William Gillette

“ Secret Service was first performed at the Broad Street Theatre, Philadelphia, as The Secret Service, May 13, 1895. It was at first only moderately successful, but when it was put on at the Garrick Theatre, New York, October 5, 1896, Mr. Gillette appearing in the character of "Lewis Dumont" for the first time, it was a pronounced success. The play ran until March 6, 1897, when it was taken to Boston and afterward on tour. On May 15, 1897, Mr. Gillette made his first appearance on the London stage at the Adelphi Theatre in this play, at the beginning of a run which lasted till August 4. ”

“ His first Civil War play, Held by the Enemy, was produced at the Criterion Theatre, Brooklyn on February 22, 1886, the part of "Thomas Henry Beene" being taken by Mr. Gillette. It was afterward produced at the Madison Square Theatre, New York City, in August, 1886. The play is laid in the South, and has as its main interest the love of a Southern girl for a Northern soldier. It was acted at the Princess Theatre, London, April 2, 1887. A Legal Wreck, a play dealing with the life in a sea coast town in New England, was first played at the Madison Square Theatre, New York, August 14, 1888. ”

“ Esmeralda, Held by the Enemy, Too Much Johnson, and Secret Service have been published by Samuel French and All the Comforts of Home by Dick and Fitzgerald. Electricity appeared in The Drama, for December, 1913, and will be reprinted shortly by Samuel French. A Legal Wreck has been published in novel form. For a lecture by Mr. Gillette "On the Illusion of the First Time in Acting" see the publications of the Dramatic Museum of Columbia University, Series 2, Vol. 1, New York, 1915. ”