Columbia Amusement Company
Columbia Amusement Co. Building, Manhattan, in 1917
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| Formation | 12 July 1902 |
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| Extinction | 1927 |
| Legal status | Corporation |
| Purpose | Burlesque booking |
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Region
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United States and Canada |
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Official language
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English |
| Leader | Samuel A. Scribner |
| Subsidiaries | American Burlesque Association |
The Columbia Amusement Company, also called the Columbia Wheel or the Eastern Burlesque Wheel, was an industry organization that arranged burlesque company bookings in American theaters between 1902 and 1927. The burlesque companies would travel in succession round a "wheel" of theaters, ensuring steady employment for performers and a steady supply of new shows for the participating theaters. For much of its history the Columbia Wheel advertised relatively "clean" variety shows featuring pretty girls. Eventually the wheel was forced out of business due to competition from cinemas and from the cruder stock burlesque companies.
The Theatrical Syndicate was formed in 1896 by the theatrical managers or booking agents Charles Frohman, Al Hayman, A. L. Erlanger, Marc Klaw, Samuel F. Nirdlinger and Frederick Zimmerman. The syndicate soon dominated legitimate theater, deciding what would be shown and where. The Vaudeville Managers Association was founded soon after, with similar goals, and the United Booking Office was founded to provide a single place where performers could seek engagements.
In 1898 the burlesque producers and theater managers attempted to organize in a similar way with the Travelling Variety Managers Association (TVMA). The idea was that approved shows would progress from one theater to another in succession, round a "wheel". The vaudeville and burlesque producer Gus Hill claimed credit for the concept. The theaters would not have to compete for shows, and the burlesque companies would have guaranteed work. The TVMA soon split into two wheels, one in the west and the other in the east.
Sixteen managers and producers incorporated the Columbia Amusement Company on 12 July 1902. They had left the TVMA to set up a more stable operation. The lead was taken by Sam A. Scribner. Other principals were William S. Campbell, William S. Drew, Gus Hill, John Herbert Mack, Harry Morris, L. Lawrence Weber and A. H. Woodhill. The circuit had headquarter in New York and included the larger cities east of the Missouri and north of the Ohio such as Philadelphia and Pittsburg. It included Montreal and Toronto in Canada, and Boston in the east. Since the theaters were in the east, the Columbia Wheel was also called the Eastern Wheel. Another circuit was formed in the west, called the Empire Circuit or Western Wheel.
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