HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Joseph Arthur (playwright)
OR:
Joseph Arthur (playwright) on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Joseph Arthur (1848 – February 20, 1906) was an American playwright best known for his popular (though not critically acclaimed) melodramatic plays of the 1880s and 1890s, including ''
The Still Alarm ''The Still Alarm'' is a melodramatic play by Joseph Arthur that debuted in New York in 1887 and enjoyed great success, and was adapted to silent films in 1911, 1918, and 1926. Though never a favorite of critics, it achieved widespread popularit ...
'' (1887) and ''
Blue Jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and pate ...
'' (1890).(21 February 1906)
Playwright Arthur Is Dead: He Wrote "The Still Alarm" and Other Melodramas, and Died Rich
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''Shumaker, Arthur Wesley
A history of Indiana literature
p. 498-500 (1962)(6 October 1900)
Joseph Arthur to Retire
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''


Biography

Arthur was born to John C. and Margaret Hill Smith in
Centerville, Indiana Centerville is a town in Center Township, Wayne County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 2,552 at the 2010 United States Census. Geography Centerville is located at (39.816141, -84.995420), at an altitude of 1,014 feet/309 m ...
in 1848 as Arthur Hill Smith. Most of his life was spent in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, where he arrived by the 1870s, but many of his plays took Indiana as their setting. His first successful play was ''
The Still Alarm ''The Still Alarm'' is a melodramatic play by Joseph Arthur that debuted in New York in 1887 and enjoyed great success, and was adapted to silent films in 1911, 1918, and 1926. Though never a favorite of critics, it achieved widespread popularit ...
'', which opened in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
in August 1887 and wowed audiences with its climactic scene where fire wagons are pulled by horses to a blazing fire. In 1890, he followed up that success with ''
Blue Jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and pate ...
'', a huge melodramatic success of its time, best known for its scene where the unconscious hero is placed on a board approaching a huge buzz saw in a sawmill.


Personal

Arthur married actress Charlotte Cobb.


Works

* ''Colorado'' (1875) * ''
The Still Alarm ''The Still Alarm'' is a melodramatic play by Joseph Arthur that debuted in New York in 1887 and enjoyed great success, and was adapted to silent films in 1911, 1918, and 1926. Though never a favorite of critics, it achieved widespread popularit ...
'' (1887) * ''
Blue Jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and pate ...
'' (1890) * ''The Corn Cracker'' (1893) * ''The Cherry Pickers'' (1896) * ''The Salt of the Earth'' (1898) * ''On the Wabash'' (1899) * ''Lost River'' (1900)


References


External links


Joseph Arthur Collection, Microfilm, Finding Aid
(
Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau The Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau is a public library building, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the largest public library in the state of Indiana, housing over 60,000 manuscripts. Established in 1934, the library has gathe ...
) * * 1848 births 1906 deaths People from Centerville, Indiana 19th-century American dramatists and playwrights {{US-playwright-stub