Brock Pemberton
Brock Pemberton | |
---|---|
Born | Ralph Brock Pemberton December 14, 1885 Leavenworth, Kansas, U.S. |
Died | March 11, 1950 New York City, New York, U.S. | (aged 64)
Education | University of Kansas |
Alma mater | College of Emporia |
Occupations |
|
Known for | Founding the Tony Awards |
Notable work | Harvey |
Spouse |
Margaret McCoy (m. 1915–1950) |
Relatives | Victor Murdock (uncle) |
Awards |
|
Brock Pemberton (December 14, 1885 – March 11, 1950) was an American theatrical producer, director and founder of the Tony Awards. He was the professional partner of Antoinette Perry, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing,[1] and he was also a member of the Algonquin Round Table.[2]
Early years
He was born Ralph Brock Pemberton[3] in Leavenworth, Kansas,[4] the third of four children to Albert Pemberton and Ella Murdock.[5] He had two older sisters and a younger brother, Murdock Pemberton,[5] who became a writer and playwright. Pemberton's family had moved to Emporia, Kansas by 1895, where he attended Union Street School then Emporia High School.[6][7] He was the valedictorian of his high school graduating class during May 1902.[8]
Colleges and Kansas newspaper work
He entered the College of Emporia on a scholarship during late summer 1902.[9] During his sophomore year he played football[10] and was Athletic editor of the college weekly paper.[11] During the summer of 1904 he worked on the Coffeyville Daily Record, in Coffeyville, Kansas, a paper recently purchased by his cousin Roland Murdock.[12] The following summer he worked on the Kansas City Globe in Kansas City, Kansas.[13] After one term at Yale University[fn 1] during the fall of 1906,[14] he returned to Emporia to work on the Emporia Gazette.[15]
The owner-editor of that newspaper,
During the next two years Pemberton worked full-time for the Emporia Gazette, becoming White's star reporter[22] then city editor by August 1909.[23] A long profile he wrote of the folksy poet Walt Mason was carried by newspapers across the country in early 1910.[24][25] In April 1910 he left Kansas to take up what he thought was a position on The Sun in New York City.[26]
New York newspapers
Upon arriving in New York, Pemberton found out The Sun position didn't exist, but was able to get a job on the Evening Mail, reporting on harbor traffic and shipping.[27] He later became drama critic for the Evening Mail, then assistant drama critic on the New York World, before becoming Alexander Woollcott's assistant in The New York Times drama department.[27]
Stage career
Pemberton directed and produced the American premiere of
Among his other productions was
Pemberton gave the Antoinette Perry Award its nickname, the Tony. As Perry's official biography at the Tony Awards website states, "At [Warner Bros. story editor] Jacob Wilk's suggestion, [Pemberton] proposed an award in her honor for distinguished stage acting and technical achievement. At the initial event in 1947, as he handed out an award, he called it a Tony. The name stuck.[1]
From February 28, 1950 thru March 5, 1950, Pemberton played the lead in a production of Harvey at the Sombrero Playhouse in Phoenix, Arizona.[31] Six days later he died at home from a heart attack.[32]
Months after his death in 1950, a
Bibliography
- Pemberton, Brock (January 2, 1926). "A prince of Broadway". Profiles. The New Yorker. Vol. 1, no. 46. pp. 11–12.[33]
Notes
References
- ^ a b Nassour, Ellis. "Who Is 'Tony'". TonyAwards.com. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
- ^ "Members of the Algonquin Round Table". Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ U.S. Passport Applications, 1792-1925 for Brock Pemberton, retrieved from Ancestry.com
- ^ a b 1900 United States Federal Census for Brock Pemberton, Kansas > Lyon > Emporia Ward 02 > District 0070, retrieved from Ancestry.com
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 0-19-505589-6.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 0-19-505589-6.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Six Characters in Search of an Author" (1922) at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ "Six Character in Search of an Author" (1924) at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Loose Ankles a Broadway play at Biltmore Theatre Aug. 1926-Jan. 1927
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Profiles Joe Leblang, discount theatre ticket seller.
External links
- Brock Pemberton at the Internet Broadway Database
- Brock Pemberton at IMDb