Variety (Jan 1906)

VARIETY. if^ IN THE OLDEN DftYS Reminiscences of the Earlu Daus of Varletu by the ;; Veteran Manaoerand Performer. Nick. . Norton. NOTE.—There is probably no one now engaged In the vaudeville with the ex- ception of Tony Pastor, who possesses as wide a knowledge of the variety business as Nick Norton, who gave up profes- sional work to associate himself with the managerial end and who for several years has been a valued member of the Hyde & Behman forces. ^V NUMBER FOUR. The Rebellion came to an end shortly after the assassination of President Lin- coln, but for some time after that condi- tions were unsettled and traffic was Im- peded. As soon as peace was concluded, a Baltimorean, John W. Wharton, con- V celved t^e idea of taking a company to Richmond, and as he had a considerable political pull, he readily obtained pass- ports to pass Fortress Monroe. J. Wilkes Booth had not yet been cap- tured, and as soon as it was known on board the steamer that there were ac- tors among the p&ssengers we came in for interested scrutiny. Our passports were our guarantee, and in due course we arrived at Rocket's Wharf, in Richmond. In my anxiety to be the first Northern performer to land on Southern soil I did not wait for the boat to tie up, but made a jump from the upper deck. In my haste I miscalculated the distance, and had it not been for a negro, who dove off the dock after me, I should have drowned. As it was. my entrance into Richmond was attended by sufficient excitement to satisfy me, and I may say that I was a sensation from the outset; more so than afterward, in fact. Included in our company were Will- f^^ray-and wife (MU^ Delphine), Edward Wray and wife (a Miss Ross), Joe Woods, Laura Bernard. Morrissey Little, Walter Wentworth, the Miaco Brothers and several others. William Wray was one of the most versatile performers I have ever met. He was a skilled performer on all musi- cal instruments, a good magician, a comic and sentimental singer, black or white face comedian, banjo soloist, pan- tomimist, animal trainer and all round actor. It was reported that he com- manded a salary of $50 weekly, but this figure was too high in those days to be given credence. He was drowned the following ^ear off Cape Hatteras while going with a troupe to New Orleans In the ill-fated Evening Star. Of that com- pany of about thirty performers the only person saved was Frank Girard, for many years stage manager for Tony Pastor. . We rehearsed several days, and on April 24. 18G5. opened at Metropolitan Hall, on Franklin street, which formerly had been a church. The audience com- prised citizens, soldiers and darkeys, with the military men predominating, the city still being under martial law. The bill offered the usual olio and concluded with "The Traitor's Doom," founded upon an Incident of the Rebel* lion. It was my fortune to be cast as a Confederate captain, who was the heavy villain of the piece, and in one scene I had to pull down and trample upon an American fiag. The Incident so excited a young Fed- eral captain that he shot at me with his revolver, the ball barely missing me and bedding itself In the rear wall. I dug it out after the performance, and for years carried It as a pocket piece. It Is fashionable to hiss the villain, but I think I am the only villain who was ever actually shot at from the audience. After the first performance, the scene was toned down, and things were more quiet. This drama was followed by others of a similar sort, in which I al- ways played the villain, and as a reward was permitted to make a hurried change to Washington for the closing tableau. Washington was the only military hero North and South could agree upon Just then. We soon made friends with the offi- cers, and through a military friend I ob- tained access to the artillery stores, which provided me with a long-desired opportunity for practicing cannon-ball juggling. I picked out a large shot for the theatre and a smaller one for my room, doing most of my work with the heavier missile. I got along nicely with the large ball, and soon could perform the routine tricks in creditable fashion. Trouble came when I sought to l>alance the ball on an eight-foot stick, knocking the stick out and catching the ball on my shoulders. It landed in the proper place, but I forgot to duck. When I came to, the band was playing on the balcony of the theatre to attract the crowd to the per- formance. I had been practicing in what had been the belfry of the old church, and for all I know the ball is there yet. The five hours of uncon- sciousness had taken all desire from me. I crept through my work as best I could that evening, but it was a hoodoo day for cannon balls. I was stopping at the Powhatan Hotel, r oom in g with Morrissey Little, a well- known jig dancer. During the night the cats began their nightly concert with an unusually elaborate program and Llt- ' tie could not sleep. Catching up the smaller of the cannon balls which I had brought to my room and knowing that I was sick of them, he aimed at the leader and let go. It stopped the cats, all right, blowing a score of them to Kingdom Come, and It also tore a hole in the pavement big enough to hide a horse and cart in. I had happened to get hold of an unex- ploded bomb and the shock of hitting the stone paved courtyard had explod- ed It. Richmond had not yet quieted down, and the first impression was that it was. the work of some Secessionist. Every room in the hotel and adjoining houses was searched, but as actors we were free from suspicion, and moreover our interest and surprise were so marked that we never became connected with the event, which, by the way, created no little talk. I believe that there are still Federal officers who tell of this night's adventure, convinced that It was a hos- tile move on the part of a newly con- quered foe. In Richmond I practiced and perfect- ed myself In the impalement act, Mor- rissey Little acting as a target, and I could surround him with knives to the great amazement of the audience. The management tired of paying four dollars a day board for each member of the company and concluded to take rooms and board us themselves. They hired ramus in the Exchange, originally a hotel, but through the war used as a military hospital. The place was infect- ed with vermin known locally as "seam squirrels," and In the morning Little and I purchased new outfits of clothing complete, and, crossing the pontoon bridge to Belle Isle, went In swimming clothes and all. removing our garments in the water and letting them fioat down the James River. Then we put on our new outfits and after that slept at the theatre and ate at restaurants. Business fell off rapidly. The city was poor, and after the first novelty wore away the receipts dropped to al- most nothing, and the season terminated abruptly. The salaries were paid in full, but, as usual. I was flat broke when I had paid my personal bills. The management was to reopen the Melodeon in Baltimore as the Casino, and I put in my application for a place, to be told that all new faces were want- ed. At the same time I was up In all of the dramas they were to put on and they told me that if I would be willing to change my name they would give me a place in the new company. A little thing like that did not bother me, and I told them to go ahead and bill me as anything they liked. As a result the advertisement of the opening bill at •he Baltimore Casino, July 4, 1865, con- tained among other names that of "Nich- olas Norton, juggler, plate spinner and versatile actor." Up to this time I had used my family name, but I believed that the change brought me luck, and I have been Nick Norton ever since. That was just forty ynars ago. I wonder how many of the old timers can recall me as Nick ? Speak up! (Finis.) XONCHAS RENIGED. Paul Conchas has succeeded In get- ting himself disliked in several quar- ters. Some time ago he was booked with the Keith Circuit for the weeks of December 18 and 25. January 1 was open and this was later filled (as De- cember 31) at Toledo with Lamkin. For Christmas week he was at Syra- cuse and found that he was expected to play Sunday. He wired his agents, Fit- rot and (rirard, and after some trouble and expense it was arranged that he could open with Lamkin on Monday In- stead of Sunday. When the news was wired up on Fri- day Conchas sent word back that he had accepted Baltimore Instead. This put l^imkin. William Morris and Robert Girard ii. a hole, and they all love Con- chas now. MORE HIPPODROIVIE BOOKINGS. The latest report Is that the Tally F^rank trmpe of six ground tumblers, said to be "great," will open at the Hip- podrome In May. No estimate of price Is made, for that aeenis to hurt in several directions. Si)a(loni. the heavy weight juggler, may also soon appear. The Markels should have been here now, but, owing to a death, their open- ing has been delayed. KATIE BARRY 18 ALL RIGHT. Katie Barry, the little English come- dienne, will return to her own the week of January beginning the fifteenth, af- ter an illness of five weeks. She will appear a weelv from Monday at the Or- pheum, Reading. Pa., with a new sketch called "Just a Joke." It includes three people and will be first seen hereabouts at Kceney's. The sketch is by J. Bg- genon Browne. Miss Barry was taken ill while at Proctor's Twenty-third Street Theatre. Her physicians told her that she was suffering from a ner- vous disorder and recommended a long rest. Since then the little one has re- mained at her home, 319 West 95tli street, resting hard, except for a ten days' stay at Atlantic City. She la now quite recovered. ROBERTS REPRESENTS. Everybody doesn't know It. but R. A. Roberts Is representing a syndicate of European managers on his tour of this country. He spends a considerable part of his leisure time looking over American acts, upon which, it Is said, he will re- port to his principals. This leads to a story. Arrangements were made, so the tale goes on the Broadway "curb," for Eddie Leonard to do a rehearsal at the Colon- ial one morning last week for the special benefit of the visitor, Jack Levy, Leon- ard's manager, acting for the black- faced comedian. But when It came to getting Leonard down to the theatre be- fore noon he balked and refused to give special matinees for all the European tourists that ever came through Sandy Hook. The arrangement wa> called off. KADER AND KATZES. Abd'el Kader and his three wives paid a Christmas visit to Harry Katzes at the Auditorium Theatre, In Lynn. Mr. Katzes was most inhospitable. Instead of welcoming the lightning painter, he said he was sorry that he was there, ex- plaining that his bill was full and that he did not need anyone else. Kader gravely produced a contract, ^which Katzes admitted, offering the ex- planation that he had canceled the act. Kader suggested that he write him a let- ter to that effect, and upon receiving the document Kader went to a lawyer, swore that he had received no cancellation and Katzes paid the salary. Katzes charged it to William Morris, and the chances are that Morris will pass it on to Wol- heim in Marinelli's office, to whom the cancellation is claimed to have been sent. HAPPY GARDNER. Frank Gardner and Lottie Vincent are not worrying about dates. They have their time booked solid for throe years, and by that time they should have added a fow more weeks to this. They are l)0()ked in the East until June, when they go to the Orpheum Circuit, return- ing East in the fall to repeat the Keith bookings and other time. A year in Eng- land follows, commencing in June. 1907, and this is siieceeded by Continental ^ tinu' f»»r mori' than a year. If you have the opportunity for a so- cial chat with D. F, Ilennessy, of the Keith for'^es, have him tell you about the bills at the Union Square. It's funny, for "D. F." could give the reason why we haven't had snow here yet.