed that the tho great actor purposely brought over a mediocre support in order that his own art would be bo thus emphasized This must have been true at least In the tho case of ot the lago o played b by Alessandro Alessandro Ales Ales- sandro a n brother of ot Tommaso Yet lot the selection of ot the tho brother was waR explained as due to the fact that no other actor would be willing to stand the tho m mauling Inflicted by On a later occasion whon when Edwin Booth played lago Iago o In English to Sal- Sal vints vint's Othello in Italian Booth was thrown all over the stage and given hen so 80 realistic an illustration of or his Italian colleagues colleague's prowess that he ever after attar sought to avoid r repetitions of ot tho the un un- would not give more than one performance nce of or Oth Othello lIo until the seaSon season season sea sea- son was half hal over though this meant a loss to himself far greater than to tomy tomy tomy my brother as his contract called for tor half halt of ot tho the gross receipts The last half halt of ot the season however was profitable for tor the reason that be besides besides besides be- be sides appearing twice as tho the Moor this great actor was seen as David Garrick in the play pla- Sullivan tho the Actor and this drew almost as well wall as hi his a Othello I mu must t digress hero here reminded as I Iam Iam Iam am of oC about m my raY only anecdote an associated asso asso- associated elated with this serious uncommunicative and uncommunicative man Just before Salvini opened in New NewYork York Tork my brother took tool him to see a 3 vaudeville show at Tony Pastors Pastor's next door to where the actor was to play On th the pro program ram was v E. E D. D Davies a ventriloquist gifted with an aptitude for tor anything Impromptu Davies Dawes would ouM converse converso with his manikins One ol ot the automatons was us called Jimmy Davies a. a asked ked Jimmy having observed In a box Who is la that In tho the box OZ Oh I know know that guy cur wen well That's Tom Sullivan replied Jimmy Davies that Is Hushi responded s the distinguished tragedian Signor Tommaso Sal Ah come off orf In Insisted Jimmy That dont don't go o with me me- He Is ju just jURt t putting on airs over oer hero but ov over r In Sn Ireland ho he howaR was waR Tom Sullivan The audience screamed creamed And when hen henmy my brother explained things to he joined in the laughter And I can cansay cansay 8 say a it was the only time I ever saw him lau laugh h heartily MARY ANDERSON OUR MAlty MAItY I A A Mary Anderson began her unexampled stage career at atthe atthe atthe the top rung of oC the ladder sh she passed through all of ot the vicissitudes encountered by less colleagues of a ver very precarious period in Sn theatrical cal history Under the management of oC her stepfather stepfather step step- father Hamilton Griffin the tall taU seemingly seem seem- awkward Kentucky girl with with the resonant voice undertook man many barnstormIng barnstorming barn barn- storming expeditions in her native state and ami she was wont to pawn her Jewels frequently In order that the tho transportation for herself an and her company company company com com- pany could bo bu paid paM for tor More than three decades ago the late Ben De Bar one of ot the best of or tho the nineteenth century heard of oC a n. new Juliet and he sent John Jolin W W. Norton Nor Nor- orton or- or ton of or St St. Louis Louie to witness a n performance perform perform- ance In a small Kentucky town Despite the Inadequate support and tho the primitive character of ot the tho production production tion of oC the Shakespearean play Norton orton was so 80 impressed Impress with Miss 1 Andersons Anderson's artistic qualifications that he offered to assume charge of or lien her future career Surrounding the new star with a company company com com- pany lany of ot real actors himself InterpretIng Interpret Interpret- ing the thc leading male roles rolen after atter af af- at- at ter a preliminary tour of ot the one night nightstands nightstands nightstands stands prevailed upon De Bar Bal to permit Miss Anderson to play for tor an entire week In n a n. n leading theatre of ot St. St Louis In a repertoire of standard plays Tho The press In the Missouri city were In accord accord accord ac ac- ac- ac cord hailing Mary Anderson as a genius genius ge se- ge- ge and as the successor of or Adelaide Neil sen About this time Henr Henry E E. Abbe Abbey was in the limelight having made a n. fortune as a result of Sarah Earnhardt's Bernhardt's first American tour tOUt Ho lIo saw in the Ken Ken- Kentucky tucle tucky girly Irl a new stellar figure over whom American playgoers would rave ra So he negotiated with Norton and se secured secured secured se- se cured a time long contract In one year un under er Abbeys Abbey's direction Mary Marj Anderson Anderson An An- derson became the leader of ot the Ameri Ameri- American can stage No other othur Amerl American fan an actress ever er drew the gross receipts to the box office that our our Mary Iary did not even een E Edwin Booth In fact the only artists who could command such public patronage patrona e were Henry Irving and Ellen hllen Terry combined and Sarah Bernhardt Our Om Mary also alo I is the on only I American actress ss to this da day who could attract the public at a a 3 scale of prices Abbeys Abbey's COn contract with his n now new w star stir represented a value close to a million dollars Yet as illustrative of ot tho the kind ll of man he was he offered no complaint when at the time of Miss 1188 An Andersons Anderson's erson's to M M. de Navarro Na she In Informed Informed In- In formed torme him that she sue had determined to retire from tho the stage for all time Mr Ir Abbe Abbey tried to persuade her to ro- ro re resume resume sume her career In after years But when ho he saw that she meant to keep her hel helow he released her hor from all vow ow contractual contractual contractual con con- obligations Other managers were not so 80 ready to believe that Mar Mary Anderson was different from hundreds r f f other celebrities to whom the tho lure Iura of ot the tho footlights was irresistible Some of these were rere wont to Journey journe t thousands thousands thou thou- sands of or miles to confer with Mme lime de cle deNavarro dea Navarro a arro at her b beautiful home at Broadway Worcestershire not ver very en far fur from London One of oC these managers offered the re retired retired retired re- re tired actress 2000 a a. night to give a series of ot readings But like all the others he ho came back to New York convinced convinced convinced con con- vinced that her here was an n unusual actress actress ac ac- tress trese In 1904 when It became my province to visit Mme Ime Patti at her castle In Wales Vales to prepare for tor another farewell farewell fare tare well tour I wrote to Mme de cle Navarro offering her for tor a series of fifty ty readings s. s And under the belief belle that tha mone money alone alono would not affect her I otter offered d to devote ote one half of oC tho the profits to any charity charlt she might care t to elect But hut Madam was wag still true truc to her vow YOw This is what the greatest of 01 Julieta wrote me mc While I am proud to have ha received such an offer otter and frankly I am none too well ell off ort in worldly goods m my life lite is mapped out for COl me mc M My home am ammy and m my children have a permanent and constant con con- tant stant claim on m my time And even cven I It if it were different a to stage career would woul be repellent I love the theatre But Bu savo save for Cor some pome charity when perhaps I might appear near home for tor one occasion occa occa- slon sion once In a n. few tew years my public career is ended for tor all aU time M 1 DE N. N Throughout her stage life Ute Miss Anderson Anderson An An- derson on was a a. devout church woman She rose in the famous blizzard of ot 1888 in time for tor 5 o'clock mass And while t on tour it was necessary to arrango the route so that nothing nothing- would Interfere Interfere Inter Inter- fere tere with this custom |
