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152:(a cross between a variety theater, a saloon, and—often—a brothel), which he turned into the city's leading such establishment. A pioneer of theater circuits—booking the same act successively into multiple cities to make it worth their while to tour to his remote part of the country—he was so successful that in 1888 he built a new 800-seat Standard Theater at the southeast corner of Occidental and Washington streets. This was Seattle's first theater with electric lighting, more modern than the gas-lit
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Circuit. At this point, he was
Seattle's leading theatrical impresario. However, Klaw and Erlanger were more focused on box-office potential than artistic merit, and Cort's position in the market had given him an audience with some critical faculties. If people were being offered badly produced
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By 1903, Cort's
Northwestern Theatrical Association controlled 37 theaters in the American West, allowing him to compete with some success against the Eastern entertainment establishment. He signed an agreement with
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258:. Cort, in turn, headed for New York, where he became a notable producer and manager, as well as the founder of New York's Cort, now James Earl Jones, Theatre.
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140:-born Cort started his career as a stage actor of little distinction and as part of a comedy duo, Cort and Murphy. He first became a theater manager in
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Cort's Grand Opera House suffered several fires; one of these, in 1917, gutted it, and the building has been a parking garage since 1923. The
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Like John
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into an impact on
America's national theater scene. While Considine and Pantages focused mainly on
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438:, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, National Park Service. Accessed December 22, 2007.
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Syndicate Denies a Truce; But
Opinion Is That a Sort of Agreement Has Been Made with Cort
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plays, they would skip legitimate theater entirely and go see a vaudeville show.
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183:(opened 1900) on Cherry Street. Geographically he had crossed north of "
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With
Considine, he played a major role in one of the country's rising
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Hard Drive to the
Klondike: Promoting Seattle During the Gold Rush
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was one of the first national theater circuits. Along with
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of dramatic talent, and his theaters became part of the
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In the summers of 1916-1918, Ruby
Stevens (the future
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92:(ca. 1861 – November 17, 1929) was an American
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347:, Reeds Tickets. Accessed December 22, 2007.
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486:Businesspeople from New York City
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407:Barbara Stanwyck: a Biography
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456:Internet Broadway Database
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200:Fraternal Order of Eagles
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122:James Earl Jones Theatre
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189:variety entertainment
132:Variety theater years
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345:Cort Theater Tickets
252:Shubert Organization
208:Loyal Order of Moose
405:Diorio, Al (1983).
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393:The New York Times
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