Row, Arthur William, 1878-1961

Arthur W. Row (1878-1961) was an actor, writer and director. He was in the class of 1901, and was a member of the Theta Delta Chi Fraternity, although he only attended Tufts in 1897-98 as a special student. This collection includes books, playscripts, photographs, periodicals that he wrote and letters all concerning his role as an actor, writer, and theatre director. An inventory of his collection exists, and while most of the items have been accounted for according to Row's inventory. In addition, some of his papers can also be found at the Billy Rose Theatre Collection in New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Arthur William Row was a professional actor, writer, and producer with a lengthy career in the theater, and associations with many legendary performers of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in Montreal, Canada on June 12, 1878 and moved with his family to Boston in 1893. Row attended Tufts College in Massachusetts from 1897 to 1901, majoring in English, with the intention of becoming a writer. During college, he decided instead to become an actor, and applied to Boston's Castle Square Theatre Stock Company. Row achieved his first role in a major production in 1899 in Minnie Maddern Fiske's Becky Sharp. From that point he was continually involved with the theatre, acting with the Barrymores, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Otis Skinner, and in more modern productions like Orson Welles' 1937 production of Julius Caesar, and A Streetcar Named Desire with Uta Hagen. In 1919, Row helped found the Afternoon Theatre and produced several plays, most notably Aglavaine and Selysette starring Eva Le Gallienne. Arthur Row's association with Sarah Bernhardt began in 1913 when he wrote an article on her for The New Age. Bernhardt liked the piece, and invited Row to meet her. Three years later, Bernhardt's manager William F. Connor asked Row to be the press representative for Madame Sarah's 1916-17 'Farewell' American tour. He published a great many articles on her, and continued to do so after the tour was finished. He wrote a series called 'Memories of Sarah Bernhardt' for The Younger Set magazine, and in the late 1940s wrote a book entitled Sarah The Divine. Arthur Row died in 1961.

Actor and author, Row played mainly supporting roles during a fifty year career in the theater and then wrote his reminiscences of the more famous actors with whom he appeared.

He was the publicist for Sarah Bernhardt's 1916 American tour and ultimately published a biography of her, SARAH THE DIVINE. He was also a founder and director of The Afternoon Theatre.

Born on June 12, 1878 in Montreal, Canada, actor and author Arthur William Row moved with his family to Boston, Massachusetts in 1893. He entered Tufts College as a special student in 1897, started writing dramatic criticism for Boston area newspapers, and began his acting career as an extra with Richard Mansfield in The Devil's Disciple before joining the Castle Square Theatre stock company in 1898. The following year, Row appeared in New York in Becky Sharp with Mrs. Fiske, Maurice Barrymore and Tyrone Power, Sr. Over the course of a long career, Row also appeared with Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, John Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore, Sir Henry Irving, Otis Skinner, Marie Dressler and Jane Cowl, among others.

As well as acting, Row wrote on theatrical and other subjects for various magazines including Harper's, Bellman Magazine and Poet Lore . He was the press representative for Sarah Bernhardt's 1916 American tour and published a serial about her which he later turned into a book, Sarah The Divine . In 1919 he was a founder and director of the Afternoon Theatre where he produced Maurice Maeterlinck's Aglavaine and Selysette with Eva Le Gallienne and Clare Eames, Moliere's The School for Scandal and Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan . The Afternoon Theatre was a cooperative venture that sought to expand opportunities for actors, playwrights and audiences to try new roles by producing seldom seen plays on afternoons without regularly scheduled matinees.

While Row's death date is uncertain, his pen seems to stop in the summer of 1961, shortly after his 83rd birthday.