Marc Klaw | |
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| Born | Marcus Alonzo Klaw May 29, 1858 |
| Died | June 14, 1936 (aged 78) |
| Occupation | Theater producer |
Marc Klaw, (bornMarcus Alonzo Klaw, May 29, 1858 – June 14, 1936) was an Americanlawyer,theatrical producer, theater owner, and a leading figure of theTheatrical Syndicate.
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Referred to as both Mark and Marc, he was born inPaducah, Kentucky, the child ofJewish immigrants from Germany.[1] He studied law atLouisville Law School, graduating in 1879. He established a law practice inLouisville, and worked as a part-time drama critic.[citation needed]
In 1881 he moved to New York City to work on legal issues regarding the theater for theater executiveGustave Frohman. Klaw was drawn to the theater business, and for several years was a manager of tours. He formed a partnership withA. L. "Abe" Erlanger that started as a theatrical booking agency inNew York City in 1888.[citation needed]
Operating as "Klaw & Erlanger" they expanded their business through the acquisition and construction of theaters, to the point where they controlled most of the theaters in theU.S. South and several major locations in New York. Among their holdings were they owned "Klaw and Erlanger's Costume Company" and the "Klaw & Erlanger Opera Company."[citation needed]
By 1895 Klaw & Erlanger were the second largest booking company in the US.[2]
In 1896, Klaw & Erlanger joined withAl Hayman,Charles Frohman,Samuel F. Nixon, andJ. Fred Zimmerman to form the "Theatrical Syndicate". Their organization established systemized booking networks throughout the US and created a monopoly that controlled every aspect of contracts and bookings until the late 1910s when theShubert brothers broke their hold on the industry.[2][3]
Despite being nearly universally despised in the industry for their ruthless tactics, Klaw and Erlanger produced dozens ofBroadway plays and financed many others including the early editions of theZiegfeld Follies.[4]
The partnership of Klaw & Erlanger was hurt as a result of theActors' Equity strike of 1919. The partnership ended in 1919,[5] and the last Broadway production by "Klaw and Erlanger" was in 1919 (The Velvet Lady).[4] After that, Klaw built theKlaw Theatre and produced plays until his retirement in 1927.[citation needed]
After his retirement, in 1929 Klaw moved to England, where he died in 1936 at Bracken Fell,Hassocks, West Sussex.[2][5] He is buried in the churchyard ofSt John the Baptist's Church, Clayton.
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