THE KING'S JTESTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2650, 28 December 1904, Page 60

THE KING'S JTESTER.

"Dan" — for to call him anything else would b& a misnomer — was not born to the purple, and' had literally to fight his way to fame through the cruel road of hunger. His father was a travelling actor, or, as Dan used to say, an perobat on© day, a comedian next, then a tragedian, and the folowing- day ai proudi man, with a good overcoat and a hungry stomach. i Here is the story of his life as told by j himself:— _ | I came into the world a mere child, without a rag to my back and without a penny in my pocket. That was in the year 1861, and it occurred in Eve court, King's Cross, London. The place is now covered' over with St. Pancras Station. I am sorry to say that I have a very indistinct recollection of my early childhood. I only remember that I had. a longing to chew everything within reach, morei_»e'Specially luoifer matches and kid gloves. And 1 remember that I very soon displayed artistic ability, for, having procured fll large quantity of strawberry jam, , I varnished all the furniture of a room ! with it, including the exterior of the oat and the interior of a pair of my dad's new boots, which, he declared, went on more easily next time he tried them. The cat had no taste for strawberry jam, and only washed it-self at the rate of about two square inches a day. ■ j My first appearance in public was when I j was three years old. They put me on a pair oi stockings and nothing else ; ladies' t stockings tl.ey were — I blushed, I can tell you — and one was red and the other blue, i Then, when they had put the stockings on, i they fastened them round my neck with a ' garter, and I was ready. ■ My parents were 'known in the profession ■ as Mr and Mrs Johnny AVilde, and they acted as my agents. I went on with them in my ladies' stockings as an acrobat. 1 didn't sing or patter, but mostly looked at the. audience, and wondered what they were wasting their time for, and I didn't get very good money for that. On the second night there was an alarm ! of fire. My dad picked up a pair of opera } glasses and looked round' the stage to find 1 me (I was so small that I used to get j mislaid, or slip in a chink between the ■" boards), and then ho picked me ur. with his finger and thumb. It ws|9 not until 1881 that I reappeared i in th© metropolis, and in the meantime I 1 had been all over England, Scotland, and } Ireland. It was in Dublin that I was "first" discovered by the public as the possessor of a lovely voice, and as an Irish comib singer I was very successful, earning a high .salary for my seven years. At Manchester we produced a spectacular ballet, ; called -"The Wicklow Wedding," in which ! I played the principal pa-rt, and painted the scenery. , I toured all over the three kingdoms, as ' well as part of Germany, with my parents. I first made a separate reputation for myself at Dublin. One week 1 was singing at the * smallest hall in the town at 15s a week, ! and next I was engaged at the Exhibition ! Palace for £1 15s a night, which was a very j pleasant change, I can assure you. j Mr Leoio, whose real name, by the way, was George Galvin, began his connection with Drtiry Lane in 1888, when he appeared ; there with his wife, at a joint salary of £25 a week. For the past five years he had been enjoying there a- salary of £250 a week. Leno was a genuine humorist, and never spoke or suggested anything- on the stage | that would bring a blush. "A healthy, ! moral tone should always be observed in j places of amusement," he once remarked, I and this healthy, moral tone he attempted I to preserve. He was- very fond of chil- : dren, and he was never funnier than at j matinees a.t Drury Lane, when he would j specially play to and for the juveniles of the house. Perhaps the proudest moment in his life : was when he appeared before the King at Sandringham, which he afterwards described as follows : — "On the Saturday, as I was sitting 1 down with my wife, news came ix> me. 'It is the King's wish,' I was told. ' I can't,' I replied ; ' I'm performing at Brixton.' "'" ' It is the King's command,' I was told, and) then it broke upon me, and I said, 'Oh ! ' "At Sandringham I felt very pi-oud 1 . I had a free hand. I never had a better audience. The King rocked) with laughter. "It was the greatest dla-y of my life, and mv happiness was complete when the King- shook me by the hand and the Que«n took my hand in hers. "Everyone was kind, while the place was SO homelike. Since my return the King has sent me a< tie-pin, and down Clapham way everyone asks me, ' Show us the pin, Dan.' " . i The prince of patterers had many stories to tell of bis amusing and unrehearsed) scenes. Playing once in a shadow pantomime in Edinburgh, Dan Leno's father had to fire a gun at the head of the comic policeman, but he missed 1 his aim and shot a rift in the scene, which at once collapsed, to the delight of those in front, but to the consternation of those behind. Another story is also \ery true of the character of the man. He had appeared at a house in Park lane, and had given his best entertainment. The langour of his listeners had made him feel not too happy, and he was glad to retire to the dressing room allotted him. While he was removing the grease paint 1 a very young peer, who had strolled after him, stood watching tho process. He told Leno in the most approved drawl that some of his sayings had reaUy been rather funny. "Especially that one, you know, where your wife made a pancake on a gridiron and the pancake slipped through ancl put the fire 6ut. ''That made in? laugh awfully, because I know what a gridiron Is. I have seen one,"' lie said. "So have I," was the only reply he re- ' ceived from Dan. —A "Prop" Story. — i Leno was very clover with a paint box and a brush. A few years ago he created' i some alarm at Drury lane by painting a 182285&.522 L ili&i JUSga S-PJS'iA J&itfc

The stage manager could not understand the change of colour, and inquiries were instituted as to who was responsible for dairiaging the "prop." Dan looked on and pretended to make a fuss. "I expect she has been out :n: n a thunder storm," he said; "lightning turns everything black." } —An "Anklet."— It was not long ago that Mr and Mrs Leno visited a jeweller's shop in Oxford street for tho purpose of purchasing a present for a friend who was about to get married. Tho gift, a diamond brooch, was duly selected, and Dan was about to pay for it when the shop attendant brought forward some diamond bracelets, making a point of displaying their brilliancy to Mrs Leno. "They're very beautiful," said Dan; "but I don't know how my wife could wear them. She has several lovely bracelets. What dp you think, dear?" Mrs Leno was silent. 'Then Dan remarked, "I'll buy one, and if she can't wear it on her wrist she j can put it on her ankle." ! — Lono and Leslie. — ! Dan's first meeting with Fred Leslie was in amusing- circumstance 1 ;. Leslie was in a barber's shop in Lancashire, and had just been shaved He had no small change, and the barber went out to g-at some silver. la ■\valkg Dan Leno, and, not knowing Leslie, asked him to cut his hair. "Certainly, sir," said the Gaiety humorist. Leno sac in the. chair, was covered with an apron, and Loslio commenced lathering his face. "I want my hair cut, not a *have," said the irate Leno. "Well, before I cut the hair on yovir face I must first of all lather you," re-plied Leslie. Leno got out of the chair, and was about to assault Leslie, when iii walked the barber, and matters were explained. — " Not That Kind of Drop." — Driving home one night, h» called at the house of a friend. A boy who stood at the g-ate — a wretched, neglected little urchin — . eyed him curiously as he passed in. Turnj inj back, Dan remarked, "Do you know me?" The boy rep-lied, "No, unless you're , the hangman," pointing to a card which some wag had eaa-lier fastened to lr*s back, i 0.1 which Leno was depicted as dangling at j tho end of the rope. ' Having surveyed the sketch for a. moment, L".no remarked, "It's not that kind of drop that is dangerous to most people," and then, turning to the lad again, he commented. "You seem to have found that out. Who drank those holes into yoiir get up?" The boy had no answer ready, but he understood' well the sympathy that prompted the donation bf half a sovereign, with the advice. 'Put something inside, and the rest on top."