Tony Pastor (April 26, 1833-August 26, 1908) was known as the Father of Vaudeville for his contributions as a performer and manager of variety entertainment. Pastor began his career as a circus clown, later shifting to comic singer on stage, and finally to manager and entrepreneur. As an entertainer, Pastor was known for his large…Continue Reading Tony Pastor: The Clean Vaudeville Entrepreneur by Victoria Moses
Topic: History of Vaudeville
White Rats: A Vaudeville Revolt by Frank Cullen
By the 1890s the vaudeville world was composed of empires and smaller fiefdoms in which performers were pawn in the moguls’ fight to monopolize and the independent’s struggle to survive. The United Booking Office, the booking arm of the huge Keith-Albee (later Keith-Albee-Orpheum chain) determined if, where, when and for how much a vaudeville act…Continue Reading White Rats: A Vaudeville Revolt by Frank Cullen
Edward Albee: Controversial Father of Vaudeville by Anna Jennings
Edward Franklin Albee II was born in Machias, Maine on October 8th, 1857 to Nathan and Amanda Albee (“Deaths”). In his youth, he attended primary school in Boston, Massachusetts, where he later sold newspapers and worked as a delivery boy for a department store (“E.F. Albee”). His first exposure to show business came with an…Continue Reading Edward Albee: Controversial Father of Vaudeville by Anna Jennings
B. F. Keith: Controversial Vaudeville Entrepreneur by Christopher B. Vasquez-Wright
Benjamin Franklin Keith (B. F. Keith) was a vaudeville entrepreneur and known as the father of the “bigtime” entertainment. B.F. Keith was born in January 26, 1846 in Hillsborough Bridge, New Hampshire. He died in March 26, 1914, at The Breakers, Palm Beach Florida. Mr. Keith is best known for gentrifying vaudeville entertainment, from preceding…Continue Reading B. F. Keith: Controversial Vaudeville Entrepreneur by Christopher B. Vasquez-Wright