Edward Franklin Albee II
| Edward Franklin Albee II | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
October 8, 1857 Machias, Maine |
| Died | March 11, 1930 (aged 72) Palm Beach, Florida |
| Spouse(s) | Lauretta Frances Smith |
| Children | ? Albee (?-1916) Edward Albee (1883-1883) Reed A. Albee (1886–1961) Ethel Keith Albee (1890-1976) |
| Parent(s) | Nathaniel Smith Albee Amanda Higgins Crocker |
| Relatives | Edward Franklin Albee III, adopted grandson |
Edward Franklin Albee (October 8, 1857 – March 11, 1930) was a vaudeville impresario, and the adoptive grandfather of Edward Franklin Albee, the playwright.
Albee was born on October 8, 1857 in Machias, Maine to Nathaniel Smith Albee and Amanda Higgins Crocker.
He toured with P. T. Barnum as a roustabout, then in 1885 he partnered with Benjamin Franklin Keith in operating the Bijou Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. With the success of their business, it grew into the Keith-Albee theatre circuit of vaudeville theatres. Albee gradually took managerial control of Keith's theatrical circuit. They were the first to introduce moving pictures in the United States.
In 1900, Pat Shea of Buffalo proposed to Keith and Albee that they should set up a shared booking arrangement for vaudeville similar to the Theatrical Syndicate. They called a meeting in May 1900 in Boston of most of the major vaudeville managers, including Weber & Fields, Tony Pastor, Hyde & Behman of Brooklyn, Kohl & Castle, Colonel J.D. Hopkins, and Meyerfield & Beck of the Orpheum Circuit of the western USA. They did not invite Frederick Freeman Proctor, Keith's main competitor, but the other managers objected to this and insisted on a meeting in New York where Proctor was invited. The Vaudeville Managers Association (VMA) was founded at the New York meeting. Keith and Albee dominated the new organization. Albee was president of the VMA's United Bookings Office from its formation in 1906. Albee had most of the major vaudeville circuits give him control of their theatrical bookings where he charged acts a 5% commission.
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