- William A. Brady
William Aloysius Brady (
June 19 ,1863 -January 6 ,1950 ) was an Americantheatre actor, producer, and sports promoter. [Internet Broadway Database.] [International Boxing Hall of Fame.]Brady was born to a newspaperman in 1863. His father kidnapped him from San Francisco and brought William to
New York City , where his father worked as a writer while William was forced to sell newspapers on street corners. Upon his father's death when William was 15, he hitchhiked his way back to San Francisco. ["American Heritage".]He made his start on the stage in
San Francisco, California shortly after his return. As a callboy in "The White Slave ", he filled in a role for an ill actor, and started his career. After a failed attempt to produce a version of "She" byH. Rider Haggard , he was able to secure the rights to "After Dark", successfully bringing the play to New York. While Brady was sued for his efforts, asAugustin Daly claimedplagiarism , Brady was able to make enough money to continue with his theater ventures. [American Heritage]Brady inadvertently became a boxing promoter during this time. He cast
James J. Jeffries in "After Dark", and later introduced the man into the boxing circuit, where Jeffries would eventually become the undisputedheavyweight champion . [American Heritage] Brady would be inducted into theInternational Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998, remaining the only person to manage two undisputed heavyweight champions, in Jeffries andJames J. Corbett . [International Boxing Hall of Fame]Brady ran a successful theatre operation for thirty years, having met actresses like
Grace George (whom he later married) [American Heritage] and having, at one point, hired famous humoristRobert Benchley to complete ad copy for him. [Altman.] Brady's success continued until theStock Market Crash of 1929 , which wiped out his entire savings. He was able to secure the funds to produce "Street Scene ", which was written byElmer Rice , won thePulitzer Prize , and netted Brady a half a million dollars. His total theatrical output included over 260 plays, including a version of "Uncle Tom's Cabin " that was later used as images for a book in 1904, [R. F. Fenno book.] and a number of movies before his death in 1950.He was the father of actress Mary Rose Brady, who used stage name of
Alice Brady , and William A. Brady, Jr.References
* "American Heritage": " [http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1980/3/1980_3_74.shtml William A. Brady] . April/May 1980. URL accessed
5 June 2007 .
* Billy Altman, "Laughter's Gentle Soul: The Life of Robert Benchley". (New York City:W. W. Norton , 1997. ISBN 0393038335).
* "Encyclopedia Brittanica": William A. Brady.
* Internet Broadway Database: [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=14247 William A. Brady] . URL accessed5 June 2007 .
* International Boxing Hall of Fame: [http://www.ibhof.com/brady.htm William A. Brady] . URL accessed5 June 2007 .
* "Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly." Embellished with Scenes and Illustrations. New York: R. F. Fenno & Company, 1904.References
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