Books Reveal More of McCabe's Story of Acting
By Karen Gould

Dr. John McCabe

For nearly a week in mid- November, John Bell and Linnard McCabe sat on the floor and sorted through thousands of show business and theater books. Their mission was to determine which books would remain in the family, which would be made available to interested Mackinac Island residents, and which would be donated to Wayne State University Library. They had been collected and read by the late John McCabe, an actor, William Shakespeare authority, and noted biographer of motion picture legends.

The volumes filled two rooms of the McCabes' British Landing home on Mackinac Island, where his widow, Karen, continues to live.

"It's quite a large library of books," said Mrs. Mc- Cabe, who appreciates the help she got from Dr. Mc- Cabe's son and nephew. "They were so close to Jack all of their lives," she said.

Dr. McCabe, who died in 2005, taught acting at Wayne State University, where many of the books will be sent to be used by theater students and future Shakespearean scholars. He also earned a master's degree in theater from Fordham University, and from the Shakespeare Institute at Stratfordupon Avon, England, he received a Ph.D. in English literature. He wrote a column on his life in theater for the Town Crier and lectured on Shakespeare at Grand Hotel for many summers.

While sorting through books in the late John McCabe's library at his British Landing home on Mackinac Island, his nephew, John Bell, (left) and his son, Linnard McCabe, found a letter from actor John Gielgud to Dr. McCabe tucked in the front of the book, "Stage Directions," by Sir Gielgud. (Photograph by Karen McCabe)

The book sorting was not without its surprises. Neatly slipped inside the cover of a book of memoirs written by Sir John Gielgud, entitled "Stage Directions," was a handwritten letter from the author to Dr. McCabe.

"My dad had a habit of putting letters inside book jackets," said Mr. McCabe, who lived on the Island in the 1960s and now is a banker living in Brooklyn, New York. "These are the kind of things I'm coming across in books as I open them up."

Sir Gielgud was an Academy Award winner, a famous British stage actor best remembered for his Shakespearean work. Speaking of him, Dr. McCabe told the Town Crier in 2005 that he was arguably the greatest Shakespearean actor of the later 20th century.

Sir Gielgud's letter was in response to correspondence he had received from Dr. McCabe.

"How extremely kind and thoughtful of you to send me a letter..." Sir Gielgud's note begins. He was in New York preparing for the opening of a play and invited Dr. McCabe to meet him there after the play opened.

The two men did meet over tea, Dr. McCabe told the Town Crier two years ago. At the meeting, Dr. McCabe asked Sir Gielgud to name his favorite Shakespearean line, to which Sir Gielgud responded with the four words spoken by Hamlet in Act 5, Scene II: "The readiness is all."

Sorting through Dr. McCabe's library of "several thousand floor-to-ceiling" books has confirmed to Mr. McCabe that his father was an avid reader and writer. He has found copies of book reviews written by Dr. McCabe inside some books. The reviews, he said, were written for the Detroit News.

"Most every book tells me a little about his interest," said Mr. McCabe's cousin, John Bell, a writer of non-fiction with an interest in military history. He lives in Owl's Head, Maine.

His uncle, he said, corrected typographical errors in books and wrote in the margins if he agreed with the author.

If he disagreed with the writer, he would include a rebuttal in the book's margin.

"He would always be talking back to the author of the book," said Mr. Bell.

In his correspondence, said Mr.. Bell of his uncle, he would tell authors things they may not know.

Dr. McCabe's collection covers a variety of subjects relating to the theater and Shakespeare, including examining the architecture of London's Blackfriars Theatre in the 1600s.

"He went deep into Shakespeare," said Mr. Bell. "He mastered the subject."

A separate section of his home library is devoted to actor James Cagney. In 1976, Dr. McCabe ghostwrote "Cagney by Cagney" and in 1997 he wrote the biography, "Cagney."

"Later in Cagney's life," said Mr. McCabe, "he considered my father a friend, and they corresponded regularly."

Dr. McCabe also wrote other biographies, including those on Laurel and Hardy, Charles Chaplin, and George M. Cohan.

Among the books in Dr. Mc- Cabe's collection are show business biographies, including well known personalities George Bernard Shaw and Noel Coward.

"Every show business biography passed through my father's hands," he said. "He was an avid reader."

Mr. McCabe returns to the Island as often as he can. Paging through the volumes has given him insight into his father and brought back memories.

"There is a lot of my father here," he said. "There is a presence. I look behind me and I almost expect to see him in the next room.

"He always spoke of his beloved Mackinac Island," he added.

The family is keeping all of Dr. McCabe's letters, while donating many of his books.

"We have a number of books," said Mr. McCabe, "that need to find new homes. It would be nice to have them appreciated by a new set of eyes."

Those interested in adding one of Dr. McCabe's books to their library may call Mrs. McCabe at (906) 847-3282 to set up a time to stop by the house.

"I hope people will get a book that will mean a lot to them," she said.