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A. Paul Keith

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A. Paul Keith
Born
Andrew Paul Keith

(1875-01-03)January 3, 1875[1]
DiedOctober 30, 1918(1918-10-30) (aged 43)
New York, New York, U.S.
Alma mater
OccupationTheater owner

Andrew Paul Keith (January 3, 1875 – October 30, 1918) was an American vaudeville theater owner who took over the B. F. Keith Circuit following the death of his father, Benjamin Franklin Keith.

Biography

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Keith began working in the theater at a young age and in 1893 was put in charge of bookings for Keith's Theatre, which opened the following year.[2] He graduated from Harvard College in 1901.[1]

By 1905, he was the assistant general manager of the Keith chain. When he turned 30, his father gifted him the Bijou Theatre in Philadelphia.[3] In 1906, B. F. Keith combined his New York and New Jersey assets with those of F. F. Proctor to create the Keith and Proctor Amusement Company.[4] A. Paul Keith served as treasurer of Keith & Proctor until the partnership was dissolved in 1911.[5] In 1907, Keith became secretary–treasurer of the United Booking Office of America, which was a partnership between Keith & Proctor and Percy G. Williams and Oscar Hammerstein.[6] In 1908, Keith served as acting general manager of the United Booking Office while E. F. Albee recovered from injuries suffered in an automobile accident.[7]

Prior to his father's death in 1914, Keith and Edward F. Albee acquired control of the Keith circuit's 29 theaters.[8][9] The pair also owned a chain of movie theaters.[10]

In 1915, Keith was elected president of the Boston Athletic Association.[1]

On October 25, 1918, Keith came down with the Spanish flu. He died on October 30, 1918, at the home of a business associate.[11] He left an estate worth $3.8 million.($78,410,000 in 2023 dollars),[12][13] A lifelong bachelor, his business holdings were inherited by Albee and other business partners, while his personal assets were given to Cardinal William Henry O'Connell and Harvard College.[14] O'Connell used the money to create the Keith Academy and Keith Hall in Lowell, Massachusetts.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "A. Paul Keith Heads the B. A. A." Boston Evening Transcript. April 28, 1915. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Keith's New Theater". The Boston Globe. March 25, 1894.
  3. ^ "Father To Son". The Evening Telegraph. January 4, 1905. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Keith and Proctor Come Together". Newark Sunday Call. May 13, 1906. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Keith-Proctor Co. To Be Dissolved". The New York Times. July 28, 1911.
  6. ^ "No Details Known Here". Boston Evening Transcript. February 13, 1907. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Keith Goes to Take Albee's Place". The Boston Globe. November 17, 1908.
  8. ^ "In Charge of 29 Houses". The Boston Globe. April 1, 1914.
  9. ^ "Keith Interest Go To His Son". The Evening News. April 1, 1914. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Movies Don't Interfere". The Montreal Gazette. March 24, 1913. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  11. ^ "A. Paul Keith Dies In New York". The Boston Globe. October 31, 1918.
  12. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  13. ^ "A. Paul Keith Left $3,870,756 Estate". The Boston Globe. July 22, 1919.
  14. ^ "Friends Share Bulk of A. Paul Keith Estate". The Boston Globe. November 1, 1918.
  15. ^ "Lowell Catholic - Keith". Retrieved 2019-12-31.