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

walton in theatricals the decline and fall Of
the stock ventures; the advent of the travel
ing companies, comic opera, vaudeville and
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 It's dark
| origin the libel that minstrel jokes are ven
erable resulted in failure. Some Of the best
! jokes l recall we're 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
i i many years ago. there naturally arose
O dispute as to the place where negro min
strelsy had It's 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 prejudice in favor
of this city, and as no other place on the
globe ever supported mlnstrelsy for so long
time we seem to have something of pro-
pretary 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 minstresy as we
have known 1t, yet 1t had it's influence.
TNHEN came black faced banjo acts, such
i as Billy whitlock used to do others SINH
lar to George Washington Dixons 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 weekly Cholera Gazette" He
sang Zip Coon" at the Tivoli Garden, on
Market street west of Thirteenth, and every
boy in the city was whstling the refrain.
Billy Whitlock in his autobiography gives
version Of his connection with the organi-
cation 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, a 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
does not look like minstrel show does it?
Yet it was from this germ that the big, sable
semicrcle which we recall with pleasure
grew into the minstrels
TN its early form minstrelsy was essential
i ly musical. The first band of minstrels
that travelled around the country had Master
Ole Bull one of it's members There were
Virginia Serenaders and New Orleans Ser
enaders, and while all the acts were done in
backface, 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 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 n 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
bc persons who recall the strains of 1T Hear
the Hoofs" GO Way Black Man" Rosa
Clare" and NELLY Was Lady" I feel con-
fident that the last named at least will ba
remembered for 1t sung in the days OF
Carncross' N1instrels. in the little Eleventh
Street Opera House.
THERE also In the company Max
i Zorer, George Swaine, Thomas Burke
Master ole Bull, ]. II. Collins, Sam Sanford
and J. c. Rainer Sanford, whose real name
Lindsay, took his stage name from an
other performer, Jim Sanford. His uncle
William Lindsay, also was in the business.
Sanford may he said to have been respOn-
siblc for the vogue negro minstrelsy has had
i'm Philadelphia, He opened Sanfords Opera
House AT Twelfth and Chestnut streets, in
1853 When the place was burned he took
the old church building on Eleventh street,
which had already been transformed into n
playhouse by Cartoe. This was the begin
ming Of the history Of the Eleventh Street
Opera House, where minstrelsy was pre-
served for more than half a century.
IN SANFORDS company at the time was
L Julien, MS he appeared on the bills, but the
singer subsequently revealed himself as Ira
n, SanlSey when he engaged in evangestic
work with Dwight l.. Moody.
The last time l saw Sam Sanford was al
most 20 years ago, when he danced Rob Rid
ley ot the Walnut street Theatre with Prim-
rose and Vests Minstres, He was then a
very old man, but very nimble on his feet.
GRANVILLE.
The Female Of the Species
From tho Ohio State Journal