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Keith entered the vaudeville business in 1893, when he began booking acts at the theater in his curiosity museum. Vaudeville eventually outdrew the museum and became Keith's primary business. In 1886, he obtained a lease on the
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Prior to Keith's death in 1914, his 29 theaters were acquired by his son, A. Paul Keith, and the circuit's longtime general manager, Edward F. Albee. Albee took full control following the younger Keith's death in 1918.
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circuit. The combined theater chain now had over 700 theaters in the United States and Canada. They had a combined seating capacity 1.5 million. 15,000 vaudeville performers will be booked through the new entity.
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119:. The two sides maintained ownership of their respective theaters and agreed not to compete with each other, with Keith & Proctor controlling vaudeville bookings in
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131:. In 1909, Keith, Proctor, Williams, and Hammerstein formed the United Theatres Securities Co. with fellow theater owners Harry Davis of
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for the acts that he booked. Known for a time as the United
Booking Office, and under various other names, the circuit was managed by
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151:. This gave the United Booking Office control over 100 theaters. In 1911, the United Booking Office reached and agreement with
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669:"700 Theatres Merged In Vaudeville Circuit. Keith-Albee and Orpheum Now Largest in Country. Final Papers Signed"
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On
February 11, 1907, the United Booking Office of America was formed by B. F. Keith,
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72:. He quickly expanded his theater business, acquiring the Providence Museum in 1887 (
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In 1928, the theaters owned by Albee and the
Orpheum Circuit merged to form the
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100:. In 1906, Keith merged his New York and New Jersey theatres with
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111:, Edward F. Albee, and A. Paul Keith of Keith & Proctor and
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control of the west. In 1912, Keith purchased
Williams's eight
443:"Benjamin Franklin Keith Theatre Tribute By Edward F. Albee"
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theaters (Bronx, Greenpoint, Gotham, Crescent, Bushwick,
403:. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi. p. 280.
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76:), Low's Opera House (Providence) in 1888, the Bijou (
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704:This United States theatre–related article is a
653:"Friends Share Bulk of A. Paul Keith Estate".
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147:, and James C. Duffield and James Dyment of
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755:Movie theatre chains in the United States
127:and Williams and Hammerstein controlling
43:in the United States and Canada owned by
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512:"Keith-Proctor Co. To Be Dissolved".
471:"B. F. Keith Drops Dead in Florida".
92:in Boston. In 1900, he purchased the
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595:"Vaudeville Merger Now Assured Fact"
31:Poster for Keith's Vaudeville (1905)
422:"Vaudeville to Pay Honors to Keith"
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553:"United Theatres Securities Co".
487:"Keith and Proctor Come Together"
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355:(1893-1992), singer, entertainer
271:Jersey City Theatre, Jersey City
244:Crescent Theater, New York City
235:Bushwick Theater, New York City
196:Allegheny Theatre, Philadelphia
400:The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville
88:) in 1893. In 1894, he opened
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310:Keith's Theatre, Philadelphia
247:Gotham Theater, New York City
708:. You can help Knowledge by
232:Bronx Theatre, New York City
765:United States theatre stubs
334:Prospect Theatre, Cleveland
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638:"In Charge of 29 Houses".
532:Boston Evening Transcript
210:Atlantic City, New Jersey
102:Frederick Freeman Proctor
620:"Incorporate Keith Co".
276:Providence, Rhode Island
74:Providence, Rhode Island
573:The Washington Observer
569:"Big Theater Syndicate"
555:The Wall Street Journal
528:"No Details Known Here"
282:Pawtucket, Rhode Island
228:Jersey City, New Jersey
45:Benjamin Franklin Keith
214:B.F. Keith's Theatre,
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280:Keith's New Theatre,
274:Keith's New Theatre,
216:Lowell, Massachusetts
49:Edward Franklin Albee
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431:. November 30, 1913.
338:Union Square Theatre
206:B.F. Keith's Theatre
199:B.F. Keith Theater,
143:, James H. Moore of
82:Union Square Theatre
760:Vaudeville theaters
657:. November 1, 1918.
557:. November 9, 1909.
534:. February 13, 1907
251:The Harlem Alhambra
184:Keith-Albee-Orpheum
145:Rochester, New York
41:vaudeville theaters
37:B. F. Keith Circuit
677:. January 27, 1928
674:The New York Times
622:The New York Times
575:. November 8, 1909
514:The New York Times
491:Newark Sunday Call
429:The New York Times
347:Notable performers
263:Hippodrome Theater
257:Harlem Opera House
135:, Michael Shea of
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475:. March 27, 1914.
449:. August 28, 1927
313:Keith's Theater,
304:Keith's Theater,
298:Keith's Theater,
292:Keith's Theatre,
139:, P. B. Chase of
117:Oscar Hammerstein
113:Percy G. Williams
16:(Redirected from
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226:Bijou Theatre,
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80:) in 1888, and
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710:expanding it
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679:. Retrieved
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376:Borscht Belt
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306:Indianapolis
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125:Philadelphia
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78:Philadelphia
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153:Martin Beck
749:Categories
681:2015-02-10
382:References
294:Cincinnati
201:Louisville
133:Pittsburgh
353:Rita Bell
267:Cleveland
397:(2012).
360:See also
289:, Boston
223:, Boston
191:Theaters
173:Alhambra
165:Colonial
169:Orpheum
137:Toronto
59:History
605:19 May
579:19 May
538:19 May
497:19 May
453:19 May
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171:, and
149:Canada
121:Boston
98:London
70:Boston
425:(PDF)
706:stub
607:2024
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405:ISBN
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123:and
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
