Edward Franklin Albee II
| Edward Franklin Albee | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | October 8, 1857 Machias, Maine |
| Died | March 11, 1930 (aged 72) Palm Beach, Florida |
| Known for | Vaudeville |
| Spouse | Lauretta Frances Smith |
| Children | ? Albee (?-1916) Edward Albee (1883-1883) Reed A. Albee (1886–1961) Ethel Keith Albee (1890-?) |
| Parents | Nathaniel Smith Albee Amanda Higgins Crocker |
| Relatives | Edward Franklin Albee III, adoptive grandson |
Edward Franklin Albee II (October 8, 1857 – March 11, 1930) was a vaudeville impresario, and the adoptive grandfather of Edward Franklin Albee III, the playwright.
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[edit] Biography
He was born on October 8, 1857 in Machias, Maine to Nathaniel Smith Albee.[1]
He toured with P. T. Barnum as a ticket collector, then in 1885 he partnered with Benjamin Franklin Keith in operating the Boston Bijou Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.[2]
In 1885 Reed married Lora S., and he had the following children: Reed A. Albee (1886–1961); and Ethel Albee (1890-?). With the success of their business, it grew into the Keith-Albee theatre circuit of vaudeville theatres. Albee gradually took managerial control of Keith's theatrical circuit. They were the first to introduce moving pictures in the United States.[1]
Albee was president of the United Bookings Office from its formation in 1900 or 1906. Albee had most of the major vaudeville circuits give him control of their theatrical bookings where he charged acts a 5% commission.
When performers tried to form a union, he set up National Vaudeville Artists and made membership in it a requirement for booking through his company. His partner Keith died in Palm Beach, Florida in 1914.[3]
He formed the Keith-Albee-Orpheum on January 28, 1928 with Joseph P. Kennedy. Radio Corporation of America bought his company and formed RKO Pictures and turned the Orpheum vaudeville circuit into a chain of movie theaters.[2]
Albee died on March 11, 1930 at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida.[1][2]
[edit] Anecdotes
The United Bookings Office had such an all-powerful control on vaudevillians' careers that Groucho Marx referred to it as "Albee's personal Gestapo".
When a friend asked comedian Joe Frisco to explain all the street construction that was going on around them, Frisco replied, "Albee's kid lost his ball, so they're tearing up the street to find it."
[edit] See also
- 1900 US census with Albees in Manhattan
- USS Beaumere II (SP-444)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "E. F. Albee Dies At Palm Beach. Retired Head of B.F. Keith Vaudeville Circuit Heart Disease Victim. Controlled 700 Theatres. 15,000 Performers Under Management of His Company, Largest in the World. Called a Great Organizer. A Native of Maine. Introduced the "Mikado." First Theatre in Boston. The Big Vaudeville Merger". New York Times. March 12, 1930. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60E11F63B5D157A93C0A81788D85F448385F9. Retrieved 2011-04-14. "Edward F. Albee, who became associated with the late B.F. Keith in the vaudeville business forty-five years ago, died here suddenly tonight in his room at the Breakers Hotel from ..."
- ^ a b c "Died". Time magazine. March 24, 1930. "Edward Franklin Albee, 73, Manhattan theatrical manager; at Palm Beach; of angina pectoris. As a boy he ran away from his native Machias, Maine, to join a wagon show. Working for the late, great Phineas Taylor ("P. T.") Barnum. he met Benjamin Franklin Keith. Together they built theatres, organized a vaudeville circuit which ultimately became $67.000,000 Keith-Albee-Orpheum, bought by Radio Corp. two years ago."
- ^ "B.F. Keith Dies at Palm Beach. Vaudeville Manager Stricken on 25th Anniversary of Opening of His Boston Theatre". New York Times. March 26, 1914. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/Kieth_obit.gif. Retrieved 2008-04-05. "On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the opening of his Boston house, which was being celebrated today in that city, B.F. Keith, owner of the theatre circuit bearing his name, dropped dead at midnight tonight in the Breakers Hotel, where he was stopping with his wife and Paul Keith, his son. ..."
