 Historian Benjamin Platt Thomas wrote that Booth " won celebrity with theater @-@ goers by his romantic personal attraction " , but that he was " too impatient for hard study " , and his " brilliant talents had failed of full development . Author Gene Smith wrote that Booth 's acting may not have been as precise as his brother Edwin 's , but his strikingly handsome appearance enthralled women . As the 1850s drew to a close , Booth was becoming wealthy as an actor , earning $ 20 @,@ 000 a year ( equivalent to about $ 527 @,@ 000 today ) . 
