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All the World's a Stage All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. As You Like It, 2.7 John Wilkes Booth was born to fame. His father's acclaim as the country's most famous tragedian covered the family like a shower of sparkling meteors . His mother was a beautiful woman who was devoted to her children. Johnny, next to the youngest of six surviving children, was clearly the favorite . Both parents lavished affection on the young boy, encouraging "selfexpression " and bravado. The other siblings showed little jealousy and shared their parents' love of their gregarious younger brother.' Of the four boys who survived to manhood, three, Junius, Edwin, and John, would become successfulthespians. The youngest boy,Joseph, would become a doctor. Asia, one of two surviving girls, would acquire her father's deep love for literature and show a talent for writing. Only Rosalie, the oldest daughter, would withdraw from the Booth fame and display a "neurotic moodiness" for much of her life.? John's view of life was filled with passion. It was a passion that was inborn, a product of his heritage nurtured by his father's libertarian views. The family ancestry shared many behavioral traits that led others to believe a touch of madness wound its way through the family. Junius Brutus Sr., progenitor of the American clan and John's famous father, was infamous for his erratic behavior. His recognition as a great tragedian, however, caused his peers to overlook his many aberrant acts. A spasmodic alcoholic, the elder Booth alternated between bouts of drunkenness and brilliance as he performed his way across the American stage. To his audiences he was a genius, and stories of his fits of crazy behavior only delighted them more.' While a youth in England, Junius had played the role of Don Juan opposite several paramours in his private life. At least two of these dalliances 28 Blood on the iWoon resulted in pregnancies, costing his barrister father both money and pleadings before the English bar of justice. Junius's lothario traits were passed on to young Wilkes, whose romantic affairs are thought to have surpassed even his father's. But unlike his father, who left bastard children in his wake,John Wilkes Booth was considerably more careful-or lucky-as far as history can determine.Although several spurious claims of Booth's leaving offspring appear in the literature, none of them are supported by fact. When John Wilkes Booth died at the Garrett farm in 1865 he left several women to mourn him, but no sons or daughter^.^ Junius's father, kchard, was somewhat of a disciplinarian with his son. He bore a past of his own that was not without trouble. At the age of twenty he had fled England for France, where he attempted to secure an enlistment in George Washington's rebel army and thereby free passage to America. Soliciting the aid of John Wilkes, England's famous agitator in the cause of American independence, kchard was rewarded for his efforts by being placed under arrest and returned to England and the care of his father.' Although Wilkes supported the Americans, he thought the boy was too young and too reckless to run off and fight in their revolution and notified the authorities of young kchard's whereabouts. kchard retained his admiration for America and Washington. In later years he achieved a mild notoriety by requiring his guests to bow before a portrait of GeorgeWashington that adorned his home in England.6Many years later,Junius Sr. was remembered for holding burials for insects on the family farm in Be1 Air.: Such peculiar traits seemed to run in the Booth family. Junius Brutus Booth was born in London in 1796, the middle of three children. He made his professional theater debut in 1813at the age of seventeen , which was also the age at which he first impregnated a woman. Following a failed attempt to escapehis responsibilities by fleeing to America,Junius and his father appeared in court where the elder Booth pleaded a settlement with the pregnant paramour. Following his reprieve, Junius continued his thespian pursuits on the English stage and soon rose to prominence. Within a few short yearsJunius was recognized as one of England's up-and-coming young tragedians. It was during this period that...

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