Sol Smith Russell
| Sol Smith Russell | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
June 15, 1848 Brunswick, Missouri, U.S.A. |
| Died | April 28, 1902 (aged 53) Washington, District of Columbia, USA |
| Occupation | Stage Actor |
Sol Smith Russell (1848–1902) was a 19th-century American comedic stage actor who began performing as a boy during the American Civil War.
Sol Smith Russell was born at Brunswick, Missouri, the eldest of two sons and a daughter raised by Charles and Louise (née Mathews) Russell. While a young boy Russell’s family moved to St. Louis where his father manufactured and sold tinware. Russell’s mother was from Ohio, the daughter of a Cincinnati music teacher. It soon became apparent that Russell did not share his father’s talent as a tin maker and that his best option would be to prepare for a college education. Both his parents were very religious and had a prejudice against the theater, even though Russell’s uncle, Sol Smith (1801–1869), was a well-known actor and theater manager in St. Louis. This family connection enabled Russell easy access to area theaters watching plays, sometimes from backstage, without his parent’s knowledge.
At the age of thirteen, not long after the outbreak of the American Civil War, Russell ran away from home to serve in the Union Army as a drummer boy. He tried to enlist as a musician, but was unable to obtain the required written consent of his parents. Russell soon became popular with the officers and soldiers providing entertainment to break the dull routine of daily camp life. He fell ill while stationed at Paducah, Kentucky, and after being told that he was likely to die managed to return home to St. Louis, where his mother eventually nursed him back to health.
Transcribed from “Famous Actors of the Day in America” by Lewis Clinton Strang; 1899, pg. 248–260
"My first theatrical engagement was at the Defiance Theatre, Cairo, Illinois, in 1862, at the magnificent salary of six dollars a week," said Mr. Russell. "For this recompense I sang between the acts and played and drummed in the orchestra. I had for a bed the stage lounge, and counted myself lucky to have even so good a place to sleep as that. The manager of the theatre, Mr. Holland, was very kind to me. He took me to his home and gave me free access to his excellent theatrical library, and during such spare time as I had, I read. My first acting was in a play called 'The Hidden Hand,' and my part was that of a negro girl. I made quite a success of it."
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