James T. Powers (born James T. McGovern; April 26, 1862 – February 10, 1943)
[Gerald Martin Bordman. ''The Oxford Companion to the American Theatre'', 2nd edition, 1992, p. 556.] was an American stage actor, vocalist, and lyricist.
Biography
Powers began on the stage in Boston in 1880 and also spent time in circuses and later, in
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
s. In the 1890s, he acted in many American versions of the so-called
''Gaiety musicals'', originating in the London's West End, then coming into vogue in the United States.
His entire career was spent in live theatre. He, however, has one IMDb credit for a short film from 1905 ''Digesting a Joke (James T. Powers)''.
On May 19, 1892, he married in
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
the actress Rachel Booth (1862-1955). They toured together in several productions. The Powers made their home in the
Ansonia residential hotel in New York City.
His autobiography, ''Twinkle Little Star'' was published in New York in 1939.
[James T. Powers. ''Twinkle Little Star: Sparkling Memories of Seventy Years''. New York: G. P. Putnam, 1939.]
James T. Powers died in New York City on February 11, 1943.
References
External links
*
James T. Powers portrait gallery ''New York Public Library''
James T. Powers portraits ''University of Washington Sayre''
James T. and Rachel Booth Powers portraits ''University of Louisville, Macauley Theatre Collection''
North American Theatre Online: James T. PowersJames T. Powers (lyricist) ''Discography of American Historical Recordings''
1862 births
1943 deaths
American male stage actors
Male actors from New York (state)
Singers from New York (state)
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