Richard Martin Hooley (April 13, 1822 – September 8, 1893) was an American theatre manager, minstrelsy manager, and one of the earliest theatre managers in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Hooley was born in

Ballina, County Mayo Ballina ( ; ) is a town in north County Mayo, Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountains to the east and the Nephin Beg Ra ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, and educated in Manchester before first coming to the United States in 1844. After being associated for two years with

Christy's Minstrels Christy's Minstrels, sometimes referred to as the Christy Minstrels, were a blackface group formed by Edwin Pearce Christy, a well-known ballad singer, in 1843, in Buffalo, New York. They were instrumental in the solidification of the minstrel ...

, he organized a blackface minstrel company and toured England, returning to the United States by 1853. In 1855 he traveled to California and took over the management of Maguire's Opera House in San Francisco.

Brooklyn theatre

Hooley returned to New York around 1858, and opened a theatre in Brooklyn with Hooley's Minstrels in 1862. It was located at the southwest corner of Court and Remsen streets. Hooley sold his interest in the Brooklyn theatre (known as Hooley's Theatre or other names at other times) in 1878; the building was later demolished and replaced by Dime Savings Bank, which remained at that location until 1908.Floyd-Jones, Thomas
Backwards Glances: Reminiscences of an Old New-Yorker
p. 88 (1914)Del Valle, Cezar
The Brooklyn Theatre Index, Vol. I
pp. 119-21 (2010)(28 May 1911)
Interesting Contracts in Development Around the Borough Hall of Brooklyn
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' ("Opposite the Garfield Building, on the southwest corner of Court and Remsen Streets, the present site of the old Dime Savings Bank, was Hooley's Minstrels, and among the comedians who delighted early Brooklynites from its stage were Archie Hughes, Billy Birch, Backus, Wambold, and others.")

Madison, Wisconsin theatre

About 1870, Hooley, in partnership with L. B. Bryan, purchased Van Bergen's Hall, on the Dator Block, in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, in a deal with George B. Burrows. The building, which became known as the Hooley Opera House was remodelled by John B. Hyland, a local contractor. In 1885, Hooley's Opera House was converted into apartments.

Chicago theatres

Hooley moved to Chicago around 1870 and opened Hooley's Opera House in January 1871. It was a venue that had previously been run as Bryan's Hall before

Thomas Barbour Bryan Thomas Barbour Bryan (December 22, 1828 – January 26, 1906) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician. Born in Virginia, a member of the prestigious Barbour family on his mother's side, Bryan largely made a name for himself in Chic ...

gave Hooley a five-year lease on it. It was successful but destroyed in the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago, Illinois during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left mor ...

only nine months later.Cambridge Guide to American Theatre
p. 195 (1996 paperback ed.) He then opened Hooley's Theatre in a new location in 1872, on

Randolph Street Randolph Street is a street in Chicago running east–west through the Loop, carrying westbound traffic west from Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River on the Randolph Street Bridge, interchanging with the Kennedy Expressway ( I-90/ I-94) ...

east of

LaSalle Street LaSalle Street is a major north-south street in Chicago named for René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, a 17th century French explorer of the Illinois Country. The portion that runs through the Chicago Loop is considered to be Chicago's f ...

.Iroquois Theatre .. Souvenir Programme
pp. 89-91 (1903) Hooley also organized a theatre stock company that featured actors including William H. Crane and James O'Neill. Business manager Harry J. Powers took over Hooley's Theatre in Chicago after Hooley's death in 1893.(23 September 1893)
Funeral of R.N. Hooley and Anson Temple
''

New York Dramatic Mirror The ''New York Dramatic Mirror'' (1879–1922) was an American theatrical trade newspaper published in New York City. History The paper was founded in January 1879 by Ernest Harvier as the ''New York Mirror''. In stating its purpose to cover t ...

'', p. 14 In 1898 he became full owner and renamed it as Powers' Theatre.Brandt, Nat. ''Chicago Death Trap'', p. 10 (2006) That year, a history of Hooley's Theatre by Lyman B. Glover was published.Glover, Lyman B
The Story of a Theatre
(1898) The theatre stood until 1924, when it was demolished to accommodate an expansion of the Sherman House Hotel. The site is currently part of the land on which the

James R. Thompson Center The James R. Thompson Center (JRTC), under reconstruction as Google Center or Googleplex Chicago and originally the State of Illinois Center, is a postmodern-style building designed by architect Helmut Jahn, located at 100 W. Randolph Street in ...

now sits.Randall, Frank A. & John D. Randall
History of the Development of Building Construction in Chicago
p. 78 (2d ed. 1999)

Personal

Hooley was affectionately called "Uncle Dick". He married Rosina Cramer in 1856, and died at his house in Chicago on September 8, 1893, survived by two daughters. He was interred at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston.(9 September 1893)
"Richard M. Hooley Dead. The Veteran Theatrical Manager Ends His Career in Chicago"
''

''Andreas, A.T
History of Chicago, Vol. II
p. 609-10 (1885)Ellis, Charles Edward
An Authentic History of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
pp. 116-18 (1910)

References

External links

Hooley's Opera House Songster
(1863), via archive.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Hooley, Richard M. 1822 births 1893 deaths Irish emigrants to the United States American theatre managers and producers Blackface minstrel managers and producers People from Ballina, County Mayo 19th-century American businesspeople Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Evanston, Illinois)