Belasco, David, 1853-1931; Theater -- United States
“An oldtime companion of mine at this period was John T. Malone,
studying for the Catholic priesthood. But beneath the cassock my
friend harbored a great love for the Stage, and among his intimate
circle had won quite a reputation as a Shakespearean scholar. I
remember the morning he came to the Baldwin Theatre and told me the
story of his ambition. I engaged him at once, struck by his
personality! ’I’ve been waiting many years,’ said he, and now the
time has come.’... Later, he supported Booth and Barrett and his
name will ever be associated with that splendid gentleman who
founded The Players. As the years passed he became a victim of
Time’s revenges; nurtured in the blank verse school, his
engagements became fewer and fewer until they utterly dwindled
away. Often I picture him as an actor of exceedingly great talent,
but it had no outlet for its practical use. His is one of the many
sad cases in the theatrical world of ’exits’ marked by poverty and
loneliness.”
I know not whether Malone ever studied for the priesthood: I know,
however, that he was educated for the profession of law, and that in his
young manhood he practised law in San Francisco. He was born in 1854, I
believe in that city, and he died in New York, January 15, 1906: he
richly merited commemoration. He was a good man and a talented, zealous,
reverent servant of the Stage. No actor of our time more dearly loved
his profession or more devoutly and unselfishly labored in its support,
though his career was not attended with any specially brilliant
achievements or extraordinary incidents. He was a careful and thoughtful
student of Shakespeare, and his acquaintance with the works of the great
dramatist was intricate, extensive, and minute. He wrote much upon that
subject, and his contributions to contemporary magazines, in the vein of
Shakespearean criticism, are of peculiar interest. In his domestic life
he was unfortunate and unhappy, but to the last he retained a
philosophical spirit and a genial mind. As a comrade, among intellectual
men, he was both loved and admired,--because his nature was noble, his
heart was kind, his taste was pure, his mind was rich, and his manners
were gentle. It was a pleasure to know him, and the remembrance of him
lingers sweetly in the recollection of a few old friends.
“TRUE TO THE CORE.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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