|
A devastating fire at the Empire Palace Theatre on 9th May 1911 claimed the
lives of 10 people, including the man responsible for setting fire to the sets,
the principal act, Sigmund Neuberger, known as 'The Great Lafayette'. His
illusionist's act, entitled 'The Lion's Bride', used a live lion in a cage, from
which a young lady would be rescued. The lion would be replaced at the last
moment by Neuberger.
During that night's act, a torch set light to the scenery and the cast and
some of the orchestra were trapped behind the fire curtain. Those who died
included Neuberger and his body double, members of the orchestra, stage hands, a
midget in the act called Little Joe, and Alice Dale, a tiny 15-year-old girl who
operated a mechanical teddy-bear.
This newsreel item shows Neuberger's elaborate funeral, on May 14 1911. He
was buried in Piershill cemetery, Edinburgh, beside his beloved and apparently
hideously over-indulged dog, Beauty. The dog was a gift from the escape artist
Harry Houdini and had died from overeating in April. The distraught Neuberger
had Beauty interred in a tomb at Piershill, which was permitted by the
authorities only on the understanding that Neuberger too would be interred there
in due course. The bargain was honoured much sooner than anyone was
expecting.
Bryony Dixon
|
Complete film (1:12)
