Dillingham, Charles (Bancroft)

Dillingham, Charles [Bancroft] (1868–1934), producer. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of an Episcopal clergyman, Dillingham rejected college in favor of becoming a journalist and served on newspapers in Hartford, Washington, D.C., and Chicago before moving to the New York Evening Sun. A stint as that paper's drama critic convinced him his future lay in the theatre. In 1896 he wrote and produced a play called Ten P.M., a failure that nonetheless brought him to the attention of Charles Frohman, who hired him as a press agent and production assistant. In 1898 he became Julia Marlowe's manager and began to produce actively. In the next thirty years Dillingham produced over two hundred plays, including the non‐musicals Man and Superman (1905), A Bill of Divorcement (1921), Bulldog Drummond (1921), and The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1925). However, he was most celebrated for his musical productions, which in lavishness and taste were considered second only to Florenz Ziegfeld's. Among his many successes were Mlle. Modiste (1905), The Red Mill (1906), Chin‐Chin (1914), Watch Your Step (1914), Jack o'Lantern (1917), Apple Blossoms (1919), Tip Top (1920), Good Morning, Dearie (1921), Stepping Stones (1923), Sunny (1925), and Criss Cross (1926). In 1910 he built the Globe (now Lunt‐Fontanne) Theatre, and from 1915 to 1922 ran the mammoth Hippodrome. Dillingham was famous for his gentlemanly conduct and his dapper appearance; his derby became a trademark. So respected was he that when he went bankrupt in the Depression his friends regularly took up collections to support him and even mounted a show, giving him credit as producer.