Chapter I: Front Matter

THE LIFE OF
DAVID BELASCO

VOLUME ONE

THE RECENT

WORKS OF WILLIAM WINTER

OTHER DAYS., Being Chronicles and Memories of The Stage (1908).

OLD FRIENDS., Being Literary Recollections of Other Days (1909).

POEMS (Definitive Edition--1909).

LIFE AND ART OF RICHARD MANSFIELD (Two Volumes--1910).

SHAKESPEARE’S ENGLAND (Revised and Augmented--1910).

GRAY DAYS AND GOLD (Revised and Augmented--1911).

OVER THE BORDER (Scotch Companion to Above--1911).

SHAKESPEARE ON THE STAGE,--_First Series_: 1911. I. “Shakespeare
Spells Ruin.” II. King Richard III. III. The Merchant of Venice.
IV. Othello. V. Hamlet. VI. Macbeth. VII. King Henry VIII.

SHAKESPEARE ON THE STAGE,--_Second Series_: 1915. I. Twelfth Night.
II. Romeo and Juliet. III. As You Like It. IV. King Lear. V. The
Taming of the Shrew. VI. Julius Cæsar.

SHAKESPEARE ON THE STAGE,--_Third Series_: 1916. I. Cymbeline. II.
Love’s Labor’s Lost. III. Coriolanus. IV. A Midsummer Night’s
Dream. V. King Henry IV.,--First and Second Parts. VI. The Merry
Wives of Windsor. VII. Antony and Cleopatra. VIII. King John.

LIVES OF THE PLAYERS:--I. Tyrone Power (1912).

THE WALLET OF TIME, Containing Personal, Biographical, and Critical
Reminiscence of the American Theatre (Two Volumes--1913).

VAGRANT MEMORIES, Being Further Recollections of Other Days (1915).

THE LIFE OF DAVID BELASCO (Two Volumes--1918).

“_If he come not, then the play is marred!_”
--Shakespeare

From a portrait by the Misses Selby, New York.

Author’s Collection.]

THE LIFE

OF

DAVID BELASCO

BY

WILLIAM WINTER

(1836-1917)

“He, being dead, yet speaketh.”

VOLUME ONE

NEW YORK
MOFFAT, YARD AND COMPANY
1918

COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY
JEFFERSON WINTER

_All Rights Reserved_

TO

THE MEMORY OF
REINA MARTIN BELASCO

This Memoir of Her Son

DAVID BELASCO

Actor, Dramatist, and Manager,
Whom She Dearly Loved
And by Whom She Was Idolized,
Is Reverently Dedicated
By the Stranger Who Has Written It,
Hoping Thereby to Honor and Commemorate
Genius, Courage, Industry, Enterprise, and Energy,
Exemplified in a Useful and Beneficent Life,
In the Service of
The Theatre

* * * * *

_If Heaven to souls that dwell in bliss can show_
_The fate of those they love and leave behind,_
_She, in that Heaven, may be glad to know_
_Her son was honored with his human kind._

“_Each petty hand_
_Can steer a ship becalm’d, but he that will_
_Govern and carry her to her ends must know_
_His tides, his currents, how to shift his sails,_
_What she will bear in foul, what in fair, weathers,_
_What her springs are, her leaks and how to stop ’em,_
_What strands, what shelves, what rocks, do threaten her,_
_The forces and the nature of all winds,_
_Gusts, storms, and tempests, when her keel ploughs hell_
_And deck knocks heaven_, THEN _to manage her_
_Becomes the name and office of a Pilot!_”
--BEN JONSON, IN “CATILINE.”

CONTENTS

THE LIFE OF DAVID BELASCO--VOLUME ONE

THE LIFE OF DAVID BELASCO PAGE

ANCESTRY AND BIRTH 1

BOYHOOD IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 2

EARLY PROCLIVITY FOR THE THEATRE 6

MEMORIES OF JULIA DEAN 7

REMOVAL TO SAN FRANCISCO 10

GLIMPSES OF BOYHOOD 12

SCHOOL DAYS IN SAN FRANCISCO 14

HARD TIMES IN EARLY DAYS 15

THE SENTIMENTAL STOWAWAY 17

A BOHEMIAN INTERLUDE 19

BELASCO’S EARLIEST ASSOCIATIONS WITH THE THEATRE IN SAN FRANCISCO 22

AN EARLY FRIEND,--W. H. SEDLEY-SMITH 28

ADOPTION OF THE STAGE 34

BELASCO’S THEATRICAL NOVITIATE 35

A THEATRICAL VAGABOND 39

EMULATION OF WALTER MONTGOMERY 42

A ROMANTIC COURTSHIP.--MARRIAGE 44

THEATRICAL LIFE IN VIRGINIA CITY 50

DION BOUCICAULT AND KATHARINE RODGERS 52

CONFLICTIVE TESTIMONY 53

VARIEGATED EXPERIENCES 61

RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS.--1875 73

BALDWIN’S ACADEMY AND BARRY SULLIVAN 86

WITH BOOTH AT THE CALIFORNIA 93

BELASCO AND “THE EGYPTIAN MYSTERY” 97

A REMINISCENCE OF HELENA MODJESKA 100

STROLLING _ad interim_.--BELASCO AS “THE FIRST OLD WOMAN” 103

A SUBSTANTIAL TRIBUTE 104

“OLIVIA” AND “PROOF POSITIVE” 106

BELASCO’S VERSION OF “NOT GUILTY” 108

WITHDRAWAL FROM THE BALDWIN.--“THE LONE PINE” AND DENMAN THOMPSON 110

“WITHIN AN INCH OF HIS LIFE” 113

SALMI MORSE’S “PASSION PLAY” 114

NOT THE OBERAMMERGAU DRAMA 116

CONSTITUENTS OF MORSE’S PLAY 118

AS TO PROPRIETY 120

“THE PASSION PLAY” IN NEW YORK 121

BELASCO’S SERVICES TO MORSE’S ENTERPRISE 123

“THE MILLIONAIRE’S DAUGHTER” 125

DETRACTION OF BELASCO.--EARLY CALIFORNIA INFLUENCES 129

BELASCO’S REPERTORY AS AN ACTOR 140

BELASCO’S “THE STORY OF MY LIFE” 148

THE EVIL OF INCOMPETENT CRITICISM 155

THE NATURE OF BELASCO’S TALENTS AND SERVICES 159

CONCERNING MATTERS OF FACT 163

THE FACTS ABOUT JEFFERSON’S _Rip_ 172

A LEADING LADY IN A PET 176

ROSE COGHLAN AND “THE MOONLIGHT MARRIAGE” 179

“L’ASSOMMOIR” AND A DOUBLE-BARRELLED BENEFIT 183

A HOT WATER REHEARSAL 187

THE PLAY OF “CHUMS” 188

FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO CHICAGO 191

“HEARTS OF OAK” 193

FIRST VENTURE IN NEW YORK 196

JAMES ALFRED HERNE 197

ANALYSIS OF “HEARTS OF OAK” 201

FAILURE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 205

SAN FRANCISCO AGAIN 208

BELASCO’S RECOLLECTIONS OF ADELAIDE NEILSON 209

THE BLACK PEARL 211

MISS NEILSON’S GOOD INFLUENCE 213

“PAUL ARNIFF” 214

WANING FORTUNES AT THE BALDWIN 216

AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE,--JOHN T. MALONE 218

“TRUE TO THE CORE” 220

A STERLING ACTOR AND AN INTERESTING ESTIMATE:--WILLIAM E. SHERIDAN 221

LAURA DON.--AN UNFULFILLED AMBITION 225

“LA BELLE RUSSE” 230

“THE STRANGLERS OF PARIS” 237

NEW YORK AGAIN.--“LA BELLE RUSSE” AT WALLACK’S 241

AN OPINION BY BRONSON HOWARD.--WALLACK IN THE THIRTIETH STREET HOUSE 244

BELASCO AND HIS “THE CURSE OF CAIN” 248

THE PASSING OF MAGUIRE 252

BELASCO AND GUSTAVE FROHMAN.--THEY REVIVE “THE OCTOROON” 254

“AMERICAN BORN” 257

FIRST MEETING WITH CHARLES FROHMAN 259

EASTWARD, HO! 260

A RETROSPECT 263

A SECOND VENTURE IN CHICAGO.--THE LAST OF “AMERICAN BORN” 269

THE MADISON SQUARE THEATRE 271

BELASCO AT THE MADISON SQUARE 275

“MAY BLOSSOM” 280

FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND.--“CALLED BACK” 290

CHANGES AT THE MADISON SQUARE 292

A LABORIOUS INTERLUDE.--LYCEUM THEATRE 294

“VALERIE” AT WALLACK’S 298

MORE ERRORS CORRECTED 306

AN EXTRAORDINARY COMPANY AND A SUMMER SEASON IN SAN FRANCISCO 307

AFFAIRS OF THE LYCEUM 311

“THE HIGHEST BIDDER” 314

“PAWN TICKET 210” 317

“BARON RUDOLPH” AND GEORGE S. KNIGHT 321

“THE WIFE” 326

“A COMMON-SENSE HUSBAND” 327

REVISION OF “SHE” 337

“LORD CHUMLEY” AND E. H. SOTHERN 340

“THE KAFFIR DIAMOND” 345

LOUIS ALDRICH 347

THE SCHOOL OF ACTING 348

THE TRUE SCHOOL IS THE STAGE 351

A REVIVAL OF “ELECTRA” 353

MANY NEW TASKS 355

“THE CHARITY BALL” 357

MRS. LESLIE CARTER 361

EPISODE OF “THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER” 365

RETIREMENT FROM THE LYCEUM THEATRE 367

A LONG, LONG ROAD 370

CONFEDERATION WITH CHARLES FROHMAN 373

PROCTOR’S TWENTY-THIRD STREET THEATRE 374

THE PLAY OF “MEN AND WOMEN” 377

HATCHING “THE UGLY DUCKLING” 383

“THE UGLY DUCKLING.”--MRS. CARTER’S DEBUT 385

MORE FAILURE, AND A LAWSUIT 388

A POVERTY-STRICKEN STRUGGLE 392

“MISS HELYETT” AND MRS. CARTER 396

ORIGIN OF THE EMPIRE THEATRE 400

“THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME” 403

EXCELLENCE OF THAT INDIAN DRAMA 406

THE VALUE OF SUGGESTION IN ART 417

A SUGGESTIVE REMINISCENCE OF FRONTIER DAYS 420

BELASCO AND CHARLES FROHMAN 421

A CHARLES FROHMAN LETTER 422

A BAFFLED ENTERPRISE IN CHICAGO 424

“THE YOUNGER SON” 428

FIGHTING FOR A CHANCE 431

STORY AND PRODUCTION OF “THE HEART OF MARYLAND.”--ITS GREAT SUCCESS 438

“THE FIRST BORN.”--A SUCCESS AND A FAILURE 447

BELASCO’S SECOND ENGLISH VENTURE.--“THE HEART OF MARYLAND” IN LONDON 451

“ZAZA,” AND THE ETHICAL QUESTION 456

PRODUCTION, AND CONTENTS, OF “ZAZA” 461

MRS. CARTER’S IMPERSONATION OF ZAZA 464

DEATH OF BELASCO’S MOTHER.--“CAN THE DEAD COME BACK?”--A STRANGE EXPERIENCE 466

BLANCHE BATES AND “NAUGHTY ANTHONY” 469

“MADAME BUTTERFLY” 476

“ZAZA” ABROAD 484

VIEWS OF THE FRENCH DRAMATISTS 485

“WITH SPEED FOR ENGLAND.”--ANOTHER SUCCESS IN LONDON 486

PUCCINI AND BELASCO 488

“MADAME BUTTERFLY” AS AN OPERA.--A PROPOSAL BY LADY VALERIE MEUX 489

INDEX 497

ILLUSTRATIONS.

VOLUME ONE.

_In Photogravure._

David Belasco Frontispiece

TO FACE
PAGE

William Winter xxvi

John McCullough 18

Cecilia Loverich, Mrs. David Belasco 44

David Belasco as _Robert Macaire_ 80

Edwin Booth as _Hamlet_ 94

David Belasco as _Marc Antony_, in “Julius Cæsar” 136

David Belasco as _Fagin_, in “Oliver Twist” 146

Lawrence Barrett as _Caius Cassius_, in “Julius Cæsar” 166

Joseph Jefferson as _Rip Van Winkle_ 176

Adelaide Neilson 214

David Belasco as _King Louis the Eleventh_ 226

David Belasco as _Uncle Tom_, in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” 258

David Belasco as _Hamlet_ 294

_In Halftone._

The Infant Belasco and His Parents 2

Julia Dean (Hayne) 6

{ Charles John Kean, }
“The Keans” { Ellen Tree, Mrs. Kean } 10

Belasco’s Parents, Humphrey Abraham, and Reina Martin, Belasco, About 1865 22

William Henry Sedley-Smith 28

Mrs. Frank Mark Bates } Sallie Hinckley } 32

{ Ella Chapman }
The Chapman Sisters { Blanche Chapman } 36

Belasco, About 1873-’75 40

Joseph Murphy } 48 John Piper }

Mrs. D. P. Bowers 52

Dion Boucicault 56

Katharine Rodgers 60

John T. Raymond 66

Gertrude Granville } Annie Pixley as _M’liss_ } 74

Playbill of “The Egyptian Mystery,” at Egyptian Hall, San Francisco, 1877 98

Helena Modjeska 104

Belasco as _Armand Duval_, in “Camille” 130

Belasco, About 1880 140

Henry J. Montague 150

Augustin Daly, About 1870-’75 160

Rose Coghlan } 178 Nina Varian }

Lewis Morrison } 188 James O’Neill }

James A. Herne 200

Mary Jeffreys-Lewis } 230 Osmond Tearle }

Thomas Maguire 252

F. F. Mackaye } 262 Gustave Frohman }

Georgia Cayvan 286

Charles Frohman } 292 Daniel Frohman }

Steele Mackaye, About 1886 298

Annie Robe } Kyrle Bellew } 304

Lester Wallack 306

Albert M. Palmer 310

Edward H. Sothern, About 1888 314

Lotta (Charlotte Crabtree), About the time of “Pawn Ticket 210” 320

David Belasco and Clay M. Greene in 1887 330

A Scene from the “Electra” of Sophocles, as Produced by Belasco, at the old Lyceum Theatre, New York 354

Elsie Leslie as the _Pauper-Prince_, in “The Prince and the Pauper” 366

Henry C. De Mille 374

Mrs. Leslie Carter, About the time of “The Ugly Duckling” 386

Mrs. Leslie Carter as _Miss Helyett_ 400

Belasco, About 1893 430

Mrs. Leslie Carter, About 1895 438

Mrs. Leslie Carter as _Maryland Calvert_, in “The Heart of Maryland” 446

Mrs. Leslie Carter as _Zaza_ 464

Belasco, About 1899-1900 472

The Death Scene, Belasco’s “Madame Butterfly” 480

Giacomo Puccini 484

Geraldine Farrar as _Madama Butterfly_ 490