![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Tony Pastor | |
---|---|
Born | Antonio Pastor May 28, 1837 New York City, New York, U.S.A. |
Died | August 26, 1908 Elmhurst, Queens County, New York, U.S. | (aged 71)
Occupation | Vaudeville entertainer, showman and theatre manager |
Years active | 1846–1905 |
Antonio Pastor (May 28, 1837 – August 26, 1908) was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid-to-late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes referred to as the "Dean of Vaudeville". The strongest elements of his entertainments were an almost-jingoistic brand of United States patriotism and a strong commitment to attracting a "mixed-gender" audience, the latter being something revolutionary in the male-oriented variety halls of the mid-century.[1] Although he was a performer and producer, Pastor is best known for "cleaning up" bawdy variety acts and presenting a clean and family-friendly genre called vaudeville.
A collection of his papers is maintained at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas in Austin,[2] and in the archives of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.[3]