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About The Omaha morning bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927 | View Entire Issue (March 27, 1923)
Bernhardt Loses Fight l or Life; Dies in Son's Arms lumoii* Arlrpffg Expires Short ly Hrfore 8 in Evening— Last Message Sent to Americana. (Pontiniled From I'lltr One. I fore the curtain more thnn 200 tlmea by a wildly enthualnellc audience, and many times, In other purls of the world, alie wns obliged to nnswer scores of etlrtnln culls at a single per fomance. Closely Woven With Dramatic Inrident. The long life story of Bernhardt Is slinont legendary. Closely woven with drnmntlo Incident, off ss well ns on the singe, It wns set down hy herself In a lengthy volume published many years ago, and. an one of her critics tins said, "through the pages of tho tiook peers tho face of a woman, h little tired, weary of her own reputa tion. and blessed with more thnn her share of the vanities of the sex." As she and others hnvo told the story. It Is summed up here: The date of tier birth, the record of which was destroyed in (lames of the Commune In Purls, wns commonly accepted ns October 22, 1841. Her mother was Hutch and Jewish, and her natural father u French oftlclsl. As a child llernhardt spent much of tier time with relatives tn Purls, amt at the age of 12 was sent to tho Orand Champ convent. Versailles, Where she made her dehut In a little miracle play given hy tho ohlldren. Kven at this curly age, the pale and sickly child Is said to have displayed the fits of temper which were char acteristic of her Hinge careei. \ Passionate Desire to Heroine a Nun. After a. year or two at the convent, oho conceived n passionate desire to become a nun. To this her mother recorded unqualified opposition, and suggested a theatrical career Instead. "She * too thin to he an actress." said tier god father, "Let her ho a nun " "I won't he nn actress." little Sarah categorically exclaimed. "Rachel Is an actress. She came to the convent and walked around the garden, then she had tn sit down because she couldn't get her breath. They fetched her something to bring her around, hut the \vas so pale, oh, so pale. I was very sorry for her. and i#e nuns told me that what she was doing was killing her,' for she was sn set res*, amt so 1 won't be an actress. I won't.” But fate had determined otherwise, sad at the age of 14 Bernhardt was sent to a conservatory. At the end of the first year she won second prize for tragedy, A subscription among he players at the Comedte Fran atse enabled her to spend another \ear at the eonservatory, and upon the completion of this she carried off second prize for comedy. Her first public appearance was at the Comedte Fmnealse tn August. 1SS2. she took a minor part without any marked suevees. Halits Popularity as War Nurse. Five > ears later she emerged from laborious obscurity with her first definite success at Cordell* tn a French translation of "King Lear." a: the Odeon. then a* Queen tn Vic tor Hugo's Ruv Biss." and above all «a Zanzett in Francois Ccppee's "I,* Passant." which she played In 1889. Then came the Franco Prussian war. Bernhardt Increased her popu larity by becoming a war nurse In 871 she was made a life member of the Comedie Francstse. She clashed repeatedt» with M. Perrin, the man ager, over the roles she should take, and once In a fit of pique fled from lhe theater and dveided to give up the stage Stie plunged into ecufpture. Iter first piece, "After the Storm"— finished some >esrs later—won a place In the Salon. She returned to M. Perrin only to break with him again. Incurring a forfeit of 4.000 pounds, which ehe paid. She Invaded England, receiving a ADVERTISEMENT. Blackheaded Pimples Quit WithS. S. S. Why? Pimpla-Poiaon CaaaWhan Rad* Blood-Calla Incnaaaat 5. 5. S. Build* Tha*a Rad- Blood Call*. Ton ran bn anro of thta natnra baa a* aohatltut* fur rad bloml ralla I'tmplo polann can't lie* In thn rad rlrara of your blood a* loop aa tbar* ara auoapb rub rrd Mood cell* lu IL blor* rod blood.(aiut That la what yoa neod wbou yon aaa plmrdoa atarlna at yoa In tba mirror. Itlarkhoadod pliuploa am wnraol Ei t'iun la wnrao yat I You ran try everything under tbo aim you'll find only ona anawor, mora roll powor tn your blood! Tho rremondoue re anlta produced by an tnrronaa In red hlut.iV. alia la ona of tbo A H C'a of mod Ira I arlonro Bod-.alla maan rloar pnro rich lilood. Tbay mean rloar, rod df. lorabtn romploalona. Tboy moan norro power. barauaa all your narroa ara fad by yonr blood. Thor moan froodom forever from plmplea. from tho blarhhaad poat. from boll*, from oraa ma and akin araptlana, from rhouiue flam Impurltlaa, from that ttrad, oa* kimtat, run down fooling. Mad lilood rolla ara tba moat Important thing In tho world to onrh of ua. A. A A. will build thorn for yon. A A. H haa boon hnown alnra laid, aa onn of th** groat aat blood bultdrra, blood .-loanarra and ayatom at renal bnnere e»er ptodorad. g a. A la anld at atl drug atoroa In two ataaa. Tba largar alia bottla I* Iba luora eronouilnal. C C C yw f"! O, 9* 9* XhepurWfoffm 1 tremendous ovation. then toured Den mark and Hussla. Next she came to America, where her success was In stantaneous. Hhe toured the United .State* and Canada eight times In some I X5 years and appeared several times In (he larger cities of South Amerlcu Syndicates Deny ( se of Theaters. Brenklng with the theatrical syn dicates, which denied her use of their theaters, when she refused to come to their terms, she was compelled to appear on one of her American tours In tonts, convention halls and armor ies. Hhe vowed never to appear In a theater again, hut on subsequent vis its she came to terms with the syn dicates. The groat actress was a grand mother when she last appeared In America and had suffered amputation of her right log. Upon her arrival in New Vork In October, 101(1, It was evident In the group of friends ami admirers who gathered to welcome her that sho walked with extreme diffi culty. While playing In New Kngland she contracted n severe cold which prompt ed her lo lake a trip south for her health. A few weeks later she under went nn operation for Infection of (he kidney, and although more than TO years of ago sho enjoyed complete recovery and remained In America for several months. The Injury to her knee which com pelled the amputation of her leg in 1015 was attributed! to many differ ent causes. Kor years before the amputation the plays In which she appeared W'ere altered to hide the fact that she wsa able to walk only yvith great difficulty. The operation was performed In Paris and upon her re covery sho reappeared on the stage to receive the greatest ovation of her career. Her manager announced that henceforth she would Interpret only motionless roles At I remit trout In World War. During tho world war Bernhardt made several trips to I ho French front nnd gavo a number of perform Hnccs for the soldiers. This, she dir clared. was the "Incomparable event" of her life. The memoirs of Bernhardt sedulous ly avoid any mention of her marital experience and only in the middle of the bulky volume does she men tlon casually the existence of a son. One of her critics declared that "she never seemed to find the man who could master her." . "There was lit her." he continued "the making of a superwoman, and Although she met Victor Hugo and the greatest Intellectual potentates of her time the superman, who alone could hold her, never entered her life.” Tears ago a jealous rival o' het theatrical career published a satire L entitled "The Story of Sarah Bar mim ” In which the love affairs of the actress, real and alleged, were shamelessly laid hare. Bernhardt re sorted to the horsewhip to puntsh the author. In IKS! the actress was married to JacQuea Dainala. a handsome Oreek. who had made a name-in the thevtri cat world through his work in "The Ironmaster." ll« later took a minor part In ono of her plays, hut after a yea> on tour they eepatated l.atet she took hint bark to her home and nursed him through a fatal elege of consumption Son Shows No Inclination For tareer on Stage. Mute. Bernhardts natural son. Maurice, showed no Inclination to fob ^ low the profession of his mother and after spending a short time In the French army lie married a Russian princess. She died after bearing him a daughter and Maurice Bernhardt took a Parlslenne as Ids second wife. Many stories have been told of the fabulous sums accruing to the fa inous actress, especially In America, but authenticated figures show that the gross receipts of inch tour were in the neighborhood of $500.000. of which she usually received r.n per cent. A largo part of her earnings was reinvested In theatrical enter prises, and at one time she owned or controlled half a dozen playhouses In Paris, Of' the more than IMH) parts Bern • hurdt. essayed during tier long stage career, perhaps the boldest experi ment of all was the title role In a French production of llamlet, which met with Micli unmistakable success that she was prompted to appear again as a man In fl-'Alglon ' Her repertory. In addition to the plays mentioned, included "Joan of Arc." "Fedora," “Adrienne Lecouvreur," “Sappho," "Theodora” and "Iler manl." Her greatest successes, how ever, seemed to center In the Hugo and Sardou dramas, both tragedies and comedies. Many of these plays were written around her, and "fitted like a glove," A physical description of Bernhardt i< difficult. In her youth she un doubtedly was what might bo called beautiful, althofigh from the French standpoint her slimness was against her. The greatest Interest In tHe actress, aside from her art, was the tenacity with which she riling to her girlish appearance. At 7-r> all'1 might have passed for a woman of 30, so \i*dl bait the features of her younger days been preserved. Harmony of Peat tire* Make* ller "Divine Sarah." Bernhardt seems to have had no disillusions shout her appearance. By theniselvea h>‘r femures -high eheek hones, aquiline nose, and lips parted above an almost masculine chin—j were not pleasing, but taken together they comprised the harmony of ex presaton which gave lice the title of "the Divine Sarah.” She admitted on one Occasion that the effect of her long white face emerging from a long black sheath was by no means pleasant "Tn this rig I look like an ant," she said. Bernhardt was the most famous, for her death scene*, but it is doubt fill if her breathless, spellbound per haps, audiences e\er knew that many of them were played while the actress was suffering almost unbearable agonies from her various physical ailments, of which ahe never was heard to complain. Patience seemed to have been one of Bernhardt * inborn t haracteristles She would spend weeks and even months trying to correct technical faults in some member of her com pany. and then, if the subject fuilfil to improve, she would explode and have nothing more to do with him either on or otT the singe—not even speaking to him under nny circum stances. Keen lulercals in Heart Affairs. She always displayed a keen in terest In the heart affairs of her troupe, ami delighted in holding a "eupld’s court." in her private ear, at which she would require aggrieved swains and the objects of their af fections to submit their differences— Bernhardt to lie the final arbiter. Another of her pastimes was gambling, although 'he was a poor loser. She remained jovial and vicarious as long as the game was running in Iter favor, hut the moment her luck changed she be came sullen and sarcastic. Her op ponenls. once they had lost to her. knew that It was gone for good, for she would throw down her cards and leave the game at the first sign of reverses. A love for strange pets was an other of Bernhardt s peculiarities. When she was u little girl she saved her money and bought a gnat. Site learned to love the animal so much thnt she wanted to become a goat herd, and rrled when her mother ridiculed the 'Idea. 1)' ring the Frauen Prussian war she raised geese for the soldiers, hut grew to care so much for them thalgdie refused to have them killed. Onre in I guidon she bought a lion cub. a tiger ami two chameleons at an auction sale. Another lime she bought a baby cle pliant, hut tt grew Itself out of a home. (She tried for years to find a dwarf elephant, hut never succeeded. The conviviality of the dinner table was another of Bernhardt s delights. Site particularly enjoyed a feast ar midnight, after a performance, when the members of her company were present. Shi drank In moderation, ami seldom touched anything but champagne. She never was known to smoke. Sleeps hi t «<ffin In Paris llunie Two of the treasures lit her l’aris home invai ulbly excited the intciest of visitors. One was the skull given her by Victor Hugo, on which he had written autograph verse to the actress and the other was the coffin in which she occasionally Blept. This strange tied, she explained, was part del with •'memories of her dead life"—faded rose leaves" and letters yel^jw with nr She once expressed a Wish that this coffin be her fintd resting place, and in IU22 the idea was elaborated upon when she bought fbr JldO from the French government a little granite island In the Bay of Biscay, not far from her summer home at Belle Isle, na Lowe Brothers k Paints - Varnishes SOLD IN OMAHA BY t . O llurd. Mrnion W illiam* Young Hardware Co . 220 South 24th St Meyer Hardware Co . 2VI5 Laavenworth St. North S'de Hardware Co., 4112 North 24th St. M. J. Simon. 5502 South 50th St 5rktt«ni«| Miiilwirt ( PV* T06 Wut H'faalwar C ouitcll Hlutf*. U Di Neptunite VARNISH Dries Hard and Stays Hard When we say hard, we don’t mean hard only when It’s cold weather, and soft when hot. We mean it dries hard nnd stays hard in all kinds of weather, even to the sticky seashore kind. No need to tell you that the harder and tougher it stays the longer it shines and the more it wears. Send for This Booklet — t ailed "The Diary of tho House in the Woods," b.v Katherine and Kdward McDowell, w ho them selves designed ami built the house, then Mellotoned and Mello-lDossed the walls, Nep tunited the floors and wood work and did various other things, odd and interesting, to make their home cozy and attractiv e. Send 10 cents for it direct to our Dayton, Ohio, Office The Lowe Brother* Company 109-111 South Trnth Streot OMAHA where she planned to build a magni ficent tomb crowned»wlth a marble statue of herself, the minis outstretch ed as if beckoning to harassed fish ermen imperilled by the storms. Death had n weird fascination for Bernhardt, and for years she con templated it with what appeared to be an uncanny humor. The wish six most often expressed was that she might, die in the midst of her triumphs. "I shall play until death," she said, "and the death I hope for is the death Sir Henry Irving died." ller Hnglish contemporary died on tour, being stricken with npoplexy after a performance in 1905. Toward the end of 1922, it was thought this desire might shorten her life considerably, for while she was dangerously ill In her ParlH home, she pitted her iron will against the physicians and prepared to resume her part In a now piny by Sacha tiultry that she wus playing in when stricken. She felt the end was near, her sick-room attendants said, and wanted to h" acting a leading role when death rang down the curtain. Bernhardt Liked to Visit This City (4 ontinvfd From I'n*** One.) 1 -or art. though one noticed that she had grown somewhat out of the svelte figure the earlier portraits of her made familiar to the publle and had been graven on the minds of fervid theatergoers as the Ideal pre sentment of the ever "Divine Sarah.” Photo Taken on Street. On one of Madame Bernhardt's more recent visits ^to Omaha, 20 years ago, Louis Bostwlek. commer cial photographer, then staff photog raphed f ir The Omaha Bee. was as signed by Col. T. W McCullough, •then managing editor, to get a photo grapli of the actress for a feature story. Boetwlck made his way to the rail road station, where he attempted to pose tho “Divine Sarah," but she de dined most emphatically. Bostwlck knew the driver of th' rah which had been engaged to trnns isjrt the actress from her train to the “Put down the top of the cab,” he urged the driver, “so that she may enjoy the sunshine, ar.J then when you go to turn from Tenth strce into Barnaul, Just rein in your horses for a second. That’s all X will need.” Kats Dinner on far Ho was right. The cabbie did It for Ills friend, and the enterprising Bostwlck made his snapshot w hich he speedily developed and printed. The camera man took a proof of the picture to the special car of the, madame, where she was delighted with the result. “You do -ze cheeks so well, she told hint. "You make ze cheeks what you call eet—plump.” So pleased was she that Boswlck was permitted to photograph her to his heart's content, in many poses, i And he was invited to take dinner with her, dinner at which were served exquisite wines, a dinner which Bost wick still recalls wdth pleasure. On September 8, 1518. the divine Sarah appeared at the Orpheum theater for the last time. She gave two short sketches, “l>u theatre au j Champ d’Honneur” and “Da Dame aux (.’amelias.” Her previous engagement here, ac cording to \V. I’. Byrne, of tho Or pheum theater, was for five days be ginning Monday, April 14, 1915. At that, time she was supported by Dou Tel lege n who filled an engagement here two weeks ago. and gave a dif ferent play each performance. White Doesn’t Mince Words in Giving Facts Emphatic in Stating That Tanlac Overcame Bili ousness, Indigestion and Weakness Left by Flu— Gains 10 Pounds. "Tanlac restored by oldtime. rough and tumble appetite, built me up 10 pounds, and 1 feel as fine a? 1 did when I was Just sliding out of my teens wrs the characterlatic state ment of J. A. White. 4235 Brooklyn Ave , Kansas City, Mo., poplar fore man for the Kansas City Street Rail way Co. •T was stricken w.ih the Kiu and didn't seem able to get back my strength afterwards. Biliousness, head aches and indigestion pulled me down and kept me miserable. Pains in my stomach from sourness, gas and bloat ing, and heart palpitation, robbed me of all comfort, ami I was nervous as a ra: ’ I could get but little sleep and felt as rundown as a wornout motor. "But the Taniae treatment brought me up on my feet with a bang, and rain or shine I'm on the job every day. I revel in my meals now and never have an ache or a pain. My friends are always complimenting me on my fine health, and every time I come two k with a boost for Tanlae." Tanlae is for sale by all good dj ug g.sts. Accept no substitute Over 35 million bottles sold—Advertisement. Northwest Comer Sixteenth and J-'arnam, 1S6S Fifty-five Years Ag® on the site of the United States National Bank today, stood the old T?edick opera house of the sixties. Jenny Lind sang there with flicker ing lamps for footlights. In 3 808 John R. Porter held police court in the first floor offices. For over a half century Omaha pioneers have remembered with pleasure the old Redick oper.i house because of warm welcomes and friendly associations there. The officers of the CORN EXCHANGE NA TIONAL BANK maintain the friendly, pleas ant atmosphere that was so evident in those early days. They invite you to make the CORN EXCHANGE your hank that you may enjoy a bank that has interest in you. 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