Charles Hale Hoyt
Encyclopedia
Charles Hale Hoyt was an American
dramatist.
. He had a difficult childhood, as his mother died when he was nine years old. He graduated at the Boston Latin School
and, after being engaged in the cattle
business in Colorado
for a time, took up newspaper
work, first with the St. Albans (Vt.)
Advertiser, and later becoming musical and dramatic critic of the Boston Post
.
Beginning in 1883, Hoyt turned playwright
and wrote a series of twenty farcical comedies
(roughly one per year until his death) and a comic opera
. Hoyt's plays emphasized individualized characters drawn from the everyday experiences of ordinary people. His 10th play, A Trip to Chinatown
(1892), with its hit tune "The Bowery
", and his 1883 play, A Milk-White Flag, were the most successful. Hoyt had his own theater, the Madison Square Theater, where A Trip to Chinatown was performed 657 times. He was a highly popular playwright and producer, and was very financially successful, thanks in part to the assistance of his business partners, Charles W. Thomas and Frank McKee.
By a landslide, Hoyt was the 19th-century playwright who did the most to combine baseball with his love for the theater. Besides having covered Boston Beaneater baseball for the Boston Post, he was a member of the Boston Elks lodge, whose members included fellow theatrical-sports buff Nat Goodwin. In early 1888, Hoyt was responsible for the stage debut of Boston Elk-Boston Beaneater Mike "King" Kelly
in his A Rag Baby, and for the first-ever star billing given to a ballplayer on the stage. The latter took place in 1895, with longtime Chicago diamond star Cap Anson
drawing the distinction through his A Runaway Colt.
Hoyt was also responsible for two of Kelly and Anson's lesser roles: At the end of the 1888 season, he gave Anson a bit part one day in his A Bunch of Keys; Anson wore "old gray whiskers and an old man’s wig" and stalked forth and shouted, "Good marnin, me min; I want yez to git that hole complaited [completed] to-day." Those were all of his lines, and New York and Chicago players were present. Around Christmas that year, and then New Year’s Day of 1889 in New York, Kelly played a "tough baggage-smasher" in Hoyt’s A Tin Soldier. Kelly was dressed as a tramp, and some of his lines concerned a character named Rats. When someone said to him, "Do have that Rats licked. I’ll give $10 to have that Rats licked," Kelly replied, "Make it $15 and I’ll lick him." Later, when someone said, "Do it well and I’ll make it [$]25," Kelly replied, "Young feller, I’ll blot him off the earth."
Hoyt, once considered one of the most famous citizens of Charlestown, New Hampshire
(before Carlton Fisk
), was twice a member of the New Hampshire Legislature
and was Democratic candidate for Speaker.
Both his first wife, actress Flora Walsh, and his second wife, actress Caroline Miskel
, died after only a few years of marriage. The death of his second wife in 1898 led to Hoyt's being committed to an insane asylum in 1900. Although his stay was brief, he returned to his Charlestown, New Hampshire home and died four months later.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
dramatist.
Biography
Hoyt was born in Concord, New HampshireConcord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
. He had a difficult childhood, as his mother died when he was nine years old. He graduated at the Boston Latin School
Boston Latin School
The Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....
and, after being engaged in the cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
business in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
for a time, took up newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
work, first with the St. Albans (Vt.)
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
Advertiser, and later becoming musical and dramatic critic of the Boston Post
Boston Post
The Boston Post was the most popular daily newspaper in New England for over a hundred years before it folded in 1956. The Post was founded in November 1831 by two prominent Boston businessmen, Charles G...
.
Beginning in 1883, Hoyt turned playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and wrote a series of twenty farcical comedies
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
(roughly one per year until his death) and a comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
. Hoyt's plays emphasized individualized characters drawn from the everyday experiences of ordinary people. His 10th play, A Trip to Chinatown
A Trip to Chinatown
A Trip to Chinatown is a musical comedy in three acts by Charles H. Hoyt with music by Percy Gaunt and lyrics by Hoyt, that became a silent film featuring Anna May Wong half a century later. In addition to the Gaunt and Hoyt score, many songs were interpolated into the score at one time or another...
(1892), with its hit tune "The Bowery
The Bowery (Song)
The Bowery is a song from the musical A Trip to Chinatown with music by Percy Gaunt and lyrics by Charles H. Hoyt. The musical toured the country for several years, then opened on Broadway in 1891.-Description:...
", and his 1883 play, A Milk-White Flag, were the most successful. Hoyt had his own theater, the Madison Square Theater, where A Trip to Chinatown was performed 657 times. He was a highly popular playwright and producer, and was very financially successful, thanks in part to the assistance of his business partners, Charles W. Thomas and Frank McKee.
By a landslide, Hoyt was the 19th-century playwright who did the most to combine baseball with his love for the theater. Besides having covered Boston Beaneater baseball for the Boston Post, he was a member of the Boston Elks lodge, whose members included fellow theatrical-sports buff Nat Goodwin. In early 1888, Hoyt was responsible for the stage debut of Boston Elk-Boston Beaneater Mike "King" Kelly
King Kelly
Michael Joseph "King" Kelly was an American right fielder, catcher, and manager in various professional American baseball leagues including the National League, International Association, Players' League, and the American Association. He spent the majority of his 16-season playing career with the...
in his A Rag Baby, and for the first-ever star billing given to a ballplayer on the stage. The latter took place in 1895, with longtime Chicago diamond star Cap Anson
Cap Anson
Adrian Constantine Anson , nicknamed "Cap" and "Pop", was a National Association and Major League Baseball first baseman...
drawing the distinction through his A Runaway Colt.
Hoyt, once considered one of the most famous citizens of Charlestown, New Hampshire
Charlestown, New Hampshire
Charlestown is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,114 at the 2010 census. The town is home to Hubbard State Forest and the headquarters of the Student Conservation Association....
(before Carlton Fisk
Carlton Fisk
Carlton Ernest Fisk , nicknamed "Pudge" or "The Commander", is a former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 24-year baseball career, he played for both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox .Fisk was known by the nickname "Pudge" due to his 6'2", 220 lb frame...
), was twice a member of the New Hampshire Legislature
New Hampshire General Court
The General Court of New Hampshire is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The lower house is the New Hampshire House of Representatives with 400 members. The upper house is the New Hampshire Senate with 24 members...
and was Democratic candidate for Speaker.
Both his first wife, actress Flora Walsh, and his second wife, actress Caroline Miskel
Caroline Miskel-Hoyt
Caroline Miskel-Hoyt was an American stage actress who became the second wife of playwright Charles Hale Hoyt.-Early life:Caroline Scales , was born in the shadow of Cincinnati along the Kentucky side of the Ohio River at Covington on September 15, 1873...
, died after only a few years of marriage. The death of his second wife in 1898 led to Hoyt's being committed to an insane asylum in 1900. Although his stay was brief, he returned to his Charlestown, New Hampshire home and died four months later.