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Ann Ardor Ml 48106-1346 USA 313-761-4700 000.521-0600 CARTOON THEATRICALS FROM 1896 TO 1927: GUS HILL S CARTOON SHOWS FOR THE AMERICAN ROAD THEATRE A DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Mark David Winchester, B.A., M.A. ifc i|c a|c if* ifi The Ohio State University 1995 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Alan Woods Lucy Shelton Caswell Adviser Joy Reilly Department of Theatre UMI Number: 9534091 Copyright 1995 by Winchester, Hark David All rights reserved. DM1 Microfore 9534091 Copyright 1995, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This alcrofora edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 ® 1995 Mark David Winchester My Parents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon for the opportunity to serve as a Swann Fellow for the 1993-1994 academic year and for their financial support of this dissertation. I also wish to express my gratitude to Len Alshan, Stephen Billey, Lucy Shelton Caswell, Maryann Chach, Wil Chandler, Kathleen Cleary, Mark Cohen, Kathleen Conlin, Nena Couch and the staff of the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, Debbie Correa, Robertson Davies, Susan DeLay, Toni Dorfman, Reagan Fletcher, Michael Gelpi, R.C. Harvey, Sue Hayes, Draper Hill, M. Thomas Inge, Marcella Jonas, Beth Kattelman, Stephen LaVelle, Ronald S. Magliozzi, David Mason, Mona Montoya, Richard D. Olson, Carolyn Perry, Ted Perry, Fred D. Pfening III, Joy Reilly, Doug Riblet, Brian Rose, Steve Schmersal, the Shubert Archive, Smokey Shumate, Robin Southworth, Gary Sontag, Thomas G. Spaith, Nicole Stevenson, Mark Swartz, Moya Watson, Steven Weiss, Ronald Winchester, Alan Woods, my colleagues at Pharmacia, my fellow volunteers and the staff of the Columbus AIDS Task Force, and my family. VITA March 27, 1965 ............... Bom—Dayton, Ohio 1988 ................................... B.A., California State University, Sacramento 1988-1993 .......................... Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University, Columbus 1990 ................................... M.A., The Ohio State University, Columbus 199 1 ................................... Visiting Lecturer, Denison University, Granville, Ohio 1993-1994 .......................... Swann Fellow, Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, New York, New York 1994 ................................... Visiting Assistant Professor, Ohio University, Athens PUBLICATIONS “Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee: A Classified Bibliography.” Studies in American Drama, 1945-Present 7 (1992) 88-160. 11 The Yellow Kid and the Origins of Comic Strip Theatricals: 1895-1898.” Theatre Studies 37 (1992) 32-55. “Cartoon Theatricals: A Chronology.”Theatre Studies 38 (1993) 56-92. “Comic Strip Theatricals in Public and Private Collections: A Case Study.” Popular Culture in Libraries 1.1 (1993) 67-76. “Litigation and Early Comic Strips: The Lawsuits of Outcault, Dirks and Fisher.” Inks: Cartoon and Comic Art Studies 2.2 (1995) 16-25. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Theatre Studies in Theatre History, Literature and Dramaturgy (Alan Woods); Theatre Criticism (Stratos Constantinidis, Esther Beth Sullivan); and American Comic Strip History (Lucy Shelton Caswell). v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .....................................................................................................iii VITA ........................................................................................................................................iv LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES..................................................................................................................x CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................1 Introduction .................................................................................... 1 Statement of Purpose and Justification...................................... 4 Gus Hill—Biographical Information and Notes on the Growth of the Popular T heatre..................................................... 9 Gus Hill and Cartoon Theatricals—Secondary Sources.............. 35 Litigation and Cartoon Art ............................................................ 51 Gus Hill and Cartoon Theatricals—Primary S ources.................52 C onclusion.........................................................................................59 II. GUS HILL’S FIRST CARTOON THEATRICAL - McFADDEN’S ROW OF FLATS ...............................................................60 Introduction ......................................................................................60 The Yellow Kid—Background and Significance ......................... 61 Hogan s Alley —The First Yellow Kid Show ............................... 70 Copyright Registrations for theYellow Kid S h o w s....................74 Frank Dumont’s Yellow Kid Script ..............................................81 Yellow Kid Shows: “Authorized” and Pirated Productions . 86 Yellow Kids in Vaudeville ............................................................ 92 McFadden’s Row of Flats—'The Second Yellow Kid Show and Gus Hill’s First Cartoon Theatrical ..................................... 94 McFadden’s Row of Flats in the 1897-1898 Season 100 The Long Run ofMcFadden’s Flats—With and Without the Yellow K ids .................................................................................. 103 McFadden’s Flats and the 1903 Star Theatre Protest .... 104 McFadden’s Flats and the Spanish Charge d’Affaires, 1912 110 The Yellow Kid Shows and F ilm .................................................I l l C onclusion.....................................................................................114 III. HAPPY HOOLIGAN AND ALPHONSE AND GASTON ................. 116 Introduction .................................................................................. 116 Cartoon Theatricals (1899-1909).............................................. 116 Happy Hooligan (1901-1902).................................................... 125 Frank Dumont’s Happy Hooligan S c rip t...................................135 Alphonse and Gaston (1902-1903)........................................... 137 Frank Dumont’s Alphonse and Gaston S c rip t.......................... 147 Empire City Amusement Co. v. Wilton (1903)....................... 150 Alphonse and Gaston in the 1902-1903 Season and After . 156 Happy Hooligan in the 1902-1903 Season and A fte r 157 Conclusion..................................................................................... 159 IV. MUTT AND JEFF AND BRINGING UP FATHER .............................160 Introduction .................................................................................. 160 Mutt and Jeff— The First Theatrical Adaptations .....................161 Mutt and Jeff Copyright Infringements..................................... 181 Hill v. Whalen and Martell Inc. (1914)..................................... 182 Mutt and Jeff (1912-1913)......................................................... 187 Mutt and Jeff in Panama (1913-1914) ..................................... 189 Bringing Up Father— The Musical Comedy Adaptations . 192 Subsequent Productions of Mutt and Jeff and Bringing Up Father .....................................................................................200 Fisher v. Hill (1 9 2 5 ).................................................................. 205 Bringing Up Father In Ireland at the Lyric (1924-1925) . 209 Conclusion.....................................................................................220 V. CARTOON THEATRICALS IN BURLESQUE - MUTT AND JEFF AND BRINGING UP FATHER .............................222 Introduction ..................................................................................222 Cartoon Theatricals and the Columbia Burlesque Circuit