| Show THE MONEY HE MAKES A Glance at the Life of William i r f Gillette i A VERY REMARKABLE CAREER The Professor Esmeralda1 Held by the EllemyThe Private 5eeretaryAll the Comforts of Home NEW YORK Dec 1With the exception of Bronson Howard probably no dramatic writer in this countryhas made the money which Mr William Gillettes pen has brought to him His income for the current cur-rent year will be larger than that enjoyed by any salaried officer official or corporate corpo-rate and will if continued for a fewyears make Mr Gillette a very wealthy man Ho was one of the first to perceive that dramatic writing would if successful be a veritable gold mine and with one or two failures excepted all of his ventures in that direction have been successful His latest play shares with the cimedies which Den man Thompson William H Crane and Bronson Howards Shenandoah company com-pany are producing the repute of being great fortune makers and it is about to be produced in England Meanwhile if Mr Gillettes health permits he will complete another play which will be produced next summer Mr Gillettes career is remarkable in that he undertook it in the face of the J prejudices of his very distinguished relations rela-tions and family friends He has won not only a victory in the difficult field of dramatic dra-matic literature but he has also won another an-other victory of which the public has not known and which perhaps is even more remarkable William Gillette is a Hartford Hart-ford Conn boy His family was always distinguished for piety and for rigid observance ob-servance of the strict rules which consistent consist-ent practice of the Calvinistic faith enforces en-forces His father was not only a godly man but was a philanthropist displayed at times the qualities of a statesman was conspicuous among the early advocates of I the antislavery cause and was chosen to prominent political posts He served in the United States senate in the troublous times of the KansasNebraska agitation He was afterward a candidate for governor gov-ernor of Connecticut Mr Gillette is also closely connected by ties of blood through his mother with the Beecher family Mrs Isabella Beecher Hooker is a relative and Mrs Harriet Har-riet Beecher Stowe has been all her life a close family friend In addition addi-tion to these distinguished people Mr Gillettes relations from childhood have been most intimate with the family of Charles Dudley Warner that of Senator Sena-tor Hawley and at a later period with Mark Twain He was brought up in that congenial atmosphere in a suburb of I Hartford distinguished for high cultivation I I cultiva-tion and for religious spirit A brother had the great political honor of defeating so distinguished a politician and states j man as John A Kasson for congress in the Des Moines Ia district some ten years i ago and is now a powerful influence in the agitations which have characterized the Iowa agricultural classes Brought up amid such surroundings as these young Gillette early displayed a fondness for the drama and dramatic literature lit-erature He was as a young man of deep religious conviction and was conspicuous I among his fellows for his integrity of character It was therefore with amaze1 ment and regret that his announcement to his friends when he became of age that he had determined upon a dramatic career was received They had seen evidences of mimetic ability and had perceived the 1 bent of his talent during earj youth While other members of the family and 1 < I other friends were disposed to object seriously seri-ously to his undertaking such a career his father felt that if the son could show that it was possible to be associated with the i drama and yet to maintain purity and integrity in-tegrity of character and by such example to do something to elevate the dramatic profession it was perhaps a mission which his son was called upon to perform The young man declared that he believed it was not only possible but for the best interests in-terests of the drama for men and women of religious faith and practice to become associated with it and that he expected to show by his life how practicable and consistent con-sistent such effort was At that time a dramatization of Mark Twains Gilded Age with John T Raymond as Mulberry Sellers was first being played and through Mark Twains influence Mr Gillette was given a subordinate part He played the part of the lawyer in the trial scene He found that while it was no struggle for him to maintain his integrity yet that there were annoyances caused by the conduct con-duct of associates but he lived these annoyances an-noyances down Soon after he wrote a play and assumed the titular part himself It was called The Professor and it was somewhat of a success The experiment showed him that his gifts were in the direction of dramatic dra-matic writing rather than acting and in collaboration with Mrs Frances Hodgson Burnett he wrote another play called Es meralda which rve produced with considerable con-siderable success at the Madison Square theatre in New York This determined his career and he settled down to the hard work of a professional dramatist Ho produced a version of The Private Secretary Secre-tary which the critics declared was far superior to other adaptations played in this country of that amusing comedy and then a year later brought out the play entitled en-titled Held by the Enemy It was the first of the plays based upon incidents in the Civil War and it was not only pecuni arily successful but revealed originality t and fertility Mr Gillettes latest play is a comedy farce entitled All the Comforts of Home and although the suggestion of it was found in a German comedy yet Mr Gillette Gil-lette has treated it with originality and such skill that it is one of the greatest dramatic successes Could it have been i played in New York for the entire season it would probably have netted him some 550000 but it was impossible to secure a theatre for that length of time With pecuniary independence assured and with an ambition to do something toward the developing of purely American drama Mr Gillettes friends think that his best work Is still before him E J EDWARDS I |
