Mark Hart (actor)

Last updated

Mark Hart (c. 1873, Worcester, Massachusetts - November 25, 1950, Worcester) was an American actor who had a five decade long career on the American stage. [1]

Contents

Life and career

Born in Worcester, Mark Hart was the nephew of actor Tony Hart. While a teenager he began his career performing with his uncle and the actor Edward Harrigan in their well known vaudeville act Harrigan & Hart. [1] He made his Broadway debut in 1905 portraying the conniving politician Pat McCann in the Jean Schwartz and William Jerome musical Fritz in Tammany Hall . [2] He portrayed another politician, Sam Grady, in Joseph E. Howard's 1906 Broadway musical The District Leader at Wallack's Theatre. [3] He returned to Broadway in 1912 as Sarsfield O'Brien in The Girl from Brighton at the Academy of Music. [4]

Hart served a term as vice president of The Lambs. He also served as an officer of the Actors' Equity Association and was a member of the White Rats of America. He died at the age of 77 on November 25, 1950, in Worcester, Massachusetts. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Harrigan</span> American actor and playwright

Edward Harrigan was an Irish-American actor, singer, dancer, playwright, lyricist and theater producer who, together with Tony Hart, formed one of the most celebrated theatrical partnerships of the 19th century. His career began in minstrelsy and variety but progressed to the production of multi-act plays full of singing, dancing and physical comedy, making Harrigan one of the founding fathers of modern American musical theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Dingle</span> American actor (1887–1956)

Charles Dingle was an American stage and film actor.

Joan Pringle is an American actress known for her role as vice principal Sybil Buchanan in the CBS drama series, The White Shadow (1978–1981), for which she received NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. She later starred in the soap opera, Generations from 1989 to 1991 and had the recurring roles in One on One and Girlfriends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Hart (theater)</span> American actor and singer

Tony Hart was an American actor, comedian and singer. He is best known for working with Edward Harrigan in the late 19th century comedy team of Harrigan & Hart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Hickman</span> English actor

Alfred Hickman was an English actor. He was married to actress Nance O'Neil. He appeared in 35 films between 1914 and 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Whiting (actor)</span> American actor, singer and dancer (1901–1961)

Jack Whiting was an American actor, singer and dancer whose career ran from the early 1920s through the late 1950s, playing leading men or major supporting figures.

Ernest Albert, born Ernest Albert Brown, was an American painter, illustrator, muralist, and scenic designer. He was a prolific scenic designer, first in St. Louis and Chicago and then on Broadway. He is considered a major American landscape painter and was elected the first president of the Allied Artists of America in 1919.

<i>When Knighthood Was in Flower</i> (play)

When Knighthood Was in Flower is a play in four acts by Paul Kester. It is based on the 1898 novel of the same name by Charles Major. The work premiered on Broadway at the Criterion Theatre on January 14, 1901. It ran for a total of 176 performances; closing in June 1901. The original production was produced by Charles Frohman and used sets by Ernest Albert, Frank E. Gates and Edward A. Morange. The costumes were designed by Mrs. Charles Hone and Harper Pennington. The cast was led by Bruce McRae as Charles Brandon and Julia Marlowe as Mary Tudor among others.

The Billionaire is a musical in three acts with music by Gustave Kerker, and both book and lyrics by Harry B. Smith. The show was written with the backing of producers Klaw and Erlanger and was made specifically for the talents of Jerome Sykes who portrayed "The Billionaire", John Doe. The action of the musical begins in Nice, France during Carnival where the billionaire Sykes meets a young American girl, Pansy Good, studying to be an actress. Impressed with her talents, he buys her Doe's Theatre in New York City and establishes her as a star. Later, Doe attempts to ride a horse in a race at the Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, but is too fat to succeed. Pansy rides the horse instead and wins the race.

The White Hen is a musical in two acts with music by composer Gustav Kerker, a book by Roderic C. Penfield, and lyrics co-authored by Penfield and Paul West. Set in Tyrol, Austria, the story takes place at an inn, 'The White Hen', owned by Hensie Blinder. The musical begins after Blinder returns from a trip to Vienna in which he engaged a matrimonial agency to help him find a wife. Upon his return to the inn, several women arrive in response to the advertisement placed by the agency and a comedy of errors ensues; including Blinder mistakenly believing he has committed the crime of bigamy.

Paul West was an American playwright, lyricist, newspaper editor, journalist, screenwriter, author, and talent agent. After working as a journalist in Massachusetts from 1888 to 1892, he began his career in the theatre as a press representative for Charles H. Hoyt; followed by a season as the business manager for the opera singer and actress Camille D'Arville and the comedian Frank Daniels. From 1898 to 1911 he worked on the editorial staff The New York Sunday World during which time be began a career as a prolific lyricist for both Broadway musicals and Tin Pan Alley publishers of popular song; publishing more the 500 songs during his lifetime. He also worked as a playwright, penning both plays and the books for several musicals. More than 15 of his stage works were mounted on Broadway between the years 1902–1913. In 1904 his children's book The Pearl and the Pumpkin was published; a work which he later adapted into a 1905 musical.

Otis C. Sheridan was an American character actor who had a five decade long career on the stage from the 1890s into the early 1940s. He made his Broadway debut in 1901 as Ludwig Dollar in Thomas Q. Seabrooke's revival of the musical The Rounders. He appeared in several more Broadway musicals and plays into the late 1930s, and was also active in regional theatre until his retirement from the stage in 1941. In addition to a career in the theater, he appeared in the films The Night Angel (1931) and Sweet Surrender (1935).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Dillea</span> American composer, songwriter and conductor

Otho Herbert Dilley, better known by his stage and pen name Herbert Dillea, was an American composer, songwriter, and conductor. He composed the music to three Broadway musicals: The Floor Walkers (1900), The Head Waiters (1902), and My Wife Won't Let Me (1906). As a songwriter, Dilley was best known as the composer to the popular standard "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" ; a work which was recorded multiple times by singer Harry Macdonough and cornetist Jules Levy for records made for the Victor Talking Machine Company and Columbia Records from 1902 through 1905, and later was recorded by Wayne King in 1947. He was also the composer of the ragtime piece Rag time society which was recorded several times by the Metropolitan Orchestra for Victor in 1901 and 1902.

Lifting the Lid is a musical in four scenes with music by Jean Schwartz, lyrics by William Jerome, and a book by John J. McNally. The musical was a spoof of New York City politics of the early 20th century, and included impersonations of both political figures and other personalities of the period. The Manhattan district attorney William Travers Jerome was particularly lampooned as the musical's central character, district attorney William T. G. Rome, was a send up of Jerome and performed in an uncanny impersonation by the actor Julius Tannen.

Fritz in Tammany Hall is a musical in three acts with music by Jean Schwartz, lyrics by William Jerome, and a book by John J. McNally. The musical takes place in 1905 in New York City and on Long Island. It was a political spoof of New York City politics of that period.

Lola from Berlin is a musical in three acts with music by Jean Schwartz, lyrics by William Jerome, and a book by John J. McNally. The musical was created as a starring vehicle for actress Lulu Glaser who portrayed the title role in the original production. The work is about the German girl Lotchen von Breckenhaussett, aka "Lola", who travels from Berlin to New York City to collect an unexpected inheritance from a distant American relation.

The Silver Star is a musical in three acts with both book and lyrics by Harry B. Smith and music by many composers. A Christmas musical, the work was created for the Danish dancer Adeline Genée who portrays the central character of Viola.

The Wild Rose is a musical in two acts with music by Ludwig Engländer and both book and lyrics by Harry B. Smith and George V. Hobart. The work also contained the hit song "A Most Unlucky Man" by the songwriting team of Jean Schwartz and William Jerome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silvio Hein</span> American composer and songwriter (1879–1928)

Silvio Hein was an American composer, songwriter, conductor, and theatrical producer. He was a songwriter for Tin Pan Alley and composed the scores to fourteen Broadway musicals. His most successful stage work was the 1917 musical Flo-Flo which he created with the French librettist and playwright Fred de Gresac. His songs were also interpolated into musicals created by others, including The Little Duchess and Ziegfeld Follies. In addition to his work writing music, he also worked as both a conductor and producer on Broadway. In 1914 he was a founding member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

When Dreams Comes True is a musical in three acts and four scenes with music by Silvio Hein and both book and lyrics by Philip Bartholomae.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "MARK HART, ACTOR, DIES; Veteran of 50 Years on Stage Was Former Officer of Lambs". The New York Times . November 28, 1950. p. 30.
  2. Dietz, p. 310
  3. Dietz, 356
  4. Mantle, Sherwood & Chapman, p. 474

Bibliography