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McCurd. New York Life Building. paring
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INCIDENTS OF WILLIAM II. CRANE'S CHRISTMAS IN OMAHA-Photos Made Expressly for the Article
IlLLIAM II. CRANE'S recent visit
w
to Omaha brings to mind tha
fact that ho 1m one of the very
few actors whoxe experience
dates buck more than two-score
years. Mr. Crane's career on tin
stage dates back forty-one years, during
which time ho lias, according to his own
Statement, appealed In more than 16.1 0)
performances, ft which It would be hard
to tell 'how many thousands of people ho
has amused. ' '
He made his professional debut at Utlci,
N. V., on July 13, 186.1, appearing In tha
part of a notary In "The Daughter of ths
Regiment." He continued with this Kam!
company for eight years, during which
tlmo he played a number of dlffeient light
comedy parts. Concluding to try his luc'.c
as a comic-opera comedian he Joined tin
Alice Oates Opera company In JX71, with
Whom ho remained for four years. At llu
end of this tlmo he decided to abandon the
light opera Held and eigne;! with the 1 loo
ley "stock company In Chicago as leading
comedian. In 1ST6 ho Joined forcei with
tho late Stuart Robson, unil the famom
combination of Robson and Crane w is
formed. Their first appearance together
was at the Park theater In New York City
In a play called "Our Boarders." It was a
great success, aud they continued to play
It for several seasons. Later they ap
peared as the two Dromlos In "Tho Com
edy of Errors," which also met with more
than ordinary success. ' The Merry WIvc s
of Windsor" was their next effort, and
finally came "The Henrietta," In which
they ma le tho greatest bit of their careers.
Their partnership continued for . thirteen
years the longest of Its kind In the history
of the dramatic profession. . In 18S9, after
deciding that each could make as much
money separate as they both could togthe.'
they dissolved partnership. Sines that
time Mr. Crano has produced a number of
successes, among which are "On Proba
tion," "Tho Senator," "For Money," "Tha
American Minister," "Brother John," "Da
vid ll'arum," and hU present piece, "The
Spenders."
He spent his Christmas In Omaha, and
a Mrs. Crane Is, contrary to her usuut
plans, making tho swing around the cir
cuit, as she terms It, with him this year,
a newspaper reporter found him In an ex
ceptlonally pleasant and talkative mood.
It was after the ChrUtmas matinee and
Mrs. Crane had Just finished dispensing
Christmas cheer to each member of the
company In the shape of beautiful speci
mens of the silversmith's art. Mr. Crane
came off the stage where, after the cur
tain went down on the last act, the pre
sentation had been made, his face bearing
a Millie that clearly Indicated his pleased
mood. " . .
"This makes me feel like a youngster
again," he said. "It takes mc back to the
days when I ised, to hang my stocking
over ther fire place Christmas eve, and
bounce but of bed the next morning before
the cock crowed to see what Santa had left
for me. In those days It, wasn't rtcr'lng
silver, fancy bon bons and such, but a
big red apple, a few of mother's dough--nuts
and maybe a stick of candy, and possl--bly
a few nuts, but I am sure we enjoyed
It us much as tho children of today do
their fancy toys and candies. How do the
plajer folks spend their Christmas? Well,
I cun only speak for my company and my
self. Mrs, Crane and I always try to ar
range a little celebration something like
the one you have just witnessed, a present
for every member of the company to bring
a little good cheer; otherwise It only differs
from other days In that It means more
work, an extra matlnre and of course the
usual evening performance. I always have
Mrs. Crano Join me wherever I am on
Christmas, but this year she la making the
swing around the circuit with me."
Mr. Crane was In a reminiscent mood,
and after relating the history of his career
that heads this iirtlc'e he talked of the
Christmases Robson and he had spent to
gether and of their years spent as 'part
ners. "Our partnership was, I believe, the
most remarkable of Its kind In history, ut
least so many of my business fil?nds tell
me. You know during all of our thirteen
years together there was never a scrntch
of a pen In the shape of a contract between
us. Each year when we closed our season
he would say to me, 'Well Billy, will we
try It again next season,' and my reply was
usually, 'If you think the people will come
to see us, Rob.' We were always the very
best of friends, even after we separated,
and I can't remember of our ever having
had a disagreement. I always attended to
the finances and he to the other end of
the business. We separated only after de
ciding that we could each make as much
money alone as both of us could together.
I sold Robson my Interest In 'The Hen
rietta,' and in the fall of '89 we parted.
The announcement of his death came to
me while I was at a dinner party in Sun
Francisco and it was a great shock to me.
It upset me so that I had to be prompted
repeatedly in my lines in a part that I hud
played several hundred times."
By this lime Mr. Crane had changed hU
stage costume to that of street attire and
after, a stroll with him to his hotel he an
nounced that the next morning he would
make calls on some of his local friends.
.... Saturday morning he culled on a perjonal
friend end namesake, Thomas D. Crane.
Before leaving the New York Life building
ho expressed a desire to go to the top of It,
where he could have a good view of the
city. After giving vent to an exclamation
of Eurpilse as to the amount of ground the
city covered he suid: "As I stand here
and look about ,me at your large office
buildings, numerous, factories and fine resi
dences, my memory. goes back, to my first
trip to Omaha. It was in the fall of '73 and
. I think this was about the wildest town
upon the map ut that time. Filled with
cowboys and Indians that were tho real
thing, tho scene on tho streets, as I re
member it, was in striking contrast to that
of today. Instead of tho stoi-03 being filled
with women shoppers, rough looking men
Jostled one another in their efforts to se
cure the best outfits for a trip across the
plains westward. I was with the Alice
Oates Opera company then and In com
parison to our last night's audience lit the
Boyd It was a motley mob that greeted us
at the old Academy of Music down on
Douglas street wh?n the curtain went up
that night. 1 shall never forget it, as it
was my first trip to the then wild and
woolly west, and I ixpected to have some
cow puncher who didn't happen to like my
voice take a shot at mo almost any min
ute, but I am still alive.
"In thope days the starting of a I'nlon
Pacific train west dally was on event that
attracted large crowds, and I must confess
that I was among the crowd that wandered
down to the depot each day during our en
gagement here, to see those ponderous en
gines, with smokestacks almost cs large as
their boilers, pull a train out of the depot
filled with passengers bound west , to seek
their fortunes. 1 think of those days when
ever I make a trip to 'Frisco now and won
der If tho next thirty years will see as
much of an advance In traveling facilities
as have the past. It will have to be flying
machines then and mighty fast ones, too, if
It does. But I am wasting time hero talk
ing of things that have been, when I should
be calling upon my Omaha friends.
"During my forty years upon the stage t
have made many good friends in the dif
ferent cities where I have played, nnd to
call upon them and renew acquaintances Is
one of the real pleasures of my yearly
trips over the circuit. In Omaha I number
the Crane brothers. J. N. II. Patrick, his
sons and Hal McCord among my friends.
Omaha
Dressing Room at the Boyd, Tre-
Peter Uinks tor the Public.
by W. A. Plxley.
Of course, a man In the theatrical profes
sion makes many acqualntancrs, but there
nro very few that he cares to cultivate,
principally because there are so many peo
ple who meet us only because of our prom
inence theatrically. A few, of course, we
find congenial and It Is with them that w
enjoy a close friendship."
Kr. Crane was asked regarding the rumor
that he was soon to retire from the stage.
"Me retire from the stage! Well, not until
I am forced to by the public. Just as long
as they will continue to come to see me.
Just that long will I continue to play. I
do not continue to follow the profession
merely for financial gain, for I have in my
forty years of stage work accumulated
enough of this world's goods to keep ,my
wife and myself comfortably for the rest
of our days. I make an honest confession
when I say that my vanity keeps me from
retiring to private life for the rest of my
dr.ys. The receptions I receive when I ap
pear each night in the different cities area
source of much gratification to my personal
vanity, ro much so that It makes my work
real'y a pleasure. ' It makes me fed that
in former years whan I played before these
people I must hive mvrn them their
money's worth; In other words, must have
pleased them, else they would not come
agiln to greet me. I suppose If I were to
full to pleBBO my audiences, and instead of
being welcomed by a theater full of people,
only partly filled houses would greet me, I
would be glad to retire; but, as I Paid be
fore, ns long as they will coire to sec me,
Just that long will I continue to play.
"Do I read many plays? Well, rather.
That Is one of my principal occupations)
while on the train. I have a trunk full of
new ones now all of them worthless, of
course; but I read them Just the same. In
most cases they are really so ridiculous
that they are funny. They nre sent to me
by people In nil walks of life, and no mat
ter whether the leading part Is for a come
dian, tragedian or drawing room gentle
man, tho authors usually accompany their
manuscript with a letter saying that they
feel sure that the part will Just fit me. In
all of the plays that I have received from
aspiring dramatists during my career, and
there have been hundreds of them; I have
not as yet found one that was available for
my use. The only way that I have ever
been able to get a play worth anything is
by going to a reputable dramatist and giv
ing him an order for It, Just as you would
your tailor for a suit of clothes. . If it
doesn't fit you don't take It; but It's usually
made to fit, and that's the way with th
plays that are written to order."
