Santa Clara County CA Archives History - Books .....Chapter IX 1922
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Book Title: History Of Santa Clara County

CHAPTER IX.

Early Days of the Drama in San Jose—The First Theater—Stark's Disgust— Other
Theaters and Interesting Reminiscences of Actors, Professional and Amateur—A Few
of the Old-Time Minstrels.

  Those who are left of the pioneers of San Jose, the sturdy, adventurous men
and women who planted the stakes for the advanced civilization of today, look
back with pride and pleasure to the early days of the drama in San Jose. They
recall the professional work of actors and actresses of world-wide fame, whose
performances, if given nowadays would awaken the highest interest, and they
linger long and lovingly over favorite names and plays, peerless productions and
delightful dramatic incidents. Those were the days of stock companies, in which
the actor to win a high place in the profession had to study and strive years
upon years and to appear in such a round of characters as to establish a perfect
claim to dramatic versatility and merit. In the mimic world of that day lived
and flourished Junius Brutus Booth, Edwin Forrest, Charlotte Cushman, Edwin
Booth, Julia Dean Hayne, E. L. Davenport, James E. Murdock and James Stark.

  To James Stark is due the credit of establishing the first theater in San
Jose. The year was 1859 and he was then in the height of his fame, having but
recently returned, with his wife, from a highly successful engagement in
Australia. Of all the tragedians who came after him, but one bore any
resemblance to him in style, appearance and ability and that one was John
McCullough. It must in justice be said, however, that Stark had the finer
intelligence, and that in the parts calling for deep, dramatic insight and the
interpretation of the subtler shades of human emotion, he excelled the genial
McCullough, whose forte was not exactly in the line of the purely intellectual,
but in the delineation of the heroic and the muscular. Endowed with a splendid
physique, an imposing carriage, a deep, resonant, finely modulated voice and
true conception of dramatic requirements, added to a rare, personal magnetism,
Stark compelled attention and won the most enthusiastic plaudits for his
performances. In the summer of 1859 he purchased a lot on First Street, opposite
the site of the present Victory Theater and upon it erected San Jose's first
place of dramatic amusement. The building, which was of wood, had an excellent
stage and all the appliances of the regulation theaters of those days. The grand
opening took place on the tenth of October and the bill was Richelieu with Stark
as the "Cardinal Duke" and Mrs. Stark as "Julie de Mortimar." The price of
admission to all the plays was one dollar, both for dress circle and parquet.
Each program printed by the late C. L. Yates, contained the announcement,
"Children in arms not admitted."

  Mrs. Stark was a star, as well as her husband. Her first husband was J. H.
Kirby, the tragedian, who died in San Francisco after playing an engagement at
Maguire's Opera House. His great specialty was Richard III, and so powerful was
his acting in the death scene that it became the delight of the gallery and
perpetuated the well-known request, "Wake me up when Kirby dies."

  Belle Devine, the ingenue of Stark's company was a great favorite and during
her stay in San Jose she was the idol of the male younger set. After her season
at Stark's Theater she married George Pauncefote, an English actor, who in 1866
engineered a remarkable polyglot entertainment at the American Theater in San
Francisco. The play was Othello. The title role was enacted by Pauncefote in
English, "Iago" was given in French, "Cassio" in Danish and "Roderigo" in
Spanish. The audience was large but the play only ran one night. Afterward
Pauncefote went to China and never returned.

  Two very popular members of Stark's company were Harry Brown, who did the
juveniles and walking gents; and Nellie Brown, his wife, who was the soubrette.
Brown afterward joined the stock company at Maguire's Opera House, San
Francisco, and some years after the death of his wife married Mrs. Harry
Jackson, an English actress of high reputation. whose "Lady Macbeth" was
considered one of the finest assumptions in the history of the American stage.

  In building the theater Stark was financially assisted by the late James R.
Lowe, Sr. The obligation was satisfied out of the proceeds of the first five
weeks' performances. During these five weeks, though San Jose then had less than
5,000 population, the houses were large and the interest intense. The same
patrons would attend the theater night after night, so strong and well balanced
was the company, so meritorious the plays and so attractive the personality of
Stark and his talented wife. The leading man of the combination was Walter Bray,
who, when his engagement ended, forsook the sock and buskin to bask in the
smiles of Moraus. A few years later he was known as one of the brightest and
most successful Ethiopean comedians on the Coast. For a time he was associated
with Joe Murphy, then more appreciated as a bone player than a negro minstrel.

  At the conclusion of the five weeks' season, Stark took his company to
Sacramento where the San Jose success was repeated. Then came what old San
Franciscans will always remember—the phenomenal engagement at Maguire's Opera
House in which Stark appearing in his round of Shakespearean characters, was
hailed as one of the few great interpreters of "Hamlet," "Othello," "Macbeth,"
"Brutus," "Richard III" and "King Lear."

  Fresh from his metropolitan triumphs Stark returned to San Jose and for three
weeks crowded the benches of the theater, easily repeating the success of his
opening season. Now it was that he determined to make the Garden City his
permanent place of residence, for from the substantial patronage bestowed upon
him in the past he had acquired the faith to believe that the future was filled
with golden promises. He purchased the property bounded by Second, Julian and
Fourth Streets and the line of the proposed Western Pacific railway and upon it
erected a handsome dwelling. Subsequently he went to Virginia City, New, to open
a theater there and made considerable money. Seats for the first night sold as
high as $500 each and the late Senator William Sharon was credited with having
paid $500 a night for a set of seats for his friends for the entire engagement.

  Again returning to San Jose Stark began his last series of performances in the
theater upon which he had builded so many glowing hopes. He had advertised a
three weeks' season, but owing to the scarcity of money which prevailed at that
time, the attendance diminished so that the three weeks were shortened to two.
On the night of the closing performance there was a "beggarly array of empty
benches." Then the distinguished tragedian came forth in his wrath and made a
speech to the audience in which he reproached the citizens of San Jose for their
lack of appreciation of his efforts, closing with the announcement that he
should never appear in that theater or in San Jose again. He was as good as his
word. He sold his theater property to Judge William T. Wallace and his fine
residence property to Hon. S. O. Houghton.

  Shortly before this there had been differences between Stark and his wife,
which after a time culminated in a divorce. Mrs. Stark remained single for a few
years and then married Dr. Gray, of New York, who possessed a handsome fortune
which became hers when he died. Her last husband was Charles R. Thorne, Sr., a
veteran actor and manager and father of Charles R. Thorne, Jr., and Edwin
Thorne, the actors.

  Misfortune overtook Stark in his later years. For a time he played with Edwin
Booth, but after a stroke of paralysis, was forced to abandon the stage. His
fortune was exhausted in endeavoring to obtain relief and when in dire pecuniary
extremity he was remembered by his wife of former days, who sent him a large sum
of money. He died in the East about forty years ago. Mrs. Thorne passed away in
San Francisco in 1898.

  Samuel W. Piercy, who died of small-pox in Boston in 1882, after having
reached the top of his profession as an actor, made his first appearance on any
stage in Stark's Theater in 1865. The theater was also the scene of the debut of
John W. Dunne, who became a popular actor and manager and is now a resident of
New York City.

  After Stark's departure the theater, with name changed to the San Jose
Theater, was turned over to traveling companies whose engagements were few and
far between. The last performances given within its walls were on the 15th and
16th of March, 1867, by Robert Fulford's San Francisco Dramatic Company. The
plays were Michael Erie, Don Caesar de Bazan and The Lady of Lyons. In Michael
Erie the principal characters were taken by Fulford, Harry Colton, W. M.
Martial, E. T. Sawyer, Miss Teresa Berrie and Belle De Nure. In April, 1867, the
theater was converted into a carriage factory and leased to Hunt & Add.
Alterations for other classes of business were made as the years rolled on. The
building still stands, but there is nothing in its appearance to convey the
faintest suggestion that it once covered the appurtenances of a theater.

  From 1867 to 1870 San Jose theater-goers had to content themselves with the
meager and unsatisfactory accommodations of Armory Hall on Santa Clara Street,
near Third. Robert Fulford did play "Hamlet" there on an improvised stage with a
few rickety wings constituting the entire set of scenery and the ghost arrayed
in a horse blanket besprinkled with small squares of tin to represent a coat of
mail. When "Hamlet," stepped on the end of a floor board which had not been
nailed down, causing the other end to strike the "King of Denmark" and knock him
against the wing, there was a quick collapse of the whole stage furniture and an
inglorious termination of the performance.

  In 1870 Gustav Brohaska, the proprietor of Armory Hall, converted the place
into a first-class theater and named it the San Jose Opera House. The opening
night was August 18, and London Assurance was given in superb style by the John
T. Raymond Dramatic Company. Raymond, than whom a neater low comedian never
tickled the risibilities of an American audience, was "Mark Meddle" and his
wife, handsome and popular Marie Gordon, was "Lady Gay Spanker." Then followed a
season of prosperity, of fine actors and good plays. At this house appeared such
popular favorites as John McCullough, Barton Hill, James O'Neill, Robson &
Crane, "Billy" Florence, Thomas W. Keene, Lawrence Barrett, James Carden, James
A. Heme, Harry Courtaine, Joseph Proctor, Joe Murphy, Sue Robinson, Jennie and
Alicia Mandeville, Fay Templeton, Ellie Wilton, Mrs. Sophie Edwin, Mrs. Judah,
Annie Louise Cary, Clara Louise Kellogg and Caroline Richings. Proctor's
connection lasted several years as he was then managing a circuit of theaters.
He was the creator of that wonderful character in melodrama, "The
Jibbenainosay," for many years the piece de resistance of the Bowery.

  H. A. De Lacy was the lessee of the theater in 1874 and one of his first
attractions was Fay Templeton, the charming vocalist and child actress. James A.
Heme, whose "Shore Acres," netted him a fortune, was a member of the company.
One of his great parts was "Rip Van Winkle," declared by David Belasco to be
superior to the "Rip" of Joseph Jefferson.

  It was at this theater that Eleanor Calhoun, afterward a popular London
actress and at present writing the wife of Prince Lazarovich of Serbia, made her
first appearance on any stage in E. T. Sawyer's military drama, "Loyal Hearts."
The cast was a local one, John T. Malone and H. A. De Lacy sustaining the
leading male roles. Malone, who was deputy district attorney at the time,
afterwards adopted the stage as a profession, became an eastern star and died
while officiating as secretary of the Players' Club, founded by Edwin Booth, in
New York City.

  On the morning of July 5, 1881, the Opera House was burned to the ground. But
San Jose was not left without a place of amusement, for the California Theater
on Second Street near San Fernando, had been running for several years.

  The California Theater was erected by Hayes & Downer in 1878-79 and was
formally opened on May 12th, 1879, by a company of amateurs. The play was
"Evadne" and the performers were J. J. Owen, editor of the Mercury; J. H.
Campbell, for many years dean of the law department of the Santa Clara
University; Charles F. Macy, who died in Chelsea, Mass., in 1898; Prof. J. G.
Kennedy, city school superintendent, now with the dead; Charles M. Shortridge,
lawyer, newspaper publisher and state senator, who passed away in 1919, and Miss
Mattie Patton, who afterward became the wife of J. J. Owen. She died a few years
ago. For the occasion a poem written by the late S. W. De Lacy, then proprietor
of the Times, was appropriately recited by Mrs. Ida Benfey, the elocutionist.

  During the few years of its existence, the California was managed most of the
time by the late Chas. J. Martin, who served as mayor of the city for three
terms. He made many notable engagements. It was at this house that the famous
production of "The Rivals," with Joseph Jefferson and Mrs. John Drew in the
cast, was given. Edwin Booth, W. E. Sheridan, Laurence Barrett, Thomas W. Keene,
Louis James, Frederic Warde, W. H. Crane, Stuart Robson, John E. Owens, E. S.
Willard, Joseph G. Grismer, Nat Goodwin, Louise Davenport, Minnie Maddern (who
later became Mrs. Fiske), Ada Cavendish and others appeared.

  Like the Opera House the California Theater went up in smoke on the night of
July 2, 1892. In the same fire the buildings on the block half way to Santa
Clara, together with the South Methodist Church and other buildings across the
street were burned.

  Two months after the destruction of the California Theater the Auditorium was
doing business under the management of Walter Morosco, of the San Francisco
Grand Opera House. The building had formerly been known as Horticultural Hall,
but was without a proper stage or theatrical appointments. Some of these
necessities were furnished when Morosco took charge, others by Chas. P. Hall
when he came in as Morosco's successor.

  Other lessees of the Auditorium with its later name, the Garden City Theater,
were Webster & Ross, Frank Bacon and a vaudeville combination. During its few
years of-existence there appeared such attractions a*-Thomas W. Keene, Ward and
James, Robert Downing, John W. Dunne and Mary Marble, Richard Mansfield, Nat
Goodwin, Mme. Modjeska, James A. Heme; De Wolf Hopper, John Drew, Henry Miller,
The Bostonians, Herbert Kelsey, Robert Mantell, Maxine Elliott, Mrs. Leslie
Carter and Fannie Davenport. Fire destroyed the building in 1918.

  The Victory Theater, erected by Senator James D. Phelan, was opened to the
public on the evening of February 2, 1899. An audience that filled every seat
applauded to the echo the fine acting of the performers in "The School for
Scandal," the play selected for the occasion. Louis James, Frederick Warde,
Harry Langdon and Kathryn Kidder had the principal parts, and the performance as
a whole was a clean-cut exhibition of high dramatic art. Charles P. Hall was the
first lessee. He was succeeded by F. A. Giesea, who was in charge until 1918
when M. B. Haas came in as lessee. During the past twenty-two years the Victory
has presented the cream of the eastern dramatic attractions booked for the
Pacific Coast. Among them may be named Maude Adams, Billie Burke, Mrs. Leslie
Carter, Margaret Anglin, E. A. Sothern, William Faversham, Otis Skinner, Forbes
Robertson, J. E. Kellerd, Robert Mantell, David Warfield, Sarah Bernhardt, Anna
Held, Geo. M. Cohan, Walker Whiteside, Ethel Barrymore, Hilda Spong, Henry
Miller, Julia Marlowe, Louis James, W. H. Crane, Nat Goodwin, Blanch Walsh,
Blanche Bates, Annie Russell, W. H. Thompson and several opera companies.

  The Hippodrome, located on South First Street, near the corner of San Carlos,
was erected by the Southern Development Company in 1919 and was leased to Marcus
Loew, a circuit manager. He is represented in San Jose by Ackerman & Harris; B.
B. Levin is the local manager. The theater has been used mainly for vaudeville
and motion pictures.

  The T. & D. Theater, a motion picture house, on South First Street, near San
Antonio, was built by the Southern Development Company in 1913. The lessees are
Turner & Dahnken and the local manager, A. M. Miller. The Lyric Theater, a small
amusement house for motion pictures, located on North Second Street, opposite
the Evening News office, has as lessee Geo. S. Jones. Louis Lieber is the owner
of the building.

  The Jose Theater on North Second Street, between Santa Clara and San Fernando
Streets, was built in 1904 by David Jacks, of Monterey County. It was first
leased by Nolan & Blum. After a few years Nolan retired and Blum was the lessee
until his death in 1920. James Beatty is now in charge.

  The Liberty (motion picture) Theater is located on Market Street, between San
Fernando and Post, was built in 1914 by James Beatty, the present proprietor.

  The first amateur dramatic company in San Jose was organized in the fall of
1865 with the following members: Charles De Lacy, Samuel W. Piercy, J. A. Leach,
Charles A. Cleal, Thomas L. Cleal, John E. Pillot Edgar M. Foster, J. F.
McMahon, W. D. J. Hambly, W. W. Thomas and E. T. Sawyer, Misses Mary Yontz,
Jessie Gavitt, Ellen and Clara Skinner. In 1866, A. P. Murgotten, Amherst J.
Hoyt, John W. Dunne, E. M. Skinner, J. W. Johnson and A. L. Hart joined the
company, several of the 1865 members having removed from the city. In the years
up to the early '80s, the members included H.  A. De Lacy, F. E. York, A. S.
York, Charles M. Shortridge, Frank Bacon, A. W. White, Eugene Rosenthal, Chas.
W. Williams, S. W. De Lacy, W. H. Sarles, W. G. Lorigan, H. C. Hansbrough, John
T. Malone, Beatrice Lawrey, Mary Westphal, Louis Lieber, Geo. W. Alexander,
Chas. E. Howes, Geo. C. Knapp, George Comstock, James Carson, Henry Beach,
Jennie Weidman, Eleanor Calhoun, Virginia Calhoun, Holton Webb, A. Majors Jr.,
W. G. Miller, Harry Botsford. Guy Salisbury, Chas. W. Oliver, Clyde Frost, F. G.
Hartman and others whose names the historian does not recall. Many of the
members afterwards achieved eminence on the professional stage. Sam W. Piercy
was one of the foremost actors in America when death called him in 1882. He came
to California in the early '50s and the family home for many years was on Julian
Street near Sixth. He was a student at the San Jose Institute when he joined the
dramatic club. In the fall of 1866 he left San Jose to enter upon the study of
law in San Francisco. In 1870 he was invited to read the Declaration of
Independence at the Fourth of July celebration. He acquitted himself so well
that Col. W. H. L. Barnes, a personal friend, advised him to give up law for
acting. The advice was followed and in November of that year he made his debut
on the professional stage as "Iago" to the "Othello" of John McCullough. It was
a complete success and McCullough said he had never witnessed a more
satisfactory first appearance. After a tour of the state with Frank Wilton's
barn-storming company, he played with Joe Murphy and other stars for a time and
then he left for the East. For three years he developed his art by playing with
such stars as Clara Morris, John McCullough and Charlotte Thompson. In 1876 he
sailed for London to play the leading part in The Virginians. The press notices
were so laudatory and his reputation was so enhanced that on his return to New
York he was at once engaged as leading man at the Grand Opera House. The next
year he joined Edwin Booths company and was with that great actor until the
manager of Niblo's Garden offered him the position of stock star in the company
playing regularly at that popular place of amusement. His best parts during the
engagement were "Lagadere" in "The Duke's Motto," "Badger" in "The Streets of
New York" and "Claude Melnotte" in the "Lady of Lyons." There followed an offer
from San Francisco to come and play the leading part in "Diplomacy." The offer
was accepted and a prosperous season was the result.

  In 1878 Piercy opened the San Jose Opera House, as enlarged and improved,
presenting "Diplomacy," "Craiga Dhiol" and "Othello." In the last named play he
appeared as "Iago" to the "Othello" of John T. Malone, a rising San Jose actor.
In 1881 he rejoined Edwin Booth's company and the engagement was still on when
he was stricken with small pox and died. Just before his illness J. H. Haverly,
the well-known manager, was negotiating for his appearance as a star. In 1879
Piercy married the daughter of William Dunphy, the cattle king. She died in
Philadelphia in 1881, leaving one daughter, who is now a resident of San Francisco.

  Eleanor Calhoun was a Normal School student in San Jose when she resolved to
make the stage her profession. This was in the late 70s. She was pretty and
graceful, had a charming manner and an unconquerable ambition to succeed in
life. Her father, a nephew of John C. Calhoun, the South Carolina orator and
statesman, was a justice of the peace in Fresno County and her mother had
removed to San Jose for the purpose of giving her daughters an education in the
educational center of the state. Nellie (she did not call herself Eleanor until
after her departure from California) displayed remarkable dramatic talent at the
Normal School and after leaving there gave elocutionary recitals in a tour of
the coast counties. After this experience she entered the dramatic school of
Mrs. Julia Melville Snyder, mother of Emilie Melville, the popular actress and
vocalist of the '70s and '80s. It was while she was studying for the stage that
she was induced to come to San Jose and play the leading female role in E. T.
Sawyer's military play, "Loyal Hearts." She gladly consented and made her first
appearance on any stage at the San Jose Opera House in February, 1880. Hugh A.
De Lacy, John T. Malone, Louis Lieber, the sign painter, and Miss Mary Westphal
(now Mrs. Judge Richards) were in the cast. At the conclusion of the week's
engagement she was tendered a benefit, as her exceptionally fine acting had made
her a public favorite. The house was packed to the doors and the young actress
in the glow of her success returned to San Francisco and arranged to appear at
the California Theater, then under the management of John McCullough. She made
her debut on the professional stage as "Juliet" to the "Romeo" of John T.
Malone. The critics praised her acting and the engagement was continued until
she had exhausted her small repertoire. Soon after the engagement she left for
the East and for a year played leading parts in a stock company which gave
performances in middle eastern and southern cities. London next called her and
it was not long before she had worked herself into a leading position in one of
the high class theaters. Under the auspices of Lady Archibald Campbell she
played "Rosalind" in "As You Like It" in an al fresco production, to the warm
approbation of the large audience assembled. She was next heard of in Paris,
where she studied French, attaining such a mastery over the language as to give
her confidence to appear before the Paris footlights in a French play with the
great Coquelin as leading support. About a dozen years ago she was married to
Prince Lazarovich, a claimant to the throne of Serbia. After her marriage she
made several visits to San Jose. A few years ago her London and Paris
reminiscences were published in The Century. Written in a chatty style and
directed mainly to a recital of her social triumphs and of meetings with the
notables of the day, including Alfred Tennyson and James Russell Lowell, they
made interesting reading. One of her sisters (Jessica) is married and lives in
Los Angeles. Another sister, Virginia, was a teacher in the Hester school on the
Alameda, until she decided to follow in the footsteps of Eleanor and become an
actress. Her first appearance on any stage was, like her sister's, in "Loyal
Hearts." The performance was given at the California theater on Second Street in
1882. In the cast were Frank Bacon, Jennie Weidman (afterward Mrs. Bacon), Louis
Lieber, Geo. W. Alexander and other local lights.

  John W. Dunne joined the San Jose Amateur Club in 1866. He was a boy of
sixteen when he made his first apparance on the stage. In preparing for the
production of "The Golden Farmer," no woman could be found willing enough to
play the part of "Elizabeth," the heroine, so Dunne was called in to fill the
breach. He was a handsome fellow in those" days, beardless, peachy-cheeked and
with a voice that was soft, light and clear-almost like a woman's. When on
bended knees, with clasped hands and streaming eyes he besought heaven to "save
me from a fate far worse than death," the audience shivered and appealing eyes
were cast on the villain, who seemed to hold the fate of Elizabeth in his hands.
And that villain, who stood over the shrinking heroine, with his six feet of
stature, blood-shot eyes, gleaming teeth and hands red with gore, was none other
than that mild-mannered, upright, progressive citizen, Alex. P. Murgotten.
Dunne's success as an amateur decided his destiny. He became a real actor. After
playing all sorts of parts, from utility to leading business, he departed for
Salt Lake City to accept a position in the Mormon Theater. There he played for a
year or more and then set out on a territorial tour, acting as leading support
to Mrs. Annie Adams, the mother of Maude Adams, America's foremost actress. Next
he associated himself with the elfin star, Patti Rosa, soon married her, became
her manager and until the death of his talented wife played in Hoyt's comedies
from one end of the country to the other. He was next heard of as the husband of
Mary Marble, a worthy successor to Patti Rosa, and engaged in a similar line of
work. They toured the country until vaudeville became the rage, then went into
pocket-edition drama and became public favorites. He was a San Jose visitor in
1919.

  Frank Bacon is (1922) one of the most talented and popular of the great
American actors. He is a former San Josean and the city was the scene of his
first stage experiences. He was in his early twenties when he arrived in San
Jose. He tried photography, experimented with newspaper work and drifted into
other lines of work, but none of them succeeded in holding his interest. His
ambition in those early days was to become another John McCullough, Edwin Booth
or Lawrence Barrett. He turned up his nose at comedy and so when "Loyal Hearts"
was produced at the California Theater he was rejoiced when he was asked to play
the part of the Union officer. The press notices were commendatory. The allusion
to his magnificent voice made him more than ever determined to become a
tragedian. Miss Jennie Weidman, a very talented amateur actress, was one of the
performers. She and Frank became great friends and soon friendship resolved
itself into love. They were married soon after the performance at the California.

  It was after Frank left San Jose to try his luck on the professional stage
that he stumbled upon his proper line of work. The portrayal of a "rube"
character on the Alcazar stage in San Francisco, gave the critics a chance to
say all manner of nice words. Frank took notice and very soon decided to drop
"straight" business for "rube" comedy. He had everything in his favor. He was a
slow speaker, had a dry way of saying things, and his deep, flexible voice could
at will be used to evoke either tears or laughter. The years went by, his art
ripened, the coarse, low comedy "rube" was fashioned into the human countryman
and culmination came in the creation of "Lightnin' Bill," a lovable shiftless
old coot, in many respects a latter-day "Rip Van Winkle." The play called
"Lightnin'" has had a run of three years on Broadway, New York, is now (1922)
enjoying a phenomenal run in Chicago, and Frank Bacon has been acclaimed as one
of the finest character actors of the century. He has a charming orchard home
near Mountain View, in Santa Clara County, and every year his vacations are
spent there.

  John T. Malone, another San Josean, who made good as a professional actor, was
a graduate of Santa Clara College. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and
when the stage bee buzzed in his ears he was deputy district attorney of Santa
Clara County. After appearances on the amateur stage he went to San Francisco,
supported Eleanor Calhoun, during her engagement in that city and afterward went
east to become a member of Edwin Booth's company. After Booth's death he took
out a company of his own, playing in legitimate drama as long as there was any
demand for it and then gave up the stage to accept the position of secretary of
the Players' Club, New York. He died in New York several years ago.

  The late Charles W. Williams, former proprietor of the Evening News, would
have won fame and fortune on the stage if he had gone from amateur into
professional work. He was a born comedian and the most talented and popular
laugh-maker who ever appeared before the footlights in San Jose. He came to
California when a mere boy and for some years was a clerk in Cassius Morton's
music store on First Street. He was a fine piano player and his services in the
store were very valuable. From the store he graduated into newspaper work,
starting first as business manager of Charles M. Shortridge's Times and winding
up as the proprietor and editor of the Evening News. It was after he became a
newspaper publisher that he dallied with stage work. His first appearance was a
negro boy in "The Octoroon." He made a hit in the part and followed up his
success by joining Charles R. Bacon's New York and San Francisco Minstrels,
organized for performance in San Jose only. He was one of the end men and
convulsed the audience by his inimitable dialect specialties. In 1881 he became
the manager of the California Theater and in April, 1882, was the recipient of a
complimentary benefit. His songs brought many encores. In the same year he
played an Irish comedy part in "Loyal Hearts." The press notices spoke of him as
one-of the great Irish comedians on the American stage. Shortly after this
appearance Williams resolved to forsake straight theatricals for operetta and
musical comedy. He had a fetching singing voice and under his management were
produced "The Mikado," "Olivette," "The Mascot," "Patience," and the popular
operettas. His "Ko-Ko" in "The Mikado" was very artistic and mirth-provoking and
so well pleased with the performance was a San Francisco manager that he induced
Williams to repeat it at the Tivoli. Williams consented to go, made a success of
the trip, but could not be induced to give up newspaper for stage work. San Jose
suited him and he was an actor for the fun of the thing. His last appearance as
manager and performer was about a year before his death, which occurred in 1917.

  Felix G. (better known as Phil) Hartman was one of the early San Jose
amateurs. He played small parts, sometimes acted as stage manager but more often
as property man and scene shifter. He was easily excited and in his excitement
would frequently lose his head and make the most ridiculous blunders. At an
entertainment given in Saratoga, Hugh A. De Lacy sang "Old Black Joe" in
character. To give a touch of realism to the song and the acting it was arranged
that "Joe" should die and that the dying should be done to slow music and red
fire. Phil Hartman was the scene shifter and property man, and in the hurry of
getting his props together he forgot to provide himself with the fire powder and
its accessories. "Never mind, Hughie," he said to De Lacy, "I can fake it so the
audience won't know the difference. I'll go out, get some fire crackers, take
out the powder and light it." De Lacy had his doubts about the substitution, for
he knew Phil's optimism, displayed on other occasions, had not always been
vindicated. However, there was nothing to do but take chances. Phil secured the
powder, placed it in a tin plate and stood ready in the wings to do the
lighting. Soon the time came for him to act and as De Lacy sang the last line of
the last verse, Phil lighted his first match. The powder wouldn't burn. Then
another match was tried. Same result. De Lacy kept on singing, but with one eye
on Phil, who struck match after match on the seat of his trousers, the
perspiration meanwhile running in streams down his face. De Lacy, hoping against
hope, sang the last verse over again, but no fire was forthcoming. At last Phil
gave it up in despair. Turning an agonized face on De Lacy, he said in a voice
that could be heard all over the hall, "Go on and die, Hughie, for I can't make
the darned fire burn." Hughie died in a hurry, for his fingers were itching to
get at Phil's throat.

  Still later Phil gave a magician's show at the San Jose Opera House. As scene
shifter and handy man for the "Fakir of Vishnu" he had learned many of the
tricks of that old time juggler and illusionist. Phil called himself the "Fakir
of Ooloo" and what he expected to be his best act was one of levitation—the
suspending in mid-air of a woman subject. There were steel rods concealed under
the clothing of the subject and an upright rod support was also hidden from
view. The subject was a heavy woman, while Phil was a lightweight. When all was
ready Phil made his explanatory talk and then began to lift the woman to a
horizontal position in the air. Once in that position two rods would snap into
place and the suspension would be an accomplished fact. But Phil, try as he
would, could not raise his subject to the horizontal line. As he tugged and
perspired the machinery squeaked and the audience roared. He made several
attempts, letting down his burden between times in order that he might recover
his breath, and finally gave up in disgust and sat upon the floor. The
performance was as good as a circus and the spectators, though the advertised
program had not been carried out, felt that they had received their money's
worth and applauded accordingly.

  John T. Raymond was California's star comedian. He made several professional
trips to San Jose and always played to full houses. His most popular role was of
"Col. Mulberry Sellers," taken from Mark Twain's Gilded Age. Mark did not like
Raymond's interpretation of the character, claiming that it was a gross
exaggeration, almost a burlesque, not at all like the "Sellers" his brain had
conceived. But Raymond's audiences liked the interpretation and money always
flowed in at the box office whenever Raymond's "Sellers" was the attraction.

  Raymond was very fond of practical jokes and he played them so often that his
fellow actors grew to be afraid of him, for they could not guess what was
hatching in that queer brain of his. Such tricks as finding their shoes nailed
to the floor when they were in a hurry to make ready for a performance, or wigs
grotesquely queered, were always to be expected. But there were unexpected
variations. On one occasion when a lurid melodrama was on the boards, there was
a scene in which the victims of the villain appeared before him. The villain was
John McCullough, and Raymond, James A. Heme, Harry Edwards and Julia Corcoran,
were the victims. All except Raymond were in line on the platform. He had
painted his nose a fiery red and with a most serious expression pointed both
hands at McCullough. The audience roared, then hissed and the curtain was rung
down.

  When Raymond gave "Col. Sellers" in San Jose the actors who had suffered from
his jokes turned the tables on him. The most trying part of his performance was
the eating of raw turnips, for he loathed vegetables and never ate them except
upon compulsion. The members of the company knew this and one night they
doctored the turnips. Raymond ate them, made a wry face but said nothing. The
next night he called for apples, but when it came time for the repast he found
he was compelled to eat raw onions covered with apple skins.

  At another engagement Raymond was playing "Polydor" to the "Ingomar" of John
McCullough. In the striking scene where "Ingomar" orders the barbarians to seize
"Polydor," Raymond came around to the front of the stage and instead of dropping
in front of "Ingomar" and clasping his hands in piteous entreaty, dropped,
crawled between McCullough's legs, dived back and circled round "Ingomar," his
teeth chattering in terror. McCullough laughed, the audience took the cue and
the curtain went down amid a general roar of laughter.

  Some of the old-time minstrels lived in San Jose. One of them, Johnny Tuers,
adopted the stage as a profession, after he left San Jose. Charley Rhoades, Fred
Sprung and Ned Buckley came to San Jose to reside after they had given up active
work as entertainers. Tuers was an end man and flat foot dancer. He was the
originator of this style of dancing and the champion of the Coast. He played in
all the cities and towns from Los Angeles to Salt Lake but most of his time was
spent in San Francisco. In the late '60s he quarreled with a man on Washington
Street in that city. Pistols were drawn and an innocent bystander, James
Dowling, a theatrical manager, stopped Tuers' bullet and ceased to live. Tuers
was tried for murder and acquitted. "Billy" Tuers, Johnny's brother, stayed in
San Jose. He was never on the professional stage, but appeared many times as an
amateur, acting both as end man and dancer. In middle life he was stricken with
blindness and died in Santa Cruz several years ago.

  Charley Rhoades was the pioneer banjo player of the state. Not long after the
discovery of gold his banjo was heard on the streets of San Francisco and in the
northern and eastern mining camps. In the early '60s he joined a minstrel
company and as end man and banjo player was before the public until his removal
to San Jose in 1874. He was the reputed author of that popular old song, "The
Days of '49," and up to his retirement it was the favorite song of his
repertory. The style of the song is shown in the following verse:

There was Kentuck Bill, one of the boys,
   Who was always in for a game,
No matter whether he lost or won
   To him 'twas all the same.

He'd ante up, he'd pass the buck,
   He'd go a hatfull blind, 
In a game with death  Bill lost his breath
   In the days of '49.

  Another verse refers to Reuben Raines, a Sacramentan, for whom the late Edward
Johnson, a pioneer millhand of San Jose, sometimes acted as assistant. Johnson
used to boast of his connection with the Raines' outfit and would recite with
gusto the following verse:

There was another chap from New Orleans,
   Big Reuben was his name. 
On the plaza there, in a sardine box,
   He opened a faro game. 
He dealt so fair that a millionaire
   He became in course of time, 
Till death stepped in and called the turn
   In the days of '49.

  Rhoades was a consumptive and after a few years' residence in San Jose removed
to Santa Clara, where he died about forty years ago.

  Fred Sprung and Ned Buckley left minstrelsy to become ranchers and neighbors.
Their homes were located on McLaughlin Avenue near the Story road. Sprung was a
bass singer and interlocutor and in the olio appeared as a negro impersonator.
Before he came to California he was a member of a band of minstrels organized
to- give performances on the Mississippi river boats. The band was a small one,
but each member was advertised as an artist in his line. On these boats the
gamblers, always in force before the opening of the Civil War, would frequently
postpone a game to listen to a minstrel performance. On these occasions they
would pick favorites and the performers thus singled out would receive donations
far in excess of the amounts of their salaries. Sprung found it a happy, easy
life and was sorry when the war put a stop to it. He died in San Jose about
twenty years ago.

  Ned Buckley, endman and comedian, did not stay all the time on his ranch. He
had business interests in San Francisco which kept him away from San Jose more
than half the time. Finally he sold his ranch and left San Jose for good.

  Other San Joseans who have won honors, either on the dramatic stage or in
motion pictures, are Edmund Lowe, Howard Hickman. Ed. Jobson, Frank Stevens,
George Hernandez, Vernon Kent and Clarence Geldert.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY CALIFORNIA
WITH
Biographical Sketches
OF
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified With Its Growth
and Development From the Early Days to the Present

HISTORY BY
EUGENE T. SAWYER

ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME

HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 
1922


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