301:. In a personal correspondence between Rodney Pantages, son of Alexander, and Arthur Dean Tarrach, Pantages's biographer, this claim is denied. At the age of nine he ran away while with his father on a business trip in Cairo, Egypt. He then went to sea and spent the next two years working as a deck hand. He arrived in the United States in the early 1880s. His ties to his homeland seem mercurial; he never set foot in Greece again although he did assist his relatives financially and even brought his brother, Nicholas, to live in the United States. He used to call himself "King Greek", perhaps in emulation of
486:
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fire, on
January 9, 1900, but Pantages and the company arranged to build a new house, with electrical lighting and brick chimneys. Originally scheduled to open less than two weeks after the fire, on February 26, 1900, the Orpheum Theatre had its first "typical night of 'wine, women and song,'" closing at 2:30 the next morning, and taking in over $ 3,000 ($ 109,872 in 2023) for "wine and other 'concoctions.'" In June, Pantages acquired a projector and made motion pictures a regular part of the Orpheum bill of fare. In autumn 1900, he and performer
349:
32:
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453:, and further expanded his "combo" houses, designed to exhibit films as well as staging live vaudeville, to new sites in the western U.S. Throughout the 1920s, the Pantages Circuit dominated the vaudeville and motion picture market in North America west of the Mississippi River. Pantages was effectively blocked from expansion into the eastern market by New York-based
624:
340:, just the previous August and joined Pantages's Orpheum company. In November 1902 she returned to Victoria, leasing the Orpheum Theatre there, by February 1903, to present vaudeville and moving pictures. Although details of his departure from the Yukon are unknown, Pantages was proprietor and manager of the theatre by April 1903.
391:, the Lois, named after his wife. By 1920, he owned more than 30 vaudeville theatres and controlled, through management contracts, perhaps 60 more in both the United States and Canada. These theatres formed the "Pantages Circuit", a chain of theatres into which he could book and rotate touring acts on long-term contracts.
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In his time in the bitter cold of Dawson City, he worked as a waiter and as a porter at the Dawson City Opera House, saving his money to invest in local show business. Subsequently he managed the venue, presenting shows with a stock company. The venture ended when the Opera House was destroyed in a
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281:. He was found guilty but acquitted on appeal. The negative publicity led to the selling of his operations and he permanently ceased being a force in exhibition or vaudeville. He is largely forgotten today in historical accounts of the early development of motion pictures. He died in February 1936.
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Although
Pantages was acquitted, the trials ruined him financially. He sold the theatre chain to RKO for a lower sum than that originally offered—far less than what his "Pantages Greek" vaudeville palaces had cost him to build—and went into retirement. Pantages died in 1936 and was
538:
Pantages was acquitted in the second trial in 1931, after
Giesler portrayed Pringle as a woman of low morals; he also demonstrated that a rape would have been impractical in Pantages's broom closet and suggested to the court that Pringle should have been able to fight off the 5' 6.5", 126 lb.,
406:
Pantages showcased both film and live vaudeville to his audiences. Despite initially refusing to allow
African-Americans into his theatres he eventually yielded after being successfully sued by an African-American who had been refused entry into a Pantages theater in Spokane, Washington.
472:
held an option and a managing interest, and moved to acquire control of the KAO theatres through quiet purchases of the company's stock. In 1927, Kennedy and
Sarnoff were successful in gaining control of KAO and, in 1928, changed the name of the company to Radio Keith Orpheum
518:
portrayed
Pantages as alone, aloof, cold, emotionless, effete, and "European", while the American-born Pringle was humanized through portraits with her family, emotional outbursts in court and interviews in the press. Pantages granted no interviews during the trial.
432:
Pantages often sought out and judged performers personally instead of relying on New York agents like many of his competitors did. Pantages invested his theatrical profits into new outlets and eventually moved to Los
Angeles. His showcase theatre at 7th and
312:, but after contracting malaria he was warned by a doctor to move to cooler climates. He headed north, stopping briefly in Seattle but eventually settling in San Francisco where he worked as a waiter and also, briefly and unsuccessfully, as a boxer. He left
398:. Their competition included such clandestine methods as stealing acts from each other and committing various forms of sabotage. This competition lasted for several decades and was one of the defining features of the vaudeville circuit of the times.
371:, a short-form vaudeville and motion picture house of his own. He ran the operation almost entirely by himself, and charged 10 cents admission. This took place a few months after Rockwell had opened up a small storefront movie theater in
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to file an appeal on his behalf. Giesler successfully petitioned for a new trial with the
California Supreme Court, basing his argument on the original trial judge's exclusion of testimony relating to Eunice Pringle's moral character.
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lawsuit against him as 'Klondike Kate' that was settled out of court; she later wrote that he had stolen from her the money with which he purchased the
Crystal. It would be more than two decades before they saw each other again.
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While most of the theatres were owned by others and managed by
Pantages, beginning in 1911 he became a builder of theatres all over the western U.S. and Canada. His favored architect in these ventures was
501:. Pringle, an aspiring vaudeville dancer, alleged that Pantages had attacked her in a small side-office of his downtown Los Angeles theater after she came to see him to discuss her audition.
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At the height of his empire, Pantages owned or operated 84 theatres across the United States and Canada. In 1929, he was accused of raping a 17-year-old dancer named
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514:, was strongly antagonistic towards the Greek-accented Pantages while portraying Pringle as an innocent victim. Both before and during the trial, stories in the
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On October 27, 1929, Pantages was convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison. He was subsequently jailed for several months. Pantages engaged attorney
844:
Lagos, Taso (May 2012). "Poor Greek to 'Scandalous Hollywood Mogul: Alexander Pantages and the Anti-Immigrant Narratives of William Randolph Hearst's
414:, where Pantages built the Pantages Playhouse in 1914. All Pantages tours originated in Winnipeg and moved from there around the circuit of theatres.
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in 1907 that stood until 2011, and another in 1914. That same year, he married a musician named Lois Mendenhall (1884–1941). Rockwell filed a
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739:. The two of them, who were countrymen, met at some point whereupon Pantages made an offer and tried to take over the theater circuit of the
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735:. Los Angeles: Holloway House Publishing Company, p. 51. This information comes from the biography of theater and movie mogul
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468:), which held a number of patents in film/sound technology, established the film production company Radio Pictures, in which
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The rumour, begun at the second trial, that RKO and Kennedy paid Eunice Pringle to frame Alexander Pantages, was revived in
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After having been at sea for two years he disembarked in Panama and spent some time there helping the French to dig the
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477:). They then approached Alexander Pantages with an offer to purchase his entire chain. Pantages rejected the offer.
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portrayed George Apolinaris, a short, heavily accented Greek owner of a chain of movie theaters, in the 1933
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297:. It is suggested that he was born "Pericles" Pantages but changed it to "Alexander" when he heard about
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From the Shores of the Aegean to the Edge of the Pacific: A tribute to Alexander Pantages (1864/75–1936)
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There is dispute about his year of birth, but it is likely that he was born in 1867 on the island of
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694:"Variety Confidential' True Crime Podcast Examines Hollywood's Secret History of the Casting Couch"
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743:. Skouras declined the offer but took notice of Pantages sobriquet and recounted it years later.
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started working and living together, after she left the troupe that had brought her north from
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913:"Carmen Pantages Considine, 89, Gave Time and Money to Veterans | the Seattle Times"
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In 1904, Pantages opened a second Seattle theatre, the Pantages; in 1906 he added a
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Around 1920, Pantages entered into partnership with the motion picture distributor
571:. The alleged conspiracy against Pantages also plays a prominent role in the book
497:, Pantages was arrested and charged with the rape of 17-year-old California-born
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from HistoryLink.org: The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History
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The Sins of the Father: Joseph P. Kennedy and the Dynasty He Founded
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Alexander Pantages: The Seattle Pantages and his Vaudeville Circuit
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Seattle 1900–1920: From Boomtown, Urban Turbulence, to Restoration
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270:. He created a large and powerful circuit of theatres across the
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In the late 1920s, with the looming advent of talking pictures,
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757:. Madeira Park, BC: Lost Moose. pp. 118–25, 135, 140–41.
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interred in the Great Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Benediction, at
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The Indian Territory Journals of Colonel Richard Irving Dodge
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19:"Pantages" redirects here. For theatres names Pantages, see
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The starting point of the Pantages Circuit was the city of
794:"Vancouver History website – "The Pantages in Vancouver""
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Hollywood in the Klondike: Dawson City's Great Film Find
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In Seattle Pantages competed with another impresario,
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Greek American impresario and vaudeville/film producer
464:, the principal of the Radio Corporation of America (
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422:(1881–1971), of Seattle, who regularly worked with
56:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
504:Newspaper coverage of the trial, particularly by
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897:Giesler, Jerry; Martin, as told to Pete (1960),
489:Pantages testifying during his first trial, 1929
1079:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
1034:American entertainment industry businesspeople
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672:. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 450.
666:Dodge, Richard Irving; Rogers, Will (1996).
355:in Seattle, built 1907, now a city landmark.
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437:in downtown L.A. also housed his offices.
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941:Skid Row: An Informal Portrait of Seattle
883:Giesler, Jerry; Martin, as told to Pete,
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172:February 17, 1936 (aged 68–69)
116:Learn how and when to remove this message
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578:Pantages was the grandfather of actors
324:, ending up in the mining boom-town of
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316:in 1897, and made his way to Canada's
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54:adding citations to reliable sources
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250:Περικλῆς Ἀλέξανδρος Πανταζῆς
154:Periklis Alexandros Pandazis
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948:Berner, Richard C. (1991),
834:Dean, Arthur Tarrach (1972)
718:Tarrach, Arthur Dean 1973:4
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254:Periklis Alexandros Padazis
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934:, University of Washington
381:breach-of-promise-to-marry
369:opened the Crystal Theater
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930:Tarrach, Dean A. (1972),
550:Forest Lawn Memorial Park
495:Wall Street Crash of 1929
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402:Pantages Theatre Circuit
334:Kathleen 'Kate' Rockwell
206:34.125499°N 118.240807°W
939:Murray, Morgan (1960),
899:The Jerry Giesler Story
885:The Jerry Giesler Story
753:Gates, Michael (2022).
506:William Randolph Hearst
268:motion picture producer
1001:(Stanford University).
539:62-year-old Pantages.
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211:34.125499; -118.240807
144:Pantages, c. 1914
862:10.1353/mgs.2012.0006
727:Curti, Carlo (1967).
573:Hollywood and the Mob
565:Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.
563:'s 1997 biography of
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272:Western United States
1049:Vaudeville producers
1006:"Alexander Pantages"
973:Ilias Chrissochoidis
846:Los Angeles Examiner
554:Glendale, California
511:Los Angeles Examiner
493:In the midst of the
375:, and later built a
279:Eunice Alice Pringle
185:Glendale, California
65:"Alexander Pantages"
50:improve this article
993:Pantages, Alexander
733:King of Fox Studios
455:Keith-Albee-Orpheum
427:Anthony Heinsbergen
344:Starting exhibition
299:Alexander the Great
202: /
1064:People from Andros
999:Alexander Pantages
943:, The Viking Press
821:The New York Times
709:, pp. 151–158
645:in Toronto, Canada
588:John Considine Jr.
580:John Considine III
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451:Paramount Pictures
441:Entering Movieland
412:Winnipeg, Manitoba
359:Pantages moved to
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322:Klondike Gold Rush
242:Alexander Pantages
132:Alexander Pantages
952:, Charles Press,
764:978-1-55017-996-5
679:978-0-8061-3267-9
470:Joseph P. Kennedy
420:B. Marcus Priteca
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1054:1860s births
1013:. Retrieved
1010:Find a Grave
982:NEO Magazine
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48:Please help
43:verification
40:
1059:1936 deaths
781:Berner 1991
707:Murray 1960
435:Hill Street
367:, where he
326:Dawson City
320:during the
209: /
197:118°14′27″W
1028:Categories
924:References
804:2010-03-25
696:. Variety.
481:Rape trial
365:Washington
285:Early life
266:and early
264:impresario
261:vaudeville
194:34°07′32″N
76:newspapers
1015:August 9,
870:143465636
373:Vancouver
616:See also
516:Examiner
424:muralist
163:, Greece
729:Skouras
605:musical
567:titled
530:lawyer
457:(KAO).
361:Seattle
90:scholar
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295:Greece
291:Andros
161:Andros
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987:54-55
866:S2CID
650:Notes
246:Greek
97:JSTOR
83:books
1017:2010
954:ISBN
759:ISBN
674:ISBN
582:and
526:and
169:Died
157:1867
150:Born
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