John Wilkes Booth in Maine

[Art Loux]

(11-05-2012 08:25 PM)Peter Taltavul Wrote:  A few years ago I found a few interesting articles re: JWB performing in my home State of Maine. One mentioned some stage mishaps that occurred during on of his performances. I am unable to locate that one at the moment. It is saved on one of my external hard drives. I do have a link to two other articles that I am posting below.

According to the article Booth was performing at the Deering Theatre on Congress Steet in Portland, Maine in 1861 when Fort Sumter was fired upon. He left suddenly the next day apparently skipping out on paying for services that he had requested. One of the lost articles says that it was a printing bill.

What I found interesting is that there was a statement published in the Portland Paper on April 29, 1861 after Booth had left town. I have not attempted to research the Portland Library - Historical Society - to verify the accuracy of it. The bottom line was that if Booth was ever back in town and secured professional services one had better require payment up front - "…when J. Wilkes Booth may appear on the boards in their vicinity, the advance principle is the safest to adopt when making contracts with him."

The above may be known to most here, but wanted to pass it on as I found it interesting.

http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/inde...&v=article

http://issuu.com/dailysun/docs/pds4-15-11

Here, extracted from JWB - DBD is the accident:
1861
March 29, Friday. PORTLAND.
-Booth appeared as Rafaelle in Rafaelle, The Reprobate and as Fabien and Louis in The Corsican Brothers in his farewell benefit.

March 30, Saturday. PORTLAND.
-A patron recalled Booth in The Corsican Brothers, “He was dressed in a loose white shirt and had on black pants and was bareheaded. He stood with a rapier in his right hand raised up and his left arm, about the same position and was looking backward. He was to be slid across the stage under an illumination of red fire. I suppose he stood on a plank which had not been properly greased, for it would stop, then start, with a jerk so pronounced that he or his shirt could not stand without a sympathetic movement each time, which destroyed the impressiveness of the scene.”

April 1, Monday. PORTLAND.
-Mrs. Farren opened an engagement at the Portland Theatre in her famous role of Lucretia Borgia.

April 2, Tuesday. PORTLAND.
-Mrs. George P. Farren continued her engagement.

And here is the incident of the unpaid bill:
Booth left town without paying an advertising bill to the Advertiser:

“Our experience with him shows that he lacks the requisites of a gentleman . . . He was extremely liberal in his offers, and not sparing of promises. Just before his departure, we called on him for the amount of his indebtedness, but were referred to his agent . . . To cut the story short, we have not seen the color of the gentleman's money.”

This unpaid bill seems to have been a one of a kind incident for Booth.