New-York tribune. [volume], September 19, 1920, Page 3, Image 67

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Wrecking Crew at Daly's Theater
Paid More Than Were Daly's Stars
id A REH AS, at the time
** she ivas one of Daly's.
n
stars
DALY'S THEATER on
Broadway at Thirtieth
Street, for many years the
shrine for those in Amer?
ica who admired the best in drama,
is no more. .Men with picks and
fledges began hammering down the
?id structure a week or two ago.
The side walls of the most famous
?f America'"? theaters went first. The
Broaa ?ny f*'6 ?f Tbo playhouse,
hilf disnar.tled, with the historic
iad beloved name of Daly still in
evidence, <>ore mute testimony to the
fading of one of Broadway's most
fonspicuous landmarks.
Here_ it was that the drama in
this new country reached its high
level. On the stage of Daly's the j
plays of Shakespeare and other of
the world's most finished dramatists
?ere rendered by a school of play?
ers whose excellence in the most
fascinating of the seven arts gave
i
them enduring fame. The memory (
if those early conquests was pre- |
served by the material presence of
the sacred playhouse, even though
?a its recent years it had been con?
verted to the uses of the cinema,
s form of entertainment of which
its founder never dreamed. Now,
the wrecking crew, responding to the
tall of commercialism, has begun its
fork. The bricks, the walnut and
white pine, the Flate and the marble
?re piM in heaps and hauled away.
Daly's Theat >r passes out.
Part of Broadway's Fame
Tha thousands who have trod
Broadway in the vicinity of Daly's
bave paid little heed to the
s;r.jrular tragedy that was marking
the end of the greatest trademark
the Great White Way has ever
known, for the name of Daly was
stereotyped in the minds of those
?ho Bought perfection in the art of
^e drama, and with the passing of
*? old theater the name of Daly
joe* from the street which had hon
'red it for nearly half a century.
Those who gazed for a moment at
'--e men of the wrecking crew and
Pondered on their strength and zeal
Ptte little thought to the odd turn
'hich fate has taken in dealing with
?historic cor.'.er. The artists, men
?ad women, who had grown to fame
fom the stage of Daly's, and who
???d helped to establish it as ono of
the most successful drama institu?
as tha the world had ever known,
Wd each made a humble start on
*'l*8 stage. These men and women
had toiled faithfully through ardu- '
ou? seasons for the upbuilding of
Ws and in the early period of
?heir careers they received less ;
^oey a day for their efforts than j
18 P?id to the laborers who, with !
tourner, pick and shovel, are level- '
lst Daly's to the ground.
Started in 1879
? Augustin Daly died in Paris in
| i899. He was in his sixty-first
ye*r, and the Daly's Theater that
*? know and the one that is soon ;
?* ? memory was in its twentieth
*-*? The events preceding the es
**?h?hirient of the Daly dynasty in
h*t formerly was Wood's Museum
2 the intimate history of the play
T938* up to the time that its founder
;?** ?re interestingly described in
/** Life of Augustin Daly, com
?W by his brother, Joseph Francis
?'J and published by the Macmil
U Company in 1917, ? year after
' " ?to of its author.
narrative o? Joseph Francis
-. ... -,. - ,<
Daly we And much of the odd cor?
respondence between Daly and those
who served him. Daly took over the
museum property in 1879 after he
had relinquished the old Fifth Ave?
nue Theater, where Fanny Daven?
port, Clara Morris, Kate Claxton
and many other artists had ap?
peared under his direction.
Daly Not an Actor
Daly had begun his life as a newg
paperman and nerved for ten years
as a dramatic critic for various New
York newspapers. He at no time
aspired to acting as a profession,
but he upset all tradition by prov?
ing that it was possible for a dra?
matic critic to writ? a successful
play, and conspicuous among the
plays of Daly authorship must be
counted "Leah the Forsaken," a
drama now almost forgotten, but a
great play for its day.
When, in 1879., Augustin Daly an?
nounced his plans for his new thea?
ter his fame had traveled, and as?
piring artists were appreciative oi
the value of dramatic training undei
the guidance of a master. This maj
explain the readiness with whicr
players of ability agreed to laboi
in the Daly company at salarie:
which, in this day and age, seem un
believable.
In the book of Joseph Franci:
Daly we find these interesting let
tors:
Young John Drew
On June 20, 1870, John Drew, i
promising young actor, indited th
following: >
My donr Mr. Daly: In accordance
with your desire that. I ehouul state
my terms, may I hope that forty dol?
lars ($10) per week will not seem
an "iniquitous" demand? I have, I
feel, improved In one point at least
air.ee our former connection, and
that is in my manner of speaking,
which, as you are aware, frequently
rendered "what I had to say in a
degree unintelligible by reason o?
bad enunciation and rapidity. This,
1 think, I have "reformed altogether'
by almost an entire season In r
prmi-serious part which demand?e
slowness and distinct utterance
OHN DREW hit Daly for \
$JfO a week, but was per* I
8uaded to take $35 \
I Hoping to hear from you When yon
I have given the above your con
! sideration, I remain, yours very aln
! cerely, JOHN DREW.
<
Augustin Daly, to whom the fore?
going letter was addressed, appears
to have responded in a bartering
j manner, for another letter, written
| by Mr. Drewf reads:
My dear Mr. Daly: I beg to say
that I will accept your offer of $30
or $35 per week for next season.
Hoping sincerely that it Is In your
power?as I am sure it Is your in
1 clination?to make it the latter, I
remain, very sincerely,
JOHN DREW.
On June 26, 1879, Miss Ada
Rehan, a young woman of limited
experience on the stage and an am?
bition to enlarge her opportunities,
wrote as follows:
Augustin Daly, Esq. Dear air:
Having heard that you propose to
manage the Broadway Theater the
coming season, I would like to nego?
tiate for a position with you to
play the juvenile and light comedy,
or, in fact, such parts as I may be
suited for. I have several good
offers for next season, some to
travel, others for permanent posi?
tions, but I want to remain, If pos?
sible, in the city, and I would like
very much to p'.ay under your man?
agement, if agreeable to you. My
salary will be reasonable. I have a
very handsome and abundant ward?
robe and am constantly adding to it.
If you think you can entertain my
application I would be pleased to
hear from you, soon as possible,
even if you cannot make definite
arrangements. Let me have your
views that I may know how to de?
cide about other offers. I am, youra
truly, ADA REHAN.
In a few days Miss Rehan heard
from Mr. Daly, and in response she
wrote the letter that follows:
I am willing to risk engaging
with you, with no stipulated time,
trusting you will do what is right
in casting me for such parts as you i
deem advisable. I will make my
salary $10 per week, and that is the |
very lowest I can entertsln. I have
several advantageous offers, and
two, I give you my word of honor,
are for $50. Thus, you pereeivo, I
am trying to meet your views as to
/?RS. C. H. GILBERT, I
?*? who was a stage grand
mother for many years j
?alary. I may aay that I will dress
everything as elaborately as will be
consistent with the character. Yours ;
! iincerely, ADA REHAN.
Gave Ada Rehan $35
Mr. Daly again bartered?and ;
successfully. A third letter from
Miss Rehan read :
Dear sir: I write to formally close
the engagement with you for the i
j season of '79-'80. I accept your
offer of $35 a week, with the un?
derstanding that yau will increase
it aa you promised, should I be
worth more to you, which I sin?
cerely trust will be the case. Yours
, very truly, ADA REHAN.
These letters represent the most
. notable and most interesting con?
nections established by Augustin
Daly for his new company. The pro?
fessional association between Miss ;
Rehan and Daly continued until I
Daly died in faraway Paris. Miss
Rehan was with him when he died.!
John Drew remained at Daly's over
' a long period of years and became,
I perhaps, the first matinee idol the
, American stage had known. He
: went, finally, under the manage?
ment of Charles Frohman as indi?
vidual star, but on the occasion of
his premier at the Empire Thea+?r
he gave credit to Daly for all that
he had achieved.
Skinner a Daly Star
Otis Skinner is another notable of
this day who must be registered with
the earliest of the Daly forces when '.
, the new r?gime was inaugurated
? far back in 1879.
? There were a score of others, many
of them stars in their own right in
a later day, and the wreckage that
, the unconcerned thousands have
' passed in the last few day3 along
Broadway at Thirtieth Street car
-I
ries memories of these hosts of stel?
lar lights.
Edith Klngdon Starred There
Edith Eingdon, who married
George Goulds was one of those
early day favorites at the famous
playhouse. So, also, was the beloved
Mrs. C. H. Gilbert, the "grandma" of
the stage for three generations. May
Irwin came over from Tony Pas?
tor's and was added to the Daly
roster. Lillian Russell applied for
admission, but by some misadventure
never joined. "William Collier was a
callboy at Daly's and later one of
its actors. His stepfather, Edmund
Collier, had sent this note to Augus?
tin Daly on July 5, 1882:
I take the liberty of penning you
these few lines to ask if you have a
vacancy in any department?as I
would like to place my stepson be?
fore I go to my engagement. Call
boy, office, usher or anything. He is
eighteen years of age, a good penman
and correct at figures. Why I would
like to get him in a theater is he is
not strong and cannot do very heavy
work. If you have any such opening
and will give him consideration yoi
will confer a favor on yours truly,
EDMUND COLLIER.
And Willie Collier got the job.
Other Stars
George Clarke was another of the
illustrious members of Daly's casts
and there was Rose Coghlan, James
Lewis, Frederick Bond and Virginia
Dreher. Virginia Dreher had tirec
of teaching an elementary school ir
Louisville, Ky.
Al Morgan, now with David Be
Iasco's executive forces, was one o:
her students, which indicates, as Mr
Morgan puts it, that these thing
didn't happen so very long ago. Mii?
Dreher long since retired from th
stage, but under Daly's tutelage sh
became an artist of "skill, grace, cul
ture and intelligence."
The more than 600 pagea^which ar
embraced in The Life of Augusti
Daly show that he was conspicuou
in every movement for ^he advanc?
ment of the theater from the earl
'60s to the day of his death; thi
he trained a legion of stage asp
rants to the higher goal; that he wa
the friend and adviser of stars a
ready established and lent his aid i
all times to their artistic advanci
ISABELLE IRVING as Audrey and James Lewis as
* Touchstone in "As You Like It," at Daly's Theater
The Annual Sokol Is the Czech Festival of Freedom
By Arthur S. Draper
PRAGUE, Bohemia.
y&"W THAT the Olympic games
m/%/ were to the ancient Greeks
* " the Sokol festival is to the
modem Czechs.
In the earlys '60s of the last cen?
tury there dawned "the hope of
free constitutional institutions after
the overthrow of the severest sys?
tem of autocratic government under
which especially the non-German
nations of ancient Austria had to
suffer," in the words of Dr. Josef
Scheiner, president of the Bohe?
mian Union of Sokols.
Dr. Miroslav Tyrs was largelv re
sponsjble for the organization of
the first Sokol amor.g the gymnasts
of Prague in 1862. It grew rapidly.
Dr. Tyrs aimed to harden the phys
, ical powers of the young men, to
strive after the highest agility and
| dexterity and to develop their
? physical beauty, considering man as
| the art product of nature.
A Wonderful Growth
The history of the Sokol is a
report of the amazing growth of the
movement throughout Bohemia and
Moravia, with an occasional setback,
as in 1866 at the time of the Prus?
sian war. Women and children
were soon included, and to-day prac?
tically the whole nation is in train?
ing.
No one who attended the Sokol
Festival of 1920 will ever forget the
wonderful sight of 12,000 girls
drilling together in the mammoth
stadium to the music of a band,
while 105,000 spectators looked down
from the immense circular stands.
No one will forget the marvelous
spectacle as the girls in blue skirts,
white waists and red turbaned heads
stood shoulder to shoulder. Imagine,
if you can, a strawberry shortcake
600 feet long by 400 feet wide, 12,
000 red berries resting in 240,000
square feet of whipped cream. That
was the impression I had as I lookel
down from a seat near President
Masaryk's box. These 12,000 girls
?every on o a graceful athlete, every
ono the picture of health, strength
and agility?marched, maneuvered
and drilled with the precision of
West Point cadets, under the guid?
ance of women and without a single
' spoken word of instruction. Women
managed the whole show
Drilled in Intense Heat
It was as hot as a July afternoon
I in the bleachers at the Polo Grounds.
| The Allied flags flying from a thou
sand pine poles on the top of the
high stand, built largely by volun?
teer labor, swayed gently. The sun,
shining on the thousands who had
tume from all parts of the world at
great expense and the rost of much
physical and mental annoyance at
frontiers, was mercilessly hot. The
red-coated members of the Soko!
koked like poppies in a huge field of
golden grain. The pine trees top?
ping the President's stand furnished
the only touch of refreshing green.
It was on a day like this that the
12,000 girls exercised for twenty
minutes in the stadium, and when
they marched out at the end of the
strenuous though graceful drill not
a single one had dropped from the
ranks?
i The Czech Sokol Community has
300,000 members. During the war
the Sokols formed the kernel of the
! Czecho-Slovak legions who fought
'' for the Allies. The Sokol movement
in a big country might lead to mili
? tarisrn, but here it has no such ob
\ jective. Twelve thousand men
i drilled one afternoon as no division
in any army could drill. These men
, had been trained from boyhood ;
' their bare chests and backs were
brown as hazel nuts, muscles rippled
I under the skin like snakes in a bag.
i They seemed untiring, perfect in ?
health, strong as wrestlers, graceful
as dancers, agile as professional
: acrobats. What wrnderful fighters!
Wc suggested this to a Czech officer.
"Yes," he said, "but then, they are
more interested in drilling than in
fighting. They lova teamwork; thty
hate fighting."
Are Poor Runners
Individual competition does not
appeal to the Czechs, They are poor
runners and jumpers; they are
rather clumsy when handling the
shot or the hammer; they know little
about hurdling, and any average
American walker would defeat their
best in a mile race. On the flying
rings, the sidehorse, the parallel
and horizontal bars they are in
? their element, A dozen picked at
random from the thousands of com?
petitors would make an American
college gymnastic team look like a
, bunch of novices. The boys of
twelve to fourteen and even the
girls of the same age are clever per?
formers on the apparatus.
Hera are a few figures. During
,the festival 13,000 boys and an
equal number of girls under thir?
teen years of age drilled in the sta?
dium. A total of 24,000 boys and
girls between thirteen and seventeen
years appeared. Thirty thousand
men and women performed. Four
i thousand soldiers went through a
J bayonet and setting-up drill. Thus
a total of more than 80,000 persons
took part in the exercises, not to
mention the thousands who had
parts in the pageants. - In March
work was started on the stadium and
it was not completed until just be?
fore the opening of the festival.
Though all the timber was of native
production and much of the work of
construction was done by volunteers,
the cost wa3 so large that a deficit
remained. The cheapest seat was 25
kronen and the highest 100 kronen^
At every session every seat was oc?
cupied and the management stated
that nearly 500,000 had to be turned
away on the big day of the week.
No Policemen There
Not excepting the crowds at the
Derby in England or the Oxford-Cam?
bridge boat race on the Thames, I
have never seen such a throng as
was at the stadium on the day the
girjs drilled. Next to the size of
the crowd the most amazing thing
was that there was not a policeman
within the grounds. Perfect order
was maintained because every one
looked out for himself. Another
astonishing fact was that there was
?not a single accident; not one call
for medical assistance from the doc?
tors and nurses. Not a single per?
son was intoxicated. Can any coun
; try beat or equal that record?
America was represented by the
j largest visiting delegation?some
I 2,000 Czecho-Americans having come
from the Middle West, largely from
Chicago. You could tell they were
Americans, even at a distance, for
they had a yell and a cheer leader
just as :f they were a college crowd
at a sporting contest. Sixteen Amer?
ican girls gave an exhibition with
basket balls which attracted a lot
of favorable comment. A similar
number of American men gave an .
exhibition illustrating various
sports, such as rowing, boxing,
wrestling, swimming. But these
features proved to be little more
than sideshows at a great three
ring circus. In the all-round con?
test Joseph Smidel, of Chicago,
finished fourth, although he was
disqualified on two pieces of ap?
paratus from the methods followed
in the United States.
Perhaps nothing caught the popu?
lar fancy more than did the fire?
works display on the river. From
Hvadcany, the towering citadel over?
looking the Vltava, now the home of
President Masaryk, we 'saw the
thousands of human figures moving
about like so many gnomes and
fairies. It seemed unreal. Then
came the rattle of machine guns,
the loud roar of mortars, the flash
of searchlights, the bursting of
rockets and Very lights. In a few
moments all was quiet again. Then,
; floating up to the palace, came the
! inspiring air of the Czecho-Slovak
ian anthem. The young republic
had done with play; it had finishec
| its celebration of independence.
MISS FANNY DAVEN^.
ifl PORT, another of the
famous stars developed un- !
der Daly's training !
ment; that he did more for the im-,
provement of the moral tone of ihn
drama and advancement of acting as
a profession than any other man ol
his day, and he attracted great?
audiences for Shakespeare and othei
classic dramas than any other pro?
ducer the American stage has known,
Some Daly Achievements
Daly did things that no one had
done before. He was the first Amer?
ican to have the temerity to in?
troduce an American company o?
players in London, and he gave them
their own Shakespeare and made
them like it. He was the first and
only American producer to introduce
an American company in Berlin,
where he rendered their German
plays in English translations, and
discovered that the Germans could
appreciate American art, too. Paris.
invaded once, demanded Daly's com?
pany a second and a third time.
Xo other American of the theater
ever scored so decisively in the
critical art centers of England and
the Continent.
As for Augustin Daly in his own
country, his policy was "the publie
be pleased." Plays that didn't fine?
favor in their first presentations
were taken off. Thousands of dob
lars were spent on productions that
were removed after the first week.
If the public didn't want his new
play, Daly gave them an old one that
he knew they liked.
He spent lavishly and reckoned
profits as a secondary consideration.
With him, art was the thing. Thera
were no forced runs; no false ex*
ploitations; no padded audiences.
Rather empty benches than an au?
dience of "deadheads" who didn't
know art and sought only a free
show. Daly clung to these policies.
He made fortunes and lost fortunes,
but he never complained. He worked
for the present; his concern was
not with the dead past. His Fifth
Avenue theater burned in 1873.
Building, scenery, costumes, manu?
scripts were totally destroyed, and
there was not a penny of insurance,
but he was not discouraged. He
borrowed a theater the next day and
began all over again.
The opening paragraph of Daly a
will, composed January 20, 1898,
and in the testator's handwriting,
gave an insight to the character of
the man.
Forpave His Enemies
"In making this my last will and
testament," he wrote, "I ask the for?
giveness and prayers of any whom I
have injured at any time and freely
forgive all who have injured me in
any way whatever; and I pray that
Almighty God may be merciful ta
us all."
When Ada Rehan cabled to Rich
Dorney, Daly's manager, the an?
nouncement of Augustin Daly's
death, Dcrney, faithful for years to
the interests of the man who loved
him, posted a wr:tten announcement
on the door of Daly's Theater:
. AUGUSTIN DALY IS DEAD ,
. THIS THEA?TER IS CLOSED .
FOREVER ,
But it didn't close. Others coun?
seled for its continuance, and tbi
playhouse went first under the man
agement of Klaw & Erlanger and
later wa3 transferred to the Shu?
berts.
And Edward Lyons, one of th?
last of the resident managers un?
der the Shubert r?gime, is authoritj
for the statement that Rich Domes
never re-entered the theater after thu
announcement of Augustin Daly"?
death. To Richard Dorney, Au?
gustin Daly and Daly's Theater wer?
inseparable. One could not exisi
without the other.
Richard Dorney, now 72 yean
old, perhaps regards the razin|
of the famous Daly Theater as ar
, act, most consifgtent with the spiff
! of poetic justice.