Actors!
John Wilkes Booth did no favors to his art the night he turned into a bloodthirsty killer. Even today, the motivations behind the most well-intended actions of actors come under special scrutiny simply as result of the career choice involved. And compared to the long history of that career, actors today have it better than ever. How much of what happened that night in Ford’s Theater is due to Booth’s politics and how is due to Booth’s acting instincts will never be known, but always questioned:
“Twenty-six years old, impossibly vain, an extremely talented actor, and a star member of a celebrated theatrical family, John Wilkes Booth was willing to throw away fame, wealth, and a promising future for the cause of the Confederacy…Handsome and appealing, he was instantly recognizable to thousands of fans in both the North and South. His physical beauty astonished all who saw him. A fellow actor described his eyes as being `like living jewels.' Booth’s passions included fine clothing, Southern honor, good manners, beautiful women, and the romance of lost causes.”
Not to mention the continued degradation of people with black skin.
Actresses!
The night was filled with the peculiar idiosyncrasies of actors. While the actor with the looks of a matinee and the psychopathy of a redneck was busy killing himself, the woman who had drawn Lincoln there in the first place was doing everything she could to mark her place in the history books sure to be written:
“Laura Keene knelt beside Lincoln, lifted his head, and rested it in her lap/ Bloodstains and tiny bits of gray matter from Lincoln’s brain oozed on to the cream-colored silk fabric, spreading and adding color to the frock’s bright and festive red, yellow, green, and blue floral pattern. Laura Keene cherished the blood-and-brain speckled dress she wore this terrible night. In the days ahead, people begged to see the dress, to handle it and marvel at the stains on it.”
The Cue
One can really only wonder exactly what was going through Booth’s mind as in the minute or two before he took his cue. And that is exactly how it played out; how it was staged managed to play out. Everything about the assassination was calculated by Booth as if he were preparing to play a part. Which, of course, he was. But was he playing the part of the savior of the Confederacy or did he really see himself in that way? Those last few seconds probably could give us an answer, but until that particular futuristic technology becomes available, the next best thing is to focus on the dramatic tension as Booth no doubt was doing himself:
“Booth’s thumb pulled back the hammer of the Deringer until he heard it cock into firing position. His hand reached for the doorknob. Though he could not see the stage, he could hear the dialogue. Now, Booth knew, only two actors remained onstage. The tension was unbearable. The dialogue spoken onstage no longer sounded like words but like the last ticks of a dying clock winding down. It was 10:13 P.M.”
Exit Stage Right
His part done, Booth had only to make a dramatic exist to fulfill what dream was driving him that night: redeeming the Confederacy or upstaging forever all the famous members of his acting family. His exit might have been absolutely perfect instead of marred by the broken fibula that would help seal his doom had he not immediately been obstructed and rushed:
“The smoke from the gun, now tinted red from the gaslights, partly blocked his vision. Rathbone rose from his seat and stepped in the direction of the president. At that moment, he saw a wild-eyed man, his face ghostly against his black clothes, hair, and mustache. Like a demon, Booth emerged from the cloud of black powder and sprang at him.”
