A VERSATILE ACTOR.

Golden Bay Argus, Volume VI, Issue 73, 21 October 1897, Page 2

A VERSATILE ACTOR.

Concerning M. Marius,the actor, who-e death has just been announced, the " Daily Telegraph " says : —lt was a very matnorable season at the Lyceum when Herve came to England to pose and dance, and when Marius assisted his impracticable Parisian friend. But Herve fell into the background as an actor —he never was one—and his young companion Mariu* elected to leave France and m»ke his tiomr in England. Fate prohibited what he desired. The Franco-Prussian war broke out ; Marius went back to France to serve his old battalion, the Chasseurs, and to encounter grave persona] danger and deprivation, stories of which he has recounted in several magazines. The war over, he came back to England, his adopted country, and here he has remained ever since, having married at an early period of his career

the delightful artist Florence St John. There is scarcely a theatre m London in which Claude Marius Las not acted. His versatility was wonderful. He could sing in burlesque or act in comedy. He was at home iu a medley c<llcd " Round the World " as in a fa'hionnble performance of " L'Aventurier," by Emi'e Augier. Iu fact, he was an artist.—but, alas, he wa3 a Bohemian. He burned the candle at both ends. A delightful companion, a good talker, full of anecdote and vivacity,he never strayed far from what Jeff Prowse called " the beautiful city of Prague." He could not tear himself away from it, but he died at last in South A fries, where he had gone to pUy with a burlesque company. Marius had suffered from a throat affection for manyyears—wefearit was cancer—and he was idvised to take a sea journey to tho '

Cape. He left his friends in good spirits, and hoped to return quite cured. But it was willed otherwise. Never did a Frenchman so h< climatise himself in London as Marius did. For a wonder he loved London better than lis beloved Paris. He was a man with a sunny and delightful nature, honourable, affectionate, but alas ! weak. In his long career he made countless friends and few enemies, and there will be very few when they hear that Claude Marius is dead who will not instantly reply, " Poor derr old chap ! " The ♦' boys " loved him, and it nee's a good fellow to be loved by the toys of Bohemia.