30 Facts About Willie Hammerstein

William Hammerstein was an American theater manager.

Willie Hammerstein ran the Victoria Theatre on what became Times Square, Manhattan, presenting very popular vaudeville shows with a wide variety of acts.

Willie Hammerstein was known for "freak acts", where celebrities or people notorious for scandals appeared on stage.

William Willie Hammerstein was born in New York City on September 26,1875, son of Oscar Willie Hammerstein, the theater impresario, and his first wife, nee Rose Blau.

Willie Hammerstein started work as a press agent, then built a vaudeville theatre on 110th Street, Manhattan, called Little Coney Island.

Willie Hammerstein managed his father's Olympia Theater, which opened in 1895.

In November 1896 Willie Hammerstein brought the Cherry Sisters to the Olympia roof garden.

Willie Hammerstein provided a net that protected them when the audience, as expected, started throwing produce and garbage at the stage.

Willie Hammerstein managed to raise enough money to build the Victoria Theatre, which opened as a legitimate theater on March 3,1899.

Willie Hammerstein enlarged the roof garden theater and reopened it in May 1901 as the Paradise Roof Garden.

In February 1904 Willie Hammerstein took over management of his father's Victoria Theatre.

Willie Hammerstein was talented at promoting his shows, and was skilled at finding and booking profitable acts.

Willie Hammerstein started putting on popular low-brow vaudeville shows at low prices.

Willie Hammerstein signed up stars and unknown new performers, celebrities of all types, physical freaks, illusionists and risque exotic dancers.

Willie Hammerstein ran the only vaudeville theater in Times Square, and had no other theatres.

Willie Hammerstein was able to develop shows uniquely fitted to his local audience.

Willie Hammerstein made the Victoria the most popular venue for vaudeville in New York.

Willie Hammerstein's father was much more interested in grand opera, and in 1906 opened the Manhattan Opera House.

Willie Hammerstein asked performers back many times if he liked them, as with the British comedian Harry Tate.

In June 1905 Willie Hammerstein signed up Will Rogers to perform in the Victoria for afternoon matinees and in the Paradise Roof Garden in the evenings.

Willie Hammerstein often booked acts from Europe, who sometimes made up half the show.

Willie Hammerstein introduced the dancers Gertrude Hoffmann and Constance Stewart-Richardson to the vaudeville stage.

Willie Hammerstein has a distinctive Turkish personality and dances with original movements all her own, accompanied by her two Eunuch Servants.

Willie Hammerstein was unusual in making a sharp separation between his work in the theater, which he loved, and his home life.

Willie Hammerstein married Alice Nimmo in 1893, and they had two sons, Oscar and Reginald.

Willie Hammerstein's wife died in 1910 and he married her sister, Annie Nimmo.

Willie Hammerstein never took part in Broadway night life, and he did not want his two sons to get involved in theater.

However, Oscar Willie Hammerstein II became famous as a lyricist and musical comedy writer.

Willie Hammerstein suffered from a disease of the kidneys, and died in New York on June 10,1914.

The Victoria Theatre was pulled down two years after Willie Hammerstein died, and the Rialto was built in its place, the first movie palace in Times Square.