Chairman

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Chairman, presiding genius of the old music-hall. In full evening dress, he sat at a table at auditorium level with his back to the stage. A mirror enabled him to see what was going on there; a clock helped him to time the ‘turns’ and, if necessary, cut them short; and a gavel helped him to keep order. Usually an old ‘pro’, of ruddy countenance and commanding presence, with a stentorian voice, he needed a ready wit and a gift for impromptu repartee. There were many famous chairmen, among them Charles Sloman. The chairman virtually disappeared by 1890 and had no place in the vast new Theatres of Variety.

chair·man / ˈche(ə)rmən/ • n. (pl. -men) 1. a person, esp. a man, designated to preside over a meeting. ∎  the permanent or long-term president of a committee, company, or other organization. ∎  (Chairman) (since 1949) the leading figure in the Chinese Communist Party. 2. a person, esp. a man, who is the administrative head of a department of instruction at a college or university.3. hist. a sedan-bearer. DERIVATIVES: chair·man·ship / -ˌship/ n.

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