The Project Gutenberg eBook, Charles Frohman: Manager and Man, by Isaac Frederick Marcosson and Daniel Frohman, et al This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Charles Frohman: Manager and Man Author: Isaac Frederick Marcosson and Daniel Frohman Release Date: July 29, 2008 [eBook #26146] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLES FROHMAN: MANAGER AND MAN*** E-text prepared by Robert Cicconetti, Chuck Greif, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
CHARLES FROHMAN COPYRIGHT, 1914, BY DANIEL FROHMAN
CHARLES FROHMAN Charles Frohman: M anager and M an by Isaac F. Marcosson and Daniel Frohman With an Appreciationby James M. Barrie Illustrated with Portraits logo New York and LondonHarper & Brothers M . C . M . X . V . I Charles Frohman: Manager and Man —— Copyright, 1916, by Harper & Brothers Copyright, 1915, 1916, by International Magazine Company (Cosmopolitan Magazine) Printed in the United States of America Published October, 1916 To The Theater That Charles Frohman Loved and Served Nought I did in hate but all in honor! Hamlet Contents Chap. CHARLES FROHMAN: AN APPRECIATION I. A CHILD AMID THE THEATER II. EARLY HARDSHIPS ON THE ROAD III. ...
The Project Gutenberg eBook, Charles Frohman: Manager
and Man, by Isaac Frederick Marcosson and Daniel
Frohman, et al
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Charles Frohman: Manager and Man
Author: Isaac Frederick Marcosson and Daniel Frohman
Release Date: July 29, 2008 [eBook #26146]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLES FROHMAN: MANAGER AND MAN***
E-text prepared by Robert Cicconetti, Chuck Greif,
and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
(http://www.pgdp.net)
CHARLES FROHMAN
COPYRIGHT, 1914, BY DANIEL FROHMAN
CHARLES FROHMAN
Charles Frohman:
M anager and M an
by Isaac F. Marcosson
and Daniel Frohman
With an Appreciationby James M. Barrie
Illustrated
with
Portraits
logo
New York and LondonHarper & Brothers
M . C . M . X . V . I
Charles Frohman: Manager and Man
——
Copyright, 1916, by Harper & Brothers
Copyright, 1915, 1916, by
International Magazine Company (Cosmopolitan Magazine)
Printed in the United States of America
Published October, 1916
To
The Theater
That Charles Frohman
Loved and Served
Nought I did in hate but all in honor!
Hamlet
Contents
Chap.
CHARLES FROHMAN: AN APPRECIATION
I. A CHILD AMID THE THEATER
II. EARLY HARDSHIPS ON THE ROAD
III. PICTURESQUE DAYS AS MINSTREL MANAGER
IV. IN THE NEW YORK THEATRICAL WHIRLPOOL
V. BOOKING-AGENT AND BROADWAY PRODUCER
VI. "SHENANDOAH" AND THE FIRST STOCK COMPANY
VII. JOHN DREW AND THE EMPIRE THEATER
VIII. MAUDE ADAMS AS STAR
IX. THE BIRTH OF THE SYNDICATE
X. THE RISE OF ETHEL BARRYMORE
XI. THE CONQUEST OF THE LONDON STAGE
XII. BARRIE AND THE ENGLISH FRIENDSHIPS
XIII. A GALAXY OF STARS
XIV. STAR-MAKING AND AUDIENCES
XV. PLAYS AND PLAYERS
XVI. "C. F." AT REHEARSALS
XVII. HUMOR AND ANECDOTE
XVIII. THE MAN FROHMAN
XIX. "WHY FEAR DEATH?"
APPENDIX A—THE LETTERS OF CHARLES
APPENDIX B—COMPLETE CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF THE FROHMAN PRODUCTIONSIllustrations
CHARLES FROHMAN—Frontispiece
VIOLA ALLEN
WILLIAM GILLETTE
JOHN DREW
CLYDE FITCH
HENRY ARTHUR JONES
W. LESTOCQ
CHARLES DILLINGHAM
MAUDE ADAMS
MAUDE ADAMS
FRANCIS WILSON
WILLIAM COLLIER
MARGARET ANGLIN
ANNIE RUSSELL
WILLIAM FAVERSHAM
HENRY MILLER
WILLIAM H. CRANE
AUGUSTUS THOMAS
SIR ARTHUR WING PINERO
ETHEL BARRYMORE
JULIA MARLOWE
E. H. SOTHERN
ELSIE FERGUSON
EDNA MAY
BILLIE BURKE
PAULINE CHASE
JAMES M. BARRIE
PAUL POTTER
HADDON CHAMBERS
OTIS SKINNER
MARIE DORO
JULIA SANDERSON
ANN MURDOCK
CHARLES FROHMAN AND DAVID BELASCO
MARIE TEMPEST
MME. NAZIMOVA
CHARLES FROHMAN'S OFFICE IN THE EMPIRE THEATER
CHARLES FROHMAN ON BOARD SHIP
Charles Frohman:
an
Appreciation
By James M. Barrie
he man who never broke his word. There was a great deal more to him, but every one in any land who has had dealings with
Charles Frohman will sign that.T
I would rather say a word of the qualities that to his friends were his great adornment than about his colossal enterprises or the
energy with which he heaved them into being; his energy that was like a force of nature, so that if he had ever "retired" from the work he
loved (a thing incredible) companies might have been formed, in the land so skilful at turning energy to practical account, for exploiting the
vitality of this Niagara of a man. They could have lit a city with it.
He loved his schemes. They were a succession of many-colored romances to him, and were issued to the world not without the
accompaniment of the drum, but you would never find him saying anything of himself. He pushed them in front of him, always taking carethat they were big enough to hide him. When they were able to stand alone he stole out in the dark to have a look at them, and then if
unobserved his bosom swelled. I have never known any one more modest and no one quite so shy. Many actors have played for him for
years and never spoken to him, have perhaps seen him dart up a side street because they were approaching. They may not have known
that it was sheer shyness, but it was. I have seen him ordered out of his own theater by subordinates who did not know him, and he went
cheerfully away. "Good men, these; they know their business," was all his comment. Afterward he was shy of going back lest they should
apologize.
At one time he had several theaters here and was renting others, the while he had I know not how many in America; he was not always
sure how many himself. Latterly the great competition at home left him no time to look after more than one in London. But only one
anywhere seemed a little absurd to him. He once contemplated having a few theaters in Paris, but on discovering that French law forbids
your having more than one he gave up the scheme in disgust.
A sense of humor sat with him through every vicissitude like a faithful consort.
"How is it going?" a French author cabled to him on the first night of a new play.
"It has gone," he genially cabled back.
Of a Scotch play of my own that he was about to produce in New York, I asked him what the Scotch would be like.
"You wouldn't know it was Scotch," he replied, "but the American public will know."
He was very dogged. I had only one quarrel with him, but it lasted all the sixteen years I knew him. He wanted me to be a playwright
and I wanted to be a novelist. All those years I fought him on that. He always won, but not because of his doggedness; only because he
was so lovable that one had to do as he wanted. He also threatened, if I stopped, to reproduce the old plays and print my name in large
electric letters over the entrance of the theater.
very distinguished actress under his management wanted to produce a play of mine of which he had no high opinion. He was in
despair, as he had something much better for her. She was obdurate. He came to me for help, said nothing could move her unless IA
could. Would not I tell her what a bad play it was and how poor her part was and how much better the other parts were and how
absolutely it fell to pieces after the first act? Of course I did as I was bid, and I argued with the woman for hours, and finally got her
round, the while he sat cross-legged, after his fashion, on a deep chair and implored me with his eyes to do my worst. It happened long
ago, and I was so obsessed with the desire to please him that the humor of the situation strikes me only now.
For money he did not care at all; it was to him but pieces of paper with which he could make practical the enterprises that teemed in his
brain. They were all enterprises of the theater. Having once seen a theater, he never afterward saw anything else except sites for theaters.
This passion began when he was a poor boy staring wistfully at portals out of which he was kept by the want of a few pence. I think when
he first saw a theater he clapped his hand to his heart, and