February: Famous Like Spock?

The aim of the book will be realized if it shall become a minister of help to many known and unknown patrons, to whom its compilers would say in the renowned classic of Jefferson, “May you live long and prosper.”

Read that in a cookbook published by an Iowa church in 1876. What’s with the Vulcan catchphrase? And who’s Jefferson?

Turns out, the well-wisher was not thinking of Mr. Spock at all — but rather a line made famous by the actor JOSEPH Jefferson (no relation to our third President AFAICT — though there was speculation). Several times during the stage performance of Irving’s Rip Van Winkle, the shiftless and ever-cheerful Rip raises his glass and toasts his fellows*

*To my knowledge, the original script no longer exists;
I’m relying instead on the one Jefferson himself published in 1895:
Rip Van Winkle, as Played by Joseph Jefferson
The Toast appears several times throughout the text and is the final line of the play–
“Here’s your good health, and your families,’ and may they all live long and prosper!”

Both Jefferson (Rip) and the phrase swept the nation

It’s difficult to retroactively understand the
overwhelming popularity of a SuperStar Celebrity not “of your own time.” (Imagine explaining Beatlemania or Pewdiepie a hundred years from now).

But Jefferson enjoyed a level of fame few achieve (then or now). In the late 1800s, when One said “Jefferson,” everybody knew you meant Jefferson the Actor.

Jefferson was so popular, he was selected (along with stars like Sarah Bernhardt, Jenny Lind, and Henry Irving) as one of only NINE “popular” actors of the 1900s for author/photographer Daniel Shepp’s book, Story of 100 Years (shown left)

He was so popular, journalist Howard Carroll included him as one of TWELVE Americans (the only actor) to showcase in his 1883 collection of Biographies. Carroll said that Jefferson “…must always be regarded as one of the greatest ornaments of the English-speaking stage.”

Jefferson’s family was included, second only to the Booths, in a 1906 treatment of “Famous Actor Families” by writer/editor Montrose Moses.

And decades after Jefferson’s death, he was one of SEVEN actors (among them Lawrence Barrett and Fanny Davenport) featured on Maps created by the Federal Theatre Project, a New Deal program aimed a putting unemployed actors to work.

In other words, Jefferson was pretty dang popular — and he owed it all to Rip van Winkle, the role he was born for. There had been other Rips before him, but Joseph was judged the best, leading Drama Critic William Winter to the near-blasphemous conclusion that the popularity and endurance of “Rip van Winkle” is due less to Irving’s sketch than to Jefferson’s characterization.

The phrase “live long and prosper” was enormously popular; appearing not just in Church Cookbooks, but in yearbooks, commemorative addresses, Wedding Announcements, and other communications well into the 1900s. What’s more, it was so intimately connected to Jefferson that it became Standard Dialogue any time the Actor was celebrated or otherwise honored. (He was also known to apply it liberally himself)

Joseph Jefferson was born in Philadelphia in Feb 1829, fourth generation in a family of actors. As a young man, he traveled the country and the world performing roles that included Asa Trenchard in Our American Cousin; Figaro in The Barber of Seville; Newman Noggs in Nicholas Nickleby; Caleb Plummer in The Cricket on the Hearth ; and Dr. Pangloss in The Heir at Law.

At age 36, with help from Irish playwright Dion Boucicault, Jefferson created the role that would define his career. Boucicault’s stage version of Rip Van Winkle –with Jefferson playing lead– opened in London in 1865 and ran 170 nights. In 1866, they brought the show home to America, where it enjoyed an even longer success: some 40 years! Joseph scarcely played another role, performing in New York and Baltimore, launching annual tours of Rip thru the states, and occasionally venturing back overseas.

What’s more, Jefferson lived to see the emergence of moving pictures, and, in his 60s, was able to immortalize his vision of Rip.

In 1896, Jefferson joined forces with William Dickson of Biograph Studies to tell Rip’s story on film. There are no “intertitles”; Jefferson simply pantomimed his part. Honestly, though, “Rip” was so celebrated, audiences probably didn’t need “help” from narration cards to follow the story. Besides some say you can read Joseph’s lips when he says “…may they live long and prosper.”

Jefferson’s foray into motion pictures proved successful. The shorts were quite popular and, aside from immortalizing Jefferson, helped ensure Biograph’s success in the industry.

Joseph Jefferson, third of that name, contracted pneumonia in 1905; he died at his home in Florida April 23.

And that’s the tale of a popular actor and his popular phrase, which was given New Life by a 1960s SciFi show. It’s certainly not impossible that somebody over at Team Star Trek grew up hearing a grandmother quoting Rip, or read it somewhere or other —Jefferson was, after all, fabulously famous and people were still quoting Rip’s Ubiquitous Toast as late as 1931, possibly later.
But who knows?

In any case, Spock, the more contemporary character, tends to get most of the credit for “live long and prosper” these days. But would it surprise you to know that the line may not be original to either character? That Jefferson (like Spock) popularized the line, but wasn’t the first to say it?

Deseret News calls attention to a scene from Romeo and Juliet: Near the end of the play, Romeo, learning that Juliet is dead (and armed with a vial of poison) travels to the Capulet Tomb accompanied by his servant Balthasar. Once there, Romeo sends B off with a letter to his father and the words, “Live and be prosperous: and farewell good fellow.” Act 5, Scene III; line 42

Jefferson had performed in several Shakespeare plays and was known to quote the Bard fluently. More significantly, he had played Paris, who is on stage from the beginning of Scene III and whose Big Moment occurs just after Balthasar exits.

IOW: Jefferson is sure to have heard Romeo’s line. Which means, of course, like I always say, Everything goes back to Shakespeare…

What to Do with this Story

Washington Irving, born 1783 in New York, published “Rip van Winkle” in 1819 as part of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon (a collection that also included “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”). Read it online here (copyrighted 1819) and here (1921 edition, illustrated by N C Wyeth)

Fun Fact: It seems Irving had seen both Joseph and his father on stage, an event later recorded in his nephew’s 1863 compilation The Life and Letters of Washington Irving and mentioned by Jefferson in his Autobiography

Jefferson may be all but forgotten today, but his life was pretty well documented in his own time – that’s just how popular he was. Contemporary bios include one from 1894, a later one published 1906 — and his own Autobiography (1890)

Jefferson’s father (also a Joseph) died of Yellow Fever in 1842. Research the disease and the 1842 Outbreak in the South

The Jefferson acting family did not end with Joseph. One of his sons, Thomas (1856-1932) also became an actor, focusing on the New & Exciting motion picture industry. Like Dad, Thomas played Rip on screen –once in 1914 and again in 1921. Compare these two interpretations with the Original from 1896

Speaking of early movies, IMDB says William Dickson (1860-1935) “… ranks as the most important person in motion picture history because he invented them.” Find out why

The Federal Theatre Project is associated with the careers of well-known stage people like Arthur Miller, Orson Welles, and John Houseman. Find out how

Finally, don’t forget to celebrate Live Long and Prosper Day, coming up on March 26 – Leonard Nimoy’s birthday!