85:, and set up S. H. Dudley Theatrical Enterprises, which began buying and leasing theaters around Washington and Virginia. By 1916, the "Dudley Circuit" had extended into the south and Midwest, enabling black entertainers to secure longer-term contracts for an extended season; this circuit provided the basis for T.O.B.A. His circuit was advertised in a weekly column published in black newspapers, "What's What on the Dudley's Circuit", and by 1914 it included over twenty theaters, "all owned or operated by blacks and as far south as Atlanta."
127:
that regularly sought black audiences, according to one reference. T.O.B.A. paid less and generally had worse touring arrangements, which the performers had to pay for themselves, than the white vaudeville counterpart. T.O.B.A. became less successful as the
81:. By 1909, Dudley was commonly known as the "Lone Star Comedian" and had begun an attempt to have a black-owned and operated string of venues around the United States. By 1911, Dudley was based in Washington, D.C. as general manager and treasurer of the
307:
According to writer
Preston Lauterbach, "a basic TOBA troupe carried about all the variety a single stage could hold, not to mention all the personalities one sleeping car could hold", including tap dancers, comedy teams, actors, and
277:
82:
803:
17:
332:
88:
T.O.B.A. was formally established in 1920 by people associated with Dudley's circuit. Its
President was Milton Starr, owner of the Bijou Theatre in
363:, The Royalty of Negro Vaudeville: The Whitman Sisters and the Negotiation of Race, Gender, and Class in African American Theater, 1900–1940, in
217:
241:
45:
performers in the 1920s. The theaters mostly had white owners, though about a third of them had Black owners, including the recently restored
213:
327:, were not part of the circuit, booking acts independently; the T.O.B.A. was considered less prestigious. Many black performers, such as
119:
was a common term for vaudeville circuits). It booked only black artists into a series of theatres on the East Coast and as far west as
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musicians and singers, comedians, and other performers, including the classically trained, such as operatic soprano
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A Beautiful
Pageant: African American Theatre, Drama, and Performance in the Harlem Renaissance
365:
620:
556:
500:
T.O.B.A. Time: Black
Vaudeville and the Theater Owners Booking Association in Jazz Age America
698:
527:
Ragged but right: Black traveling shows, "coon songs," and the dark pathway to blues and jazz
245:
132:
struck, collapsing in late 1930 when Dudley sold his chain of theaters to a cinema company.
597:
360:
169:
8:
922:
708:
864:
Underneath a Harlem Moon: The Harlem to Paris Years of
Adelaide Hall (Bayou Jazz Lives)
209:
177:
96:. The organization had more than 100 theaters at its peak in the early to mid 1920s.
57:
in Macon, Georgia owned and operated by
Charles Henry Douglass. Theater owners booked
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369:, Vol. 33, No. 2, Social and Popular Dance (Winter, 2001), pp. 134–138.
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Profiles of
African American Stage Performers and Theatre People, 1816-1960
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The association was established following the work of vaudeville performer
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Underneath a Harlem Moon ... the Harlem to Paris Years of
Adelaide Hall
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with his
Chicago Follies company (which included his wife Gertie); the
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38:
895:
Thomas
Fleming on Black vaudeville and T.O.B.A. in Jacksonville, Fla.
348:
145:
89:
120:
832:
R&B, Rhythm and Business: The Political Economy of Black Music
407:
Blacks in Blackface: A Source Book on Early Black Musical Shows
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singers. Their backdrops, costumes and props moved with them.
252:; and many others. In addition, later well-known names such as
309:
62:
58:
908:
Letter by Milton Starr, as example of TOBA correspondence
555:
Hill, Anthony D.; Barnett, Douglas Q. (4 December 2008).
53:, originally operated by "Pinky" Monroe Morton, and
296:(before he came to be called "Count") on tour with
69:, known as "The Black Patti", for black audiences.
523:
123:. T.O.B.A. venues were the only ones south of the
27:Vaudeville circuit for African American performers
625:(3 ed.). New York: Norton. pp. 297–98.
558:Historical Dictionary of African American Theater
914:
672:The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock'n'Roll
804:"Edmonia Henderson Charms With Voice And Smile"
646:Theater Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.),
347:, also performed in white vaudeville, often in
140:Its earliest star performers included singers
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691:
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99:Often referred to by the black performers as
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503:. University of Illinois Press. p. 3.
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111:), the association was generally known as
425:The Redd Foxx Encyclopedia of Black Humor
754:
752:
618:
591:
589:
304:all performed on the T.O.B.A. circuit.
674:. New York: W. W. Norton. p. 303.
622:The music of black Americans: a history
612:
315:The most prestigious black theaters in
14:
915:
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586:
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92:; its chief booker was Sam Reevin of
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517:
490:
900:New York Times review of the play,
524:Abbott, Lynn; Seroff, Doug (2007).
24:
600:Texas State Historical Association
595:
354:
31:Theatre Owners Booking Association
25:
18:Theater Owners Booking Association
934:
882:
889:American Vaudeville Museum pages
856:
704:The Guinness Who's Who of Blues
532:University Press of Mississippi
462:New York: HarperCollins, 1982.
725:
639:
548:
13:
1:
483:
176:and their Company; musicians
670:Lauterbach, Preston (2011).
655:, retrieved 15 November 2015
423:Redd Foxx and Norma Miller,
376:, Palgrave Macmillan, 2002,
7:
497:Scott, Michelle R. (2023).
466:
10:
939:
427:, W. Ritchie Press, 1977,
393:Greenwood Publishing Group
72:
812:. May 30, 1925. p. 4
619:Southern, Eileen (1997).
582:– via Google Books.
387:Bernard L. Peterson Jr.,
337:Bill "Bojangles" Robinson
278:Marshall "Garbage" Rogers
228:; songwriter and pianist
224:; future Paris sensation
136:Operations and performers
458:Black Theater in America
413:, Second edition, 2013,
902:Rollin' on the T.O.B.A.
830:Kelley, Norman (2002).
809:Baltimore Afro-American
530:(1 ed.). Jackson:
473:Bijou Amusement Company
437:Iain Cameron Williams,
246:Earl "Snakehips" Tucker
733:"Vaudeville - Part II"
648:Musicians Local No.627
366:Dance Research Journal
101:Tough on Black Artists
759:Giles Oakley (1997).
83:Colored Actors' Union
598:"Dudley, Sherman H."
441:, Bayou Jazz Lives,
361:Nadine George-Graves
300:, and four-year-old
270:Jackie "Moms" Mabley
109:Tough on Black Asses
105:Gertrude "Ma" Rainey
709:Guinness Publishing
707:(Second ed.).
834:(First ed.).
405:Henry T. Sampson,
210:Salem Whitney Tutt
178:Fletcher Henderson
842:. p. 107/8.
838:, United States:
780:978-0-306-80743-5
762:The Devil's Music
681:978-0-393-34294-9
510:978-0-252-08698-4
343:, Tim Moore, and
331:, George Walker,
198:Joe "King" Oliver
154:Edmonia Henderson
79:Sherman H. Dudley
67:Sissieretta Jones
16:(Redirected from
930:
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478:Black Vaudeville
333:Johnson and Dean
325:Washington, D.C.
130:Great Depression
125:Mason-Dixon line
55:Douglass Theatre
43:African American
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563:Scarecrow Press
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455:James Haskins,
411:Scarecrow Press
372:David Krasner,
357:
355:Further reading
302:Sammy Davis Jr.
282:Amanda Randolph
274:Pigmeat Markham
266:Mantan Moreland
262:Hattie McDaniel
226:Josephine Baker
186:Louis Armstrong
174:Whitman Sisters
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51:Athens, Georgia
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12:
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345:Johnny Hudgins
298:Gonzelle White
276:, Johnny Lee,
258:Stepin Fetchit
254:Florence Mills
238:U. S. Thompson
234:Johnny Hudgins
230:Perry Bradford
202:Duke Ellington
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576:. Retrieved
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341:Irving Jones
321:Philadelphia
314:
306:
290:Cab Calloway
250:Valaida Snow
242:Walter Batie
222:Tom Fletcher
204:; comedians
190:Noble Sissle
150:Bessie Smith
142:Ethel Waters
139:
116:
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108:
100:
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87:
76:
41:circuit for
34:
30:
29:
891:on T.O.B.A.
256:, Lincoln "
232:, the mime
206:Sandy Burns
194:Eubie Blake
182:Fats Waller
168:; comedian
158:Mamie Smith
144:, Gertrude
94:Chattanooga
923:Vaudeville
872:0826458939
816:2014-09-12
769:. p.
742:2014-09-13
578:15 October
484:References
451:0826458939
292:, a young
286:Chick Webb
236:; dancers
214:Boots Hope
162:Minto Cato
39:vaudeville
37:, was the
443:Continuum
349:blackface
260:" Perry,
170:Tim Moore
146:Ma Rainey
113:Toby Time
90:Nashville
917:Category
836:New York
467:See also
445:, 2002,
395:, 2000,
272:, Dewey
121:Oklahoma
103:(or, by
35:T.O.B.A.
604:5 April
73:History
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323:, and
317:Harlem
248:, and
220:, and
200:, and
310:blues
107:, as
63:blues
33:, or
868:ASIN
844:ISBN
775:ISBN
713:ISBN
676:ISBN
627:ISBN
606:2012
580:2021
567:ISBN
536:ISBN
505:ISBN
447:ISBN
429:ISBN
415:ISBN
397:ISBN
378:ISBN
164:and
117:Time
61:and
59:jazz
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