Benjamin Franklin Keith (1846-1914) in 1902

Keith Memorial Theatre, Boston

Benjamin Franklin Keith (January 26, 1846 – March 26, 1914) was an American impresario who founded a chain of vaudeville theatres. Image File history File links BF_Keith_Memorial_Theatre,_Boston_interior. ... Image File history File links BF_Keith_Memorial_Theatre,_Boston_interior. ... January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

He was born in Hillsboro Bridge, New Hampshire and worked at Bunnell's Museum in New York City in the early 1860s. He later joined P.T. Barnum and then joined the Forepaugh Circus, before he opened a curio museum in Boston, in 1883, with Colonel William Austin. In 1885 he joined Edward Franklin Albee II, who was selling circus tickets, in founding and operating the Boston Bijou Theatre. The theatre was one of the early adopters of the continuous variety show which ran from 10:00 in the morning until 11:00 at night, every day. Previously, shows ran at fixed intervals with several hours of downtime between shows. With the continuous show, you could enter the theatre at anytime, and stay until you reached the point in the show where you walked in. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Nickname: Big Apple; City that never Sleeps; Gotham Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891), American showman who is best remembered for his entertaining hoaxes and for founding the circus that eventually became Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. ... Boston is a town and small port c. ... William Austin (1884-1975) was a British character actor (born in British Guiana) who appeared in many films and serials between the 1920s and the 1940s, though the vast majority of his roles were small and uncredited. ... Edward Franklin Albee II (October 8, 1857 – March 11, 1930) was a vaudeville impresario, and the adoptive grandfather of Edward Franklin Albee III, the playwright. ...

Moving pictures

Albee and Keith opened the Union Square Theatre in New York City, and it was the site of the first American exhibition of the Lumière Cinématographe. The first showing was on June 29, 1896, they had obtained the exclusive American rights to the Lumière apparatus and their film output. They then opened theatres in Philadelphia, and Boston, and then smaller theatres in the East and Midwest of the United States, buying out rival smaller chains. They signed a contract with Biograph Studios in 1896 which lasted until July of 1905 when they switched to Edison Studios as their supplier of motion pictures. Keith and Albee merged their theatre circuit with Frederick Freeman Proctor in June of 1906. The Lumière Brothers, Louis Jean (October 5, 1864–June 6, 1948) and Auguste Marie Louis Nicholas (October 19, 1862–April 10, 1954), were the creators of the cinematographic projector. ... June 29 is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 185 days remaining. ... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the City That Loves You Back, the Quaker City, The Birthplace of America Motto: Philadelphia maneto - Let brotherly love continue Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor John F. Street (D... Boston is a town and small port c. ... The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company (also known as the Biograph Company) was founded in 1895 and is the oldest movie production company in the United States. ... The Black Maria (pronounced b. ... For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as...

Death

Keith withdrew from business in 1909, and died at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida in 1914. After his son, Andrew Keith died in 1918, control of the company went to Albee. Palm Beachs skyline, as seen from Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. ...

Legacy

Fourteen years after Keith's death, the Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) corporation was formed in Delaware on January 28, 1928. The Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation was the owner of a chain of vaudeville and motion picture theatres. ... Official language(s) None Capital Dover Largest city Wilmington Area  Ranked 49th  - Total 2,491 sq mi (6,452 km²)  - Width 30 miles (48 km)  - Length 100 miles (161 km)  - % water 21. ... January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Timeline

• 1846 Birth in Hillsboro Bridge, New Hampshire on January 26th
• 1883 Partnered with Colonel William Austin in Boston
• 1885 Partnered with Edward Franklin Albee II
• 1896 Opens Union Square Theatre in New York City
• 1906 Partnered with Frederick Freeman Proctor
• 1909 Retires
• 1914 Death in Palm Beach, Florida on March 26th
• 1918 Death of his son Andrew Keith (c1870-1918)
• 1928 His company merges with Orpheum Circuit, Inc. on January 28th

This article does not cite its references or sources. ... William Austin (1884-1975) was a British character actor (born in British Guiana) who appeared in many films and serials between the 1920s and the 1940s, though the vast majority of his roles were small and uncredited. ... Boston is a town and small port c. ... Edward Franklin Albee II (October 8, 1857 – March 11, 1930) was a vaudeville impresario, and the adoptive grandfather of Edward Franklin Albee III, the playwright. ... Nickname: Big Apple; City that never Sleeps; Gotham Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... Palm Beachs skyline, as seen from Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. ... Orpheum Circuit, Inc. ...

References

• New York Times; March 27, 1914. Palm Beach, Florida, March 26, 1914. "On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the opening of his Boston house, which was being celebrated today in that city, B.F. Keith, owner of the theatre circuit bearing his name, dropped dead at midnight tonight in the Breakers Hotel, where he was stopping with his wife and Paul Keith, his son."

Palm Beachs skyline, as seen from Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

External link

• IMDB: Benjamin Franklin Keith