Frank Dumont | |
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Born | January 25, 1848 Utica, New York |
Died | March 17, 1919 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Occupation | Minstrel show performer and manager |
Frank Dumont (January 25, 1848 - March 17, 1919) was a popular American minstrel show performer and manager.[1][2][3]
Dumont was born in Utica, New York on January 25, 1848. He started performing in minstrel shows as early as 1862, and worked with a number of groups, including Duprez & Benedict's Minstrels from about 1869 to 1881. He eventually founded "Dumont's Minstrels", around 1895/96, after purchasing the Eleventh Street Opera House in Philadelphia. He authored many sketches and songs for the genre.
After the Opera House closed circa 1909, Dumont acquired Dime Museum at Ninth and Arch Streets and renamed it "Dumont's Theatre".[4] He died in the box office of the theatre on March 17, 1919 during the opening number of that afternoon's matinee show.[3][5][6]
Dumont's 1899 work "The Witmark amateur minstrel guide and burnt cork encyclopedia" is a valuable resource on the history of American minstrelsy.
Dumont wrote in 1915 that he had been the first to perform two classic 19th century standards, Silver Threads Among the Gold, and When You and I Were Young, Maggie.[7]