Something about John Wilkes Booth you may not know...

[BettyO]

(08-31-2012 10:59 AM)J. Beckert Wrote:  John Ford said had he lived, Booth would have been the greatest actor of his time. I've heard of his impromptu recitals. I think he usually did them between acting engagements - when he was broke. I think one of his favorite poems was "Beautiful Snow" (?). He said he could bring in several hundred dollars at one reading. Not bad.

It was said that he could recite The Beautiful Snow, a poem by John Whitaker Watson with great feeling. The poem is about a fallen woman, and Booth could recite this maudlin piece with such power and depth of feeling that both his audience and himself were in tears at the end.