David Warfield (November 28, 1866 – June 27, 1951) was an American

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Life and career

Warfield was born David Wohlfeld in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, to

German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

parents, Louise and Sigmund Wohlfeld. His first connection with the theatre was as an usher. He made his first stage appearance in 1888 in '' The Ticket-of-Leave Man''. Two years later he went 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 ...

, where he appeared at the Casino Theatre and at Weber and Field's Music Hall. In 1901, he was discovered and promoted by

David Belasco David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story ''Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of ...

who starred him in ''

The Auctioneer "The Auctioneer" (also known as "The Auctioneer's Song") is a 1956 country song by Leroy Van Dyke. It was co-written with Buddy Black. The song is notable for its interspersal of auction chants. Origin Van Dyke was inspired to write the song f ...

'', in which he played 1,400 times, including a revival that extended over several seasons. He remained under the Belasco management. Although he appeared in many productions, his fortune and success in theater centered on his playing four major roles over a 25-year period: Simon Levi in The Auctioneer (1901), Anton von Barwig in The Music Master (1904), Wes Bigelow in A Grand Army Man (1907) and the title role in The Return of Peter Grimm (1911). One of his best-known roles was that of Anton von Barwig in '' The Music Master'', which he played from 1904 to 1908, appearing in the part more than 1000 times. In 1908, Warfield and his company appeared at the

Elitch Theatre The Historic Elitch Theatre is located at the original Elitch Gardens site in northwest Denver, Colorado. Opened in 1890, it was centerpiece of the park that was the first zoo west of Chicago. The theatre was Denver's first professional thea ...

in The Music Master and A Grand Army Man. Warfield's company included Denver-native and eponym of the Tony Awards,

Antoinette Perry Mary Antoinette "Tony" Perry (June 27, 1888June 28, 1946) was an American actress, producer, director and administrator, known for her work in theatre, she was co-founder and secretary of the American Theatre Wing and is the namesake of the To ...

. In 1911 Warfield created the title role in ''The Return of Peter Grimm'', a play

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

claimed that

stole from him. Warfield's position as a leading American actor in comedy was established by the masterly style in which he portrayed, in each of these plays, a kindly old gentleman who is pathetic in misfortune and amusingly eccentric. In 1916 he appeared in ''Van der Decken'', a play by Belasco, based on the legend of The Flying Dutchman. The

Warfield Theatre The Warfield Theatre, colloquially called The Warfield, is a 2,300-seat music venue located in the Theatre District in downtown San Francisco, California, United States. It was built as a vaudeville theater and opened as the '' Loews Warfield'' ...

in Warfield's birthplace of San Francisco, California, is named in his honor. Warfield, who at the time was one of the world's richest entertainers, died in New York City, at 84. Signed drawing of David Warfield by Manuel Rosenberg for the Cincinnati Post 1919

Signed drawing of David Warfield by Manuel Rosenberg for the Cincinnati Post 1919

Image:DavidWarfield.jpg

References

External links

* *
David Warfield papers, 1897-1946 and undated
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...

Images of David Warfield
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

* 1866 births 1951 deaths American male stage actors Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery Male actors from New York City Male actors from San Francisco American vaudeville performers {{US-theat-actor-1860s-stub