Movie Theatre Forum

Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.
Movie Theatre Forum

For people who enjoy the theatres in their communities.


    The Original Vaudeville Theatre

    Admin
    Admin
    Admin


    Posts : 65
    Points : 143
    Reputation : 1
    Join date : 2009-08-06
    Age : 82
    Location : Seguin, Texas

    The Original Vaudeville Theatre Empty The Original Vaudeville Theatre

    Post  Admin Sat Aug 08, 2009 1:23 pm

    The Vaudeville Theatre
    I was looking on Google for the first Vaudeville Theatre in the United States and I was surprised to see that people are still giving credit to a theatre in Boston which was started in 1883.

    I added this website to help straighten the matter. The origin of Vaudeville is a French term and comes from Valley of the Vire where a form of variety acting took place.

    Jack Harris was a proprietor of a saloon and theatre in San Antonio. This theater opened about 1872 and by 1874 was calling itself the Vaudeville Theatre. Jack Harris was a popular man in San Antonio and held sway over the sporting community and the politics of San Antonio. He never held office, but was head of the Democratic Party in San Antonio.

    Jack Harris was shot by Ben Thompson on July 11, 1882 and this made national headlines. Then on March 11,1884, Ben Thompson and King Fisher were killed in the Vaudeville Theatre. This made front page of the New York Times.

    The acting at the time was known as Variety and the name gradually changed to Vaudeville. The acting in the Vaudeville Theatre in San Antonio and about a half dozen other saloon and theatres in San Antonio was also Variety. When the east picked up the term from San Antonio, it began calling the form Vaudeville and that spread west again. Returning to its origin.

    Many of the original theatre circuits around the country were playing vaudeville in the theatres and then began showing movies in between. Gradually movies became more popular than Vaudeville and Vaudeville was phased out and the theatres concentrated on film.

    See my original site: http://www.original-vaudeville-theatre.com/
    Admin
    Admin
    Admin


    Posts : 65
    Points : 143
    Reputation : 1
    Join date : 2009-08-06
    Age : 82
    Location : Seguin, Texas

    The Original Vaudeville Theatre Empty Re: The Original Vaudeville Theatre

    Post  Admin Sun Aug 16, 2009 3:20 pm

    Here's a photo of the Vaudeville:

    The Original Vaudeville Theatre VaudevilleTheatre-1

    Jack Harris:

    The Original Vaudeville Theatre JackHarrisjpg

    Ben Thompson:

    The Original Vaudeville Theatre BenThompsonjpg

    Here I am posing as Jack Harris at a headstone we erected in 1982, the Centennial of the shooting:


    The Original Vaudeville Theatre JackHarrisheadstone010-1

      Current date/time is Mon Dec 02, 2024 10:11 am