Jacob J. Rosenthal, also known as J.J. Rosenthal or Jake Rosenthal, was a theater manager best known for managing

Cohan Cohan is a surname of Irish origins. It is a variant of Cohane, which itself is an Anglicized form of the Irish Ó Cadhain. Cohan is also a variant spelling of the Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Nor ...

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' Bronx Opera House. He was married to actress Kathryn Osterman with whom he had a son, the comedian Jack Osterman. He died July 12, 1923.

Early career

He had been working as a police reporter for the ''Cincinnati Enquirer'' for two years when he decided to embark in the theatrical business as a press agent for theater managers John H. Havlin of the Havlin Theatre and Robert E.J. Miles of the Grand Opera House both in Cincinnati. In a brazen move that will become a trademark throughout his professional career, he secured an ad in red ink on the first page of the Cincinnati Enquirer announcing the coming of

Effie Ellsler Euphemia "Effie" Ellsler (September 17, 1855 – October 8, 1942) was an American actress of stage and screen whose career had its beginnings when she was a child and lasted well into the 1930s. She was best remembered over her early career for ...

in Hazel Kirke. John R. McLean, the owner of the ''Enquirer'', had publicly boasted that nobody had enough money to buy an ad on the first page of his newspaper. Somehow Jake had managed to not only get the ad for free but in red, infuriating McLean, who asked his employers to dismiss him. Out of a job, he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and quickly started working for the likes of

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Frohman produced over 700 shows, and among his biggest hits was '' Peter Pan'', both ...

Klaw & Erlanger Klaw and Erlanger was an entertainment management and production partnership of Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger, Abraham Lincoln Erlanger based in New York City from 1888 through 1919. While running their own considerable and multi-faceted theatric ...

and other theatrical producers. On June 9, 1898, he married actress Kathryn Osterman in New York at the home of Kathryn's sister, actress Anna Belmont. Three years later, having moved to Toledo Ohio, they had a son, Jack, who became a comedian in vaudeville and movies under his mother's last name. J.J. Rosenthal subsequently worked for A.H. Woods and is credited with bringing

George Broadhurst George Howells Broadhurst (June 3, 1866 – January 31, 1952) was an Anglo-American theatre owner/manager, director, producer and playwright. His plays were most popular from the late 1890s into the 1920s. Biography Broadhurst was born in Wal ...

to prominence and catapulting

Julian Eltinge Julian Eltinge (May 14, 1881 – March 7, 1941), born William Julian Dalton, was an American Stage (theatre), stage and film actor and female impersonator. After appearing in the Boston Cadets Revue at the age of ten in feminine garb, Elting ...

to stardom. He then managed his wife's tour for three seasons before becoming the manager of the Gaiety Theatre in San Francisco. According to reports, in January 1914, he arranged for

Marie Dressler Leila Marie Koerber (November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934), known professionally as Marie Dressler, was a Canadian-born stage- and screen-actress and comedian, popular in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood in early silent film, silent an ...

tocome to the Gaiety when a contract had been signed for the showing of white-slave films (a popular genre in early cinema) at the house at the same time. A cash bond of $1,500, that had been put up as guarantee that the films would be put on at the time specified in the contract, was forfeited by the Gaiety's owner George M. Anderson. Jake Rosenthal was first fired verbally by Thomas O. Day of the Anderson executive forces, but because he was refusing to recognize his authority, Anderson himself had to later dismiss him by mail. Rosenthal sued the Anderson Company for $11,850 asking that an accounting be made for additional percentage per terms of contract. He attached the Gaiety receipts, but the management put up a bond and lifted it. In 1915, citing that he was tired of being on the road, he accepted

' offer to manage the Bronx Opera House.

Bronx Opera House

Jacob J. Rosenthal took over the Bronx Opera House at the beginning of its third season following the departure of Richard Madden.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Jacob J. Place of birth missing Year of birth missing 19th-century births 1923 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male writers American male journalists American theatre managers and producers Businesspeople from the Bronx Businesspeople from Cincinnati Businesspeople from San Francisco Businesspeople from Toledo, Ohio The Cincinnati Enquirer people Journalists from the Bronx Journalists from Ohio Journalists from San Francisco Writers from Cincinnati Writers from Toledo, Ohio