Life, 1905-11-09 · page 15 of 26
Life — November 9, 1905 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page discusses **Sir Henry Irving's recent burial in Westminster Abbey**—a major cultural event. The main text defends Irving's honor against British critics (the *Saturday Review* and *Spectator*) who questioned whether an actor deserved Westminster Abbey burial. Life argues Irving's genius lay not merely in acting but in uniting actor, scholar, and stage-manager roles, advancing theatre itself. The **Arthur Pinero anecdote** illustrates Irving's exacting directorial standards: Pinero, a young actor in Irving's company, was given minimal lines. Irving made him repeat them sitting, standing, and walking—then cut the part entirely. The joke: Pinero's failure as an actor led him to become a successful dramatist instead. The small illustration captioned "How Fortunate You Are, to Have Lived in the Time of Wigs" appears to be period humor unrelated to the main content. The aphorisms at bottom ("Better have your wife with you than after you" and "A public office is a public distrust") are typical Life magazine witticisms.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-LIFE- ich he gained by long and unusual service, It is absurd to talk of cons ferring it on anyone else. And those old British grumblers, the Sa/urday Review and the Specta- for, naturally could not miss the occasion for a growl given by the interment of Irving's remains in Westminster Abbey, comparing his achievements as an actor with Garrick's. We take it that Henry Irving's claims to the position he held at the head of the theatrical world rested, not so much on his accomplishments as an actor only, as on his achievements in uniting the work of actor, scholar and stage-manager. He had the genius which brought together the work of all three in results which have commanded the world's admiration, We may have had better actors, profounder students and more effi- cient stage-managers, but the theatre has never known the man who joined the qualities of all three with such value to the stage and to such advancement of the theatre in public estimation, ‘Therefore, it is futile to make a comparison of his acting abilities with those of Garrick the basis of a discussion concerning the right of his remains to rest in Westminster Abbey. And in answer to this characteristic growl of the critical weeklies, the British authorities and the public have given their unanimous approval to what is now an accomplished fact, the interment of Sir Henry Irving’s ashes in the national mausoleum. HAT Mr, Arthur Pinero was once an actor is recalled by the death of Henry Irving. The dramatist's venture was made under Irving’s stage management, He was assigned a part in one of the early productions with only two lines to speak. Irving heard bim gO over them several times, but was not pleased with their rendering. Suppose you try them sitting down,” suggested the manager. Mr, Pinero sat down and repeated the speech. + Now let us try them standing up,” said Mr. Irving. Mr, Pinero repeated them standing up. “Now walk about while you are speaking Mr, Pinero went over the lines again, meanwhile walking about, ++ H'm," muttered the manager, “that will do for the present, At the next rehearsal Mr, Finero was notified that his part had been cut out, Which may account for the fact that Mr. Pinero became a dramatist instead of an actor. Metcalfe. THE CLASSICS UP-TO-DATE. “* HOW FORTUNATE YOU ARF, TO HAVE ETTER have your wife with you PUBLIC office is a public dis- LIVED IN THE TIME OF WIG: than after you, trust. comicbooks.com