James McIntyre (theatrical actor)
Encyclopedia
James McIntyre minstrel
performer, vaudeville
and theatrical actor, and a partner in the famous blackface
tramp comedy duo act McIntyre and Heath.
and began working at a young age to support his widowed mother. He showed an early aptitude for dancing and acting. McIntyre sold candy on trains and when "the passengers were in danger of being bored Jim would get out in the aisles and entertain them with his clever acting." He learned the dance form known as clogging
, which is part of the tap dance style. In his early teens he was keen on joining the circus troupes that passed through Kenosha. His mother initially prevented him from doing so. In 1870 he did join the McKenzie circus and then in 1871 joined the Burton and Ridgeway minstrels and toured the South and Western states for a year. Later he performed with the Katie Putnam Troupe, and toured with the Great Transatlantic circus in 1873.
He married Emma Maude Young (1862-1935). She was a dancer and balladeer known by the stage names of "Maude Clifford", and "Maud Clifton" and she performed as part of the Katie Putnam Troupe. Although they had no natural born children of their own they did adopt a daughter Maud Ainsworth Young (1892-1966). She was the biological daughter of Emma's older sister Annie Young (1860-1906) and Emma's brother-in-law Joseph Charles Ainsworth. In adult life Maud Ainsworth McIntyre became the wife of the Brooklyn criminal trial lawyer and Kings County judge George Washington Martin II (1876-1948). Emma sometimes assisted her husband in negotiating theatre contracts. Emma wrote theatrical scripts using the pseudonym Emily Louise Young, and these included The Rag Time Opera of Trial Marriage (1916), and she co-wrote Red Pepper and Hello, Alexander.
In his peak years as a star performer he gave an interview with the New York Times in which he claimed to have been responsible for introducing to vaudeville the Buck and Wing style of dance that is one form of tap dance
.
(1853-1938) in Texas. They developed a blackface tramp duo minstrel act. McIntyre played the character of Alexander Hambletonian who was a buffoonish stable-boy. Heath acted as "Henry Jones" a clever black entertainer who frequently outwits Alexander. Their routines included an oft-performed skit known as the Georgia Minstrels where the character Henry persuades the witless Alexander to quit working as a stable-boy and joins a traveling show where he is promised fame and fortune. None of the fame or fortune materializes and Alexander has comical and outrageous tasks to perform under Henry's direction which allowed them to act out comedic dialogue, dance and songs. Another skit, called the Ham Tree, and which formed the nucleus of a later stage play, involved the two characters discussing how ham grows on trees that are three hundred feet tall.
Their acting partnership endured for some fifty years as they worked under the twin influential theatre managers of Tony Pastor
and Benjamin Franklin Keith
appearing as stars in both vaudeville and Broadway
. Their blackface minstrel shows were an influential model followed by later film stars such as Al Jolson
. Their best known plays included:
. He was buried in Southampton Cemetery
.
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
performer, vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and theatrical actor, and a partner in the famous blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
tramp comedy duo act McIntyre and Heath.
Family and early career
McIntyre was born in Kenosha, WisconsinKenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...
and began working at a young age to support his widowed mother. He showed an early aptitude for dancing and acting. McIntyre sold candy on trains and when "the passengers were in danger of being bored Jim would get out in the aisles and entertain them with his clever acting." He learned the dance form known as clogging
Clogging
Clogging is a type of folk dance with roots in traditional European dancing, early African-American dance, and traditional Cherokee dance in which the dancer's footwear is used musically by striking the heel, the toe, or both in unison against a floor or each other to create audible percussive...
, which is part of the tap dance style. In his early teens he was keen on joining the circus troupes that passed through Kenosha. His mother initially prevented him from doing so. In 1870 he did join the McKenzie circus and then in 1871 joined the Burton and Ridgeway minstrels and toured the South and Western states for a year. Later he performed with the Katie Putnam Troupe, and toured with the Great Transatlantic circus in 1873.
He married Emma Maude Young (1862-1935). She was a dancer and balladeer known by the stage names of "Maude Clifford", and "Maud Clifton" and she performed as part of the Katie Putnam Troupe. Although they had no natural born children of their own they did adopt a daughter Maud Ainsworth Young (1892-1966). She was the biological daughter of Emma's older sister Annie Young (1860-1906) and Emma's brother-in-law Joseph Charles Ainsworth. In adult life Maud Ainsworth McIntyre became the wife of the Brooklyn criminal trial lawyer and Kings County judge George Washington Martin II (1876-1948). Emma sometimes assisted her husband in negotiating theatre contracts. Emma wrote theatrical scripts using the pseudonym Emily Louise Young, and these included The Rag Time Opera of Trial Marriage (1916), and she co-wrote Red Pepper and Hello, Alexander.
In his peak years as a star performer he gave an interview with the New York Times in which he claimed to have been responsible for introducing to vaudeville the Buck and Wing style of dance that is one form of tap dance
Tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the...
.
Partnership with Heath
In 1874 he met Thomas Kurton HeathThomas Kurton Heath
Thomas Kurton Heath was a vaudeville actor with James McIntyre. They started their act in 1874.-References:...
(1853-1938) in Texas. They developed a blackface tramp duo minstrel act. McIntyre played the character of Alexander Hambletonian who was a buffoonish stable-boy. Heath acted as "Henry Jones" a clever black entertainer who frequently outwits Alexander. Their routines included an oft-performed skit known as the Georgia Minstrels where the character Henry persuades the witless Alexander to quit working as a stable-boy and joins a traveling show where he is promised fame and fortune. None of the fame or fortune materializes and Alexander has comical and outrageous tasks to perform under Henry's direction which allowed them to act out comedic dialogue, dance and songs. Another skit, called the Ham Tree, and which formed the nucleus of a later stage play, involved the two characters discussing how ham grows on trees that are three hundred feet tall.
Their acting partnership endured for some fifty years as they worked under the twin influential theatre managers of Tony Pastor
Tony Pastor
Tony Pastor was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid-to-late nineteenth century...
and Benjamin Franklin Keith
Benjamin Franklin Keith
Benjamin Franklin Keith was an American vaudeville theatre owner, highly influential in the evolution of variety theater into vaudeville.-Early years:...
appearing as stars in both vaudeville and Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. Their blackface minstrel shows were an influential model followed by later film stars such as Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
. Their best known plays included:
- The Ham Tree that was performed ninety times at the New York TheatreNew York TheatreSeveral theatres in New York City have been called New York Theatre at various times during the building's life. They include the following:*Bowery Theatre*Olympia Theatre *Church of the Messiah...
between August and November 1905. Included in the cast was W. C. FieldsW. C. FieldsWilliam Claude Dukenfield , better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer...
. - In Hayti was performed fifty-six times at the Circle TheatreCircle TheatreCircle Theatre or Circle Theater may refer to:*Armstrong Circle Theatre*Actors Circle Theatre*Magic Circle Theatre*Circle in the Square Theatre*Circle X Theatre*Circle in the Square Theatre School...
between August and October 1909. - Hello, Alexander was performed fifty-six times at the 44th Street Theatre44th Street TheatreThe 44th Street Theatre was a New York City Broadway theatre from 1912 to 1945 in the United States of America. It was located on Broadway, at West 44th Street. Architect was William A. Swansea. Built by the Shuberts, and first named Weber and Fields' Music Hall, its name was changed when the...
between October and November 1919. - Red Pepper was performed at the Shubert TheatreShubert Theatre (Broadway)The Shubert Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 225 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan, New York, United States.Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts, it was named after Sam S. Shubert, the second oldest of the three brothers of the theatrical producing family...
in 1922.
Death
McIntyre died aged eighty at his estate in Noyack, New YorkNoyack, New York
Noyack is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 2,696 at the 2000 census.Noyack is an Indian word meaning “a corner or point of land”. It’s...
. He was buried in Southampton Cemetery
Southampton Cemetery
Southampton Cemetery is located in Southampton, New York. Southampton has 47 public and private cemeteries.-Notable burials:*Roone Pinckney Arledge *Carl Andrew Capasso *Jack Dempsey *Patricia Kennedy Lawford...
.
Archives
- The Billy Rose Theatre Collection at the New York Public Library for the Performing ArtsNew York Public Library for the Performing ArtsThe New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center houses one of the world's largest collections of materials relating to the performing arts. It is one of the four research centers of the New York Public Library's Research library system, and it is also one...
contains photographs and theater memorabilia. - The McIntyre and Heath Archive 1878-1936 10 Boxes held in the Charles Deering McCormick Library at Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Illinois holds fan mail, photos, playbills, posters, correspondence with Emma Young, texts of comic operas, and contracts. - Some playbills and theater programs for McInytre & Heath are held at the Brooklyn Public Library, refer to to the Brooklyn Theater Playbills and Programs Collection 1875-1972.
- Four digital photographs of McIntyre and Heath (one dated 1874, another 1909, and two undated) can be viewed by searching in Macauley's Theatre Collection, in the photographic archives of Ekstrom Library, University of Louisville.
External links
- "James McIntyre" in Olympians of the Sawdust Circle, Circus Historical Society.