Charles Frohman

Frohman, Charles (1860–1915), producer. The youngest of three brothers who made names for themselves in the theatrical arena, he was born in Sandusky, Ohio, the son of an itinerant peddler. At the age of twelve he came to New York and took work first with the Tribune and later with the Daily Graphic. But having long loved theatre, Frohman took an evening job selling tickets at Hooley's Theatre in Brooklyn. By 1877 he was serving as advance agent for traveling shows, including Haverly's Minstrels. Steele MacKaye invited Charles and his brothers, Gustave and Daniel Frohman, to help manage the Madison Square Theatre, and in sending out complete duplicate road companies of the theatre's hits they are credited with inaugurating a policy that was to change the nature of provincial theatre. In 1888 he was an agent for Bronson Howard, whose play Shenandoah had been mounted with only small success at the Boston Museum. Frohman, nevertheless, saw possibilities in it and remounted and produced it the following year in New York, where it was an immediate success and launched Frohman's producing career. In 1890 he took over Proctor's Theatre and organized a stock company there and later moved it to the Empire Theatre, which he built with Al Hayman in 1893. Two years later Frohman met secretly with Hayman, Abe Erlanger, Mark Klaw, and several other men to organize what became known as the Theatrical Syndicate, or Trust. Ostensibly the group's aim was to bring order out of chaos in cross‐country bookings, but it soon controlled all the important theatres in the country and demanded exorbitant fees from producers and performers. Failure to meet its demands often meant a show could not play in a major city. Frohman's precise role in the organization has remained a matter of dispute. His supporters have claimed that he was the idealist in the group, looking the other way at its shady practices because he felt more benefits than harm came from its methods. Others have seen him as manipulating as Erlanger and company. Most likely the truth lies somewhere in between. But the certainty of comfortable bookings allowed him to work with ease, develop a roster of great stars, and present a steady stream of popular plays. Among the many stars who played for years under Frohman's auspices were John Drew, Ethel Barrymore, Maude Adams, and Billie Burke. He was particularly adept at taking relatively unknown actresses and, with his careful nurturing, make them stellar attractions. Detractors have suggested that, as a result of his emphasis on stars, Frohman cared little about the value of his plays, ignoring promising American playwrights and preferring to buy up wholesale the rights to tested European works. Yet he was responsible for the American premieres of many works by such significant and durable playwrights as Oscar Wilde, Sir James Barrie, Arthur Wing Pinero, Somerset Maugham, and Georges Feydeau. Nor did he totally neglect the best American talent, producing several of Clyde Fitch's plays. Moreover, he promoted an international respect for rising American playwrights by presenting their works abroad even when he had not produced the original New York mountings. Frohman was at the height of his career when he died in the sinking of the Lusitania. He has been described as a “little, round, slant‐eyed Buddha.” Biography: Charles Frohman: Manager and Man, Isaac F. Marcosson and Daniel Frohman, 1916.

An American theatrical producer, Charles Frohman (1860-1915) saw the theater make its transition from stock companies to the star system. Primarily a pillar of "show business" rather than an artistic theatrical innovator, Frohman illuminated the theater with a bright gallery of stars under his personal management.

Charles Frohman was born on June 17, 1860 in Sandusky, Ohio, the son of a traveling peddlar. Frohman loved the theater from boyhood, when as an eight-year-old he hawked souvenir programs for a local production of The Black Crook, America's first musical show. From there he worked his way up through virtually every level of press agentry and theatrical management.

Leaving Ohio at age 12, he went to New York City and worked successively for two newspapers, the Tribune and the Daily Graphic. His love for the theater brought him to night work selling tickets at Hooley's Theater in Brooklyn. By 1877 he was an advance man for traveling shows, most notably Haverly's Minstrels. Frohman's sharp business sense and the support of his brothers, Daniel and Gustave, enabled the three of them to take on the management of Steele MacKaye's Madison Square Theater. There Frohman devised a touring company system that changed the American theater. Frohman hit upon the idea of sending out full companies to present road versions of plays that were hits in New York.

In 1888 Frohman was an agent for playwright Bronson Howard. The playwright's latest drama, Shenandoah, had only managed a limited run in Boston, but Frohman saw greater possibilities in it. He borrowed money from a few theatrical colleagues and produced the play in New York, achieving a great success. To clinch his recognition as the fastest rising theatrical entrepreneur on Broadway, he signed an exclusive contract with actor-turned-playwright William Gillette to produce all of that successful author's works. Gillette would become famous for plays such as Sherlock Holmes (1893) and Secret Service (1896).

Frohman wanted as much control over his theatrical enterprises as possible, and in 1890 he took over Proctor's Theater and began his own stock company there. Three years later Frohman built his own theater, the Empire. With his brothers he became a leading theatrical impresario. By the turn of the century he was the most prominent producer in New York and London. In his transatlantic career Frohman was most successful in launching plays by English dramatists J.M. Barrie and Arthur Wing Pinero, Oscar Wilde, and Somerset Maugham. But his London theater ventures would ultimately cost him his life.

In 1895 Frohman, along with Al Hayman, Mark Klaw, Abe Erlanger, Sam Nixon, and Fred Zimmerman, formed the Theatrical Syndicate, also known as the Trust. This organization dominated the American theater from 1896 through World War I. Its alleged reason for being was to systematize haphazard theatrical booking networks across the United States, but it actually ended up exerting near total control over every aspect of theatrical production in the country. The syndicate had a majority interest in virtually every important theater in the country. Producers or performers who crossed the Trust found themselves unable to put on their plays.

The extent to which Frohman's personal influence shaped the development of the Theatrical Syndicate is disputed. His supporters maintain that he endured the high-handedness of his partners in order to present quality productions; Frohman's detractors charge him with having only a concern for projecting his own image as the "artistic" manager.

Many considered him a ruthless businessman who looked out only for himself, but this belies the fact that he died nearly penniless and that numerous actors and actresses were loyal to him and his management throughout their entire careers. Annie Russell, Margaret Anglin, Julia Marlowe, Otis Skinner, and Billie Burke were among the stars under his control. Maude Adams, the most popular actress of the turn of the century, literally owed her career to him (the role of Peter Pan was created for her) and went into eclipse after Frohman's death.

Even though Frohman was responsible for the proliferation of the star system, late in his career he realized that it had done much to destroy artistry in the theater. Frohman believed his great achievement had been to bring the best British plays to New York. Nonetheless, his theatrical acuity caused him to recognize that the reliance on stars made the script merely a dramatic property that was almost irrelevant because stars such as John Drew, Maude Adams, or Ada Rehan would attract crowds no matter what the play. Frohman's career lasted long enough to see later generations of his "family" succeed; for example, John Drew's young niece, Ethel Barrymore, emerged as a star (in the American playwright Clyde Fitch's Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines) in 1901.

Frohman exerted a tremendous influence on the commercial theater in the United States. He emphasized the production of new plays even though he was criticized for giving short shrift to the classics. He actively developed new stars, creating images for them and tenderly shepherding their careers. He constantly sought out untried playwrights and gave them encouragement. The financial cushion provided by the Trust enabled Frohman to profitably manipulate his theatrical system for over two decades. He created stars who created audiences for the works of Frohman's own playwrights. The controversy about his motivations and methods aside, it cannot be denied that Frohman's theatrical taste was respected and his concern for the theater as an institution revered.

Eager to free himself from what he considered to be prosaic origins, Frohman later in life adopted the code of behavior of an English gentleman of stiffest upper lip. His courtliness and reserve contrasted with his squat body and squinting countenance.

In 1915 his favorite playwright, J.M. Barrie, implored him to come to London to help out a faltering production. Frohman ignored warnings and sailed on the Lusitania. Calmly puffing a cigar as the ship was torpedoed on May 7, 1915, Frohman met his end as bravely as any stage hero, coolly intoning: "Why fear death, it's the greatest adventure of all." For his epitaph Frohman asked that he be remembered as "The man who gave Peter Pan to the world and Chantecler to America."

Further Reading

A sympathetic biography of Frohman, Charles Frohman: Manager and Man, was written in 1916 by Isaac F. Marcosson and Daniel Frohman. Daniel Frohman left two volumes of memoirs, Memoirs of a Manager (1911) and Daniel Frohman Presents (1935). These have scattered references to his brother. Brooks Atkinson's Broadway (1970) contains an affectionate portrait of Frohman. Contemporary theater periodicals such as Theatre, Green Book, and Dramatic Mirror frequently featured articles about Frohman.

Quotes:

"Why fear death? It is the most beautiful adventure in life."

Charles Frohman (center, right) as co-proprietor of the Callender Minsterls, 1883

Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was a Jewish American theatrical producer.

One of three Frohman brothers, he was born in Sandusky, Ohio. He was the youngest, his older brothers being: Daniel Frohman (1851–1940) and Gustave Frohman (1854–1930). The year of his birth date is generally erroneously reported as 1860, and his birthday is shown as July 16 on his tombstone, but the correct date is July 15, 1856 (sources: Certified Birth Certificate, Sandusky, Ohio and the 1860 Federal Census for Sandusky, Ohio, which shows: "Charley," age 4).

Contents 1 Life and career 2 Portrayals in films and television 3 Further reading 4 External links

Life and career

In 1864, Frohman's family moved to New York City, where Frohman eventually worked for a newspaper. In New York, Frohman developed a love of the theatre that led to him becoming a booking agent and then working his way up to producer and theatre owner/operator.

Frohman's first success as a producer was with Bronson Howard's Shenandoah (1889). Frohman founded the Empire Theatre Stock Company to acquire the Empire Theatre in 1892, and the following year produced his first Broadway play Clyde Fitch's Masked Ball. This play marked the first time that actress Maude Adams played opposite John Drew, which led to many future successes. Soon he acquired five other New York City theaters.

Frohman was known for his ability to develop talent. His stars included William Gillette, John Drew Jr., Ethel Barrymore, E. H. Sothern, Julia Marlowe, Maude Adams, and Henry Miller. In 1896, Frohman, Al Hayman, Abe Erlanger, Mark Klaw, Samuel F. Nixon, and Fred Zimmerman formed the Theatrical Syndicate. Their organization established systemized booking networks throughout the United States and created a monopoly that controlled every aspect of contracts and bookings until the late 1910s when the Shubert brothers broke their stranglehold on the industry.

Charles Frohman presents Miss Maude Adams in The Little Minister, by J. M. Barrie

In 1897, Frohman leased the Duke of York's Theatre in London, introducing plays there as well as in the United States. Clyde Fitch, J. M. Barrie, and Edmond Rostand were among the playwrights he promoted. As a producer, among Frohman's most famous successes was Barrie's Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up which he debuted at the Duke of York's in December 1904, and later produced in the United States starring Maude Adams. In the early years of the 20th century, Frohman also established a successful partnership with Seymour Hicks to produce musicals and other comedies in London, including Quality Street in 1902, The Admirable Crichton in 1903, The Catch of the Season in 1904, The Beauty of Bath in 1906, The Gay Gordons in 1907, and A Waltz Dream in 1908, among others. He also partnered with other London theatre managers. The system of exchange of successful plays between London and New York was largely a result of his efforts. In 1910, Frohman attempted a repertory scheme of producing plays at the Duke of York's. He advertised a bill of plays by J. M. Barrie, John Galsworthy, Harley Granville Barker, and others. The venture began tentatively, and while it may have proved successful, Frohman canceled the scheme when London theatres closed at the death of King Edward VII in February 1910.

Charles Frohman in 1914

By 1915 Frohman had produced more than 700 shows, employed an average of 700 actors per season, and paid salaries totalling $25,000 a week. Frohman controlled five theaters in London, six in New York City, and over two hundred throughout the rest of the United States.

Frohman died in the 1915 sinking of the RMS Lusitania by German submarine U-20. Frohman seems to have asked several people to accompany him on the voyage to Liverpool. Actress Ethel Barrymore could not leave her young children. Songwriter Jerome Kern was meant to accompany him on the voyage, but overslept after being kept up late playing requests at a party. Actor/playwright William Gillette also would have accompanied him, but was forced to fulfill a contract obligation in Philadelphia. Likewise playwright Edward Sheldon, whom Frohman had invited, had to renege on the voyage as he was obligated to attend the wedding of a Harvard classmate. Frohman was reported by survivor, actress Rita Jolivet(the only survivor of his party), to have declined a seat on a lifeboat, saying "Why fear death? It is the greatest adventure in life," echoing the famous line from Peter Pan, "To die would be an awfully big adventure". Frohman's body was recovered and brought back to the United States for burial in the Union Field Cemetery in Ridgewood, Queens, New York.

Portrayals in films and television

Frohman was portrayed by Harry Hayden in the film Till the Clouds Roll By in 1946. He was played by William Hootkins in the BBC mini-series The Lost Boys in 1978. In 2004, Dustin Hoffman portrayed him in the film Finding Neverland.

Further reading

• Isaac Frederick Marcosson with Daniel Frohman, Charles Frohman, Manager and Man, (1917)

External links

• Charles Frohman at the Internet Broadway Database
• Biography of Frohman
• Brief profile of Frohman
• Detailed profile of Frohman
• Production and cast lists for a number of London shows produced by Frohman
• Includes an anecdote about Frohman's last words and deeds on the Lusitania
• Frohman and Edna May
• Charles Frohman: Manager and Man at Project Gutenberg

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