“Took Morphine for the Fun of It!”

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 822, 16 November 1929, Page 18

“Took Morphine for the Fun of It!”

T ragic Story of Stage Favourite who Suffered for Moment of Folly . . . Attack on Understudy with Dagger

t' -r »- i,g o.Lr.d 01 ' of trance, ■ KlriM and i‘ l of th■ ' 'io<i has lost her reason r- the result or ocrr-ad,fiction to drujs, r d ha- remorrel to no liylim I In ' ■ “Wo U rn (ortal !ktS' quickly deterioration sets f' —• •— J m once the victim be- < m< s a davo to the drug habit. Ten yours asi» the many friends who 1- M l’i.i Or.'k.t and welcomed her on her occasional visits to Paris v mid have laughed at the idea that phe was likely to end her brilliant i .m■■■!• a the resuit of becoming such a slave to the drug habit that her tea.-on re led. But as the result of a t li.nice \ ir. to one of the luxury dens i Paris this brilliant woman was introduced to take a “shot” of morphine, and In a little while she was p u li a confirmed addict that she could not appear on the stage without tile primulas of the drug. It was during a Paris holiday of ► bout seven years ago that she was i risen to this particular den. which I 1 become a craze with a section of tin Smart Set. and in the course of i the evening she was prevailed to t v morphine. "Just for the fun of I to see what it is like," was the | !cu of the tempter, in this case one » the most active agents in Paris. "Inspiration" Maria Orska fell into the trap, and from that day she became one of the •>•" -1 customers of the “Octopus," as Ihe international drug supply agency "kras then called. At first she took mild doses, but Ihe inevitable craving for larger ones game, and finally her daily doses were |t£ such strength that they sent her Into a frenzy resembling an epileptic 1 ’hysically. she was at one time one p( the healthiest of women, and her rnergy seemed boundless. She went the stage bright and fresh, and pould keep going through an exhausting emotional part without the slightest sign of strain.

ceived new "inspiration” frojn the morphine needle pressed i-ito her arm as though it were just part of the play. For those who saw the thing and realised its significat.ce this was a terrible experience. The great actress appeared to be playing her part with all her old brilliance, but suddenly in the middle of a moving scene she would stop and gaze about her stupidly. Vainly she would try to recall the words while the audience sat in amazement. Suddenly, what had happened would be realised by the management, and one of the other actors on the stage would move toward the collapsed actress and give the necessary jabs with the needle always kept handy for these breakdowns.

In a second or so the features of the actress would take on their old animation, the words would come from her lips, and the play would proceed as though nothing had happened to arrest the brilliance of the star. But afterward in her dressing room the inevitable outcome of this enslavement by drugs would be seen when the brilliant actress would cok lapse in a heap on the floor and lie there, foaming and writhing, until she was given another dose of the drug. Fits Of Madness The enormous doses necessary to stimulate had the inevitable effect of bringing on madness and undoubtedly the woman was at times a raving

In a little while, however. It became an impossibility for her to act Except ui der the stimulus or the drug, pud, latterly, there were distressing incidents when she broke down in the tne middle of her role and became Incapable of acting until she had re-

iuliumc wun no control over her actious and animated only by a fierce desire to do the maddest, things. Without any apparent motive she would rise in the middle uf a meal and attack someone at another table, usually a woman, for when the drug madness was at its height she seemed to lose her control altogether at the sight of any' woman who appeared to have health and beauty and t-o be attracting attention from men. Her jealousy' was demoniacal on -uch occasions aud she lias been known to walk to a table and empty a soup tureen on to the dress of some strange woman who had aroused her fury. Hotel Scenes And on the stage she was liable to these attacks of fury, and there was positive danger for the persons playing with her when the madness came to her. Probably the worst experience of all was during the run of one of her emotional pieces, when she had to toy with a dagger in a scene where she meditates suicide. To the horror of the management and the other actors she was seen to pick up the dagger and rush straight at a young actress who had incurred her rage because of being brought in as understudy in case the addict should collapse. The audience thought the incident had been added to strengthen the piece, and they stood spellbound when uniformed men dashed on to the stage in time to seize the upraised arm ready to plunge the dagger into the heart of the understudy, who had playiug a minor part that night. ■Hie actress addict became like one possessed, and liad to be placed under restraint by men summoned from an adjoining private asylum, while the understudy, who had been so near to death, was hurriedly dressed and sent back to the stage to resume the role of the leading lady. v

Later in hotels wherever she went on the Continent she became a positive nuisance, because of her liability to break out in the night, shrieking wildly and then attacking with anything that came to her hand the staff who came to insist on quietness from her room.

In one outburst of fury in a Paris hotel recently she did damage to the amount of some £3OO in tile suite of rooms she had occupied, hurling into the street through the window a beautiful crystal chandelier and smashing every article of furniture in the room.

She had reached the stage when she simply could not act except when under drugs, and it was pitiful to see what was once the most gifted actress in Vienna reduced to the level of a jibbering village idiot when she was left to her natural resources without the drug stimulus.