Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-24
DONE IN PHILADELPHIA

u
w remarkable that we have had our oiu
friends the minstrels with us for more than
so years. They have weathered every inno-
walton in theatricals; the decline and fall OF
the stock ventures; the advent of the traVel-
ing companies, comic opera, vaudeville anu
now even moving pictures. And they are
going on, but not telling the same old JOKES
night after night.
All my efforts to run down to its dark
origin the libel that minstrel jokes are ven
cradle resulted in failure Some OF the pest
jokes recall were first passed over the foot
lights by minstrel company. Only after
they became public property did they find
their way into periodicals.
TTAvING become a venerable institution
IL many years ago, there naturally arose
a dispute to the place where negro min
strelsy had its birth. Probably not so many
cities as claimed Homer for their own con-
tended but certainly Philadelphia and New
York had their advocates
am willing to admit q prejudice in favor
of this city, and as no other place on the
globe ever supported minstrelsy for so Ions
time we seem to have something of pro-
prletary right in this form of entertainment.
The beginning was very modest. Before
the word had been heard in connection with
such an entertainment there were black faced
acts on the American stage. One of the
first big hits was made by Thomas b. Rice
In his Jim Crow" which has got into the
vocabulary of the language. No one could
call that nondescrpt act minstrelsy as we
have known it, yet it had its influence.
FTNHEN came black-faced banjo acts, such
L as Billy Whitlock used to do; others simi-
lar to George Washington Dixon's Zip
Coon" and still minstrels did not appear on
the scene. All of these acts were familiar to
Philadelphia theatre-goers in the SOs and
early 40s. Dixon resided here for a time
and during the epidemic of cholera in 1882
published a weekly Cholera Gazette" He
sang Zip Coon at the Tivoli Garden on
Market street west of Thirteenth, and every
boy in the city was whistling the refrain
Billy whitlock in his autobiography gives
version of his connection with the organi-
zation of the minstrel show. During the
winter of 1S40 he and his partner, Master
John Diamond, whose real name was Frank
Lynch, were playing at the Walnut Street
Theatre, and when the night for their benefit
approached Whitlock conceived the idea of
introducing a novelty
Whitlock asked Dick Myers, q violinist il
he would play the violin with them and form
trio on their benefit, and Myers agreed. So,
on that occasion, for the first time in public,
Whitlock said, banjoists were accompanied
on the stage by a violinist. And even that
does not look like a minstrel show does it?
Yet 1t was from this germ that the big, sable
semicircle which we recall with pleasure
grew into the minstrels
TN its early form minstrelsy was essential
Il lV musical bop of
that Travelled around the country had Master
Ole Bull as one of it's members There were
Virginia Serenaders and New Orleans Ser
enaders, and while all the acts were done in
blackface, they were of a musical character.
They gave some clever travesties on the
Italian opera, which was then attracting the
attention of the musically inclined, and from
all accounts these burlesques were not only
bright and witty but were admirably set, so
far as musical numbers went.
One of the first minstrel troupes which
performed in this city was the New Orleans
Serenaders. They were here in 1S49, and
probably earlier, and they gave a perform
ance in old Musical Fund Hall In the COM
pany was Nelson Kneass, song writer and
musical composer, whose songs were sung all
over the country at the time There may still
be persons who recall the strains of II Hear
Glare" and "Nelly Was Lady" l feel con-
fident that the last named at least will be
remembered for it was sung in the days OF
Carncross' Minstrels In the little Eleventh
Street Opera House.
THERE were also in the company Max
i Zorer, George Swaine, Thomas Burke
Master ole Bull. ]. H. Collins Sam Sanford
and j. c. Rainer Sanford, whose real name
was Lindsay, took his stage name from an
other performer, Jim Sanford His uncle,
William Lindsay also was in the business.
Sanford may be said to have been respon-
sible for the vogue negro mnstrelsy has had
in Philadelphia. He opened Sanford's Opera
House, at Twelfth and Chestnut streets in
1858 When the place was burned he took
the old church building on Eleventh street
which had already been transformed into a
playhouse by Cartee. This was the begin
ming of the history Of the Eleventh Street
Opera House, where mlnstrelsy was pre-
served for more than half century.
Tn SANFORDS company at the time was
L Julien, as he appeared on the bills. but the
singer subsequently revealed himself as Ira
y. Sankey when he engaged in evangelistic
work with Dwight l.. Moody
The last time I saw Sam Sanford was al
most 20 years ago, when he danced Bob Rid
ley at the Walnut Street Theatre with Prim-
rose and Vests Minstrels He was then a
very old man, but very nimble on his feet
GRANVILLE,
The lemale of the Species