I was NEVER in the Chorus!

There is a great deal of confusion on the internet, on eBay, at IBDB, and at various online stores, regarding actress Grace Kimball—or rather, actresses Grace Kimball—as there were actually three of them—a dramatic actress and two different chorus girls.

The original Grace Kimball, born in 1868, was a leading dramatic actress who had appeared with Charles Frohman's company in The Victoria Cross (1894), with E. H. Sothern in The Prisoner of Zenda (1895), and Heartsease with Henry Miller (1897). She had retired from the stage in 1898 after marrying Lawrence McGuire. But in 1902 she resumed her acting career, appearing in The Liars and Camille, among other plays.

Grace Kimball - Dramatic Actress

Grace Kimball, the chorus girl from The Wizard of Oz, was born in Chicago on March 23, 1882. Her real name was Grace Orpha Jones.

Grace Kimball as Gentleman of the Wizard's Court.

This Grace Kimball appeared in The Girl From Up There (1900) with Montgomery and Stone, followed by The Liberty Belles (1901), which also featured future Wizard of Oz cast members John Slavin and Lotta Faust. In 1901 she co-wrote the song "In a Cosey Corner" with John W. Bratton, which proved a hit.

Just prior to being cast in the 1902 Chicago production of The Wizard of Oz, Grace Kimball had been with Anna Held's The Little Duchess company, with fellow chorister Mabel Barrison. The two chorus girls were fired from the tour of The Little Duchess after taking up with two "Stage-Door Johnnies" and missing the train. Luckily, both Kimball and Barrison were soon hired for The Wizard of Oz in which Grace Kimball played Peter Boq the Munchkin, a Snow Girl, a member of the Phantom Patrol, a Gentleman of the Wizard's Court, and a Cavalier in Act III. Her friend, Mabel Barrison, created the part of Tryxie Tryfle.

On August 20, 1902, chorus girl Grace Kimball had an encounter with Grand Duke Boris Vladimorowitch (a cousin of the Czar), who had decided to sample The Wizard of Oz. The Grand Duke was so enraptured he invited three of the chorus girls—Grace Kimball, Georgia Barron, Clara Pitt—and the Witch of the North Aileen May—back to his hotel suite at the Auditorium Hotel. One of the four girls declared, "We can get an ordinary American Johnnie to pay for our little morsels of food three times in any day of the year, but how many times can we open oysters and things with a real duke? Tell me that."

Grace Kimball as a Snow Girl in The Wizard of Oz (1902).

The four girls and Duke Boris had a late supper at the Auditorium Dining Hall. The Grand Duke told the girls how charmed he was, bowed lowest before the blushing Miss Kimball, and asked if he might not drink her health from her slipper. She said yes, and the story appeared in papers across the country, where it was read by millions.

Unfortunately the various newspaper articles often confused chorus girl Grace Kimball with dramatic actress Grace Kimball. The latter was not amused to be linked to such a sordid romp with the Czar's cousin. She sent out a press release. Below is the publication in the Denver Post, August 31, 1902.

Request has been made for the publication of the following explanatory note, designed to set those right who may be puzzled in regard to two stage people who bear the same name. The request comes from the representative of an actress whose standing is unquestioned, and the statement is in these words:

"There are two Grace Kimballs in the theatrical realm, and one of them has been causing the other a vast amount of annoyance. One is a chorus girl, the other the well-known actress who was leading lady with Henry Miller, E. H. Sothern, and in Charles Frohman's Never Again company. The chorus girl in Chicago the other night is said to have filled her slipper with champagne, and Grand Duke Boris, a cousin of the czar, drank her health from the misfit goblet. It is perhaps unnecessary to call the attention of an indulgent public to the fact that this elegant international episode took place without the knowledge of the original Grace Kimball, who is naturally horrified to see her name in big type in the newspapers as apparently figuring in this rather peculiar incident. Miss Kimball the actress has been engaged as leading lady of the Fawcett stock company in Baltimore, and is not and never has been in the chorus."

Grace Kimball - Dramatic Actress.

The December 15, 1902, issue of the Rockford [Illinois] Republic was still covering the actress's consternation with the chorus girl.

"In the opinion of Grace Kimball there should be some law to prevent chorus girls from stealing the names of players who have become well known. Everyone remembers how annoyed Francis Wilson was when a chorus girl commenced to call herself "Frances Wilson." Then there was a girl named Maggie O'Brien who changed her name to Zaza Belasco. Also a chorus girl has recently been discovered here who calls herself Marie Cahill, after the prima donna of that name. Now Miss Kimball who won her reputation with E. H. Sothern and Henry Miller, is much annoyed because of a girl of the chorus who bears the same name, possibly with every justification, but nevertheless under annoying circumstances. This Grace Kimball is the young woman from whose silken slipper the Grand Duke Boris is said to have drunk champagne last August."

Shortly after the Duke Boris incident, the chorus girl Grace Kimball was given the part of Tryxie Tryfle in The Wizard of Oz after Mabel Barrison left the show. Grace Kimball again played Tryxie when The Wizard of Oz opened on Broadway in January 1903.

After her time in The Wizard of Oz, Grace Kimball appeared in Reginald De Koven's Red Feather (1903) where she met her future husband Walter Stanley Hawkins, who was also performing in the show. They were married in New York during the Broadway run of Red Feather. Kimball next appeared in Weber & Fields Higgledy-Piggledy for two seasons.

May 12, 1901, Boston Post.

I mentioned up top that there were in fact three Grace Kimballs. The third was another chorus girl who also got her name in the papers.

The article accompanying the photo at left explains Grace R. Kimball is a pretty actress from Lynn, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of a police officer and had sung with the First Baptist Church of Lynn before joining Anna Held's company of The French Maid (1897), and was later in The Sunshine of Paradise Alley company.

She is to marry an unspecified Washington millionaire and will take up residency "in one of the most attractive mansions of the capital city."

This Grace Kimball apparently didn't marry the fellow, but let him send her to Paris to study, as seen in the clipping below.

May 15, 1901, Portsmouth [New Hampshire] Herald.

And that is the story of the three Grace Kimballs. One of whom was never in the chorus!

Copyright © 2019 David Maxine. All rights reserved.

A Gibson Girl in Oz

On May 11, 1902, the Chicago Sunday Tribune announced that rehearsals for The Wizard of Oz would soon begin at the Grand Opera House, under the direction of Julian Mitchell. The management also mentioned “. . . with an air of mystery, that Charles Dana Gibson’s original model for the 'Widow' in his series of pictures entitled A Widow and Her Friends, has been engaged to make her stage debut in The Wizard of Oz.”

This gossipy tidbit would certainly have caught the eyes and imaginations of readers in 1902. Charles Dana Gibson (1867-1944) was at the height of his popularity as an artist. Gibson created the “Gibson Girl” in 1890 for Life magazine. In 1894 he began publishing luxurious coffee-table books reprinting his exquisite pen-and-ink drawings of high society and his “Gibson girls” exploring life, relationships, independence, and, in subtle ways, their sexuality. 
 

A Widow and Her Friends by Charles Dana Gibson. Click to enlarge

 In 1901 Gibson drew a new series of drawings, A Widow and her Friends. The “Widow” was a stunningly beautiful young woman, who lusciously goes through mourning, weighs a possible career, and, well, is a Gibson girl or, at least, a Gibson woman.

Charles Dana Gibson's "Widow" is feeling better. Click to enlarge

So did the management of the Grand Opera House truly secure the model who had posed for the “Widow,” or was this just a bit of publicity-seeking “name” dropping? Or rather publicity seeking “name-withheld” dropping—as the Wizard of Oz article continues “ . . .[the Gibson girl model] has made it an absolute condition that her real name and identity be kept strictly secret. Mr. Hamlin is said to have pledged his word.”

This story has some legs, like presumably the Gibson girl does, though of course she would never show hers. On June 8, 1902, the Chicago Inter Ocean reported, “Manager Hamlin of the Grand opera-house is willing to wager real money that he will place on exhibition in the chorus of The Wizard of Oz next week the only and original Gibson model for the widow in the artist’s series of pictures known as The [sic] Widow and Her Friends. . . . According to the Chicago manager, he was in New York recently, when he heard that the real Gibson widow had determined to become a sextet or an actress, or something back of the footlights. He investigated, and discovered that the young woman’s name was Jane Blair, that her beauty had not been overestimated, and that she was really anxious to make her stage debut.”

Hamlin interviewed the girl and found “that Miss Blair’s record was genuine, and the engagement followed. She has been rehearsing with the chorus of The Wizard, envied by the less beautiful of the girls, and admired by the promoters of the entertainment. She declares that she is glad to get her first training in Chicago, as her society friends in New York might try to play some joke on her if she made her debut there.”

Jane Blair model for C. D. Gibson & Chorus girl in Wizard of Oz  Click to Enlarge

The young woman chose to appear in The Wizard of Oz as Jane Blair. Her photo appeared in the June 8, 1902, issue of the Inter Ocean—and she bears a good resemblance to the “Widow.”

Jane Blair and Gibson's "Widow." Click to enlarge

On June 15, 1902, the Inter Ocean updated Chicago on the chorus girls in the forthcoming Wizard of Oz: “Jane Blair, [is] another example, the only genuine model for the Gibson widow, who is going to be noticed for her beauty, it is said, as well as her reputation as a famous model.”

Jane Blair performed in the chorus of The Wizard of Oz during the summer of 1902. She played a Munchkin, a Poppy, a Lady in the Wizard’s Court, and a Dreamland Maid. I’ve not been able to identify her in any of the photos from the original Chicago rehearsals or the production photos.

On August 24, 1902, the Jane Blair story made the news again. The Buffalo Courier published a short piece on the backgrounds of some of the Wizard chorus girls, including “ . . . the nom de theater of Jane Blair conceals the identity of a daughter of one of the first families of New York.” And that’s the last one hears of Jane Blair.

So did this young woman from the upper-crust of New York society really pose for Charles Dana Gibson? She might have. She is pretty enough, and the story kept on going that summer, so maybe she did!

Only the “Widow” knows for sure . . .

One final note: There was another actress named Jane Mae Blair (sometimes credited only as Jane Blair) who appeared in Miss Bob White and The Messenger Boy around this time. But she is known to be elsewhere during the Chicago run of The Wizard of Oz and is thus a different Jane Blair.

Copyright © 2019 David Maxine. All rights reserved.

On a Pay-Night Evening

Click to enlarge.

It's Friday, and it's Pay Day!

The title of today's post is taken from the Wizard's Act II song "On a Pay-Night Evening" (1902) with music by Bruno Schilinski and lyrics by John W. West.

The image shown at the left features signatures of many of the Wizard of Oz cast and crew on a payroll sheet from early 1905. As you can see, especially if you click on the image to make it larger, the cast and crew have signed for their pay with a clever assortment of puns, rebuses, and inside-jokes. The actors who played Cynthia Cynch, the Wizard, and Brigadier-General Riskitt didn't participate for some reason.

This amusing bit of publicity was originally published in the March 25, 1905, issue of The Stage. It was probably the idea of Townsend Walsh, Publicity Director of the show. Some of the best name gags are in the last half of the list.

The curious signatures have been printed in several Oz publications, most notably in Mark Evan Swartz's Oz Before the Rainbow (2000), but none of the contemporary publications of the payroll signatures has included the "legend" to tell you whose the signatures are. I will share the "legend" as it appeared in Stage magazine at the very end of this post. But I think it will be more fun if I take you on a personal tour through these salaried signatures. All of these signatures are from Company No. 1.

So the actors and crew have all lined up and are ready to receive their pay. Please step forward and sign your names.

David Montgomery - Tin Woodman

This one is pretty obvious. It is David Montgomery, who created the part of the Tin Woodman. He has drawn a small self-portrait and written the word "Junk."  Montgomery was earning $200 a week. In 2019 buying power that would be a little over $5000 a week.

Fred Stone - Scarecrow

It should be no surprise that Fred Stone, who created the part of the Scarecrow, is next. Stone was well known for drawing doodles and sketches of the Scarecrow when he gave autographs. He earned $200 a week, the same as David Montgomery.

Arthur Hill - Cowardly Lion

"Four Paws" is our good friend the Cowardly Lion, played by Arthur Hill. The Lion was one of the most popular characters in the original stage show. Hill earned $40 a week. That's the equivalent of about $1150 today.

Joseph Schrode - Imogone

Imogene, Dorothy's frolicsome heifer, was up next. Joseph Schrode got $35 a week for "milk money." That's about a $1000 a week. Considering how strenuous it was to play these animal parts, I'm surprised it isn't a bit more.

Anna Laughlin - Dorothy Gale

Of course Little Dottie, played by Anna Laughlin, wouldn't be far behind her pet calf. Anna earned $125 per week ($3600 in 2019 funds).

Lotta Faust - Tryxie Tryfle

Lotta Faust, who played Tryxie Tryfle, has signed her name "Tony Faust" and she's drawn a beer stein with a head of foam on it. Tony Faust's was a world-famous restaurant in St. Louis, Missouri, that was beloved by many in the theater community. Check out this terrific write up on Lost Tables.

Tony Faust's Restaurant in St. Louis., MO -  LostTables.com

Lotta Faust was earning $100 a week as Tryxie. That's no trifling sum at almost $3000 a week in 2019 dollars.

Virginia Foltz - Sir Dashemoff Daily

Virginia Foltz played the Poet Prince, Sir Dashemoff Daily. At first I had thought her signature showed two gloves and something else. Eric Shanower saw it as "footprints," which makes it a rebus-style pun - prints for prince. Sir Dashemoff was earning $100 a week, just like Tryxie.

George B. Field - Sir Wiley Gyle

George B. Field - Sir Wiley Gyle

George Field played Sir Wiley Gyle. He's got a pretty good character name to play around with. Sir Wiley typically earned $75 a week (about $2200 today). Field was married to Wizard of Oz chorus girl Leta Shaw. He was also Fred Stone's understudy and went on as the Scarecrow a number of times.

Ella Gilroy - Witch of the North

Ella Gilroy

By this point in the tour, Ella Gilroy was playing the Witch of the North. On tour, Ella Gilroy was making $35 a week (equivalent to $1000 today).

Ella's real name was Agnes Ellen Cooper. She had begun her association with The Wizard of Oz in Chicago, playing Simon Pewer (a Munchkin), a Poppy, a Snow Girl, a member of the Phantom Patrol, a Gentleman of Wizards court, a Dreamland Maid, and got the chance to play Glinda toward the end of the post-Chicago tour. On Broadway she was playing Sophronia (a Munchkin), a Snow Boy, and Gladys Ann (a Waitress). In the 1904-05 season she took over the principal role of the Witch of the North.

Oops!

In the list this signature is below Ella Gilroy's. There is no attribution to it in the "legend." But a nearly identical signature will be seen two signatures below.

Dixie Gerard - Female Chorus

Dixie Gerard played a Farmhand in Kansas, a Poppy, a Phantom Guard, and a Royal Guard in Act III. Is that "D" supposed to be a little whip? She made $20 a week (about $580 in 2019).

Bert Devlin - Male Chorus

Bert Devlin had better luck signing this time. Was Dixie Gerard cracking the whip at him on his previous try? Bert played a Farmhand in Kansas and Sillicus (one of the Wizard's Wisemen). Based on his signature he seems to have sung first tenor. The male chorus members made a little less than the girls. Bert Devlin made $18 a week (or $525 today).

Lillian DeVere - Female Chorus

Lillian DeVere - Chorus

Lillian DeVere started her association with The Wizard of Oz at the Chicago premiere where she played Premonia the Munchkin girl.

Now on tour, almost three years later, she was still playing Premonia, but also playing a Snow Sprite and Aileen Nance (a Waitress in Act III).

She was making $30 a week ($875 today), and she was quite likely understudying several of the female leads.

Daisy Carson - Female Chorus

Daisy Carson played a Munchkin Youth, a Poppy, and a Cook named Francois Giblets in Act III. I don't have specific salary information for her. But none of the chorus girls made less than $20 a week.

Nellie Blye - Female Chorus

Nellie Blye - Chorus Girl

Nellie Blye played a Munchkin Youth, a Poppy, and variously in Act III, either Violet Victoria (a Waitress) or Jean de Char (a Cook). Her name sometimes appears in print spelled Bly (see photo at left) but she certainly signs her name as Blye.

Her signature is a reference to a much more famous Nellie Bly, a journalist who traveled around the world in 72 days, besting Phileas Fogg and Jules Verne by eight days. You can learn more about "reporter" Nellie Bly by clicking here. "Actress" Nellie Blye made $25 a week (or $728 today).

Minna Doerge - Female Chorus

Minna Doerge joined the show for the Broadway run and stayed in the cast when it went on tour. When she signed her name here, she was playing a Munchkin Maiden and a Poppy, and in Act III she played a Laundress. The little fish in front of her name is a minnow - a slightly forced rebus for Minna. She received $20 a week (or about $580 today). Minna's sister Ida Doerge was with the show in its first year.

Clara Sweet - Mystery

The "legend" says that this is Clara Sweet. I haven't found a Clara Sweet associated with the show. It took a while to decipher her "sweet" signature. At first I thought she had signed her name as Primer or maybe Princes. But with the help of Eric Shanower, I think we hit pay-dirt - the dirt being in Santa Clara, California.

I think she has signed her name as "Prunes," as in Santa Clara Sweet Prunes. I still don't know what function Clara served with the show, chorus girl or production staff. There are a number of backstage support staff who sign in below.

Isaac Oppinheimer [sic?] - Mystery

Isaac Oppenheimer is a mystery to me. I find no mention of him in any Wizard of Oz programs or any publicity other than the "legend" below. He signs for his pay as "Ikey." I don't know whether he was a chorus boy or uncredited production staff.

Josephine Clayton  - Poppy Queen

This is an especially fun signature. Josephine Clayton has drawn herself as the Poppy Queen, and she looks to me to be en pointe. She also played Munchkin Tommy Top and Waitress Pansy Lil. She made $30 a week ($875 today).

Virginia Kendall - Female Chorus

Virginia Kendall has signed her name "Vinegar Buyer V. Kendall." The Vinegar Buyer was a play that opened in 1902, written by Ezra Kendall. I have not yet been able to link Virginia to Ezra, so I don't know if it's a familial reference or if Virginia was just riffing on the name Kendall and a popular play at the time. Her usual duties in the show included playing a Munchkin Youth, a Poppy, part of the Phantom Patrol, and a Royal Guard in Act III. She earned $20 a week (about $580 today).

Maxwell Sargent - Army of Pastoria

Maxwell Sargent was able to make a fine pun with his name, declaring himself a "Sergeant" in Pastoria's Army. Sargent had taken over the part of Timothy (the actual name of the single soldier in the army) at the beginning of the 1904-05 season. He had previously played a Munchkin Youth and assorted male chorus parts. I don't have a salary figure for him.

Marie Clayton - Female Chorus

Marie Clayton (called Mary in the legend) was the sister of Josephine Clayton, who signed above. I don't get the joke in her signature, though it clearly ends with "ton," the final syllable of her last name. Marie played a Munchkin Maiden, a Poppy, and a Cook named Remnante Saute.

Irving H. Christian -  Alonzo, the Wizard's Confederate

Irving Christian may be disclosing his religion in his signature, or maybe he's just being silly. He had been with The Wizard of Oz since the Chicago premiere, when he played a Farmhand and Sophocles (one of the Wizard's Wisemen). By the time of this pay period he was playing the Golfman in Kansas and the bigger part of Alonzo, the Wizard's Confederate. In the 1907 Hurtig and Seaman tour Irving began playing the Tin Woodman. Curiously, his name is missing from the "legend," but it was easy enough to figure out who he was. I do not have a salary figure for him.

Nancy Poole - Female Chorus

Nancy Poole is playing on her last name. I don't recognize the symbol she drew at left, though. Any ideas? She played the part of Semponia (a Munchkin), a Snow Sprite, and Gloriana Jane (a waitress in Act III). I do not have a salary figure for her.

Helen Turner - Female Chorus and "swing"

Helen Turner in Wizard of Oz

Helen Turner begins her signature with a small drawing. I think she is saying that she is a "swing" for the show. The "swing" position was something like an understudy for chorus parts and sometimes served as Dance-Captain. She would have had to be ready to go into almost any of the female chorus parts at a moment's notice. You can read about the "swings" for Wicked by clicking here.

At this time her regular parts were a Munchkin Youth, a Poppy, and Claude Cliquot (a Cook in Act III). The salary figure I have for her is $20 a week ($580 today), but this may date from before she was serving as "swing," if in fact she was.

Ralph Nichols - Male Chorus

Ralph Nichols's payday signature shows a nickle preceded by the words "A FAT." I have no idea if Mr. Nichols was on the heavy side or if his joke meant something else. He played various male chorus parts, including a Munchkin Youth.

Harry Rough - Props and Wardrobe

Harry Rough joined the show to be near his girlfriend and future wife Edna Leach. You'll hear more about them soon in an upcoming post. Harry began working wardrobe, but by this time was working in props. His wife, Edna Leach, signed his name for him here. "Rough on Rats" references a popular pesticide.

The second part of the signature "Cute Props" is probably a compliment to her husband. As backstage production staff, Harry earned $18 a week ($525 today).

Bertha Benson - Female Chorus

The meaning of Bertha Benson's signature is unclear. Was she incredibly fond of coffee? Or did she have a secret remedy for her fellow cast members' backstage injuries? In the show she played a Farmhand, a Poppy, and a Laundress. I don't have a salary figure for her.

Noble  O. Weaver - Prop Master

Noble "Ollie" Weaver was the Prop Master for Company No. 1 of The Wizard of Oz, thus his signature for his salary is self-explanatory. Ollie earned $18 a week ($525 today) while traveling with the show.

Edna Leach - Female Chorus

Edna Leach was married to Harry Rough, who worked in Wardrobe and Props. She signed for him several spaces further up the list. I noticed the handwriting looked very similar, so I compared it to Edna Leach Rough's actual signature seen below. Her capital Rs are distinct and the full name "Rough" is very close to the way she signed for Harry's pay up above in "Rough on Rats."

Edna Leach Rough's "actual" signature.

Edna played multiple chorus parts, including a Munchkin Maiden and Act III Cook Punge de Sert. She earned $20 a week ($580 today) and $2 more a week than her husband, who worked backstage.

Addie Hott - Mystery

Addie Hott probably signed her name "Ginger" because her last name was Hott. Unfortunately I have no idea what function she served with The Wizard of Oz.

Sadie L. Emmons - Female Chorus

Sadie Emmons played Antonia (a Munchkin Maiden), a Snow Sprite, Captain of the Phantom Patrol, and Alberto (Officer of the Day) in Act III. She does not use her middle initial in her professional name but it is provided in the "legend" below, explaining how she got the rebus above from her middle initial and her last name. Sadie made $30 a week ($875 today), the top rate for female chorus parts with The Wizard of Oz in the 1904-05 season.

L. V. Carter - Cast Member

Lon W. Carter is known to have been with The Wizard of Oz, but I have no information on what he played.

The "legend" gives only his initials, calling him L. V. Carter. But stage credits for other shows he was in call him Lon W. Carter.

His signature is wonderfully funny, making a joke on Carter's Little Liver Pills. If you're not familiar with this medication, you can read more here. I remember television commercials for them when I was very young.

Glory Day - Mystery

I have no record of a Glory Day working on The Wizard of Oz. Her signature seems to be reflective of her name.

Charles Zimmerman - Musical Director

Charles Zimmerman was Musical Director for The Wizard of Oz from the Broadway opening through the end of the original Mitchell and Hamlin tour. He traveled with Company No. 1 during that time. He also wrote new material for the show, including the very popular songs "Football" and "Sitting Bull" for the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, and "Only You" and "When the Heart is Sad" for Sir Dashemoff Daily. The first three songs were all published as sheet music, but "When the Heart is Sad" was not. Perhaps the musical quote with which he signed is that song. It is not any of his three published songs or anything else I recognize from the show. Charles Zimmerman made $18 a week ($525 today) traveling with the show.

Etta Diamond - Female Chorus

Etta Diamond chose to sign with a rebus of her last name: Dime Man. She played a Farmhand, a Munchkin Youth, a member of the Phantom Patrol, and a Royal Guard. I don't have a salary figure for her, but others in her class were making $20 a week (or $580 today).

Charles M. Hill - Production Staff

Charles M. Hill was the Stage Carpenter. His signature is obvious.  His job must have been a back-breaker! Sometimes the tour would pull in to the train station at noon and Hill and his stage hands would have to move all the scenery from the train to the theatre (by horse and wagon) and have the show ready for an audience by 8:00 PM that evening. For that he received $18 a week (or $525 today).

James Finn - Electrician

James Finn was the Chief Electrician for The Wizard of Oz on Broadway and he toured with Company No. 1 for quite a while. He also designed the electrical dimmer and control system used in the show and was in charge of the projections. His signature is self-explanatory. He earned $18 a week (or $525 today). Considering that his lighting and projectors were one of the most lauded attractions in the show, I'm surprised he wasn't earning more.

I hope you have enjoyed this guided tour through these signatures. The "legend" as it appeared in The Stage magazine may be seen below.

Copyright © 2019 David Maxine. All rights reserved.