James Morrison Steele MacKaye (icon ; June 6, 1842 – February 25, 1894) was an American playwright, actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

, theater manager and inventor. Having acted, written, directed and produced numerous and popular plays and theatrical spectaculars of the day, he became one of the most famous actors and theater producers of his generation.

Biography

Steele MacKaye was born in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

. His father, Colonel James M. MacKaye, was a successful attorney and an ardent abolitionist

Abolitionism

Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...

; Steele's mother died when he was young. He had three sisters—Sarah MacKaye Alling (1809–1904), Emily MacKaye von Hesse (1838–?), Sarah MacKaye Warner (1840–1876)—and two half-brothers—William Henry MacKaye (1834–1888) and Henry Goodwin MacKaye (1856–1913). While young, Steele attended Roe's Military Academy in Cornwall-on-Hudson and the William Leverett Boarding School in Newport. Under the influence from his father, who was also an art connoisseur, MacKaye initially planned to become an artist. During his teens he studied painting with William Morris Hunt

William Morris Hunt

William Morris Hunt , American painter, was born at Brattleboro, Vermont to Jane Maria Hunt and Hon. Jonathan Hunt, who raised one of the preeminent families in American art...

, then continued his studies at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. He returned to the U.S. in order to serve for the Union Army during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. A member of New York's Seventh Regiment, he eventually rose to the rank of Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 before an illness forced his retirement. MacKaye would later model in full uniform for John Quincy Adams Ward

John Quincy Adams Ward

John Quincy Adams Ward was an American sculptor, who is most familiar for his over-lifesize standing statue of George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall on Wall Street.-Early years:...

's Seventh Regiment Memorial statue, which stands in Central Park

Central Park

Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...

.
In 1869, MacKaye traveled to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 with his family, where he became the disciple of the renowned French acting teacher François Delsarte

François Delsarte

François Alexandre Nicolas Chéri Delsarte was a French musician and teacher.Delsarte was born in Solesmes, Nord. He was a pupil of the Paris Conservatory, was for a time tenor singer in the Opéra Comique, and composed a few songs. However, he is chiefly known as a teacher in singing and...

. Under Delsarte, MacKaye learned to enhance performance through pose and gesture. He would later teach and utilize this system during his career. On his return to the United States a year later, he lectured on the philosophy of ethics and "natural" acting in New York, Boston and elsewhere. In 1873 he became the first American actor to portray Hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.
MacKaye was the author of thirty plays. As a dramatist, MacKaye is seen as representative of the transition from an older theatrical tradition to a newer one, incorporating realism and naturalistic portrayals. His first play to be published was Hazel Kirke, which was privately printed in New York in 1880. In the mid-1880s he helped establish the first school of acting in the United States, the Lyceum Theatre School, which later became the American Academy of Dramatic Arts

American Academy of Dramatic Arts

The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is a fully accredited two-year conservatory with facilities located in Manhattan, New York City – at 120 Madison Avenue, in a landmark building designed by noted architect Stanford White as the original Colony Club – and in Hollywood, California...

 (AADA). He was also well known for his theatrical innovations, having invented a variety of devices including flame-proof curtains, folding theater seats and the "Nebulator", a machine for creating clouds onstage. In all, he patented over 100 theatrical inventions.

By 1885, MacKaye had established three theaters in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

: the St. James, Madison Square and the Lyceum Theatre

Lyceum Theatre (New York, 1885-1902)

The Lyceum Theatre operated on Manhattan’s Fourth Avenue between 23rd and 24th Streets, from 1885 to 1902, when it was torn down to make way for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower and replaced by the Lyceum Theatre on 45th Street...

. For the Chicago World's Fair

World's Columbian Exposition

The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...

 of 1893, he began to construct a theatre capable of seating 10,000 people—the "Spectatorium"—but the Panic of 1893

Panic of 1893

The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...

 deprived the project of necessary funds. The project was left incomplete.

MacKaye married Jeannie Spring, the daughter of Marcus Spring

Marcus Spring

Marcus Spring was the creator of the Raritan Bay Union, a utopian community in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.-Early life:...

, during the time he was teaching art at Marcus Spring's Eagleswood Military Academy

Eagleswood Military Academy

The Eagleswood Military Academy was a private military academy in Perth Amboy, New Jersey which served antebellum educational needs.The Eagleswood Military Academy was started by Rebecca Spring and Marcus Spring in 1861 in the vicinity of the Route 35/Smith Street intersection...

, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey

Perth Amboy, New Jersey

Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The City of Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 50,814. Perth Amboy is known as the "City by the Bay", referring to Raritan Bay.-Name:The Lenape...

. After a brief marriage to Jeannie, which ended in divorce, MacKaye married his second wife, Mary K. Medbery, in 1865. The couple had six children, three of which were James MacKaye

James MacKaye

James Medbury MacKaye was an American engineer and philosopher.MacKaye was born in New York City, the son of actor Steele MacKaye and Mary MacKaye, and brother of poet Percy MacKaye and conservationist Benton MacKaye. He attended Grammar School No...

, Percy MacKaye

Percy MacKaye

Percy MacKaye was an American dramatist and poet.-Biography:MacKaye was born in New York City, New York. After graduating from Harvard in 1897, he traveled in Europe for three years, residing in Rome, Switzerland and London, studying at the University of Leipzig in 1899–1900...

 and Benton MacKaye

Benton MacKaye

Benton MacKaye was an American forester, planner and conservationist. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut; his father was actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye. After studying forestry at Harvard University , Benton later taught there for several years. He joined a number of Federal bureaus and...

. His son Percy published his father's biography, Epoch: The Life of Steele MacKaye, in 1927.

Works

He wrote the plays Monaldi and Marriage. Other works include:

• The Twins (1876)
• Won at Last
  Won At Last
  Won at Last is a five act comedic play by American dramatist Steele MacKaye. The play was written and is set in 1877.-Cast:The cast of characters is:*John Fleming, a man of the world*Professor Tracy, a man of science...
  
  (1877)
• Through the Dark (1878), later called Money Mad
• Hazel Kirke
  Hazel Kirke
  Hazel Kirke is a play in four acts written by American actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye. The play was written between 1878 and 1879 in the town of Dublin, New Hampshire. MacKaye meant it to be expressly for New York City's Madison Square Theatre, which MacKaye had recently renovated and...
  
  (1880)
• Anarchy (1887), originally called Paul Kauvar; or Anarchy, later shortened to Anarchy, and then again changed to Paul Kauvar.
• A Fool's Errand
• In Spite of All

External links