Talk:Ice Capades
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[edit] Dispute on accuracy
Some person is sending emails to the Foundation saying that what this article says about the origins of Ice Capades is untrue. Apparently, whatever this person writes gets reverted. Since neither this person nor this article provide sources, I put up the "disputed" and the "lack of sources" banners. David.Monniaux 22:07, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
I assume the dispute is in reference to this revision which asserts that the founder of Ice Capades was Peter A. Tyrrell instead of John Harris. The only Google hit I could come up with for Tyrrell and Ice Capades is here, where he is listed as the "booking representative" for the 1941 show, while Harris is listed as president. John Harris is additionally cited as the show's founder here and here. I can't really consider any of these sources as definitive -- but at least there are readily available sources saying Harris founded the show, and none saying that Tyrrell did, so I reverted the change. Of course there may be offline sources (books? old newspaper or magazine articles?) to support the Tyrrell version of the story, so perhaps the person doing the complaining could provide specific references instead? Dr.frog 18:17, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
Specific references: by [peter A. Tyrrell Jr.
Below is a copy of my fathers biography in the National Cylopedia of American Biography, where this reliable referance work describes that Pete Tyrrell was Business Manager, General Manager and President of Ice Capades in 1940 and how he started the first showing of Capades in New Orleans.
COPIED FROM NATIONAL CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY vol 57 pp 297-298 [with paragraph notes in brackets added]
[ His Early Years ]
TYRRELL, Peter Aloysius, entertainment entrepreneur, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., Apr. 8, 1896, son of Peter Redmond and Agnes Anastasia (Bowen) Tyrrell. His father came to this country from England in 1890 and settled in Philadelphia, where he was a barber, wigmaker, and cigarmaker. Peter A. Tyrrell received his early education at St. John the Baptist High School for Boys, Manayunk, a suburb of Philadelphia, and completed a two year business course there. He began his career in 1912 as a stenographer and clerk in the employ of the Girard Trust Co. ( later Girard Bank), Philadelphia, continuing in that capacity until 1914. From 1915 to 1917 he was a clerk in Philadelphia for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co., and during 1917-19 he was engaged in typewriter demonstration and maintenance work for the Hooven Automatic Typewriter Co., Philadelphia. Later in 1919, having spent some months as a sportswriter with the Manayunk Review, a newspaper, published in Manayunk, he entered the field of sports promotion and publicity, establishing a 3,000-seat facility on a carnival lot in West Manayunk, across the river from Philadelphia, where he staged fifteen-round boxing matches, the limit in Philadelphia proper then being six rounds. In 1920 he went to New York City as publicist for Al Lippe, a boxing manager, and the following year he returned to Philadelphia to serve in a similar capacity for Boo Boo Hoff (Max Hoff), a boxing promoter and manager, with whom he continued his association until 1929. In that year Tyrrell became a boxing matchmaker with the Philadelphia Arena, then that city’s largest public entertainment facility. With the decline in boxing attendance during the national economic depression of the 1930s, Tyrrell subsequently became publicist for the Arena, and when it went bankrupt in 1934 he was appointed a friendly receiver in equity by George Welsh, a federal court judge. In that capacity he served as general manager of the Arena until 1958, returning its operations to profitability. In 1958 he and associates purchased the Arena and established the Philadelphia Arena Corp., with Tyrrell as president and general manager. He retained those posts until his resignation in 1965.
[ The Arena History ]
The Philadelphia Arena was built in 1920 by George F. Pawling, an engineer and athletic official, who installed $150,000 worth of icemaking equipment in an unsuccessful effort to increase the popularity of ice skating in Philadelphia. In 1925 the building was acquired by Jules Mastbaum, owner of a chain of motion picture theaters, who renamed it the Arena and operated it primarily to stage boxing matches. Two years later the Arena was sold to Rudy Fried and Maurice Fishman, boxing promoters, who operated the facility until it was placed in receivership in 1934. In 1947 the Arena was purchased by Triangle Publications, Inc., Philadelphia , later becoming part of the Annenberg Foundation, which sold it to Tyrrell and associates in 1958. Upon Tyrrell’s resignation as president and general manager in 1965, the Arena was sold at auction to James Toppi Enterprises, a sports promotion concern.
[ His contributions to the major Ice Shows ]
During his years with the Arena, Tyrrell significantly enriched the variety of public entertainment in Philadelphia and elsewhere. In 1936 he became one of the first to book the Shipstad and Johnson ice-skating show, and its success in Philadelphia led to the establishment of the Ice Follies, which in turn became one of the most successful shows in the entertainment field. In 1940 he formed an association with ten eastern sports Arenas which financed the Ice Capades, another ice-skating show, separate from Ice Follies. Tyrrell was named business manager and organized and signed the talent for the first production. He served as first company manager and president in 1940. After rehearsing the show in the Philadelphia Arena, Tyrrell took it on its first road trip to New Orleans, La. Subsequently, the show was taken to Atlantic City, N.J., and rehearsed during the summers under Tyrrell’s direction before setting out on road tours throughout the country during the winters. He was a director of the Ice Capades from 1940 until 1963, when the company was sold to Metromedia, Inc., for $5 million. He convinced Sonja Henie, a figure skater, to turn professional, and she made her professional debut at the Arena and subsequently became the star of her own show, Hollywood Ice Revue.
[ His contributions to major indoor Rodeos ]
Tyrrell also brought to Philadelphia its first major rodeo, starring Gene Autry. When Autry left the show, Tyrrell hired Roy Rogers, who was playing in cowboy and western movies at the same studio as Autry. Playing his first arena rodeo, Rodgers was well received and Tyrrell arranged his appearances at other arenas.
[ Other Arena Events and Television Firsts ]
During the 1940s Tyrrell arranged at the Arena what were considered the worlds first televised ice show, basketball and hockey games, and boxing match. In 1949 he arranged in five weeks the welterweight boxing championship match between Sugar Ray Robinson and Kid Gavilan, selling $90,000 worth of tickets at the gate. The match was held at Municipal Stadium (later John F. Kennedy Stadium) in Philadelphia, and drew a total of $178,000 and attracted an audience of 27,805, the second largest for a boxing match in Philadelphia history. Tyrrell was known for his varied programming. The events held at the Arena during his tenure including the Johnny Weismuller and Buster Crabbe swimming shows, roller derbies, billiards contests, six-day bicycle races, dance marathons, rocking chair derbies, furniture sales, automobile shows, an endurance race between men and horses, and performances by the Spanish Riding School, the Lippizaner Stallions of Vienna, the Moscow Circus, the Scotch Guard, Gracie Fields, Bob Hope, Nat King Cole, Victor Borge, Elvis Presley, and Marion Anderson. Among the more unique events was the wedding of a couple participating in a dance marathon in Camden, N.J. Brought to the Arena in an open truck with orchestra, the couple danced in to, and during the ceremony and back to Camden in the truck. Red Skelton served as master of ceremonies for the marathon and the wedding. On another occasion the funeral of a cowgirl who died while performing with the Roy Rogers rodeo was held at the Arena, with Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers singing “Round-up in the Sky,” after which the entire rodeo troupe rode with the casket to the cemetery. Upon retiring from the Arena in 1965, Tyrrell established Pete Tyrrell & Associates, Philadelphia, to engage in the promotion of individual attractions at the Arena and other stadiums in the Philadelphia area. Tyrrell served as president of this firm from its inception until the close of his life. In addition to his main activities, he was a founder Basketball Association of America (BAA), forerunner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and for a time he managed the Philadelphia Warriors professional basketball team, which won the 1946-1947 BBA championship. He also brought the Ramblers team of the American Hockey League to Philadelphia as a farm club of the New York Rangers.
[ His Civic Affairs ]
Interested in civic affairs, Tyrrell and Oscar Johnson, owner of Ice Follies, staged a benefit in 1954 for the orphans of ten fireman killed in an explosion during a fire at a chemical plant in Philadelphia that year. This benefit became a forerunner of the annual Hero Scholarship Fund and Thrill Show which was organized in that year with Tyrrell serving as a director until the close of his life. At other times he staged benefits for prison welfare and for various church-operated welfare homes and hospitals. He brought about the repeal of the section of the Pennsylvania Blue Laws prohibiting entertainment events on Sundays by staging a benefit show for St. Joseph’s Home, a church-operated institution, on a Sunday. The benefit became an annual event. Tyrrell was the recipient of a large number of awards from local groups for his charitable and fund-raising activities. From 1963 to 1965 he was vice-president of the National Arena Managers Association.
[ Personal ]
His religious affiliation was with the Roman Catholic Church. In politics he was an independent. For recreation he played golf, winning numerous trophies, and he was a member of the Bala Golf Club of Philadelphia. He was considered an exceptional pocket billiard player and played exhibition matches with many world champions. He was married in Philadelphia, Jan. 24, 1927, to Elsie Amelia , daughter of Julius Fred and Amelia Elsie (Dreger) Day of that city, and had three children: Peter Aloysius, who married Mary Patricia Kelly; Elsie Amelia, who married John Edward Rann; and Eleanor Agnes. Peter A. Tyrrell died in Philadelphia, Pa., May 8, 1973.
Below is the second Specific Referance.
The following is p12 of the book Ice Capades "years of Entertainment" by F.F.Hamiltin Jr. Penchant Publishing Co, Ltd. Washington D.C. c1973
The Beginning Years
(1940-1945)
A group of arena owners gathered in Hershey, Pa. on Valentine's Day, 1940 to discuss forming' an ice show to play their buildings during the I940-4I season. This group, the Arena Managers Association, consisted of Walter A. Brown (Boston Garden), Louis A.R. Pieri (Rhode Island Auditorium), Louis Jacobs (Buffalo Audi¬torium), John B. Sollenberger (Hershey Sports Arena), Al Sutphin (Cleveland Arena), Edward W. Shore (Springfield Coliseum), Peter A. Tyrrell (Philadelphia Arena), Nathan Podoloff (New Haven Arena) and John H. Harris (Pittsburgh Gardens). They elected John Harris, president, Walter Brown, vice-president and treasurer, Louis Pieri, secretary, and the other members present as directors. The subject of what to call the new ice spectacular arose. Walter Brown from the Boston Garden was checking words asso¬ciated with ice and entertainment when "escapades" appeared in the list. "Ice" and "capades' seemed a logical combination. A new name in entertainment was born. Designated as business manager, Pete Tyrrell from the Philadelphia Arena, or¬ganized and signed the talent for the first production which started.rehearsals at the Arena in May. Charlie Uksila was choreo¬grapher and Jerry Mayhall musical director with costumes from H. Mahieu, Inc., New York. Bob Mack, as master of ceremonies, introduced the stars and the production numbers. There were five production num- bers in the 1940 edition: I. The Silver Ballet, 2. Ballroom Dancing, 3. Alice Blue Gown, 4. The Riding Ballet, and 5. Finale (no name but with the entire cast). Listed in the cast were: skating stars, Robin Lee, Vera Hruba, Lois Dworshak, Dench & Stewart, McGowan and Mack, Cliff and Rona Thaell, Pierre and Denise Benoit, and Joanne McGowan; comedians, Jackson & Lynam, the Four Bruises; special¬ty acts, Serge Flash, Fritz Dieti. In addition, there was a small skating ballet of 16 girls. Other credits included lighting effects by Earl Crumb, ice painting by Homer Smith and publicity, Ben Oliver. New Orleans Municipal Auditorium was the scene for the world premiere on June loth. Performances were nightly at 8:30 and there were no matinees (and no custo¬mers). After closing there June 29th, Ice Capades journeyed to Atlantic City to prepare a re¬vised edition. The I940 show billed as "The Toast of the Coast" opened July 19th in Convention Hall, and played nightly through September 2nd. During the day the cast rehearsed Ice Capades of 1941. Russell Markerr from Radio City, New York, staged and directed the new production with music and lyrics by Peter de Rose and John Latouche. Musical arrangements were by Earl Moss and Jerry Mayhalt, the show's musical director. H. Mahieu executed the costumes with scenery and props by Stage-crafters Studio. In addition to the cast of the New Orleans show, ne.w stars were: Belita, the great English skater, Red McCarthy, daring speed skater, comedians, Eric Waite, Freddie Trenkler and Joe Jackson, Jr. and George Byron as M.C. who made the intro¬ductions and sang the hit tunes written for the show. The ballet increased in size to 24 girls and 12 boys. The show now was ready to embark upon its first tour season; however, a return engagement to New Orleans as the first stop proved to be a financial stumbling block. Consequently, the '4I edition went to Pittsburgh for more rehearsals at the Gardens where the show opened November 5th to excellent notices and business.
12
Please note that there is an error in the above, which states that Harris was elected President, as he was not elected President till February 1941. The author F.F.Hamilton Jr. was an employee of Harris at the time of the writing.
You will also note that the above story gives my father credit for forming or starting the first show.
Signed Peter A. Tyrrell Jr.
- OK, thank you. I'd like to direct your attention to Wikipedia:autobiography, which indicates you should let others write articles about your relatives. In particular, your claim that the Hamilton book is incorrect seems to be based on original research rather than verifiable sources. The National Cyclopedia quote seems a little confused; it says Tyrrell was named business manager but served as president. I'm curious to see what this source says about Harris's role. When I have a chance, I will visit my local research library and see what additional sources I can turn up. For now, about all I can conclude is that Tyrrell was involved, somehow, in the company's founding, but the majority of sources still seem to indicate that Harris was the first president. Dr.frog 22:07, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
