The Hanlon Brothers: From Daredevil Acrobatics to Spectacle Pantomime, 1833-1931

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments I’ve always been interested in clowning, physical comedy, and acrobatics. As a child, I went to the circus—often! And next to the jugglers, my favorite performers were always the clowns. There was something about their mischief making—coupled with the glee and anarchy they represented—that I found immensely appealing. Years later when I landed in the Ph.D. drama program at Tufts University, I found these interests nurtured and encouraged. This book has its origins in a conversation I had with Laurence Senelick, my adviser at Tufts. Knowing that he was deeply interested in physical comedy, I was naturally drawn to study with him. Laurence has always been a valued mentor and friend. Some of my fondest memories of this project will be the afternoons spent in his (chilly!) house, enthusiastically swapping vignettes about nineteenthcentury pantomime while paging through his lovingly nurtured theatre collection . He supervised my Ph.D. dissertation on the Hanlons, then waited patiently as I expanded and revised that earlier work. My book has been greatly enhanced by Laurence’s enthusiasm, rigor, and significant body of scholarship. Over the years, Bob Schanke has been one of my greatest supporters. A dedicated scholar and editor, Bob is one of my profession’s most revered figures. He and I first met in 1996 when we were paired up by an Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) writer’s workshop. As editor of Theatre History Studies, Bob published my article on the Hanlons’ early career. Then, as careful steward for Southern Illinois University Press’s Theatre in the Americas series, he urged me to submit my manuscript to the Press. I thank him for his many years of encouragement, friendship, nurturing, and unending patience. Steve Gossard, curator of the Circus Collections at Illinois State University, painstakingly photocopied nineteenth-century clippings he had amassed. Sheila xiii acknowledgments Abato, a descendant of Edward Hanlon, shared clippings that she had collected over the years. Barbara W. Grossman, Downing Cless, Thomas Connolly, David Wadsworth, David C. Miller, Heather S. Nathans, Don B. Wilmeth, Arnaud Rykner , Sophie Basch, Laura Reeck, and Felicia Hardison Londré have commented on and supported my work, for which I remain thankful. Constructing this manuscript, I accessed the holdings of numerous archives. The curators and staff at the following institutions were especially helpful: Boston Public Library, Rare Books and Manuscripts Division; Circus World Museum; Cohasset Historical Society, Helen Howes Vosoff Memorial Theatre Archives; Free Library of Philadelphia, Theatre Collection; Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University; Illinois State University, Milner Library Special Collections, Circus Collections; Library of Congress, Rare Books and Manuscripts Division; Museum of the City of New York, Theatre Collections; New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Billy Rose Theatre Collection ; San Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum; Shubert Archive; University of Iowa, Special Collections. Colleagues, students, and staff at Allegheny College have been enormously supportive. Monies from the Dean of the College’s office allowed me to conduct archival work and assisted me with reproducing this book’s many illustrations. I particularly thank the faculty and staff members in the Department of Communication Arts and Theatre for making my day-to-day teaching and directing such a pleasure. My current and former student assistants Emily Burr, Ashley Biletnikoff, Dara Levendosky, Vince Donofrio, Jessica Middleton, and Lizzy Pecora have been especially helpful, conducting research, assisting me with course materials, scanning my collections, and keeping me organized. I am very grateful to Southern Illinois University Press. There, Kristine Priddy has been tireless in seeing this manuscript into print. I also wish to thank the Press’s Barb Martin, Kathleen Kageff, and Karl Kageff. I wish to extend a particular thank you to Ann Youmans, copy editor extraordinaire, for helping me clean up the manuscript. Personally, I wish to thank my loving parents May and Paul Cosdon, along with my sisters Amy and Genevieve, and my brother Michael for their unwavering support. My beautiful daughters Nina and Melanie have given so generously and unselfishly in order to see that this manuscript was completed. Finally, my wife Hannah Treitel Cosdon encouraged, cajoled, brow-beat, and loved me throughout this process for which I remain eternally thankful. I look forward to another rousing chorus of “I’m so happy that I’ve got three girls.” xiv The Hanlon Brothers ...