Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination

[Linda Anderson]

I was on my way to a lecture in my library yesterday and I saw Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination on the New Release table so I grabbed it. It's fascinating to read about the actors' lives after the assassination, especially poor Laura Keene.

The book reminded me about an article I had read a while ago from The San Francisco Bulletin, August 22, 1879, titled "An Actor's Prayer: A Curious Reminiscence of the American Stage." It's about Billy Otis who was Laura Keene's dresser on assassination night.

"When the shot was fired he was in the act of buttoning Miss Keene's glove as she was preparing to go on the stage in bridal costume. At first mistaking the shot, she sent a request that the carpenters should not fire pistols during the acts, and then, when the truth became known, rushed to the washstand, saturated the whole front breadth of her magnificent bridal dress, which she wrung out in a vain attempt to resuscitate the unconscious victim."