Show I THE FIGHTING MAN MANI Ii I WILLIAM A. A BRADY the Most Picturesque Figure in inthe in I I the Sporting and Theatrical World Tells His HI Life Story I I I t R ht t 1911 by William A. A Brady 1 CHAPTER V V. I It Whim While I was having tho the row ron with Frohman n in Minneapolis Dion Diou Boud cault advertised an auction audion ralo nIo of hi his hie Pa plays lays s 's at t the e Madison Square j New NeVI ew York I camo came on to attend that zale nl determined it to buy the pla play Alter Dan which Id I'd been playing pla-ing on lease i iii the the West I 1 jumped lD in bt began biddi and aud lauded lan th thA play for tor 1800 But with ith the tho pIa play I also alao landed a lawsuit with utin Dal Daly li which co cost cOtt t us in lc legal al before we wo got Rot through with it thirTeen from the Blasted years wont l to the highest t f federal court t reached the supreme court of tho the I f United States i The fhe story etory of this case would fill fiU a x vol ol- ol lImo Daly finally got ot ju judgment for o of ot which be ho cO could collect only I 4 for during the course coune of ot litigation litiA liti c A gation gatton atlon part of the thc claim had bad become outlawed In a word the tho case calle was as ast asi t i follows In 1865 1565 Daly produced ed a play p. p called Under th the Gras Gas Light in inI I which wa watt a sen sensational honal railroad scene t which had n never cr before been done dona in New cw York f. f Two years cars later Dion Thou put on no a a. called After Dark which 01 A. A contained a colorable colombIe imitation of Dalys Daly's railroad scene Daly got ot after IV on tho the ground of the similarity similar similar- ity of tb the two railroad scenes and K f Judge e Blatchford rendered a a. decision in favor Avor of ot the plaintiff That was in inri when u J After I ri 1867 1887 So produced t Dark at tho Peoples People's theatre thc on the Bow ery Mery about 1890 Mr rl Daly Daty served moI mo me I with wit a t temporary injunction Ij i a a I had hai little UttI faith in lawyers and having a theory that the papers had bad been illegally served on mo mt th the j hearing t for r the permanent injunction was onas called I had tho the effrontery to walk into court with the papers and start to argue m mj my own case casc But tho the judge cut mo me abort short tI Wheres your lawyer JJ ho demanded de do frowning ronning down On upon meI meI me II dont don't want said I with I I an any supreme su fro promo preme I effrontery I W was 8 only 23 33 re roo re- re member You must get ct on one said the tho Judge I turned around and saw standing right back of oC me who wiio ho had bad been n pointed out to me mo 03 nJ a famous theatrical lawyer lawver II Are ATe jou ott on Judge Judg-c t I asked 1 Y Yos s said he T I shoved the papers raper into his hill hand Will I Will you tak take this case T liT will Trill represent ent vou you at this hearing hear hear- jug ing How HoT much f said I. I Two hundred and anti fifty dollars doHan g said id lie he v I h handed banded him a check and he wont went to tho the front got an n adjournment and one week later Inter sprung a R. technicality on the court Court e. Judge Wallace which Wallace which upset Judge e Blatchford's decision and led ted to thi thirteen cars cars' liti litigation tion It was the simplest thing on earth On tho the title pa page of Under TInder the Gas Light was wn Under Und the Gas printed r Light a 0 Story of ot Love Lo and Lifo Life in jn New NewYork York That was was was' the published book But in the tho printed copy that had been beon filed merl for copyrIght right ht tho the title HUB page read Under the Gas Oas Light a R Panorama of I or another The difference co- co coin in inthe inthe in inthe the subtitle on the hooks books which were wro I being sold to the public and the subtitle sub title registered in Washington ton furnished fur far Trl o Wallace C grounds rou rI for tor I holding the bt to be he invalid A As All III IIII I said this co cost COlt t me mo a n lot of money and kept mo me in tho papers almost continuously contin contino fo thirteen rears rears but it mo me in Now NewYork as S a man who was not to be bo with It 0 When I loft Minneapolis to go CO to New Now York for the sale Mao Mac was as still in a coil cell ponder ponder- in lug ing the tho libel laws of Minnesota But Bui in a few days s tho court lot lt Jl him m out ont on ball bail to await tho action of the tho grand and jury jUf for criminal libel Charles Frohman put up th the amount in cash Then Mao Mae on being released went to New York but had n a row with Frohman and refused to go back and stand trial which put the mana manager cr inthe iu in tho the way ay of ot losing n his hI I I badot bad had hadnot not ot been in town more moro than two to days davs when T r i received n a polite potito letter from Mr rr asking me to call on ou him bim He Be had no thc theatre was occupying n a little office at Broadway and Thirtieth street tree and looked pretty bi big hg to him just then While I J was Wn turning Frohman's letter over in my mind T I met Mac M c on the street and tol told him about it Dont you rou OU go fO up UTI there said nid beI heI he be I 1 had a a. TOW row with him and I won wont won't t go goback goback back to Minneapolis T Tm m on going to tomake tomake tomake make him forfeit the ten thousand Then after pondering a moment Vb Why dont don't you vou make him give bc You jou Youve 1 five Ave ve thousand U 4 0 I turned on my may heel and quit Mae Mac rn and wont vont nt up tit to sec ace 1 It H was the first time in my lifo life J Id I'd ever met that gentleman If He didn't w waste ste any time in cOlUin coming to tho point rf Mr rr Brady Brady said flaM he lie youve c got ol me mo in a box Mac Gr G refuses to Continued on pa page e 22 I I I THE FIGHTING MAN MANI Continued n ed from page pato 19 go o back and stand trial If Ho doesn't I 1 I shall lose my which I cant can't afford to do I want you to compromise compromiso with me Wire yoUr your attorney in St. St Paul to cease his activity and with some som local influence that I can bring to bear bearl I can get et tho the thing quashed And what then then 1 said I r waiting for the most interesting part of tho the proposition 4 If If will do it yow you you yon may rest assured as as- that if I l' can do anything for you ou in the future I will do It II All All right Mr Frohman said I that goes goesl We shook hands and I walked out of his office It was not that I was ov overawed by Mr Frohman's personality or won by bi his cordiality that I eo quickly acquiesced acqui in his proposal Nor was it sheer good nature I 1 was still pretty pretty- soro sore about what hed he'd sent 2 on to todo todo todo do to me in Minneapolis olis But Butas as I said I t was something of a prophet I h had ld watched Mr Yr Frohman and felt that he ho was destined to do big biA things in tho the theatre world and I now thou thought ht it the tho part of wisdom to m make mako ko a friend of him e C C Three years rears later lator I ha hao a a. production called c Tho Tho New South Sonth which was booked with Mr Frohman at th the tho Colonial Colonial Co lonial theatre in jn Boston Tho The pIa play was wasso wasso so 50 successful in New York that I 1 wanted to keep it there thero awhile lon longer or and aud I r asked aske l him to rel release mo rue from the Boston engagement But he claimed that ho he was powerless to do so as tho the theatre was ns under the management of Vill William am Harris Not a W great groat nt while later Mr Ir Frohman produced in New York a Chinese play Ilar called caned The First Born which had Dad been hi highly successful in San Fran Fran- cisco At the same time Holbrook DUnn Dlinn put on at Hammerstein's Olympia ic ica a play called Tho The Cat antI anil the tho Cherub This piece was by Chester ornald and was like Uko the Frohman play pIa in tho the respect that all tho the characters character's wore Chinese Frohman F made arran arrangements to send scud The First Born to London and as soon as I l learned arned of this movement on his pit part I secured tho the En English lish ri rights ht to The Tho Cat and the Cherub Then I got ot in touch with Mr Blinn sent ent him to England and be ho secured a booking at tho the Prince of Wales Vale theatre on a guarantee of a week which meant a a profit to us of tsO SO And this thi I did without a soul Boul on this side knowing knowing know know- ing nn anything thine about it Then I quietly sneaked The Cat and tho the Cherub company on board a a. boat five fio days before before be be- fore foro Frohman proposed sailing w with th his company and when m my people were about half wa way across the tho ocean announced announced announced an an- that I wa was going to produce the tho piece in London It Tho The news Dews fell fen like a bomb in tho the Frohman camj camp Mr Ir Frohman immediately immediately immediately immedi immedi- closed his company here and raced across tho o ocean ean in order to beat me inc over ocr there But with the tho IWo days days' vs' vs start I had got ot I reached Lond London opened on on- on a a. Saturday ni night ht nn and made mado madea a bi big hit The Tho Cat and the Cherub co continued on there for a n year vear at a weekly profit of 80 Mr 1 Frohman opened the following Monday Yonda lie Ito hart hai no guarantee He had h both the theatre end and of it and the play end of it and ana Tho The First Born Dorn II although it was a a t far better hotter play than The Cat and the Cherub was a a ghastly fizzle in London and closed dosed at atthe i tho the end of loven seven coven days with a loss of more than expenses expanses 5 The Cat I and the Cherub was played b bv by six BIX eOJ wh whereas teu The Tho First Born Bonx j I sixty Neither of the tho plays was attractive But I got ot a guarantee and my fares wore were paid by b- the tho En English people whilo mY mv rival had To take all the risk him him- self I felt that in this I 1 was as even eyen with Mr Frohman for not helping mo inc out on tho the Boston matter mattor of The Tho The New South Tho The matter did me no harm I assure you in tho business world e To revert to tho the main line of the story after m ray digression into m my Daly lawsuit and my misunderstanding with After acquiring fl the play play After Dark at the tho sale I traveled with it in the East and And After made a success of it Dark brought out James T T. Corbett the pugilist as I shall point out later on I had bad made money in in the theatre business and was Tras Cf very But the a advent vent of Corbett deflected mo me for forthe tho the time timo bein being into the field fleM of pugh ism hem And while I did not abandon my theatrical enterprises on on tho the contrary I was producing plays plays' right alou along while e eI I was managing n t I I can now see that if I had never touched pugilism but had concentrated on my theatre work I would probably have o been much further AJon along m in that line lino than I am to to- dav tiny Unfortunately I wont in for pugilism at a a. formative period of my career Before I had bad had time to lay a solid foundation for my reputation as a producer pro pro- ducer duer of plays I became bamo amo identified with tho the prize ring rine and this this' fact was reflected in the tho box offices at the tho the the- atro atre which I mann managed ed Please remember remember ber it is if not the s sporting public but the general public which consists largely large large- ly of women and children who are the tho patrons of the tho playhouse Sporting people would go fO to any event that Brady mi might ht mana manage o and tho woney money would flow in But there was always danger of tho the name namo name Brady keeping the tho women and children away from tho the theatre And the t was ros wasa rosa a much bigger proposition prop than thau th the prize rin ring ringi t Undiscriminating tin persons either havin having no knowledge of my past pastas pastas pad as a manager or not stopping to con consider con can sider sidor it didn't see sec how it was possible for a man who was as interested iu in sports to know anything about the drama or orthe orthe orthe the stage statte and a good man ninny many of them forgetting that I had trained under some somo of the best masters of tho the drama that the world has produced thought 1 I could be nothing but coarse in my tastes and p pernicious in my influence About the time that I started out with with After Dark Corbett had electrified dec elec trifled tho the sporting world An amateur known only ny in San Francisco he did some brilliant work that brought him into national prominence He had been beena a clerk in tho the Bank of N Nevada and a a member of tho the Olympic club of San Francisco of which ho he finally became instructor He ne had met many ninny obscuro obscure boxers local celebrities and anil tho the like and his experience with these h had d opened his his' eyes Corbett was an observing a progressive s sive t c man He Ho saw tho the weak spots of the tho old fashioned methods which the thc world because of their antiquity had accepted without question He Be r realized that pu pugilists are Aro not inventive that they are arc kangaroo headed and sheep like Jike that called wisdom wisdom wis wis- a n bit of so ring dom mi might ht be handed down for forgen generations gen gen- orations without change chante An Any question of accepted ring tactics was as regarded as the ho rankest heresy But Dut Corbett was a an iconoclast Whenever Whenever When When- ever he be saw aw an error he lie went about corre correcting tin it in his own way Furthermore Furthermore Further Further- more moro he hc realized that a man trained in tho old school would be he more or less confused by any nuy departure departure- on the part of his opponent So Corbett not only mastered the old ohl methods learned the theold theold theold old rin ring secrets but invented invent rl methods of r his own which the tho other fellow v didn't know anything about Furthermore Furthermore Further Further- r- r more he was capable of changing his play so to speak with every new event To be continued |