William J. Wilson
William J. Wilson (1874 – March 2, 1936) was a Scottish theatre director, choreographer, stage manager, and stage and film actor active in the United States and the United Kingdom. From 1910-1914 and again from 1925-1927 he worked as a stage director and choreographer for the Shubert family of Broadway producers. He also staged works on London's West End.
Life and career[edit]
Born in Scotland in 1874,[1] William J. Wilson made his Broadway debut in 1902 as Lopez in Gustav Luders's King Dodo.[2] He directed his first Broadway production in 1910, a revival of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, at the Casino Theatre.[3] It was the first of many shows that he would direct for producers and brothers Lee, Sam S., and Jacob J. Shubert over the next four and a half years; some of which he also choreographed. Other works he directed for the Shubert family on Broadway include Up and Down Broadway (1910),[4] La Belle Paree (1911, also as choreographer),[5] Bow-Sing (1911),[5]The Kiss Waltz (1911),[6] The Never Homes (1911),[7] The Duchess (1911),[8] Vera Violetta (1911),[9] The Wedding Trip (1911),[10] The Pirates of Penzance (1912), Under Many Flags (1912),[11] The Dove of Peace (1912),[12] The Man with Three Wives (1913),[13] The Beggar Student (1913), H.M.S. Pinafore (1913 and again in 1914), Iolanthe (1913), All Aboard (1913),[14] America (1913),[15] The Pleasure Seekers (1913),[16] The Whirl of the World (1914),[17] and Wars of the World (1914).[18]
In January 1915, while working on staging a circus production at the New York Hippodrome for the Schuberts, a dispute with J.J. Schubert arose which ended Wilson's employment with the Schubert company along with the employment of the Hippodrome's general director Arthur Voegtlin and musical director Manuel Klein.[19] At the time of the firing, these men were described in The New York Times as " the best-known and highest-salaried men in their branch of the theatrical profession".[19]
After leaving the Schuberts, Wilson staged the 1916 musical The Road to Mandalay, and then did not return to Broadway again for another decade.[20] In 1925 he was once again working for the Schuberts; directing the 1925 musical Mayflowers.[21] This was followed by staging two final productions for the Schubert family, The Wild Rose (1926)[22] and Oh, Ernest! (1927).[23]
Wilson worked briefly as a silent film actor, appearing in the films America (1914) and The Inevitable Penalty (1915).[24]
Wilson also worked as a theatre director and producer in London's West End. In 1921 he directed the UK premiere of the Frank Mandel, Otto Harbach, and Louis Hirsch musical Mary at the Queen's Theatre.[25] In 1925 he directed The Gipsy Princess at the Prince of Wales Theatre.[26] In 1930 he directed the musical revue De La Folie Pure by Noel Scott and Charles Austin at the Victoria Palace Theatre.[27] In 1933 he produced the musical The Only Girl at the Hippodrome, London; a work co-created by Frank Eyton, Clifford Grey, and Herbert C. Sargent with music by Vincent Youmans.[28] In 1934 he directed The Rose of Persia at the Princes Theatre.[29]
Wilson died on March 2, 1936, in Cincinnati, Ohio.[1]
Citations[edit]
- ^ a b Vazzana, p. 572
- ^ "King Dodo". The Cast. VII (13). New York: The Cast Publishing Co.: 13 May 26, 1902.
- ^ "Summer Show and Roof-Garden Season Now at Hand; Light Amusements in Prospect---Warfield Returns for a Brief Engagement---"The Mikado" Again---At Roof Gardens and Seaside Resorts". The New York Times. May 29, 1910. p. X6.
- ^ Dietz, p. 27
- ^ a b Dietz, p. 73-74
- ^ Dietz, p. 100
- ^ Dietz, p. 104
- ^ Dietz, p. 106
- ^ Scott, p. 290
- ^ Dietz, p. 127
- ^ Dietz, p. 167
- ^ Dietz, p. 183
- ^ Dietz, p. 202
- ^ "ALL ABOARD' BIG HIT NEW ROOF DELIGHTS; An Exceptionally Fine Summer Show in Attractive Surroundings Atop 44th St. Theatre". The New York Times. June 6, 1913. p. 11.
- ^ Dietz, p. 226
- ^ Dietz, p. 240
- ^ "BRILLIANT SHOW AT THE WINTER GARDEN; Color, Dance, Song, and Fun, with an Added Touch of Effective Spectacle". The New York Times. January 11, 1914. p. 15.
- ^ Franceschina, "William J. Wilson"
- ^ a b "ROW IN HIPPODROME.; Directors Out After a Clash with J. J. Shubert". The New York Times. January 25, 1915. p. 3.
- ^ Dietz, p. 343
- ^ The New York Times (November 25, 1925). "MAYFLOWERS' BLOOM WITH SWEET TUNES; Attractive Musical Play at the New Forrest Enriched by Ivy Sawyer and Joseph Santley". The New York Times. p. 14.
- ^ Asch, p. 79
- ^ "Royale; Oh Ernest!". Billboard. August 13, 1927. p. 95.
- ^ Braff, p. 253
- ^ Wearing, The London Stage 1920-1929, p. 92
- ^ Scott, p. 300
- ^ Wearing, The London Stage 1930-1939, p. 23
- ^ Wearing, The London Stage 1930-1939, p. 271
- ^ Wearing, The London Stage 1930-1939, p. 424
Bibliography[edit]
- Amy Asch, ed. (2008). The complete lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 9780375413582.
- Richard E. Braff (2002). The Braff Silent Short Film Working Papers: Over 25,000 Films, 1903-1929, Alphabetized and Indexed. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786410316.
- Dan Dietz (2021). The Complete Book of 1910s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9781538150283.
- John Franceschina (2018). "William J. Wilson". Incidental and Dance Music in the American Theatre from 1786 to 1923 Volume 1. BearManor Media.
- Derek B. Scott (2019). German Operetta on Broadway and in the West End, 1900-1940. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108484589.
- J. P. Wearing (2014). The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9780810893023.
- J. P. Wearing (2014). The London Stage 1930-1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9780810893047.
- Eugene Michael Vazzana (1995). Silent Film Necrology: Births and Deaths of Over 9000 Performers, Directors, Producers, and Other Filmmakers of the Silent Era, Through 1993. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786401321.