Tony Pastor
| Tony Pastor | |
|---|---|
NYPL Digital Collection
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| Born |
May 28, 1837 Manhattan, New York, United States |
| Died | August 26, 1908 (aged 71) Elmhurst, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Vaudeville Entertainer, Showman and Theater Manager |
| Years active | 1867–1903 |
Tony Pastor (May 28, 1837 – August 26, 1908) was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes referred to as the "Father of Vaudeville". The strongest elements of his entertainments were an almost jingoistic brand of United States patriotism and a strong commitment to attracting a mixed-gender audience, the latter being something revolutionary in the male-oriented variety halls of the mid-century.
A collection of his papers is maintained at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas in Austin, and in the archives of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
After his Spanish father (Antonio Pastor) came to New York and met his future wife Cornelia Buckley, from New Haven, Connecticut, they lived in Manhattan. Their third child, and first son, Antonio Pastor, was born in Manhattan on May 28, 1832, at his parents' residence at 400 Greenwich Street, in what is now the financial district of lower Manhattan. His father was a Spanish immigrant who supported his family as a barber and part-time musician.
Pastor embarked on a show business career at a very young age, obtaining a job singing at P.T. Barnum's Scudder's American Museum. During the next few years he worked in minstrel shows, the circus business, and as a comic singer in variety revues. He established himself as a popular songwriter during a four-year run at Robert Butler's American Music Hall, a variety theater located at 444 Broadway in what is now called Soho but was then the heart of the lower Manhattan theater district. Pastor published "songsters", books of his lyrics which were sung to popular tunes. The music had no notation, as it was assumed that the audience had a collective knowledge of popular song. The subject matter of his music was intended to be bawdy and humorous.
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