Pitou, Augustus

The Oxford Companion to American Theatre | 2004 | 700+ words | Copyright

Pitou, Augustus (1843–1915), manager, producer, and playwright. Often called “King of the One‐Night Stands,” he began his career in his native New York as an actor in a minor role in Edwin Booth's Hamlet in 1867. He remained with Booth for several years before abandoning performing in favor of managing theatres and actors. At one time or another he ran such New York theatres as Booth's, the Fifth Avenue, and the Grand Opera House and guided the careers of performers such as Rose Coghlan, Chauncey Olcott, and W. J. Scanlan. Pitou was not merely Olcott's agent but his producer and playwright as well, creating the books for and mounting such Olcott romantic musical dramas as Sweet Inniscarra (1897), A Romance of Athlone (1899), and Old Limerick Town (1902). However, most of the plays he produced were designed as touring shows and, without a star of Olcott's attraction, never played major New York houses. After his death his son, Augustus Jr., continued his policies for nearly a decade.

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Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Pitou, Augustus." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Pitou, Augustus." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-PitouAugustus.html

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Pitou, Augustus." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-PitouAugustus.html

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