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232:. The Shubert brothers, owners of a chain of upstate New York theaters, began buying property across the country and offering an alternative to the syndicate. They at first posed as believers in a free market. They soon switched to the same exclusive practices as the syndicate. By 1910 they were on an equal footing with the syndicate in terms of the numbers of attractions they could book. New competition came from movies, an increasingly popular alternative to live shows.
141:, to Fort Wayne, where they founded a frontier trading post. His father and uncle became clothiers. The Jews of Fort Wayne formed the Society for Visiting the Sick and Burying the Dead in 1848, with Frederic Nirdlinger as president. Nirdlinger's daughter Ella married Charles Naret Nathan. Their son was the drama critic
184:, and they now dominated the theater business in Philadelphia. By the mid-1990s, Nixon and Zimmerman controlled the Broad, the Park, the Chestnut and the Chestnut Street Opera House, the four most important theaters in Philadelphia. They also owned first-class theaters in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.
263:
style building was opulently decorated. The interior featured massive fake-marble columns capped with gold, framed wall panels that seemed like damask silk, and velvet and silk draperies. The theater hosted many star performers, and put on elaborate shows. In 1905 four horse-drawn chariots came on
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The syndicate could force a producer who wanted to play in one of their houses to play only in syndicate houses throughout the tour. The syndicate in effect created a monopoly of venues for first-class theater production. The syndicate demanded a share of the profits of the theaters, and a fee from
212:
to discuss ways to bring order to the chaos. In 1896 this group set up the
Theatrical Syndicate, or Theatrical Trust, headed by Erlanger. The agreement was ostensibly aimed at reducing losses to theaters from similar attractions competing in nearby locations, from touring companies from the
291:
story distributed in
December 1903 said "…Samuel F. Nixon Nirdlinger is today the richest and most powerful theatrical manager and promoter in America…. His son, Frederick G. Nixon Nirdlinger, is an assistant to his father, and has won (his own) fame in his profession…”
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in 1931 when he was shot and killed by his wife, Charlotte. Their infant children were present in the apartment. The sensational story of the murder and subsequent trial, in which
Charlotte was acquitted on the grounds of self-defense, made headlines for months.
169:(1843–1925), an advance agent. They formed the Nixon & Zimmerman theatrical firm. The two started as lessees of theaters, and later became owners. Nirdlinger married Sallie Strauss. They had two children, Carrie Nixon Nirdlinger (1874–1970) and
164:
Samuel F. Nirdlinger first worked for the family business, then left to work for George K. Goodwin, a
Philadelphia theater entrepreneur. Nirdlinger adopted the name of Samuel F. Nixon for business purposes. He became a partner of
306:
alleging that Loew and others had established a virtual monopoly of the vaudeville business. The "Philadelphia
Vaudeville War" continued until an agreement was struck on 13 December 1913 by which Loew gave up his holdings in the
217:
the producers. The members also began expanding the number of theaters they directly owned or leased. The syndicate soon controlled hundreds of theaters across the USA. Major performers such as
192:
By the mid-1890s there were many touring companies playing in growing numbers of theaters around the country. The booking system, or lack of system, created double bookings and empty houses.
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George K. Goodwin died in the summer of 1881. Nixon and
Zimmerman acquired the lease of the Walnut Street Theatre from his widow. Soon after she sold them the lease on the
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in April 1908. It was soon the leading theater in the city, attracting fashionable audiences from New York and
Philadelphia. Nixon's son
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stage in "Ben Hur", and a herd of camels, horses, goats featured in "Garden of Allah". The theater closed in 1950, when it was sold to
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became a partner in the Nixon & Zimmerman theatrical firm. He managed the Park
Theatre and People’s Theatre in Philadelphia. An
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who would not agree to the syndicate's terms were locked out of major venues and had to perform in tents or minor theaters.
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Nixon came to control theaters across the
Midwest. On December 7, 1903, Samuel F. Nixon opened the Nixon Theater in
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inability to plan routes that minimized travel, and to both theaters and companies from indiscriminate bookings.
117:(13 October 1848 – 13 November 1918) was an American theater owner. He was known as one of the organizers of the
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ran an east coast theatrical exchange. In 1895, Klaw and
Erlanger met with Nixon, Zimmerman and producers
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theaters. They competed with the agency run by Fred G. Nixon-Nirdlinger, who filed a complaint with the
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133:, on October 13, 1848, the son of Frederic Nirdlinger and Hannah Meyerson. The Nirdlingers were of
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and Chestnut Street Opera House, and in exchange gained a stake in a new company being formed by
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Theatre in the United States: 1750-1915, theatre in the colonies and United States
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Weavers of Dreams, Unite!: Actors' Unionism in Early Twentieth-Century America
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Nils Thor Granlund: Show Business Entrepreneur and America's First Radio Star
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George Jean Nathan and the Making of Modern American Drama Criticism
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315:. Samuel F. Nixon, Fred Nixon-Nirdlinger, J. Fred Zimmerman and
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America's Longest Run: A History of the Walnut Street Theatre
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Fred G. Nixon-Nirdlinger was living in an apartment on the
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Samuel F. Nixon leased the 2,000-seat Apollo Theatre in
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Playbill from the Nixon Theatre, Pittsburgh for a 1911
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Fisher, James; Londre, Felicia Hardison (2009-09-01).
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180:. They already owned Haverly's, later called the
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268:. It was demolished to make way for the present
137:origin. They had traveled by covered wagon from
360:Samuel Frederic Nixon Nirdlinger, ancestry.com
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322:Samuel F. Nixon died on 13 November 1918 in
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697:"Frederick G. Nixon – Nirdlinger Scrapbook"
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559:The Nixon Theatre, The Brookline Connection
643:. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p.
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883:Supreme Court Appellate Division (1908).
714:The A to Z of American Theater: Modernism
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1019:American people of German-Jewish descent
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741:The Oxford Companion to American Theatre
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886:Joseph Brooks against David Belasco
583:Samuel F. Nixon Nirdlinger, AP 1903
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866:"Samuel Frederic Nixon Nirdlinger"
16:American theatre owner (1848–1918)
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765:Hoefling, Larry J. (2010-04-26).
738:Hischak, Thomas S. (2004-05-06).
1029:Businesspeople from Pennsylvania
918:Waltzer, Jim; Wilk, Tom (2001).
825:. Wayne State University Press.
798:. University of Illinois Press.
1034:People from Fort Wayne, Indiana
319:were parties to the agreement.
951:. Cambridge University Press.
822:United States Jewry, 1776-1985
792:Holmes, Sean P. (2013-02-01).
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298:developed a growing chain of
924:. Rutgers University Press.
847:"Samuel F. Nixon Nirdlinger"
819:Marcus, Jacob Rader (1991).
717:. Rowman & Littlefield.
635:Connolly, Thomas F. (2000).
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744:. Oxford University Press.
285:Fredrick G Nixon Nirdlinger
178:Chestnut Street Opera House
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304:U.S. Department of Justice
139:Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
115:Samuel Frederic Nirdlinger
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905:The Brookline Connection
699:. University of Delaware
467:Fisher & Londre 2009
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309:Metropolitan Opera House
230:the Shubert Organization
171:Fred G. Nixon-Nirdlinger
571:Waltzer & Wilk 2001
313:Benjamin Franklin Keith
182:Chestnut Street Theatre
945:Witham, Barry (1996).
668:Davis, Andrew (2010).
281:Nixon's Apollo Theatre
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167:J. Fred Zimmerman, Sr.
317:Edward Franklin Albee
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674:. Penn State Press.
219:Minnie Maddern Fiske
188:Theatrical Syndicate
158:The American Mercury
151:and co-founder with
119:Theatrical Syndicate
103:Theatrical Syndicate
901:"The Nixon Theatre"
131:Fort Wayne, Indiana
77:, Pennsylvania, USA
56:Fort Wayne, Indiana
279:, which opened as
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143:George Jean Nathan
958:978-0-521-30858-8
931:978-0-8135-3007-9
805:978-0-252-09468-2
778:978-0-7864-5599-7
751:978-0-19-516986-7
724:978-0-8108-6884-7
681:978-0-271-03578-9
654:978-0-8386-3780-7
609:, pp. 38–39.
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69:(1918-11-13)
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999:1848 births
535:Witham 1996
501:Holmes 2013
404:Marcus 1991
296:Marcus Loew
236:Later years
198:Marcus Klaw
125:Early years
83:Nationality
993:Categories
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937:2014-05-07
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687:2014-05-07
660:2014-05-07
547:Davis 2010
484:Davis 2010
455:Davis 2010
443:Davis 2010
338:References
300:vaudeville
261:Beaux Arts
257:Pittsburgh
91:Occupation
48:1848-10-13
343:Citations
206:Al Hayman
250:L'Aiglon
86:American
628:Sources
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