Frank Lawton (I)
Encyclopedia
Frank Lawton was an American vaudevillian entertainer whose popularity extended far beyond his country’s borders.
. This may be true, though it has proven difficult to locate any public record or contemporary newspaper article that supports this assertion. In later editions of "Whose Who in the Theatre" his full name is listed as Frank Mokeley Lawton.
. He would go on to team up at one time or another with players Joe Sparks, Billy Mitchell and others before joining in the early 1880s Charles Hoyt
’s Hole in the Ground and Milk White Flag companies. There Lawton refined his talents as a singer, dance comedian, bones player and amazing siffluer. The latter talent would one day earn him the title, bestowed by at least one British critic, as the Champion Whistler of the World. In 1898 Lawton’s whistling act was recorded by Fred Gaisberg
, one of over a thousand sides of recordings Gaisberg made for Berliner Gramophone
and later Gramophone Company
of artist working in London. Lawton would spend the greater part of the last twenty-five years of his life touring New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain where he was well received. After a successful run playing Blinky Bill in the musical comedy The Belle of New York with actress Edna May, Lawton chose to stay in London after his company returned to New York in 1899. Frank Lawton died there on April 18, 1914 after a long illness and the collapse of a spectacular production planned for London’s Earle’s Court had left him in financial ruin. A few weeks later the London theatre district put on a benefit show to raise money for his widow, former dancer Daisy May Collier, and their four children. His first known marriage in 1894 to actress Virginia Earle
ended in divorce eight years later.
Early life
Like so many 19th and early 20th century actors who made their living traveling from town to town often under assumed stage names, Frank Lawton’s past is difficult to trace. What evidence does exist tells us he was an American born in the late 1850s probably at Harford, Connecticut. Some sources state his birth name was Frank Mokeley, a claim that seems to date back to a 1933 New York Times article about his son, film actor Frank LawtonFrank Lawton
Frank Lawton was an English actor, born Frank Lawton Mokeley. He was married to Evelyn Laye, with whom he acted several times including in My Husband and I .His parents were stage players Daisy May Collier and Frank Mokeley...
. This may be true, though it has proven difficult to locate any public record or contemporary newspaper article that supports this assertion. In later editions of "Whose Who in the Theatre" his full name is listed as Frank Mokeley Lawton.
Career
Lawton’s professional debut was in 1874 with the Eureka Minstrels as one half of a song and dance duo with Lew DockstaderLew Dockstader
Lew Dockstader was a United States singer, comedian, and Vaudeville star, best known as a blackface minstrel show performer in the late 19th century and early years of the 20th century.Dockstader performed both as a solo act and leading a popular Minstrel troupe...
. He would go on to team up at one time or another with players Joe Sparks, Billy Mitchell and others before joining in the early 1880s Charles Hoyt
Charles Hoyt
Charles Hoyt may refer to:*Charles Hale Hoyt - American dramatist*Charles B. Hoyt - American track athlete and coach...
’s Hole in the Ground and Milk White Flag companies. There Lawton refined his talents as a singer, dance comedian, bones player and amazing siffluer. The latter talent would one day earn him the title, bestowed by at least one British critic, as the Champion Whistler of the World. In 1898 Lawton’s whistling act was recorded by Fred Gaisberg
Fred Gaisberg
Frederick William Gaisberg was an American-born musician, recording engineer and one of the earliest classical music producers for the gramophone. He himself did not use the term 'producer' and was not an impresario like his protégé Walter Legge of EMI or an innovator like John Culshaw of Decca...
, one of over a thousand sides of recordings Gaisberg made for Berliner Gramophone
Berliner Gramophone
Berliner Gramophone was an early record label, the first company to produce disc "gramophone records" .-History:...
and later Gramophone Company
Gramophone Company
The Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early recording companies, and was the parent organization for the famous "His Master's Voice" label...
of artist working in London. Lawton would spend the greater part of the last twenty-five years of his life touring New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain where he was well received. After a successful run playing Blinky Bill in the musical comedy The Belle of New York with actress Edna May, Lawton chose to stay in London after his company returned to New York in 1899. Frank Lawton died there on April 18, 1914 after a long illness and the collapse of a spectacular production planned for London’s Earle’s Court had left him in financial ruin. A few weeks later the London theatre district put on a benefit show to raise money for his widow, former dancer Daisy May Collier, and their four children. His first known marriage in 1894 to actress Virginia Earle
Virginia Earle
Virginia Earle was an American stage actress remembered for her work in light operas, musical comedies and vaudeville over the decades surrounding the turn of the twentieth century.-Early Life and Career:...
ended in divorce eight years later.