The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-09-26
In New York

New York.-The Astor theater, despite its outward display of fiamboyant movie banners and it's eye-catching streamers of gaudy light, wears also a slight touch of mouring for it's founder, Lincoln Wagenhals, who died a few days ago.
 The crowds who pass through it's doors will see upon the screen no stranger tale than that of the kid from the small Ohio town who put up this showhouse on Broadway. It is another of those thousand and-one-nights legends of Bagdad- on-the-Subway. For here was fame and fortune that started literally at l the point of a gun!
 And this is the way the story goes: Once upon a time discour- aged young man from Lancaster, O.. sat over his coffee and sinkers at . Broadway lunch counter wont dering if this could be the fair re- wards of the theater. At IS, an amateur actor from his home town high school, he had descended upon Columbus, O., and for five years held job in a stock com pany. Then he had headed for Broadway. And here he was going out ahead of road shows that had habit of going bust' in the mid de of nowhere and leaving a young gent to get back as best he could.
 Feeling like telling his troubles to someone, he began talking to another youth occupying an adja- cent stool. The conversation bounced back to the old home, as such talks do in New York
 .what, you're from Ohio, too swell! -. Funny you should come from there. .. Yep. and your dads a doctor, too. -. That sure beats everything. And you passed up chance to study medi- cine for the stage. .. Sure is fun ny. meeting like this. -. What's the name?"
 "Kemper's my name-colin Kemperi"
 In just about that fashion start ed the famous Wagenhals and ran nothing up to S10,000.O00 and became the wealthiest theatrical business in the world.
 Both went out as company man. agers for road shows, and met again in an Ohio tank town. Both shows were broke. Both had to get back to New York. They sat down and talked things over. Certainly, they were getting nowhere; they were young and ambitious. Why not take a chance by themselves?
 Say, I heard of house up in Binghamton, New York, we might get hold of rarf into it while taking a company through that way"
 That was the beginning: a small stock company in Binghamton. Wagenhals was business manager; Kemper was stage manager. They decided to branch out, although their finances were meager. Wa genhals would take show on tour as company manager.
 Once more the scene was Ohio and the place not far from Colum- bus. Wagenhals was going over the payroll and the gate receipts. He was interrupted by brusque command: Stick 'em up and hand over the coin! But he didn't. He made a quick duck. Two shots, a quick scurry and the theatrical tyro lay grooming on the floor, a bullet in his body.
 Get my father" he groaned as emergency treatment was being administered. A few hours later. Df Wagenhals was at the bedside, just in time to prevent an opera ton. The father feared blood poi soning if the bullet were removed. Link" Wagenhals went through life with this keepsake" as he called it.
 A few weeks later he was back in Binghamton. calling cheerily to his partner: Well, it's the big town now, old kid! I was carrying accident insurance. and when those stick-up boys shot me. I got $5,000."
 And that's how the Astor came to be built. With the $5.000 he promoted the new theater and then came such successes as Paid in Full' and Seven Days and "The Bat" The two kids from Ohio re- tired a few years ago on ten mill