Description: Discovering the Conspiracy
Old actors love to reminisce about the old days. They love to tell stories about great actors they acted alongside and the great one-time performances that they took part in. This is especially true of smaller actors who never rose to the level of fame themselves and instead spent their careers in supporting roles to the star attractions.
William A. Howell was one of those small time actors. Born in Philadelphia in 1831, Howell got his start upon the stage as a $10 a week supporting player at the Arch Street Theatre in that city. By 1860, Howell had been hired by theater owner John T. Ford to work in his Holliday Street Theatre in Baltimore. His career on the stage was relatively short lived and did not extend beyond the Civil War, but during his time, Howell had acted alongside many of the greats.
By 1879, Howell had relocated to San Antonio, Texas where he worked in the railroad industry. But his favorite thing to do while in San Antonio was to reminiscence about his hey day in the theater. In 1906, a series of four articles were published in the San Antonio Daily Express about the life and theatrical memories of William Howell. The veteran actor told stories about many of the great actors of the past including Joseph Jefferson, Edwin Forrest, Charlotte Cushman, and John McCullough. In addition, How