Several years ago, I was out of the country and thus missed bidding on eBay for an amazing treasure trove of Broadway memorabilia amassed by Dr Edward Clarkson Seward. I don't know a great deal about him, but this is what I have gathered from reviewing the material. (I don't think I am breaching copyright by posting a few pages.)
Doctor Seward and his wife were "front-rowers" and "first nighters" through the 1920's to 1940's (and perhaps much earlier). They sat night-after-night in the front rows of Broadway Musicals. They became such a beloved institution that no show was complete without them and few shows wanted to close without them in the audience on closing night.
I assume they were an older couple, perhaps elderly by the 20's, because of the loving comments written in their programs. Here are a few examples from the incredibly autographed souvenir programs that were sold in this lot.
First up is the front page of a program signed by virtually every member of the cast and apparently presented to the Sewards.
UPDATE I have found that Dr. Edward Clarkson Seward held patents, granted in 1896. On what, I have no idea....
UPDATE 2 These people clearly have a unique story. Anyone who has details, I'd love to know more. Spill.......
UPDATE 3 2011. Dr. Edward Clarkson Seward was a graduate of Yale (1906) and a partner in the law firm of Brown and Seward at 261 Broadway in the 1920s and 30s.
The Doctor and his wife were known as "The Sunshines" because, I suppose of their bright smiling faces in the front rows.
They were patrons of a beautiful young woman named Beryl Wallace, who became the companion of Earl Carrol ("Through these portal pass the most beautiful women in the world.") She died with him in an airplane crash in the 40's.
I would love to find out more about the Sunshines. I know they lived at The Essex House and before that at the Hotel Wyndam. Doctor Seward for a fact that Dorothy Kilgallen wrote about them in detail in her column on 1/4/1940. If anyone has access to The New York Journal and can get this, I'd really appreciate the info.
"Winning a Tony this year is like winning Best Attendance in third grade: no one will care but the winner and their mom."
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
In answer to questions I have been asked, my Avatar is actress Natalie Hall, from the production of "Ball at the Savoy" at Drury Lane in 1933. She starred in the original production of "Music in the Air" on Broadway by Kern and Hammerstein in 1931.
"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>>
“I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>>
-whatever2
"Anything Goes" was such a long running show, they even got another year's cards out of it.
from Wikipedia:
William Gaxton (December 2, 1893-February 2, 1963), born Arturo Antonio Gaxiola in San Francisco, California, was a star of vaudeville, film, and theatre. He appeared in some ten films and eleven shows. Gaxton debuted on Broadway in the Music Box Revue(October 23, 1922), and went on to star in such hits as Rogers and Hart's A Connecticut Yankee (1927), singing "Thou Swell", Cole Porter's Fifty Million Frenchmen (1929), singing "You Do Something to Me", Of Thee I Sing (1933) with Victor Moore, Cole Porter's Anything Goes (1934), with Ethel Merman and Victor Moore, White Horse Inn (1936), Leave It to Me! (193 with Victor Moore, and Louisiana Purchase (1940).
The Sunshines could probably teach a lesson or two to today's audiences on proper etiquette in the theatre.
"Winning a Tony this year is like winning Best Attendance in third grade: no one will care but the winner and their mom."
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)