How did Sarah Bernhardt injure her right leg? - Answers

She fell off an overhead platform during a play rehearsal. one wonders out loud whether the popular ( and a bit negative to me, like Beat the Mets!) phrase (Break a Leg) meaning, perversely, good luck- as a theatrical toast, began. this happened in about l9l4. She did have the leg amputated. Still active- mainly in sit down roles she continued to perform even in close proximity to the war fronts- this being Paris in WWl.Sarah was, of course , confined to sit-down roles after the leg job. what a pity Television quiz shows did not exist at the time? There were some handicapped perfomers on such shows, which maintained a waist-up or (talking heads) viewing angle.