Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1919, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “The last of August, Alex DeBeers and I started for Utica, Illinois, from where we struck into the Starved Rock country for a few days of sketching. We found it very good. This trip is also included in my travelogues.” Unfortunately, the whereabouts of Moses’ travelogues remain a mystery.
Of the Starved Rock vacation area, the “Chicago Tribune” reported, “A little more than a two-hours’ ride from Chicago via Rock Island Lines, in comfortable steel coaches and parlor cars, you reach the Starved Rock country, the new Illinois State Park. The wonderful natural beauties of Starved Rock and many others in the vicinity, the numerous great depressions or fern filled canyons that lie between and the beautiful Illinois River have made this region a famous outing spot for thousands of nature lovers. A more delightful spot for a day’s outing so conveniently accessible and inexpensive is not to be found. Fast trains daily from La Salle Station and Englewood Union Station. Drop in at our Travel Bureau, Adams and Dearborn Sts., Chicago, for a copy of folder on Starved Rock” (27 May 1915, page 4). By 1924, a photograph of campers in Starved Rock country was included in the Chicago Sunday Tribune (10 Oct. 1924, page 33). The caption stated, “Ottawa, Illinois, gateway to the Starved Rock country, has provided one of the loveliest tourist havens of the middle west in Allen park, the city’s free camp. Holidays this year have packed the camp to its limit and throughout the season motorists from every part of the country have enjoyed its hospitality.”
In regard to Moses’ traveling companion Alex DeBeers, little is known. In fact, DeBeers was a new name for me in the scenic art world.
Part of the problem with my search for DeBeers is his last name; newspapers are filled with articles about the DeBeers Consolidated Diamond Company. DeBeers also went by De Beers, so the difficulty of the search increased tenfold. However, I was able to track down a little information about this elusive artist. Here is what I discovered during a pretty exhausting search.
In 1905 Alex DeBeers was painting in Chicago at the Marlowe Theatre, located on S. Stewart Avenue and not far from W. 63rd Street. The 1200-seat venue was also known as the Marlowe Hippodrome. The “Suburbanite Economist” listed DeBeers as one of the staff at the theater with an article reporting, “Very few in the audience know it, and fewer appreciate the fact, that there are seventeen actors at the Marlowe at every performance, whom the audience never see, and yet upon whose ability, talent, skill and good management every presentation depends. I was back behind with them this week, while one of their most credible works was being presented, and the success of it was appreciated by every man of them from the artist to the scene shifters, as much as Willis Hall or Maude Leone smiled their due appreciation of the hearty applause that greeted them. Alex De Beers, the artist, is one of the best in his line and his work speaks for itself” (Nov. 3, 1905).
Other than Moses’ mention of DeBeers in 1919, the next record I located of DeBeers is from the late 1920s. He was still painting, and in 1928, Alex DeBeers was listed as a scenic artist in the City Directory for Peoria, Illinois. At the time, he was residing at 514 N. Madison Ave, but was not affiliated with any particular theater in Peoria.
By 1931, DeBeers was included in an article about “The Masquerader” at English’s Opera House in Indianapolis, Indiana. The article reported, “The several settings for ‘The Masquerader’ are the work of Alex DeBeers. These are the first settings designed and painted here by DeBeers, formerly with the Chicago Civic Opera Company. He is the successor to Milo Denny.” Like many scenic artists during the Great Depression, painters sought any type of employment beyond traditional theater; DeBeers started working for the circus, primarily as a sign painter.
By 1935, DeBeers began painting for the Russell Bros. Circus. In 1936, DeBeers was listed as the “Boss Painter” for Russell Bros. Circus (The Billboard, May 2, 1936, page 41). Founded in 1928 by the husband and wife team Claude E. Webb and Pauline Russell Webb. The show initially played fairs and carnivals in the Iowa, starting small with a pit show that featured large snakes and other animals. An elephant was purchased, and the circus gradually expanded to three rings. On April 9, 1938, Alex DeBeers was mentioned as the “master painter,” back for his third season with the circus. By 1937, the Russell Bros. Circus was touring as a 40-truck show with a big top canvas. Interesting aside: It was the availability of trucks after WWI that contributed to the rapid growth of truck shows for circuses, allowing entire shows to be transported this way.
DeBeers stuck with this employer for quite some time. On February 21, 1942, “The Billboard” reported, “Alex DeBeers has the painting well ahead of schedule and is turning out some beautiful jobs” (page 40). DeBeers was included in an article on the Russell Bros. Circus. DeBeers was still with the circus in 1943. Alex DeBeers was mentioned in the Feb. 27, 1943 issue of “Billboard” magazine (page 37). He was listed as the artist for the Russell Bros. Circus under the direction of Jack Joyce. The article reported, “Alex DeBeers, artist, has a crew redecorating cages, wagons, ticket boxes and ring curbs. New equipment is arriving at quarters to carry the new menagerie stock recently acquired by Manager R. N. O’Hara.” That year, the circus played on the West Coast. The Russell Circus then merged to become the Clyde Beatty-Russell Bros. Circus. I think that this was when Russell left the circus, but his final whereabouts remain unknown.
1944 is when the trail for DeBeers ends. I have yet to locate any death certificate, gravestone or obituary notice.
To be continued…
