for John Wilkes Booth

Authors

Diane Crosby, University of Iowa

Abstract

On November 14, 1863, John Wilkes Booth, confederate spy and future assassin of Abraham Lincoln, was closing a successful engagement at Ford's Theatre in Washington and planning to travel to Cleveland Academy of Music for his next appearance on November 26.¹ This charismatic actor had the beauty, "the fire, the dash, the touch of strangeness,"² that could command a generous share of the box office. Heralded as "The Youngest Star in the world; the Price of the American People," his repertoire, including a mesmerizing version of Richard III, engendered a steady stream of admirers along with a rather staggering annual income of more than $20,000.³ His fame, wealth, and popularity afforded him an extraordinary freedom to associate in both Northern and Southern social circles. It is, therefore, actually possible, though not historically verifiable, that Booth could have been in the audience on November 19 at Gettysburg for the cemetery dedication.

Journal Title

Iowa Journal of Communication

Volume

25

Issue

3

First Page

55

Last Page

58

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Crosby, Diane (1993) "for John Wilkes Booth," Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 25: No. 3, Article 19.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol25/iss3/19

Copyright

©1993 Iowa Communication Association