Vaudeville producer and venue agent. He worked for P.T. Barnum as a "tent boy," cared for the hippopotami and prepared concessions for spectators for about seven years. After his time there, he partnered with Benjamin F. Keith and started the Albee-Keith theaters (The Bijou Theater in Boston, the Gaiety Museum in Providence, the Bijou in Philadelphia, the Hippodrome in New York City, and many others across the country). Keith and Albee created United Booking Office (UBO), a booking agency which scheduled routes for performers in Keith theaters and other theaters. Eventually, the organization became so powerful that it was near impossible to work as a vaudeville artist without going through the UBO, which also charged the artists a percentage for bookings. After WWI, Albee was influential in forming two organizations, the Vaudeville Managers' Protective Association and the National Vaudeville Artists, responsible for protecting both artists and managers in negotiations. During the rise of cinema, vaudeville declined and Albee merged the Keith circuit with Joseph Kennedy's Orpheum circuit to form Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO), a part of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Albee died in Palm Beach, Florida on March 11th, 1930. He was survived by his wife Laura (nee Smith), his daughter Ethel, and his son Reed. Reed would eventually adopt future playwright Edward Franklin Albee III, who was named after his grandfather. An obituary in the New York Times summarized Albee's contribution: "Mr. Albee was a vital and aggressive figure, who organized and stabilized a fairly unorganized part of the theatre."
Vaudeville producer and venue agent. He worked for P.T. Barnum as a "tent boy," cared for the hippopotami and prepared concessions for spectators for about seven years. After his time there, he partnered with Benjamin F. Keith and started the Albee-Keith theaters (The Bijou Theater in Boston, the Gaiety Museum in Providence, the Bijou in Philadelphia, the Hippodrome in New York City, and many others across the country). Keith and Albee created United Booking Office (UBO), a booking agency which scheduled routes for performers in Keith theaters and other theaters. Eventually, the organization became so powerful that it was near impossible to work as a vaudeville artist without going through the UBO, which also charged the artists a percentage for bookings. After WWI, Albee was influential in forming two organizations, the Vaudeville Managers' Protective Association and the National Vaudeville Artists, responsible for protecting both artists and managers in negotiations. During the rise of cinema, vaudeville declined and Albee merged the Keith circuit with Joseph Kennedy's Orpheum circuit to form Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO), a part of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Albee died in Palm Beach, Florida on March 11th, 1930. He was survived by his wife Laura (nee Smith), his daughter Ethel, and his son Reed. Reed would eventually adopt future playwright Edward Franklin Albee III, who was named after his grandfather. An obituary in the New York Times summarized Albee's contribution: "Mr. Albee was a vital and aggressive figure, who organized and stabilized a fairly unorganized part of the theatre."
Bio by: James Maver
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