Spillman Riggs, humorous lecturer and musical impersonator

              Spillman Riggs
Humorous Lecturer and Musical Impersonator
SUBJECT   of LECTURES
1. Musical Fits and Misfits.    2. The Humorous Side of Life. 3. Heads (Yours and Mine.) Nashville ( Tenn. ) Ttanner
In word painting Mr. Riggs is an artist."
Dayton ( O. )
News
44 4 An Artiste Favorite' in the realm of delightful en¬tertainment." 
CENTRAL LYCEUM BUREAU
IOI   Market   Street,   HARRISBURG, PA. JNO.  S. ARNOLD, Manager.
WE are pleased to announce to our patrons that we have added to our list of Star At¬tractions the name of SPILL-MAN RIGGS* We desire to commend to our patrons the work of Mr* Riggs as being unique in that it presents so many charming phases of entertainment* It will be noticed that the subjects of his lectures indicate a humorous character* However* they are not exclusively such* but they bestow marked emphasis upon many im¬portant but neglected truths belonging to the avenues of every-day life*
His peculiar ability as a MUSICAL IMPERSONATOR furnishes opportuni¬ties of introducing other varieties of talent that are as rare in the possessor as they are enjoyable to the hearers* The whole effect of the evening's work is to impress the hearers with wholesome and hope-inspiring conceptions of life*
The Bureau that has for years past managed Mr* Riggs' lecture and entertain¬ment business speaks of him as follows J 44 No man for whom we have made dates during the past year has received a larger percentage of recalls—and in many cases the committee has insisted on having a return date the same season*" The 44 Come Again" testimony is the most con¬vincing evidence* and on the strength of this argument we cheerfully and confi¬dently indorse Mr* Riggs*
THE AMERICAN LYCEUM UNION.
" Sn many respects Sfir. Sliggs is a per~ feet platform speaker/9
—Cincinnati Commercial Tribune.
Life’s Motto:
Speed on thy way,
Dior stay do note the critic's frown,— Jo heed the flatterer's smile; Sjut if in some sad heart Jhou canst smite sorrow down, Uhen tarry there awhile.
—S. 51.
A few “Return Date” Echoes
Spillman Riggs gave last night a most delightful lecture on '' The Funny Side of Life." His audience gave often an evidence of appreciation in hearty applause. His return to this city was his second appearance here this season and, as before, he leaves a train of happy memories, awakened by brightness reflecting from his views on '' The Funny Side of Life." The charm of melody mingled with his merriment, as given in a number of songs and whistling solos.—Dayton (O.) News.
A large audience greeted Spill-man Riggs at the Opera House last night on the occasion of his '' return date" here. His subject was " The Funny Side of Life," and he handled it in such a forcible style that every¬one present was both pleased and benefitted. After his lecture he ren¬dered a program which was fine.— Union town (Pa.) Daily Sta7idard.
Riggs is a whole orchestra.     His lecture  bubbles   over  with   humor. He  has been   here   three   times. Geneva ((9.) Free Press.
Condensations of Commendations of Spillman Stiggs
He seemed inexhaustible in his power to please.—Mu?icie (Lid.) Herald.
The best entertainment given here in two years.—Columbus (Lid.) Herald.
If I had tongues enough to speak for all who heard him here I could perhaps tell how well Mr. Riggs pleased our people. — H. S. ANDERSON, Sect'y Y. M. C. A., Greenville, Texas.
Mr. Riggs made his second appearance in Toledo last night. His lecture and entertain¬ment pleased everybody. He was greeted by a packed house.—Toledo, (O.) Commercial.
Spillman Riggs entertained a large audience at the Auditorium. His brief lecture, followed by his impersonations and unique musical num¬bers, proved him to be a very versatile man, and captivated the people. — Northampto7i {Mass.) Herald.
We consider H. Spillman Riggs one of the best entertainers we have ever had in Cynthiana, Ky., and we have had the best the land affords. We would not hesitate to recommend him any¬where.— M. G. LAND, Manager Cynthiana, Ky., Lyceum.
Riggs has few equals on the American plat¬form.—H. S. LEHR, Pres. Ohio Normal Univer¬sity.
As a humorist Mr. Riggs is all right and as a solo whistler he is above par.—Uniontown (Pa.) Press.
I have enjoyed no entertainment more than the one given by Mr. Spillman Riggs. His mis¬sion upon the platform is a grand one, elevating, as he does, our thoughts and aspirations while we laugh.—REV. JOS. STOCKTON RODDY, Pastor Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg, Pa.
Spillman Riggs held the close attention of his large audience in the delivery of his famous lec¬ture, * 'Musical Fits and Misfits," which was fol¬lowed by a postlude program of singing, imper¬sonating and solo whistling. No entertainment in Gladwin ever gave more general satisfaction. —Gladwin (Mich.) Record.
Unlike not a few platform orators, Spillman Riggs proved himself all that is claimed for him, and surpassed our highest expectations. He speaks with the elegance of a well graced actor. —Ligonier (hid.) Leader.
Of all the attractions on our Assembly program this year, Mr. Riggs is the only one who will be asked to return next season.—WELLINGTON VAN-DIVER, Supt. of Alabama Chautauqua at Talladega, Ala.
We had Mr. Spillman Riggs here recently and want him again next month if we can get him.—REV. H. O. BREE-DEN, Pastor Central Christian Church, Des Moines, la.
Spillman Riggs is a delight¬ful entertainer. His voice, even in speaking, is music to the ear of the listener; so sweet, clear and distinct in enunciation it is, and when applied to the elegant phras¬ing and poetical imagery of his lecture the effect is pleas¬ing in the extreme. A fine vein of humor runs through his lecture, and the illustra¬tive stories call forth loud bursts of merriment and ap¬plause. — Canojisburg (Pa.) Daily Notes.
2)on't J2et  ^/our Song 3>ie 3)own.
No matter how the winds may blow,
Or how life's storms may rage; No matter how affairs may go,
In youth or life's old age; If this advice you all will heed,
Your sorrows you can drown:— When you are sad or in sore need,
Don't Let Your Song Die Down.
Behind the clouds the sun still shines,
Tho' dark the day may seem; A silver sheet the cloud-rift lines,
And all may see the gleam— If this advice you'll closely heed;
E'en tho' the whole world frown, No matter how your heart may bleed,
Don't Let Your Song Die Down.
What if the tune be sad and low,
Or bright and glad and gay ? What if the tune be quick or slow,
If it drive dull care away ? Take this advice, you'll find it worth
More than a kingly crown— More than half of all the earth,
Don't Let Your Song Die Down.
Spillman Riggs.
He gilds the moments with the tinges of sunshine and makes the air redolent with ripples of laughter.—Alexan¬der (Lid.) Daily Record.
Spillman Riggs causes sun¬shine to take the place of clouds, and makes laughter take the place of tears.—The late GOVERNOR IRA J. CHASE, of Indiana.
It is a pleasure to recom¬mend such a man as Mr. Riggs. He so delighted our people that we hope soon to have him here again.—REV. C. M. OUPHANT, Wheeling, W. Va.
Two of the most pleasing features of the entertainment at Y. M. C. A. Hall last even¬ing were the impersonations and whistling solos by Mr. Spillman Riggs. — Cleveland (O.) Plain Dealer.
His entertainment has that fascination that charms.—Ft. Wayne (Ind.) Journal.
Condensations of Commendations of Spillman Sliggs
No Piqua audience was ever more highly delighted than was the one that heard Spill-man Riggs last evening. There are few men on the American platform who can do so many things with such uniform grace and success and furnish so great a variety of entertainment.—Piqua (O.) Daily Herald.
H. Spillman Riggs' talents are varied. He is a splendid speaker, tells a story charm¬ingly, sings well, and does a professional whistling turn. In fact he is an all-round entertainer such as is seldom seen in Birm¬ingham. He is an artist of the most refined type and the audience applauded him al¬most continuously. — Birmingham (Ala.) Age-Herald.
Mr. Riggs is an entertainer with a per¬sonality which wins its way into the hearts of his hearers from the moment he greets them. He is gifted beyond the ordinary humorist in that he possesses a pleasing voice and sings more than commonly well. He whistles exquisitely, with notes of liquid melody that rival the woodland songsters in rich swreetness. With facile ease he turned from speech to song and then to whistling, in a way that charmed his listen¬ers.—Philipsburg (Pa.) Ledger.
A large audience greeted Spillman Riggs at the Fifth Presbyterian church last night. Mr. Riggs took as his theme "Musical Fits and Misfits," and made it the instrument on which he seemed to touch with equal ease all the keys and stops of pathos and humor. In many respects Mr. Riggs is a perfect platform speaker, for he has pres¬ence, voice, versatility of treatment and grace of gesture that only the masters of oratory possess. He treated his subject in an original and unexpected way that held the close attention of all to the end, and he was frequently interrupted by applause.— Cincinnati Commercial Tribune.
The splendid audience that greeted Spill¬man Riggs last evening was so delightfully entertained that the frequent encores result¬ed in stretching the program over two hours. In word painting Mr. Riggs is an artist. He is a student of human nature, a close observer, a splendid imitator and gifted with the power to entertain. As the evening grew older he and his audience came stead¬ily closer together, and had he consented, the delighted audience would have held him indefinitely. When he gave his whistling solos the audience simply could not be re¬strained.—Nashville (Ten?i.) Banner.
Spillman Riggs' lecture was singularly unique in every respect, refined and humor¬ous, and kept his audience almost continu-' ously laughing.    He surpassed all expecta-i tions, and it was the unanimous expression | that he was one of the very best entertain¬ers that ever appeared before a Sodus audi¬ence.    After his lecture he turned himself into almost a whole orchestra.    His whist¬ling solos and singing were very pleasing. —Sodus (1ST.  Y.) Alliance.
Mr. Riggs won his way into the hearts of his hearers at the very start, and the charm lingered throughout the entire pro-] gram, which gave evidence of his great versatility of talent. The delivery of his original poems was exquisite, the delinea¬tion of characters captivating, and the power of his genial personality seemed tol breathe with the spirit of rich humor and wit in the rendition of his "Musical Fits and Misfits." Mr. Riggs sustained the reputation made for himself in other cities and he will always be welcomed here as "An Artist Favorite" in the realm of de¬lightful entertainment. — Dayton (0.) Journal.
Riggs was excellent. His lecture last evening, on "Musical Fits and Misfits,'] was easily the "Banner" attraction on our Y. M. C. A. course this season. The lec¬ture covered a field never worked before and its arable condition found in Mr. Riggs one who has developed it to its full worth. As a word painter we have not heard his equal, and the lessons conveyed are bound to work out material good. It was an hour of solid sense and an hour of mirth, two hours as pleasantly and profitably spent as one could wish for.—Mt. Carmel (Pa. )Even-ing Star.
It has been my good fortune to hear many of the best lecturers in the United States, and I do not hesitate to affirm that as a keen, wide-awake, observing entertainer Spillman Riggs has few equals upon the platform. The lessons which he teaches, if heeded and practiced, cannot but make the world brighter and better. With that sharp introspective glance, characteristic of the man of brain, he descerns the corruption beneath the veneer and has the courage t uncover it to the world. But so kindly does he perform his task that not even the most sensitive can take offense.—PROF. W. k-WKNNKR, Fredericksburg, O.