John Drew.
John Drew is an excellent example of a man finding his vocation and filling it. While it is true that he inherited his histrionic talent, his father, John Drew, Sr., having been a noted Irish comedian and his mother, Louise Lane Drew, also having been a great favorite on the stage—yet he has achieved success because of his personal efforts looking to its development. The prime requisite for advancement in any field is, first, find your talent, then bend every energy toward its development. The subject of this sketch was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 13, 1853, and early showed a preference for the boards. He was educated at the Episcopal academy and by private tutors, making his first appearance behind the footlights at the Arch street theater, Philadelphia, as Plumper, in As Cool as a Cucumber. Although only nineteen, his efforts met with almost immediate success, and at twenty-one he joined Mr. Daly’s famous company soon quickly becoming the most popular member of the organization. Since 1892 he has been starring in his own company. Although Mr. Drew excels in society plays, he has also made a brilliant record in classical drama, and especially in Shakespearian rôles. Petruchio, in Taming of the Shrew, is his favorite character, and it is the most difficult and exacting of any he assumes. He has brought out in yearly succession The Butterflies, The Bauble Shop, Christopher, Jr., Rosemary, A Marriage of Convenience, One Summer Day, and The Liars. Commenting upon Mr. Drew, William Winter, the well-known critic, wrote “that he possesses drollery, the talent of apparent spontaneity, and the faculty of crisp emotion. He has surpassed all young actors of his day as a gay cavalier and the bantering farceur of the drawing-room drama of modern social life. He is thoroughly in earnest, and his attitude toward his art is that of intellectual purpose and authority.”