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Theatre entrepreneur

Occupation - Theatre entrepreneur
Alexander, Scott
Allison, James
Anderson, William
Ashton, Doug
Ashton, James Henry
Atkinson, Bud
Bird, Thomas
Brough, Robert
Bullen, Perce
Burton, Henry
Carroll, Garnet H
Chiarini, Guiseppe
Clarke, Rupert Turner
Cole, William Washington
Cooke, James
Coppin, George
Dalle Case, Luigi
Dampier, Alfred
Dawe, Clem
Dind, William Forster
Edgley, Eric
Edgley, Michael
Finley, Don
Fisher, Bettie
Fitton, Doris
FitzGerald, Dan
FitzGerald, Tom
Frazer, EJ
Fuller, Benjamin
Fuller, John junior
Goatcher, Philip W
Hall, Stephen
Harrison, Wayne
Holt, Bland
Howard, Bert
Howarde, Kate
Jackson, Enderby
James, Sydney
Kelly, Emily Caroline (Carrie)
King, Mervyn
Kingsley, Omar
Knowles, Conrad Theodore
La Rosiere, Edward
Lazar, Samuel
Levey, Barnett
Lyster, William Saurin
Malcom, John
Marlow, George
Martin, David Nathaniel
McIntosh, Hugh D
McMahon, Gregan
Melville, James
Miller, Harry M
Musgrove, Jack
Neil, Frank
Noble, John Sullivan
Papakura, Maggie
Quinlan, Thomas
Ramaciotti, Gustave
Rickards, Harry
Rignold, George
Sharman, James (Jimmy)
Simmons, Joseph
1832 - 1845
Smythe, Robert Sparrow
St Leon, Matthew
West, TJ
Williams, JD
Williamson, James Cassius
Wilson, John
Wirth, George
Wirth, Philip
Wyatt, Joseph
Position - Theatre entrepreneur of Hub Theatre
Clay, Harry
1913

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Theatre entrepreneur

Alexander, Scott

Theatre producer.

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Allison, James

Theatrical agent.

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Anderson, William

Theatre entrepreneur who fostered local talent in his Melbourne and Sydney theatres and was the owner of Wonderland City from 1906 until 1911.

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Ashton, Doug

Circus owner and performer and current patriarch of the Ashton circus family.

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Ashton, James Henry

Circus performer who arrived in Australia in the 1840s and formed his own touring troupe in 1854.

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Atkinson, Bud

American entrepreneur and showman who had first worked in the nascent moving picture business.

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Bird, Thomas

Circus performer and horseman.

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Brough, Robert

Actor-manager who founded the Brough & Boucicault Comedy Company and was a mainstay of Sydney theatre at the end of the nineteenth century.

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Bullen, Perce

Circus owner and ringmaster who travelled extensively with a large menagerie of animals to perform in his two-ringed circus.

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Burton, Henry

Circus proprietor and horse breeder who toured remote areas around Sydney and interstate.

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Carroll, Garnet H

Actor and stage manager who became a theatre entrepreneur and brought many famous companies to Sydney after World War II.

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Chiarini, Guiseppe

Italian born equestrian and showman who formed a touring circus company.

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Clarke, Rupert Turner

Pastoralist, entrepreneur and theatre producer who owned land in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

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Cole, William Washington

American circus owner.

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Cooke, James

American circus showman and entrepreneur.

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Coppin, George

Comic actor and theatre manager who promoted Australian theatre and tours of celebrity actors.

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Dalle Case, Luigi

Leader of the first circus troupe to visit Sydney in 1841.

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Dampier, Alfred

Theatre manager and Shakepearian actor who by necessity also became adept at melodrama, often with Australian themes.

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Dawe, Clem

Performer who toured alongside his brother Eric Edgley for many years before they established themselves as theatrical entrepreneurs.

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Dind, William Forster

Theatre manager and publican.

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Edgley, Eric

Performer and theatre entrepreneur who toured Australia extensively from England in 1920 with his brother Clem Dawe before eventually settling in Perth.

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Edgley, Michael

Concert and circus promoter who imported many Russian performing groups.

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Finley, Don

Theatre director and set designer.

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Fisher, Bettie

Cabaret singer and Aboriginal activist who became administrator of the Black Theatre Arts and Cultural Centre.

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Fitton, Doris

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Actor, director and theatrical entrepreneur.

FitzGerald, Dan

Circus owner and performer.

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FitzGerald, Tom

Circus owner and performer.

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Frazer, EJ

Owner of the drive-in theatre at Narellan Vale.

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Fuller, Benjamin

London-born theatrical entrepreneur who extended the family business from New Zealand to Sydney, expanding from vaudeville into melodrama and pantomime.

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Fuller, John junior

Theatre entrepreneur, performer and producer who with his brother Benjamin, moved from vaudeville to moving pictures and musical comedy.

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Goatcher, Philip W

Internationally famous theatrical designer who was brought to Sydney by JC Williamsons in 1892.

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Hall, Stephen

Theatre entrepreneur.

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Harrison, Wayne

Theatre director, producer, writer and performer.

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Holt, Bland

Actor and theatre manager who became famous for his spectacular effects.

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Howard, Bert

Theatre entrepreneur who ran his office from the pavement on the north-east corner of Pitt and Park streets, known as " Poverty Point". Among other things he was a booking agent and ran his own vaudeville circuit.

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Howarde, Kate

Actor, playwright, cinema pioneer and very successful theatrical entrepreneur who founded her own theatre company and toured extensively. She was best known for her play 'Possum Paddock' in 1919 and she was the first Australian woman to direct a feature film.

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Jackson, Enderby

English theatrical entrepreneur.

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James, Sydney

Theatre entrepreneur who toured Australia 1914-1919

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Kelly, Emily Caroline (Carrie)

Theatre producer and anthropologist who founded the first Sydney company devoted to Australian plays - the Community Playhouse - using the stage name Carrie Tennant (her mother's maiden name). Disheartened by the company's subsequent failure, Kelly abandoned theatre to study anthropology.

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King, Mervyn

Circus owner and performer who started Silver's Circus in 1946.

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Kingsley, Omar

American equestrian and circus performer.

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Knowles, Conrad Theodore

Theatrical manager considered one of the most talented and only educated actors in early Sydney theatre. Knowles was Sydney's first Romeo, Othello and Shylock.

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La Rosiere, Edward

Rope-walker and circus performer who established a touring circus troupe in the 1850s.

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Lazar, Samuel

Theatre manager and producer of pantomimes and operas. Lazar played a key role in the Theatre Royal, possibly financing its construction. A few years after that he was admitted to Bayview House psychiatric asylum after exhibiting 'symptoms of lunacy' and died just over a year and half later.

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Levey, Barnett

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Merchant and theatre owner who was the first Jewish free settler in the colony, and ran Sydney's first commercial theatre.

Lyster, William Saurin

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Irish theatre impresario who toured with international opera companies in Melbourne and Sydney.

Malcom, John

Publican of the Adelphi Hotel in York Street who became a successful circus entrepreneur.

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Marlow, George

Theatre owner and entrepreneur noted for bringing melodrama and pantomime to Sydney audiences. He came to Australia as a boy, reportedly walking the streets of Melbourne as an unemployed young man in the early 1900s, 'wondering where the money for his next meal was to come from'. Within a decade, he had three touring companies and became the proprietor of two theatres in Melbourne and Sydney, building the New Tivoli Theatre.

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Martin, David Nathaniel

Theatre entrepreneur who often faced protests for replacing Australian performers with overseas artists.

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McIntosh, Hugh D

Sporting and theatrical entrepreneur whose promotional skills were not matched by financial success.

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McMahon, Gregan

Actor and theatrical producer who founded the Melbourne Repertory Company in 1911. After it folded in 1918 he moved to Sydney and founded the Sydney Repertory Theatre Society. He returned to Melbourne in 1928.

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Melville, James

Equestrian and circus owner who toured extensively in America after his initial success in Sydney.

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Miller, Harry M

Celebrity agent and publicist who began his career promoting modern musicals in the 1970s.

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Musgrove, Jack

Theatre manager involved in vaudeville, film distribution and dance hall management.

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Neil, Frank

Theatrical entrepreneur, owner of the Tivoli Theatre 1934-1940.

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Noble, John Sullivan

American showman and circus owner who toured Australia between 1851 and 1854.

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Papakura, Maggie

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Māori woman who acted as a guide at the hot lakes in Rotorua before establishing a touring concert troupe to showcase Māori culture which performed in Australia and England.

Quinlan, Thomas

Musical impresario who visited Sydney with his opera company and orchestra in 1912 and 1913, presenting 15 operas in five weeks.

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Ramaciotti, Gustave

Italian-born law clerk, theatrical manager and soldier who became a partner in Australia's largest theatrical company with JC Williamson and George Tallis.

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Rickards, Harry

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Theatre owner and comedian who built a theatre circuit in Australia and brought many legendary variety artists to Australia.

Rignold, George

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Actor and theatre manager renowned for both Shakespearean performances and popular melodramas.

Sharman, James (Jimmy)

Boxer and boxing entrepreneur who toured country shows with his boxing troupe.

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Simmons, Joseph

Actor, a jack of all trades who frequently moved between roles. He was the Theatre Royal's first Macbeth and created the character of O'Liffey in The Currency Lass.

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Smythe, Robert Sparrow

Newspaper owner and journalist who became a very successful theatre and lecture manager.

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St Leon, Matthew

Circus performer who resumed his career in Tasmania after receiving his ticket-of-leave and established his own touring circus in 1850.

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West, TJ

Entrepreneur and entertainer who toured with motion pictures in Britain, New Zealand and Australia, and built the first chain of cinemas by 1910.

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Williams, JD

American-born entrepreneur who opened the first continuous cinema in Sydney, showing films from 11 am to 11 pm, and built a large business in popular entertainment before leaving Australia in 1916. He went on to influence the film industry in the United States, Britain and Canada.

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Williamson, James Cassius

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American-born actor who became Australia's foremost theatrical manager, founding JC Williamson Ltd.

Wilson, John

American showman and circus performer.

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Wirth, George

Bandsman and circus proprietor who formed Wirth's Bros Circus with his brothers in 1882.

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Wirth, Philip

Bandsman and circus proprietor who formed Wirth's Bros Circus Ltd with his brother George.

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Wyatt, Joseph

Businessman who became a theatre owner and entrepreneur.

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Hub Theatre

Former vaudeville venue in Bedford Street Newtown which was converted to a cinema in the 1930s. With the relaxation of Australia's censorship laws, The Hub became an insalubrious and infamous 'blue movie house' into the 1990s.

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Clay, Harry

Entrepreneur and singer who took theatre to Sydney's suburbs in the early twentieth century, with theatres in Newtown, North Sydney, Parramatta and elsewhere.

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