1900-02-23-New York Sun-Dan Rice, Clown, is Dead

Revision as of 03:00, 16 June 2023

Dan Rice, Clown, is Dead

New York Sun, 23 February 1900, p. 2, c. 3

His Death at Long Branch due to Bright's Disease.

Career of the Famous Ring Joker Who Began Life as a Stable Boy and Made and Lost Three Fortunes—His Education in Shakespeare—His Name Was McLarin

LONG BRANCH, N. J., Feb 22.—Dan Rice, the veteran clown died tonight at 7 o'clock after a lingering illness. He was 77 years old. Mr. Rice suffered from Bright's disease and and dropsy but he had been able to go out for a drive until n week ago when he took to his bed. At the time of his last illness he was writing a book on his life. He had about com- pleted the closing chapter.

Dan Rice's real name was Daniel McLarin. He was born in New York city. His father, Daniel McLarin nicknamed the boy Dan Rice, after a famous clown in Ireland. After his father's death his mother married a man named Monahan who had a dairy near Free- hold, Monmouth county, N. J., and Dan, when a small boy, delivered milk to his step-father's customers. His sister Elizabeth married Jacob Scholes, a circus rider, who lived long in New Jersey. Dan, weary of the milk route struck out for himself when young and made his way to Pittsburg, where he was succes- sively stable boy, race-rider and hack driver. After a little time, under the name of Dan Rice, he achieved prominence, if not exactly fame, as the owner and exhibitor of a learned pig, with which he and a man named Lindsay travelled through Pennsylvania and neighbor- ing States. Rice and Lindsay sang songs and danced but the pig was the principal attrac- tion.

Old friends of Dan relate that the death of the star performer broke up that show and he drifted out to Nauvoo, Ill. where the Mormons then were under Joseph Smith's leadership, and remained with them for a time. He re- turned to Pittsburg and went to hack driving again. He married there his first wife, and came to New York in 1844, making here his first appearance as a clown and negro song and dance performer with Dr Spalding's company in the old Bowery Amphitheatre, then under the management of John Tryon. In the com- pany with him at that time were Barney Will- iams, Dan Emmett, Dan Gardner, Frank W. Whittaker and others whose names have since attained wide celebrity on the stage and in the ring.

In the season of 1845 Dan travelled with Seth B. Howes's circus. Seth B. Howes was a brother of Nathan Howes, one of the old "flat- foot combination," which started the famous Zoological Institute at 37 Bowery. He billed and advertised Dan Rice more extensively than any clown ever was advertised before in this country. One of the advertising dodges was to supply Dan with a special carriage and horses to take him through the country. In the win- ter of 1845-6 Dan made his first appearance in Philadelphia in Gen. Rufus Weich's National Amphitheatre, which was then at the corner of Ninth and Chestnut streets, on the site now oc- cupied by the Continental Hotel. At that time he was simply a good "rough knock-about clown," in the phraseology of the ring, not quick to catch points on the audience from the ringmaster, and innocent of any knowledge of Shakespeare. He tried successively Nicholas Johnson and Ben Young, both actors, and Horace Nichols and somebody else, in the capacity of ringmaster, yet could not make a hit with either. Finally he got Frank W. Whit- taker who was at the time master of the ring for other clowns in the same show, assigned to him, and on his first night made a hit, on busi- ness suggested by Whittaker, which carried him into instant popularity with Philadelphia audiences.

That hit cost Sandy Jameson, leader of the orchestra, a new violin, for part of the funny business consisted in Dan's tumbling Frank headlong among the orchestra.

During the summer of 1846 Rice was a clown with WI I Ii Vtlchs VmICli II1h s travolllng rave I In g show In I ti Canada a a lila anti In I Im the Ih t hi suciifding uuetetu I tog year yea Ilr r ho nent vu unt nt to Now Ni iv Orleans vUrlenllwltll Orleanswith a awit with wit hi his itl llrt Ii tst manager mu atuagtr Dr 1 ir Hpauldlng Span I d lug At this thistune t Ii Is Istt tune tt ilitu it is I said 1 suit 111 I Mr 31 Ir r win rut Ordvn II brothorlii trot herItt law of Dr Snauldmg took II Ilkliiu to Dan and andurged IIn IInIIn1 andit urged it rguul him lii in to muchneeded IUIIChhIIIItlll1lllDlroo IUIIChhIIIItlll1lllDlrooIIHlIt to imeti tueci htuI mental in etutal Improve Improvemilit tin Lurovo Lurovoiiletmt milit supplying alt pjil yl iig him hi at with vIt Ii Klmkuspearo Hllltkl cc Ilar llyron llyronand II ilyronantI no II IInlll and other dratnatlo < and pootlc works aiding altllnlC111m him Ii I flt in i It making 01 1 Ic I U i from them t tho t ho selections 011 onwhich 011which 011whIch which ho h subsequently became lJ cnlllll known HH a alihakestiearean alShakcarlau ailiakatteareaim lihakestiearean clown and nll < 1 oncouraglng him III study tuh nut only tutu for his Ii professional lror s lolllllpurlllhllI purtiosee but for tlio t 10 aeiinlslrlon of general knowledge knowledgeMr Mr Ir Van lIn omen also wrote n number of Ilicos Ilicostnoft IlIco81II0t IIcetnrmt tnoft popular songs 01l 1I After fter a season aeon or two twoItlcn 11mItIco twoItleti Itlcn obtained tin nllltlrest Interest with Dr Spauldlng Spauldlngand SIIUItIlD1I1Illhllt Stiaulthiotunut and 1I1Illhllt that conncotlon 0011110011 was JlR kept UI until about about1WJO IIboutPjjU imtuoutl3J 1WJO PjjU wlntii wh 1I they separated In 18VI In Ion oonHCIJUBIIIO IonseIUIIIl eonkeituciletu HCIJUBIIIO of atone ollllll1I11 legal proceedings Instltutud In lltutu1 by sspnuliilng for recovery of paymont for a ashow IIIIhow ashow show wltli WI t Ii which he h had haollittellltlccolltlltollllu haollittellltlccolltlltolllluor lilted lit ted Itlccoutacouplu Itlccoutacoupluof 11cc out ii enu ilmi ilmiof of years before lilco HI lost alniinlsjinn II farm farmwhich Carmwhtlll aria ariawhich which hi h had acquittal In InlllllJIII l olumbla oIiinm bin county N Y shortly after that Dan bought a homestead In llrard 1n and a llnelarin lIne harm twoorthren twoorthrenmills two or 1I1f 1I1fmil thirst thirstmitiks mills mil from rout that town where ho clKltered h Itre1 lila liUnhowlntlie 1I1 1I1IIhow lilamuluow nhowlntlie IIhow tlllhe In he winter winterJly wlIIIrHI r rill ill lK 111 > i In h had so 5r far recovered roroNo from the th theihlautetiur disaster 11III tr which fillnwtM tho lit severance of his hisconnection hisconlleetloll hiseoniietIoti connection with Spaulding that ho was 11 deomeil deomeilit it wealthy weal allhl t Ii > man lii lull and certainly 1rullIl ly was a popular one onewhorever on onewhmurevur whorever ho h trnvplltfil Fur ho win a genial genialwliitlHsouleil IlnlalIIlInloul1 iiunhruiuuli wliitlHsouleil uuli Isuuoti leul fpllow ii kos kind k I iii and 1II1IIIrIOu generous qQtem siem tog to think nothing of riches I leiII more titan as a a amemu aIIHll aiiieutllC memu IIHll to promotii tlm happinensof hIPIII or nil around him Iii tn Fortune lOrtti lit sinlUd aiim Ilttt uiion U On him lii it steadily eteuid Itdll ii y up u p to to18lip to1u4u1t1 18lip 11 < 111 when thin WHU 11 u separation between him h i to Mint miii I his < wife v I fo Old showmon dm0 WntJ ii mild tiItl Dan lost his Ii Is luik k when h partid 1lIrllllrolll I Irom I ruin lnr lnrSho hrSh hut r Sho Sh hc was w spoken ot as II a IIl1ulllll noble woman who by byI bygentle I gentle II tI lUDthods to itthioti a HUppllid sit 111k I Dan with t Ii the theguldanin th thlulan lie lieguhttanu guldanin lulan which Im IH noided nu lc bun had h 1 never no r been hee a professional lonlil befor > her niarrlngc but tin taught lau It her it manege n net which she h con continued COliIInullo contin ¬ tinued IInullo tin UiiI In I ii do up U p to n the thi tlmo of tlmir separation sularat Ion Her II er daughter ii lau 1I11r Kllzabeth LI lzut bet Ii Ltiann hta nuts tint t tutu wHo WI fo of Charles Chari heel a celobratod pad rider The Titusuluiti