Sime Silverman
Silverman, Sime (1873–1933), critic. Born in Cortland, New York, but raised in Syracuse, he was the son of a banker who tried unsuccessfully to have his son follow in his footsteps. Instead, young Silverman went to New York, where he became a critic, writing as “The Man in the Third Row” for the Daily American and later as “Robert Speare” for the Morning Telegraph. After being fired when a vaudeville act he had panned canceled its annual Christmas ad, he borrowed $1,500 and in 1905 started his own theatrical paper, Variety. Under his guidance as editor and publisher it soon became the most important American theatrical trade journal. Silverman demanded absolute impartiality and attempted to report news as fully as possible. He also originated much of the curious slang for which the paper became known. Later he founded The Times Square Daily, an extended gossip sheet, which led to the Daily Variety around the time of his death. Biography: Lord Broadway: Variety's Sime, Dayton Stoddart, 1941.
