Oh, brother!

Edwin Thomas Booth

I’m not sure why, but Edwin Booth (1833 – 1893) came to mind this evening. Edwin was, almost without argument, the greatest Shakespearean actor of the 19th Century. His portrayal of Hamlet is still lauded as legendary.

Unfortunately, Edwin’s legacy is shadowed by his brother, John Wilkes Booth (1838 – 1865) who is infamous as Abraham Lincoln’s assassin.

Both boys were the illegitimate children of renowned actor Junius Brutus Booth and his mistress Mary Ann Holmes; both sons were born in Maryland and both were actors. Edwin was a Unionist, John, a Confederate sympathizer. John was also a respected actor as was a third brother, Junius Brutus Booth Jr.

John’s actions that April evening in 1865 at Ford’s Theater caused Edwin to put his career on hold and withdraw from the public eye. Eventually, Edwin founded the Booth Theater in New York and, despite the critical acclaim of its productions, it was closed within five years.

John Wilkes Booth

One fun little parallel I’ve learned is that Edwin had his own interaction with the Lincoln family shortly before the assassination. Edwin saved Abraham Lincoln’s son, Robert, before John shot the President.

Documented in John Goff’s book Robert Todd Lincoln: A Man in his Own Right (Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1968), Robert Lincoln reported Edwin’s role in saving his life in a 1909 letter to Richard Watson Gilder, editor of The Century Magazine:

The incident occurred while a group of passengers were late at night purchasing their sleeping car places from the conductor who stood on the station platform at the entrance of the car. The platform was about the height of the car floor, and there was of course a narrow space between the platform and the car body. There was some crowding, and I happened to be pressed by it against the car body while waiting my turn. In this situation the train began to move, and by the motion I was twisted off my feet, and had dropped somewhat, with feet downward, into the open space, and was personally helpless, when my coat collar was vigorously seized and I was quickly pulled up and out to a secure footing on the platform. Upon turning to thank my rescuer I saw it was Edwin Booth, whose face was of course well known to me, and I expressed my gratitude to him, and in doing so, called him by name.

I am not entirely sure why this is of interest. Perhaps it is a simple as a reminder that there is always more to most stories.



Helpful sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Booth#cite_note-5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilkes_Booth

http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Todd-Lincoln-Man-Right/dp/B0006BUL3Y