In 1900,Pat Shea ofBuffalo proposed to Keith and Albee that they should set up a shared booking arrangement for vaudeville similar to theTheatrical Syndicate. They called a meeting in May 1900 in Boston of most of the major vaudeville managers, includingWeber &Fields,Tony Pastor, Hyde & Behman of Brooklyn, Kohl & Castle, Colonel J.D. Hopkins, andMeyerfield &Beck of theOrpheum Circuit of the western United States.[4]
They did not inviteFrederick Freeman Proctor, Keith's main competitor, but the other managers objected and insisted on a meeting in New York where Proctor was invited. TheVaudeville Managers Association (VMA) was founded at the New York meeting. Keith and Albee dominated the new organization.[4] Albee was president of the VMA's United Bookings Office from its formation in 1906. Albee had most of the major vaudeville circuits give him control of theirtheatrical bookings where he charged acts a 5% commission.
When performers tried to form a union, he set up National Vaudeville Artists and made membership in it a requirement for booking through his company. His partner Keith died inPalm Beach, Florida, in 1914.[5]
Many entertainers considered Albee's tactics tyrannical.Groucho Marx referred to the United Bookings Office as "Albee'sGestapo".[8]
Joe Frisco summed up the impression of power Albee made; exiting Albee's office into a street under construction, his agent wondered why the street was being torn up and Frisco quipped, "Albee's kid lost his ball."[2]: 420
Albee married Lauretta Frances Smith (1861–1960), with whom he had:
Albee (d. 1916)
Edward Albee (1883–1883), who died young
Reed A. Albee (1886–1961), who married Louise Holmes Williams, an actress, in 1914. They divorced in 1925 and in the same year, he married Frances Cotter.[9]
Ethel Keith Albee (1890–1976), who married Edwin George Lauder Jr. (1883–1955)[10] in 1914. They divorced in 1941.[11]
^"Reed Albee, Officer of Keith Theatres".The New York Times. 3 August 1961. Retrieved14 April 2011.Reed A. Albee, a former official of the BF Keith Corporation ... Mr. Albee was the son of the late Edward F. Albee, a founder of the ...
New York Times; March 16, 1930. THRONG AT FUNERAL OF EDWARD F. ALBEE; Notables of Stage and Other Fields at Services in Cathedral of St. John.BISHOP MANNING PRESIDES Cathedral Clergy Assist in Impressive Requlem—700 Theatres Pay Tribute to Former Head. The Honorary Pallbearers. Some of Those Present. Tribute at 700 Theatres. Vaudeville stars, old-time luminaries of the stage, vaudeville executives from cities far West as Chicago, people connected in every conceivable way with the stage and many others paid homage yesterday morning to Edward F. Albee, former ...
Time; June 8, 1931. But the [National Variety Artists' Club in West 46th Street in Manhattan] club has always run an annual deficit. For years Edward Franklin Albee variety tycoon (Keith-Albee), footed the losses until his death in 1930."
