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About The advocate. (Portland, Or.) 19??-19?? | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 1929)
ILLUSTRATED F EATUR E SECTION— October 12 . 1929 Ira Aldridge, the Negro Dramatic Genius Br J. A ROGERS Internal Ialini Cm resiMHidriit *ixl A u II mm if I IK Chevalier Irn Frederick Aldridge. N r f r ti America'* ni I'd illustrimi* win, wmm born in the opening years of the nine teenth century, probably in lie being of ' ' t i n - •nd presence with |a W*U-developed well-developed body, and w car riage of great dignity. Into his acting he would pul so much lire so much realism that at times members of tlie audience would be forced under the tension to rise out of Cheir seals One of the pas sages in which lie was most cflecUvc was the following In which lie la ments the death of the beautiful and nmrxent flesdemona whom lie liad Just smothered The Amazing Story of a Negro Stage-Hand Whom the World's Greatest Moruirchs Threw Open their Palace Cates. if if if m o . C i n i 4 s Pa ssage Like niMiiy uuother great (ili*li li ho rose frolli htimhie surroundings and left no ad tnbtngraphy. hi* early life i* clouded in conjecture. There are two atorie*. One i* that lie wan born in Now Ì ork < ity, the mm of un A f rican prince and u colored American woman. T h i *i prince, it i* said, wu* the noie I survivor of it revolt, in which the king. hi* lather, together with hi* family, hud been tna**aered. Ite.Hcned by mi* ninnarle* (he prinee wo* taken to Amene« and trained for the mini*lry, becoming a successful and well known preacher. With the aid of the mis- Monaries, tlie prince sent Ira to he educated for the mini*-' try at Glasgow University, ¡ but enamored by the stage he left the church The second, the more ro mantle, and yet more likely Hut it was in the dark-skinned roles such a* Othello that he was best. story, is that he was horn of humble parents at llaltimore t o r s o f t h e d a y a n d was f i r e d A* t h e e n c y c lo p e d ia s p o in t made his debtc at the Royal Theatre or Itelaire. Md., or probably tiy their example to reach out. there is invention some- In London, where the excellence of New York City. at once .-tamped him a* a Shake- that goal which nearly every where in the story of Ald- spearean actor of tlie first rank The T a u g h t b y C e r n ía n arnhitious actor of the time ridge's early life. It is prob- critics were most effuse In their In hi* youth he wa* ap had sot for himself, namely. al>ly that of the prince and praise, and from Uien onward- he prenticed to a German ship to lie a great interpreter of ^¡„g. Mtory which may have wa* a made man Letters of con gratulation poured In on him. among carpenter. (■ u* reminding Shakespeare originated with some onter- them being oue from Kean himself, one of another great Negro and another from Knowles, one of Taken t o England. prising press-agent. the foremast dramatists of the time who also lived at that time: Frederick D omk I u ' vh . Hen*. It whh here ulso, that he those days, and even in Acclaimed on Tour it i* said, Aldridge leurncd met Edmund Kean, one of the these, the dark Negro who Prom London he began a tour of German and picked up what greatest of all Shakespear- distinguished himself. was the provinces accumulating fame as N° r, did l>c confine himself education lit 1 could. an actors. Kean, it is said, tf * yen royal origin. If he was ><■ lo Othello He had mastered oUier From the shipyard he went was so struck by the young’ light, it was his white ances- Shnke.-iiearcan roles and lie played to Wallack's Theatre, where Ira. that he took him back try. Another dark American .** But 11 » * * J“ }. l*le dark-skinned roles such as Othello he filled some menial em- with him to England in some 1 Negro, very much known in Aaron in T I U u Andrrnlcu* also ploy merit. Hut here he met sort of capacity— as servant both Europe and America Gambia in The Slave ; Naram- bo. and Oranooko he was at his and who cornea from the many pf the most noted ac- or secretary, probably. best .. In he P'»>ed Othello humblest environment, was n s i , , , . | recently spoken of by a lead- " r - . ,ani * P'. ,and “ ? i * ' " an« ‘ u» « the theatres jinn European newspaper a* were aola out days in advance oi his ! being of royal Afri , “ n de- w k r j l » press hailed him as s c e n t, although to the besf of . . T ' l . * 1. . . . i ^ . - an " “ such . i ......., , .. . _ he was now known J j " ....................Whip me, ye devils. From the possession of tins heavenly sight! mow me about In winds ' roast me In sulphur! Wash me In steep-down gulfs of liquid fire. Oh Ilesdemona! Desdemona! Dead' O h' Oh! O h !" At these moments he created such pity and indignation In the minds of his audience that some would rise to their feet demanding the punish ment of tlie guilty Iago. But Immense as was his success In England it was as nothing compared with tliut lie was yet to attain: In 1852 he left at the head of a troupe for Oermany where he played lor Uie next three years In that language Hi nearly all the chief towns Duke Bernhard, ruler of Saxe-Meningen and brother of Queen Adelaide of England knighted him. making him a Chevalier of tlie Royal Saxon Er nest tnisolien House Order and pre sented him with the Verdienst Medal In Gold Decorated by King At tlie Royal Opera House In Ber lin King Frederick William IV was so thrilled by his acting that he or dered the Oold Medal of Science and the Arts struck In hi* honor The only other personages to be so dis tinguished up to that period were Humboldt, famous naturalist anc philosopher; Spcntlni the composer, and Liszt the great musician In Austria-Hungary1 his triumphs continued The imperial Histronlo Conservatory of Pesth elected him to membership and gave him the lar|{e RoU1 n * Imper,al and Arch-ducal Creche Institution, com - P°*ed of the leading members ot the nobility and artist* of the first rank, elected him to membership for life Accompanying the notification was an autograph letter from the Kmiieror of Austria-Hungary com plimenting him on his superb genius. R ffflv w Mrdfcl j n Switzerland, the City of Bern presented him with Uie Gold Medal oi Merit m Sweden, where he went on the invitation of the king. sUll oilier honors awaited him as well as in Belgium In Russia, as the guest the Czar he played before the latter and his Court in the Imperial palace and so impressed the Czar that he presented him with the First class Medal of tlie Arts 1e was also made a member of Uie Versam- 1’ijig. »■«> * « elected to life mem- p m Uie Russian Imperial Academy Penetrating Into Asiatic Russia he continued hts triumphs In Bessara- bia, the highest honor possible wa- conferred on him lie was made an Associate of the Order of Nobles ou r k n o w l e d g e , t h e r e is n o Roscius, it will be recalled, was f o u n d a t io n w h a t e v e r f o r th e preemlnenUy the greatest actor of s to rv ancient Rome Titoligli born a slave * ' he rose by sheer force of genius to Students Worship Mini I ife o f T h r ill« x P«*tUon o i first rank under Julius At Kasan. the capital of Mongol Caesar Cicero himself, esteemed Hut let us leave these ques- him as a friend and did not disdain Tartar. Uie students of the Imperial University presented him with an in j lions of origin and early life 10 lcarn iro,n him scription in Latin, o f which the fol ! aside and come down to that |>art of Othella. Greatest Role lowing is a translation: | Aldridges life of which there Is no “The undersigned students of the doubt. Fur independent of them, his Madame Malibran. leading prima Imperial University of Kasan feel j hie is full of thrills and inspiration , donna of Uie time, went to -- see -L- - Al- - a~w..~ a S x . their deep ,i,auvuur bound w to r express gratitude U vlnc at the tune he did that’s í2,*lníRr* SSt i by h. i a,Kl veneration for the greatest acto» ! brforr the Civil War his life sounds 5hr him Never In Qf mir time, the Master. Ira Al- dridge. for the happy moments nf like 1 fairy tale except Uiat 111 the whole course of mv prnN I - l fairy-tales things happen by magic rareer have I witnessed a more forest'd them by his genius and artis- poarrful and in tetes ting perform- tic skill They are aware that the while In Aldridge's rase It was the magic of w ork - hard grinding, nerve anee, ahíle I«ady V Beecher, herself great tragic actor Is above all praise, he most noted tragedienne of her but while convinced that their words test log work Shakrs|x>are said: "Some men are lime wrote: “ During my profession- are altogether too feeble to express »1 as well as my private lite I never his merit they are desirous of prov- born great; some achieve greatness; of mg by Uiis address that Uiey will while others have greatness thrust saw so correct a portraiture ii|*ni th em " O f Ira Aldridge all Othello amidst the luminaries of my ever cherish the memory of him who , , . . . ., . first taught them to understand the three wer*. In a measure, true Returning to London Aldridge ap- Immortal works of the British poet |>eared at the Covent Garden T h e -d Great Intellect • dvntlnued from pase 1' atre as Othello, where according to Aldridge s first appearance was as The Illustrated Life of London, an amateur in Khrndan’s “ Pizarro.' April 30 ibi H i “ his success was the where he played the role of Holla most complete lth distinction Following this lie So masterful, so perfect In every w? ca . ^ as-s^s; Migiami | senate of Venice called all-in-all It was n bitter blow for him but sufficient,* had used him as the verv years of disappointment and almost \ model despair were ahead of him He had : Othello it will be recalled was the set his heart on playing Othello nnd commander-in-chlef of tlie ar-.iies of di rlng this period toe tried manager Venice at the time when that nation aller manager in vain But he was at the height of its glory He studied hard In tlie meanwhile, nias- was a formidable warrior but with termg Uie minutest details of the , the soul of a rhlld when It came to ri»11' guile and Intrigue. Ira A ld rid g e as he a p p ea red la Made Rem arkable Debut O th e llo At last Ills opportunity arrived He Pmmemed ( »m m .n d ln g rhyaigwe In physique, too. 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