Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-29
CELEBRATES LONG
TERM AS MANAGER

r n New York last Monday Tony Pas
tor celebrated his forty-third ami
versary as a theatrical manager,
and the famous little theater In East
Fourteenth street which bears his
bished and put into the best possible
condition to shed glory upon its owner
and founder.
Or late years Tony Pastor, "the man
or million songs" has ceased to be
the headliner at his own theater. and
only on the -rarest occasions does he
consent to do a few stunts" in his old
style, the style that is known to thea
tergoers of former generation all over
the country However. once year at
least he appears on his own stage and
sings some of the famous old songs that
helped to make his name a household
word generation ago, and on such
occasions many actors who were given
their start by Tony gather at his play
house to congratulate him. Some of
these songs, such as Down in Coal
Mine, Underneath the Ground" and "a
Ragged Coat" are allowed to sumbe-
peacefully in oblivion from years end
tC years end until Tony Pastor re-
wives them at his little anniversaries.
Born in New York
Tony Pastor was born in Gotham. ac-
oording to the most reliable informa-
ton, about seventy-one years ago. He
admits that he is New Yorker, but he
doesn't discuss the other part of II.
AS early as 1S45 he made his initial ap-
pearance in the role of temperance
singer. His father had been an actor
and he followed the tradition. A wave
of temperance reform, which was then
at its height, gave him his first oppor-
tunity to appeal to the public. He
yearne1 for more varied fields, how
ever. and soon joined the old Barnum
museum force as an end man, and
learned to juggle a tambourine. After
short time with Barnum he left for
Cincinnati and as minstrel went with
The Raymond e. Waring menagerie.
The vaudeville stage began to beckon
to him, and when he abandoned the
circus business 1t was to become a vau-
deville performer. His first engage
mont was at Frank Rivers Melodiol
theater in Philadelphia, then the lead
ing variety theater in the country.
After opening a music hall at 444
Broadway New York, he began travel
ing about the country, appearing in all
Of the prominent cities and making
himself famous as minstrel performer.
His career as a manager began at the
Fourteen years later he removed to 5S5
Broadway, and then, In 1881, to his
present location.
The show business has undergone
many changes since Tony embarked
uron his career. He has seen variety
SO through it's evolutions into vaude-
Vile, advanced and otherwise, but none
of these things has disturbed him and
he has pursued the even tenor of his
way He has seen salaries soar from
the time when $50 was considered a
high price to pay for an act that now
commands $500, and many stars were
seen as satellites in his train.
The names of a few of the present.
day luminaries who drew salaries from
Tony Pastor in the old days are Nat
Goodwin, Lillian Russell, May Irwin,
Francis Wilson, Denman Thompson.
"Old Hoss' Hoey, Charles Evans, Will
lam j. Scanlon and Gus Williams.
"Brewster's Millions will shortly be
presented in Paris by Charles Froh-
man. The American comedy will be
given in French. 1t will then be run
ming in America, England, Australia
and France Charles Frohman is also