THE MANAGEMENT OF STARS.

Press, Volume XLVI, Issue 7476, 25 November 1889, Page 2

THE MANAGEMENT OF STARS.

A correspondent of the Philadelphia iw gives an account of the way in which gwa! stars are secured. It is no easy matttota - engage and manage a great actor, acfe** t or singer, either in the old or the Z t' world. Caution, liberality in money matteT patience, and diplomacy are required of S § men who successfully control hkh.ei»!i U stars. ~o~w*h i Mdme. Patti, the first of all stars, is no* i the easiest of all of the great artists to agt 1 on with, both before and after engagement w During her first tours in America she hid 1 an agent who made a fortune by hw S Ever since she married Nicolini ahohit E attended to her own business, and fat § had no trouble. Patti is very careful i. H to her business affairs. When shejrfw« H her word, it is as good as her bond and she If never raises foolish objections about amiii S matters. In dealing with her Mr Abhw f finds her an exception to many oSS p artists. She prefers to share with him S E taking a certainty. For instance, onfaw ' present tour she gets a certain percentas* l of the gross receipts, with a guarantS I that her share shall not be less than £1 m > a performance. She will only stair s»to» a week, but for thirty appkraa&Tg Abbey guarantees her £31,600, and ifch probable that her additional DereentuiM over the £1,000 a night will increase i?J earnings to at least £37,000 for her short I. seaeon in this country. The corantas f which has been engaged to support h«» ; is the strongest ever seen or heatd in tw United States, the weekly expenses reach ing as high as £9,000. |,

HBKBY lEVINO. : 1 When Mr Irving first came to thlt s" country Mr Abbey was his manager, Ihi p English actor took a share of the kwj&j L receipts without any guarantee, buthls ¥• }>roflts were over £50,000, and all the out- I ay he had was to pay his comptay, l business manager, writer to tell the ebon f of his trip to English papers, and two ; private secretaries. Mr Abbey paid Mia 'i Terry out of his profits and yet tta4e money. f.

MRS LANQTRY, SA.LVINI, JLKD BEHNHIfc^ , When Mrs Langtry made her first visits this country she took a share of the grajl receipts without guarantee, and her firs* season netted over £25,000. Aβ a role, Mary Anderson shares instead of takings a certainty. MrSalvini is a very careful financier, He takes a percentage, with a guarantee that his profit shall not fall below acertato amount, and he usually gets all the faf Mdme, Bernhardt, who is to play vrltl Mr Abbey for the next two yeare, takes! share of the profits without guaraatoa but her share is a large one, and ha income £37,000 a season.

WHERJS IS THB PROFIT f ; ! Patti is, of coarse, the great card, *qd v carries the bulk of the money, ft fa I j_ mystery to a novice to even Imagine h{ffl Mr Abbey is going to make any money out of this venture. An expenditure of £9,00* a week for an amusement enterprise > would naturally seem a very risk} 1 business. But this daring epeoalator is I high-class amasemeiile feels confident i that the Fatti season trill not onV? psf, \ bub leave him a handsome profit. 0,9 bin ' p epent very nearly the whole summit la engaging a company to support her, and ' it has been no little trouble, for the ot&a great singers that he has engaged are do) easily captured. There are a hondrft! r questions to be talked over and MttM f with every one, and the envoy- «$»• H ordinary and minister plenipotentiaryi> j not called upon for a higher exercfcdo! f« subtle power in all the finer phases oJ \ ; business and social life than is Hα k f theatrical manager who handles H& f<: priced artists. ■< p; WHEN THB DIFFICULTIES BKSI& ft After the engagement of any greaj i.artist, the real complications begin, m j% the successfol manager is the oaewo !-■ gets over difficulties intruded upoa Ma • ■• without friction. No matter how «U .; everything goes, little complications m \ constantly arising which the star Is vsr? \. apt to magnify, unless his or her sugges- ~ tions are complied with. The xnanegsr > who loses his temper and arbitrarily esjs i " No" co an artist is sure to be coastssti/ \; in tronble ; but the one who grsciosw |[ admits the righteouanesa of htiewt h suggestions, and then does as he pifiasea f. in the end—as they usually do—ls sneers- > < f ul. I have talked with a dozen l«sdto managers upon this subject, eaa-iw admit that the easiest way is ,to &&&*«? everything and all thefcltne beUbertl wits their attraction. If they do ft* *™ I then afterwards do as they % 1\ I chances are a hundred to end w» w '; artiste forget all about their demsne.*" i. nothing more is said about 16. \:i i>