Technical theatre history can pop up anywhere – even in a South Dakota Quonset building. In 2017 I stopped by the Heritage Hall Museum & Archives in Freeman, South Dakota. I was accompanying a colleague to see an advertisement curtain that needed some attention. While on site our Heritage Hall host mentioned a much older curtain stored in a nearby shed. Nothing could have prepared me for a series of Quonset huts, stuck in the middle of a field that hot fall day. After a brief struggle to find the correct key to open the massive doors, we wound our way past a series of antique cars and farming implements; this was off site storage for the Heritage Hall. At the far end of the Quonset was a tattered backdrop hanging from a warped batten. The influx of fresh air into the structure caused the old drop to rub against the corrugated metal. After all of these years, an old drop curtain had survived in this primitive building with a dirt floor and community of critters.
The Quonset building that once housed a drop curtain by George J. Ackerman in Freeman, South Dakota.The Quonset building that once housed a drop curtain by George J. Ackerman in Freeman, South Dakota.
The opened doors at the far end provided just enough light for me to see the painted composition and a signature – Kaufman.
George J. Kaufman’s signature near the bottom of the drop curtain.Painted detail from drop curtain by George J. KaufmanPainted detail from drop curtain by George J. KaufmanPainted detail from drop curtain by George J. KaufmanPainted detail from drop curtain by George J. KaufmanPainted detail from drop curtain by George J. KaufmanPainted detail from drop curtain by George J. Kaufman
Heritage Hall Museum & Archive holds several fine art paintings by George J. Kaufman, as well as an advertisement curtain stored on site.
Detail of a painting by George J. Kaufman at the Heritage Hall Museum & Archive in Freeman, South Dakota.
George Joseph Kaufman was a well-known artist in not only Freeman, South Dakota, but also neighboring towns. Kaufman was known for his fine art, murals, theatre scenery and excessive drinking. In regard to local Freeman projects, Kaufman was credited with scenery delivered to the Freeman Opera House (later the Freeman City Hall) and all of the scenery for the Freeman college auditorium. He also produced local murals for the Bethel Mennonite Church and the Salem Mennonite Church, as well as painting the picture in the dining hall room of the Shriver-Johnson Co. store in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In fact Kaufman painted a variety of scenes in numerous South Dakota Towns, starting in the second decade of the twentieth century.
Unfortunately, Kaufman’s hometown primarily recalls his struggle with alcoholism. Notes by S. Roy Kaufman, based on conversations with extended family members, paint this artist as the town drunk. Online biographies for the artist report, “It was said that he sometimes wasn’t paid for a commission until he had finished it for fear that he would begin drinking and fail to finish the work.” Maybe it was the death of his first wife in childbirth, his failed career as a scenic artist in Hollywood, or the Great Depression that pushed him to find escape in a bottle. It doesn’t really matter in the end, especially as so much of the tale remains based on hearsay. Only a drop curtain, an advertisement curtain, one newspaper clipping, and a smattering of fine art pieces remain to show the artistic potential that this young South Dakota scenic artist had in the early twentieth century.
This drop curtain by Kaufman was likely completed prior to his move to California; before his dreams diminished and the Great Depression settled in to stay.
Detail of drop curtain by George J. Kaufman.
Kaufman was born on Sept. 28, 1889, in Childstown, Turner County, South Dakota. The son of Joseph Kaufmann (1850-1926) and Francis Graber (1852-1917). The 1900 US Census lists that young George was one of five children living at home; the kids were Peter (b. 1872), Mary (b. 1875), Henry (b. 1883), Lena (b. 1888) and George (b. 1889). Census reports provide one perspective, a small glimpse into Kaufman’s private life and painting career. In 1910, George was still living at home and attending school. As he was 20 years old at the time, this suggests some continued learning or trade. He first entered his father’s trade as a jeweler.
Kaufman’s 1918 WWI Draft registration card describes his appearance as brown hair, brown eyes, medium build and medium height. At the time, he was listed as married and a member of the Mennonite Church. He was listed as a self-employed “Jeweler and Opthalmic.” The 1920 census noted that George was back at home, this time a widower by age 31. Local histories suggest that his first wife died in childbirth. Unfortunately, there are quite a few George Kaufmans who were widowed between 1911 and 1919, too many to positively identify any particular one.
Kaufman soon remarried a local Freeman girl – Martha Lea Edelman (30 Nov. 1899-Sept. 1965). The couple celebrated the birth of their first son, Owen in 1922. At the time, Kaufman was working as a jeweler, but must have been doing quite a bit of painting on the side. In 1925 he left the jewelry business to pursue his passion of painting in California.
On Oct. 30, 1925, the “Argus-Leader” announced, “Freeman Artist Plans to Go to California” (Sioux Falls, SD, page 4). The article continued, “George J. Kaufman, who has become a well-known artist in many parts of the state has decided to go with his family to Hollywood to devote his entire time to the study of his favorite work. Mr. Kaufman has sold his entire stock of jewelry and also disposed of all his household goods. He is now planning to leave in a few days for California. Mr. Kaufman deserves much credit for the work done in the Freeman college auditorium. He painted the entire stage scenery and the school and community is justly proud of the appearance of the stage. Mr. Kaufman also painted the picture in the dining hall room of the Shriver-Johnson Co. store in Sioux Falls. He has also done work in many other towns of the state.”
The couple celebrated the birth of two more children after Owen; Betty Jean was born in 1926 and Virginia M. was born in 1928. Only Betty Jean was born in California, suggesting that the family had returned to Freeman by 1928 for the birth of Virginia Mae, or “Penny” as she later became known. By 1930, the US Census recorded that the small family was now living in Grandview, South Dakota. Kaufman was listed as a “painter” working in the painting industry.
I find it interesting that there are no records of Kaufman being called a scenic artist. This suggests a lack of adequate training that possibly led to his downfall in Hollywood. Based on his fine art and stage art, it is not of the same caliber as many other scenic artists at the time. Kaufman purportedly worked for a short time in Hollywood, painting sets before returning home to South Dakota. I have yet to confirm his work elsewhere.
George J. Kaufman passed away at the farm where he was born on 15 May 1958. He was only 68 years old. Kaufman is buried in Freeman Cemetery, a mile west of town.
P. Dodd Ackerman’s wife
from 1937 until his passing in 1963 was Helen. Helen’s maiden name was Helen M.
Hamilton. She married William Fling in
1918, becoming Helen M. Fling; her nickname was “Nell” at this time. In 1937,
New Jersey married records list the union of P. Dodd Ackernman to Helen Fling. At
the time of their wedding, the couple lived in New York, with Ackerman working as
a well-known Broadway designer and running a scenic studio. The same year that
they were married, Fling published a series of four marionette books under the
name Helen Fling. It was at this time that the Ackerman’s life took an
interesting turn when they moved south. This is a long post.
On April 21, 1939, the
Fort Myers “News-Press” announced, “Mr. and Mrs. P. Dodd Ackerman of New York
have arrived to spend a month in Fort Myers” (page 4). They soon moved to
Florida, making Fort Myers their home. Their first Florida home was known as
“River House,” being mentioned when the couple hosted Miss Elsie Knapp of New
York, a well-known numerologist (News-Press, 16 Nov. 1940, page 3). Also called
“Riverhouse,” it was the club-home of the Ackermans and a social gathering place
for interesting characters (News-Press, 14 Jan, 1940, page 7). Guests over the
years included well-known artists and marionette artists Tony Sarg of New York
(News-Press, 28 Jan 1941, page 3) and Harry Archer, the well -known composer of
music for musical shows, also of New York (News-Press, 7 Jan., 1942, page 3).
By 1940, the Ackerman’s
were hosting the Fort Myers “Little Theater group” at River House (News-Press,
17 May 1940, page 4). Philip and Helen were two of the group’s founders and their
home became the hub of activities (News-Press, 24 May, 1948, page 5)..A decade
later, the Ackermans would still be integrally involved with the Fort Myer’s
Little Theater’s, helping teach dramatic classes. Still held at 8PM, the 1950 classes took
place at the Ritz Theater in the Patio de Leon. There were both children and
adult classes, with Mrs. Ackerman acting as chairman for registration and occasional
instructor (News-Press, 12 June 1950, page 5). In 1946 the Little Theatre
planned a new play at Thomas A. Edison college, “Claudia.” Mr. and Mrs.
Ackerman were art of the committee that approved the production of the new play
(News-Press, 4 Feb. 1946, page 1).
The 1940s ushered in a new
age and new location for Ackerman, with the couple becoming increasingly
involved in general community activities. By 1940, P. Dodd was 65 years old and
Helen was 54 years old., each had made a name for themselves. It was a time in
their lives when they both worked together as a semi-famous and semi-retired couple.
In 1941, Mr. and Mrs. P. Dodd Ackerman were credited with fashioning an exhibit
of soldiers and sailors out of fruit and vegetables (News-Press, 2 Feb 1941,
page 3). They sought out a variety of new creative outlets, always making a
splash in the papers.
In 1943, Mrs. Ackerman was
the supervisor of the craft division at Edison Park School in Fort Myers. She
was called a “handicraft artist,” supervising crafts and hobbies for boys ang
girls in the area (News-Press, 1 June 1943, page 1). She was also in charge of
the hobby bazaar, held in the storeroom on First Street, next door to the
Western Union office. The event had a successful six-day run with 1000 people
attending (News-Press, 15 Jul 1943, page 1). In 1943, Mr. and Mrs. P. Dodd
Ackerman were contracted to renovate the Edison Park school stage with new
equipment and scenery (News-Press, 10 March 1943, page 3). One foot in the
professional world and one foot in a retirement community, they were extremely
active.
There were also many other
social and the humanitarian activities that the Ackermans participated in
during this time. Mrs. Ackerman enrolled for nutrition classes at Florida Power
and Light Sunshine kitchen, a skill that she would apply to her continued
social work (News-Press, 29 Jan, 1944, page 5). In 1944, Mrs. Ackerman helped
distribute clothing and bedding to the hurricane victims (News-Press, 9 Nov.
1944, page 2). This was likely the reason that the Ackermans also moved from
River House” to the Bayside park development area in 1945, purchasing their new
property on First Street in January 1945 (News-Press, 18 Jan 1945, page 1).
They purchased one of six available homes in the new Bayside park development. As with the previous “River House,” their new
home on Bayside hosted a variety of social events. On Nov. 13, 1949, the
“News-Press” announced, “Mr. and Mrs. P. Dodd Ackerman open new Mexican
rancho-style home, “River House” (page 4).
In 1944, Philip, Jr., then
age 23 yrs. old, was completing military training in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Philip
Jr. was the biological son from Ackerman’s
previous wide Harriet. On May 30, 1944, the “News-Press” reported, “Second
Lieutenant Philip D. Ackerman, jr., has been selected to attend the officers’
communication course of the field artillery school at this point. Lieutenant
Ackerman is the son of Mr. and Mrs. P. Dodd Ackerman of 2226 Bayside parkway,
Fort Myers (page 1). In 1946, the “News-Press” reported, First Lieutenant P.
Dodd Ackerman, jr., arrived yesterday for a visit with his parents, Mr. and
Mrs. P. Dodd Ackerman. Ackerman returned from Luzon in the Philippines and is
now on terminal leave, after four years in the army. He will return to the
University of Florida in Gainesville, Feb. 6, where he will graduate in June”
(6 Dec. 1946, page 7). By 1949, the “News-Press” would announce, “Mr. Ackerman,
who has received his BA and MS degrees at the University of Florida will
receive his PHD at Columbia University next year” (3 June 1949, page 10). By
1953, the “News-Press” reported, “Capt. And Mrs. Philip D. Ackerman of New York
City arrived by plane Sunday to visit his parents, Mr. and Mrs. P. Dodd
Ackerman of Bayside Parkway. Capt. Ackerman is connected with Equitable Life
Insurance Society. Mrs. Ackerman is doing research work with Cornell University
Laboratories” (5 Nov. 1953, page 18).
The 1945 Florida State
Census listed Philip Dodd Ackerman as an “architect,” with his level of
education being “college art academy.” This is the first and only mention of
Ackerman as an architect that I have encountered to date. The Ackerman’s were living
at 2226 Bayside Rd in Ft. Meyers, Florida, with his wife Helen and “Theodore D.
N. Ackerman.” No relation was listed for Theodore, but is occupation was U. S.
Army. I have to wonder if the census worker got the name wrong, and it was
really Philip jr., a distant relation, or a friend of Philips.
By the late 40s, Phillip
Sr., Philip Jr. and Helen were living and working together. Around this time,
Mrs. Ackerman became involved with the more feminine aspect of Fort Myer
society; fashion shows, hair style shows and “charm school.” A highlight at this time was the 1948 Edisonia
Fashion show under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. P. Dodd Ackerman, who supervised
and directed the event. Special lighting effects were provided by P. Dodd
Ackerman, Jr.; this was the first mention that I have located about Philip Jr. being
involved in any theatrical endeavors. An article in the “News-Press” about the
event gave a little more information about Mrs. Helen Ackerman. It reported, “Mrs.
Ackerman’s experience in theatrical work led to some of the pantomime sequences
which were a real treat and quite different in a fashion show” (News-Press, 10
Feb 1948, page 3). She trained the models, both singly and in groups. This is also
the first picture that I have been able to locate, showing Mrs. Ackerman
working on the event. Mr. Ackerman was
also pictured in the same article.
From the Fort Myer’s News-Press, 10 Feb 1948, page 3.Detail of P. Dodd Ackerman (far left).Detail of Mrs. Helen M. Ackerman (Helen Fling) on right.
In 1950, the Ackermans
again partnered to direct an elaborate Hair Style Show at the Civic Center for
the Hairdressers Association. It is hard not to think of behind the scenes
clips form “Strictly Ballroom” here. They were accommodating a different type
of clientele that sought increased theatricality for local and regional societies
and events. In an article about the event, the “News-Press” reported, “Mr. and
Mrs. P. Dodd Ackerman, well known theatrical producers directed the show” (8
May 1950, page 5). That same year, Mrs. Ackerman gave presentations on “The Art
of Being Graceful and Charming” (9 Sept. 1950, page 5). She was the featured
speaker at the meeting of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority. “Charm school” became
Mrs. Ackerman’s new passion, instructing young women in “courtesy, voice,
personality, walking, standing, sitting, radio techniques and dancing – in
short, in everything they would learn at smart finishing schools” (Miami
Herald, 23 Jan. 1950, page 6). Girls between the ages of 16 and 22 were
personally instructed by Mrs. Ackerman, now credited as a “former New York
stage star and author of four books on marionette art that are the accepted
texts in the field.” The most widely publicized accomplishment of Mrs.
Ackerman’s school was a personal invitation from Arthur Godfrey for ten of her
girls to appear for 10 minutes as guests on Godfrey’s morning radio show. The
chance to be a “charm girl” became a local honor. They helped out the Fort
Myers Chamber of Commerce in many different ways, such as serving tea.
By 1954, the Ackermans
were still living in Fort Meyers, Florida, with the directory listing their
residence at 1639 ½ 1st Street. Unfortunately, there seemed to have
been a falling out with the Little Theatre group and the entire Fort Myers community.
A small dispute played out in the local newspaper. The editor published a
lengthy response to Mr. Ackerman, asking at one point, “I would like to ask Mr.
Ackerman upon what basis he can assume that ‘no thought whatsoever is given in
the Fort Myers Little Theater’ to the matter of an institution not only of
culture but one of considerable educational learning…as to whether or not Fort
Myers is ‘ready to support and relish a Little Theater’; no community in this
sense is ever ‘ready.’ You don’t get ready to soak up some culture simply by
sitting around and waiting for it to happen. You do something about it. You
lend your support in whatever group or organization is striving, in their
blundering way perhaps, to serve up some culture, that is. You don’t suggest
disbanding and dropping the only cultural straw to which we are clutching”
(News-Press, 15 Nov. 1954, page 4). That may have been the final nudge for the
couple to settle elsewhere,
In1955 the Ackermans left
Fort Myers and headed north. On October 23, 1955, the “News-Press reported,
“Mr. and Mrs. P. Dodd Ackerman will leave Wednesday for Hicksville, L.I., N.Y.
to make their home. They will live at 25 Blacksmith Lane, near their son, and
daughter-in-law. They have been residents for 18 years” (page 16). The
Ackermans did not stay away long, as in 1956 the “New-Press” announced,” Mr.
and Mrs. P. Dodd Ackerman, former residents, have returned from Hicksville, New
York, where they spent the past two years. They are making their home at the
Shadowlawn Apartments, Mr. Ackerman was a prominent stage designer on Broadway
for many years and Mrs. Ackerman was an authority was an authority on puppets
and puppet theaters. She is an author on several books of the subject” (6 Dec.
1956, page 15). By 1959, the Ackermans moved to their new home, back in Bayside
Parkway at 2065. They stayed in the area and in 1960, hen living at 2053
Bayside Pkwy in Fort Myers, Florida.
Although they moved back
to Florida, they never seemed to fit in again.
The Fort Myers community grew weary of the Ackermans’ self-promotion and
constant comparisons with life in New York. The most telling was in a letter to
the “New-Press” on Jan. 20, 1958. In a letter to the Editor, one Floridan
wrote, “I think Mr. P. Dodd Ackerman needs to have his eyes examined if he can’t
read the ‘walk and wait’ signs. I can read them across the street easily and I
am an old lady. I think that they are just wonderful and give even an old
person like myself plenty of time to cross. I sure hope they keep them. Why do
people like Mr. Ackerman compare everything that happens down here with things
up north? If it is so much better up there why don’t they stay there? We like
to have visitors here but we sure do hate to have them compare everything, and
unfavorably too, with some northern state and comparing Fort Myers with New
York City makes me laugh. But maybe that is sort of a backhand compliment. I sure
hope they keep the lights even if they are not as good as those in New York
City” (page 4). Little else was published about the Ackermans after that.
Philip Dodd Ackerman passed away at the age of 87 on Jan 9, 1963. He is buried in Kings, NY.
Helen Ackerman, still
residing at Bayside Parkway, passed away on August 25, 1979 in Lee,
Florida. She was 92 years old.
DIE VIERTE WAND #010 is now available. Many thanks to the editor Stefan Gräbener at Theatre Initiative Berlin (https://www.facebook.com/InitiativeTheaterMuseum) for all of his hard work to make this publication possible!
P. Dodd Ackerman married for a fourth and final time
after Harriet Smith Ackerman’s passing in 1935.
His last wife’s maiden name was Helen M. Hamilton, but
she was previously married, and her name was Helen Fling. Fling was an
interesting woman, first working as a costumer in the theatre, and later
specializing in marionettes and puppet theater; a marked departure from
Ackerman’s previous wives and kindred spirit.
I initially had a difficult time tracking down either Helen M. Hamilton or Helen Fling down, until a small bit of information surfaced about her career in a 1956 newspaper article. That year the Fort Myers’ “News-Press” reported, “Mrs. Ackerman was an authority on puppets and puppet theaters. She is an author on several books of the subject” (6 Dec. 1956, page 15).” That was the key that helped me track down Ackerman’s 1937 marriage license and Helen Fling’s marionette books.
Marionette books by Helen Fling. Fling was also known as Helen M. Hamilton, “Nell” M. Hamilton, Helen M. Ackerman and Mrs. P. Dodd Ackerman.
Helen M. Hamilton was born
on October 13, 1886 in Ohio. I have located little about her early life or when
she entered the theatre. That being
said, I did locate a “Miss Helen M. Hamilton” in Zanesville, Ohio who matches
the age and theatrical interest. The
dates all match up for this young woman who performed in class plays, was known
for her soprano voice at musical concerts, and took a trip to visit her sister
in California. There were other women known as Helen Hamilton in Zanesville
too, muddying the research waters. And on top of everything else, there was also
a younger Helen M. Hamilton from Dayton, Ohio; the niece of J. P. Morgan who married
Arthur Woods and moved to New York in 1916 (Dayton, Ohio, 24 March 1916, page
13). Except for the age discrepancy, that would have tied up my tale in a neat
little bow. Well, historical research is never that easy.
It was not until after Helen M. Hamilton married her first husband and became Helen Fling that I was able to positively identify Ackerman’s final wife in newspapers during the 1920s; at least she made headlines, making the search possible.
In 1937 Philip D. Ackerman married Helen (Hamilton) Fling in New Jersey. I knew little of a “Mr. Fling” until I came across mention of a “Helen Hamilton” in the Fling family tree, posted to ancestry.com. I was actually beginning to wonder if there really was a Mr. Fling, and if Hamilton hadn’t just adopted the “Mrs.” for some social and economic freedom. Here is what I have uncovered…Hamilton married William F. D. Fling (1884-1969) April 26, 1918, but little is known about her first husband, their relationship or later divorce. Everything lines up, except the first name of Nell. The Marriage license lists “Nell” M. Hamilton for the marriage that took place in Queens in 1918, New York. At that time, “Nell” was a nickname for Helen, Ellen, or Eleanor.
Keep in mind that women’s names were very fluid in historical records and their official birth name was not always provided; they were not always the one passing information along. I have noticed that women were often listed by what their husbands called them during a particular period; the husbands were the ones providing information to a census reporter, county official, judge, etc.
If William Fling and Helen
“Nell” Hamilton were married in 1918, here is what I discovered about Mr. William
F. D. Fling. He was born in Irvington, New York, Nov. 1884, the son of James
Libby Fling (1854-1923) and Ella F. D. Drake (1856-1923). One of three sons
born to the couple, his brothers were Arthur R. Fling (1892-1941) and Harry
Comly Fling (1882-1969). William Fling moved to San Diego, California and
passed away there.
In regard to Helen Fling’s work as an author, she
wrote four books under the title “Marionette Hobby Craft.” These four volumes were
combined into a single work and still available today.
Her four books include:
“Treasure Chest of Marionette Hobby-Craft V I: Showing
How You Can Make – Mould – Cast – Paint – Puppet and Marionette Heads”;
“Treasure Chest of Marionette Hobby – Craft V 2:
Showing How to Make Marionette Hands-Feet-Legs-Arms and Bodies” ;
“Treasure Chest of Marionette Hobby – Craft V 3: Construction
of Control, Stringing and Manipulation of Marionettes”; and
“Treasure Chest of Marionette Hobby-Craft V 4:
Production – Stage craft, Direction and Preparation of Marionette Plays, Also
One Complete Play.”
Each volume was illustrated by Charles Forbell
(1886-1946), a well-known illustrator at the time. Forbell made a name for
himself with is comic strip “Naughty Pete that was published in the “New York
Herald.” Here is a link to an artistic interpretation of his comic strip: http://painting167.blogspot.com/2009/09/naughty-pete-1913.html
Helen Fling’s marionette books were republished in
1973 by Dover; all four volumes combined and marketed under a new title, “Marionettes,
How To Make Them Work.” Here is a link to the book: (https://www.bookdepository.com/Marionettes-Helen-Fling/9780486229096). The original publications were also copied and available at Kessinger as
rare publications.
The beginning of each marionette book gives a little background about Fling, stating “Helen Fling, author of Marionette Hobby-Craft, is well known for her research, performances, writings and lectures about construction and display of marionettes. She served her apprenticeship under masters of the theatre and puppeteer field and under her magic touch of knowledge these quaint figures with their jointed bodies, grotesque expressions and incredibly human gestures become alive.”
By 1921, Fling was working as a costumer for the Garden Players in Brooklyn, New York. That year she was the costumer for “The Lancashire Lass,” a melodrama performed by the Garden Player of Forest Hills at the Community House (The Chat, Brooklyn, 5 March 1921, page 11). At the time, Fling was thirty-five years old. She was still working for the Garden Players in 1928, alongside Elton Clark, Bill Colton and Fred Kentner. The four were responsible for the show “Correcting History, The Lowdown on Napoleon Just Before He Went to Water Lou,” performed at the “Garden Varieties, ‘28” at the Forest Hills Theatre on Continental Avenue (The Chat, 28 April 1928, page 6). That same year, on May 12, 1928, “The Chat” announced the officers and committee members elected to the Garden Players that year (page 5). Fling and Patsy Renaud were the Garden Players membership committee.
In 1926, Fling traveled
with Nancy Humpstone, Frida Scharman and Florence Tompkins. She was forty-years
old at the time. They left July 1 to explore the western United States for about
three weeks, visiting the Grand Canyon and various other points of interest.
They then sailed from San Francisco to Honolulu, returning to Brooklyn by mid-September
(Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 16 May 1926, page 28).
At the age of fifty, Helen
Fling assisted Miss Grace Wildern, supervisor of the Educational Puppetry
Division of the WPA (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 17 June 1936, page 10). The Works
Progress Administration (W.P.A.), later renamed the Works Projects
Administration, included a story telling, dramatic and puppetry division in
1935. Founded on May 6, 1935, the WPA was an American New Deal Agency that
sought to employ millions of job seekers to complete public works that included
the construction of public buildings and roads. The initial appropriation was
for 4.9 billion dollars, and between 1935 and 1943 8.5 million individuals were
provided with employment, helping America recover during the Great Depression.
We are still benefitting from their work today.
Of Helen’s education, all
we know is from the 1945 US Federal Census. It listed her degree of education as
“college, art academy,” the same as her husband’s at the time. I have yet to
track down when or where she attended school for any artistic training. More on
Helene and P. Dodd Ackerman’s live after they were wed in tomorrow.
P. Dodd Ackerman’s name appeared in dozens of newspapers across the
country in 1921. On March 27, 1921, Ackerman was featured in an article
entitled “Modern Tendencies in Scenic Vesting of the Theater” (New
York Tribune, 27 March 1921, page 48). The article announced, “‘The day of the trick
scenic investiture of plays is over. The futurist, the cubist and other
reactionary painters of scenery have had their day, short-lived though it was,
and are passing,’ said P. Dodd Ackerman, one of the leading American scenic
artists.” The article continued:
“Mr. Ackerman has served a long and interesting apprenticeship in the
creation of scenery for plays that have made theatrical history during the last
twenty-five years. He was educated in the Georgia School of Technology and had
art instruction at the Julian School of Beaux Arts in Paris and in the Huffe
School in Munich. Returning to this country he was first associated with the
old Lyceum Theater, when Daniel Frohman was its guiding genius. Afterward he
was employed at the Empire Theater during the regime of Charles Frohman’s
immortal stock company.
“Branching out for himself, he forged to the front and to-day his work is
being represented on Broadway by no less than five attractions, among them
being ‘The Broken Wing,’ now running at the Forty-eight Street Theater.
Mr. Ackerman as early as 1912 saw the coming of the modern decorative art
into the theater of this country, an art that had been in vogue for some time
in Germany, Austria, Russia, and to a degree in France and Italy. Feeling that
the time would come when scenic painting and theater decorations would respond
to the modernist movement and, in order to be fully prepared when this movement
came, he went abroad to study.
“The new method, which is a simple one, arrives at an effect that
formerly required great quantities of scenery, but which could be done in more
artistic and effective way with a few set pieces, some drapes and some new
lighting effects,” says Mr. Ackerman.
“In the early days of the theater scenery was given no consideration in
the production of plays. The ancient Greeks depended for their background on
nothing other than what nature provided. Whether or not the audiences were
satisfied with what the author provided through the medium of actors, leaving
the scenic environment to be created through suggestion, has not been settled
even to this day.
“In the course of time a backdrop, or a curtain, usually of a somber hue,
was employed to keep the minds and eyes of the audience from straying further
than the limits of the stage before them. From time to time a more
adventuresome playwright and produces added a bit of decorative effect, and
thus we trace the evolution of stage settings.
“Then came a period when great artists like Raphael, Watteau, Boucher,
Servandoni and Stanfield were eager to accept commissions to execute theatrical
scenery. Even so great an artist as Alma-Tadema in recent times contributed
canvases to the theater that delighted the eye and helped materially in the
successful production of plays.
“The interest in scenery became apparent and the desire for absolute
fidelity of detail was made a condition precedent to the acceptance of a play
by the public. The reaction gave rise to the freak movement in scenic
decoration. The aesthetic in art has its admirers where the canvas is small and
the galleries are frequented by those who are thoroughly conversant with its
aims and are in sympathy with its effects. But not so in the theater, where the
audience is a mixed one, recruited from every social stratum.
“The scenic painter’s art is as exact as that of a composer of music.
There is harmony of color that is as punctilious as that of music. The jarring
note in music offends the ear, the jarring note of color insults the eye. With
music the interpreter is secondary to the work of the composer. The scenic
artist providing the scenery for a play presents a product that is but a minor
detail to the work of the playwright as interpreted by the actor. The scenic
artist’s work, however, must lend itself and blend into the effects created by
light manipulation, and any scheme of color or form that is not a mirrored
reflection of nature falls short of the purpose for which the scenic artist was
employed and detracts in consequence from the value of the play to the
audience.
“What is the modern tendency in the theater so far as scenery is
concerned? To my mind it is toward the modified background. The moment scenery
gets beyond a background it becomes scenery, no more, no less – just painted
canvas, Yet scenery can be colorful without offending the eye or detracting
from the actor in his work in delineating the character he is called upon to
play or interpreting the intent of the author by the intonation he gives the
lines he is asked to speak.
“As regards the carrying to the extreme the perfection of detail, why not
elect the spectator to become a part of the performance by permitting him to
use his reasoning process in completing the detail mentally through the germ of
suggestion of detail without carrying it out to the extreme? That has been the
trouble with our reactionary scenic artists. They have made scenery and color
the principle feature of the entertainment, leaving the story of the playwright
and the acting as the background. In Europe the suggestion of effect, which is
to mind the modern trend, has been held by the great stage directors and
dramatists over there as more highly satisfactory and far better than a mass
production. This has been created through the use of false prosceniums or, as
they are termed in Europe, portals. Through this medium attention is
centralized on the artist and not on the scenery.
“Another Modern tendency in the theater has been to delegate to the
scenic artist authority to decorate the stage with the essential drapes, rugs,
furniture, objects of art and other properties demanded by the play. This will
result in a higher degree of the artistic in productions, eliminating the
chance of offending those who have good taste.
“Another trend of the times is to improve the lighting of stage productions.
Our present methods have made little or no advance from what was obtained when
gas was the illuminant in the theater. Our modern footlights, even though
electricity is employed, are scarcely one pace forward from what was used in
the theaters fifty years ago. It may shock you to known that there is not a
perfect theater in America to-day – that is, a theater that gives to such
lighting the perfection it derives – and this is because the inadequate and
antique appliances to be found therein. The only theaters in New York that in a
way approach a proper equipment for lighting are the Booth, Century, New
Amsterdam and Metropolitan Opera House. However, the new Sheridan Theater,
which is soon to open, will be the first theater in New York where it will be
possible to get any light effect desired. The system to be employed is obtained
through a switchboard, where the light effects are all arranged beforehand and
by merely touching a push button they automatically change as desired and thus
colors will melt into each other, creating effects that heretofore have only
been seen on the Continent of Europe.”
In the midst of both
global and personal strife, P. Dodd Ackerman explored a new stage aesthetic at
home and abroad. Newspapers would later
report, “Mr. Ackerman, as early
as 1912, saw the coming of the modern decorative art into the theater of this
country, an art that had been in vogue for some time in Germany, Austria,
Russia, and to a degree in France and Italy. Feeling that the time would come
when scenic painting and theater decorations would respond to the modernist
movement and, in order to be fully prepared when this movement came, he went
abroad to study” (New York Tribune, 27 March 1921, page 48).
By 1920 Ackerman remarried and was on a different trajectory with new wife
and young son in tow; he was becoming part of a theatre movement.
1921 Bauhaus Color Wheel
On May 1, 1921, the “New York Tribune” included an article about color
theory for the stage, interviewing P. Dodd Ackerman (page 4).
“Colors Vibrate Same as Music, Designer Says” was the heading for the
article.
Here is the article in its entirety:
“P. Dodd Ackerman Explains How Scenic Art is an Accessory to the Drama.
“There have been more radical changes in scenic painting for the stage in
the last three years than in fifty years previous,” says P. Dodd Ackerman, who
painted and designed scenery for “The Broken Wing,” now running at the
Forty-eighth Street Theater.
“Where in the past color was thrown indiscriminantly on canvas and shadow
lights were employed to give the outline of figure, all of which seemed to
produced the illusion of naturalness, this situation no longer holds.
Psychology, that science of mind which but a few years ago was understood by
only the elect but to-day is understood by millions, has exerted an influence
on the painting of scenery for theatrical use. It has brought about a realization
that color affects human beings and synchronizes with human emotions if
properly applied, and by this same token can create a disturbing element that
makes for discord.
“Colors vibrate the same as music tones. The effect of color on the
emotions of an audience is a subject that has long been a problem for serious
study by the producer of plays, the costumer and the scenic artist. Why red
should be the color to indicate danger or green safety no one knows, but still
the fact remains that such is the case. Whether red, with its suggestion of
fire, or green, of verdant fields, has anything to do with this still remains a
matter of speculation. The emotional vibration sent out by red of the prismic
ray is known to scientists to be the most powerful and excitiative, while the
blue and violet are the most sedative. Lumière, the greatest of all authorities
on color influence, after a series of tests covering many years, described the
effects of color as the engine that propelled the various phases of human emotion
to a perfect consummation of desired results.
“With the stage production reaching its present state of artistic
perfection, the scenic artist can no longer paint his scenery merely to
represent the outward appearance of the requirements in the manuscript. He must
read the manuscript as carefully as the producer, who determines on his reading
whether he is willing to make a presentation of it. The artist must make a
serious and analytical study of the script and determine the predominating
emotion of each act and choose his color scheme for the scenery in order to
attain a perfect synchronization of color and emotion. By this means alone can
a happy blending of scenery and dialogue, together with the acting of the
company, produce the effect hoped for by the author and the manager to obtain
complete success for their efforts.
“Speaking in an elementary way, for the purpose of providing simple
experiments of color influence, the reader can easily determine the effect of
amber in creating depression. By the use of pink exhilaration is promoted. A
room done entirely in green simulates morbidity, while on the other hand blue
is soothing. It has been discovered that the deeper and darker the tones of
blue used as a decorative color scheme the more soothing and peaceful and cam
is the influence on human emotion. Brown is a non-emotional color. It creates a
sense of firmness and solidity. These suggestions can be utilized to as good
advantage in home decoration as they have been in stage scenery. A sombre
setting, with a flash of color, upsets synchronization of emotion, with the
color scheme of a setting, just as awkward words clash in a musical score with
notes intended to be complementary thereto.
“Lighting is so closely allied with stage settings that if there is not a
unity of purpose between the two the audience gets the discord, which in this
instance is unpleasing to the eye. In consequence thereof the play fails to
satisfy and good acting is curtailed of effect.”
P. Dodd Ackerman married
his first wife Margaret 1897. He listed May Ackerman as his second wife in
1918. Two years later, the wife that Ackerman listed for the 1920 census was
Harriet Mary Smith (1890-1936). It is possible that Miss May Smith was Miss
Harriet “Hattie” Mary Smith, but there is a discrepancy in age between the two.
May Smith was a school mate of Ackerman’s daughter Emma. Emma was born in 1898.
Miss Harriet Smith was born in1890; hardly the “child” that the newspapers during
the 1916 scandal. In 1916, Harriet Smith would have been twenty-six years old. Interestingly,
both Miss May Smith and Miss Harriet Smith worked as stenographers, but there
was still the eight-year age gap between the two. In 1916, May Smith was either
seventeen or eighteen years old, with P. Dodd Ackerman aged forty-one.
Harriet Mary Smith was one
of two children born to Albion W. (1861-1924) and Anna M Smith (1861-1936). She went by “Hattie” most of her life. The
1910 census listed that the Smiths had been married for 23 years, and their two
adult children still living at home. Hattie was 20 yrs. old and her brother
Arthur H. was 21 yrs. old.
In 1915, at the age of 25,
the New York State census listed Hattie’s occupation as a stenographer, still
living with her parents. She was not going by any name other than Harriet or
Hattie at the time.
By 1920, Harriet was listed
in the US Federal census as 30 years old; Philip was 43. As many women at the
time, she ceased working after getting married. Ackerman was the sole
breadwinner with “stage designer” listed as his profession in the theatre
industry.
They couple celebrated the
birth of a son, Philip Dodd Ackerman, Jr. in October 23, 1921. Philip Jr.
passed away only two years ago in 2018. The same year that he was born, the
elder Ackerman contributed to an interesting exhibit hosted by the N.Y. Drama
League. “Brooklyn Life” reported, “An
interesting exhibit of stage scene models has been arranged by the New York
Drama League to be held from Dec. 5th to December 10th at
the League headquarters, 29 West 47th Street. Among the contributors
are: Robert Edmond Jones, Norman Geddes, Boris Anisfeldt, Joseph A. Physioc,
Sheldon K. Viele, Willy Pogany, Claude Bragdon, John Wenger, Dorothy McDonald,
Warren Dahler, Carmine Vitolo, W. Herbert Adams, Lee Lash, P. Dodd Ackerman,
Edward H. Ascherman, Novelty Scenic Studio, and others” ( 3 Dec 1921, page 16).
By this time newspaper article identified Ackerman as the “famous scenic
artist, “that famous master of scenic art,” “master scenic artist” and “scenic
genius”. The “Standard Union” added, “The novel ideas as to the lighting, stage
setting, etc., which are being used on the stage to-day calls out much
originality and individual work and should make the collection by these
well-known designers of marked interest” (4 Dec. 1921, page 35).
From “Brooklyn Life,” 4 Dec. 1921, page 35.
This was a turning point
for Ackerman. In 1920 On Feb.
29, 1920, Ackerman announced, “Work of the Scenic Artist Has Advanced
Materially” (New York Tribune, 29 Feb 1920, page 34). In an interview Ackerman was quoted,
“Theatrical managers are now accepting designs from men who do not make the
scenery…Ackerman does not believe in this and has come to be one of the
pioneers in coming out against the practice. He believes that the man who is
the artist, who is practical, who understands stagecraft and has education can
do the type of work now required in the theater, although he has been a member
of the old school of stage design.” The following year Ackerman was quoted as
saying, “The day of the trick scenic investiture of plays is over. The
futurist, the cubist and other reactionary painters of scenery have had their
day, short-lived though it was, and are passing” (New York Tribune, 27 March
1921, page 48).
He was hanging with a new crowd; no longer part of the Thomas G. Moses
and Lemuel L. Graham crowd. During the 1920s, the Ackermans
were often in the company of stage stars and Senators. The attended many social
gatherings, including the housewarming party for Mr. and Mrs. Alf T. Wilton,
the well-known vaudeville representative (The Standard Union, 7 June 1925, page
7).
By 1923, Ackerman was also among an interesting group of studio owners
who joined the Scenic Artist’s Union. On July 14, 1923, the “St. Louis Star and
Times” reported, “Joseph Urban. Robert Law, P. Dodd Ackerman, Joseph Wickes,
Joseph Physioc, Frank Gates, Walter Harvey, Evna Ackerman, Walter Street,
William Castle and Edward Morange are among the scenic studio owners recently
joining the Scenic Artists’ Union. Robert Edmund Jones, Lee Simonson,
Livingston Platt, Norman Bell-Geddes, Cleo Throckmorton and Watson Barratt will
join. The action follows the failure of the International Theatrical Association
to back up studio owners” (page 4)
By the 1925 NY State
Census, Harriet was now listed as “Mary” S. Ackerman, suggesting that Harriet
also went by her middle name, with the “S” signifying her maiden name of Smith.
Most often, however, Harriet went by “Mrs. P. Dodd Ackerman.”
The 1930 US Census listed
the couple living at 20 Circle Drive in North Hempstead, New York, with
Harriet’s mother, Anna Smith” and their nine-years-old son Philip Jr.
Harriet passed away on
Aug. 1, 1935, at the age of 45. I have been unable to uncover any information
about the cause or circumstances. What
makes this confusing is that another Harriet Ackerman, born in 1893, who died
in 1936 was buried on Nov. 13, 1936 in Green-Wood cemetery
In 1908 P. Dodd Ackerman
delivered scenery for the musical farce “Too Many Wives.” The show featured Joe Morris and his company,
with Ackerman designing and painting the settings at his Bushwick Avenue studio
in Brooklyn. The play was later turned into a movie by 1937. I chuckled when I
read the title of the show, as it foreshadowed the next decade for Ackerman.
Ackerman’s scenic success was not necessarily reflective of his marital status;
he would list three different wives by 1920. Ackerman seemed to always be in
the right place at the right time for scenic work; just not with women.
Photo from the 1937 film “Too Many Wives.”
On July 16, 1897, P. Dodd
Ackerman married Marguerite “Margaret” Meyer in Manhattan, New York. The couple
celebrated the birth of one daughter in 1899, Emma “Emmie” Bella Ackerman. At
the time, the small family was living in Brooklyn, New York. However, the
marriage was not meant to last. Although, the couple was still listed as living
together in 1915, their marriage was on the rocks. In 1915 their daughter also graduated
and began a life of her own. I have to wonder if the first Mrs. Ackerman lived
the “if I can just hold on until my daughter graduates” mindset.
In 1916 Margaret M.
Ackerman filed for a legal separation, asking for a $100 per week alimony. In
the legal suit, Mrs. Ackerman submitted letters between her husband and
daughter’s young friend May Smith. At the time, Philip Dodd Ackerman was 41
years old. Mrs. Ackerman filed proof of correspondence between his husband and
Miss May/Mae Smith. Some newspapers announced, “Mrs. Philip Dodd Ackerman
Charges Husband is overly friendly with Mae Smith, submits letters to girl”
(Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 16 March 1916, page 2). The “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” article
elaborated, “Mrs. Ackerman’s complaint is that her husband is over-friendly
with a girl named Mae Smith, who is so young that she was introduced into the
family originally as a companion to Miss Emmie Bell Ackerman, who is still in
school. Ackerman and Miss Smith, the wife charges, live in the same house in
Rockville Centre, L. I., and that Ackerman has made efforts to adopt her as his
daughter. Ackerman, according to the charge, pays Miss Smith’s expenses.
Ackerman and Miss Smith both deny the wife’s intimations, and Miss Smith says
she is a stenographer, thoroughly capable of earning her own living and does
not need Ackerman’s support, nor does she get it. The wife introduced in her
affidavit for alimony some letters which she said her husband wrote to Miss
Smith and which indicate a friendship which Ackerman was unable to break off,
because of his fondness for the girl.” How horrifying for all, especially when
your personal life makes headlines.
“The Standard Union”
reported “Ackerman denies flatly any familiarity with May Smith. Who, he says,
was brought into his home at Rockville Centre by his wife. The couple were
married in 1897 and have one child, Emmie Bell Ackerman. The girl attended
Packer Collegiate Institute up to the early part of the year, but Ackerman
refused to pay her tuition longer, because, he said, her mother was continually
keeping her home. Ackerman’s scenic studio is at 1576-80 Bushwick avenues, and
he does work for the Schuberts. The couple lived at 499 Washington avenue,
Brooklyn, also” (March 16, 1916, page 5).
The “Buffalo Times”
published some of the letters allegedly written by Ackerman to Smith (24 March
1916, page 2). One, dated May 21st, 1915, read, “My Dear Little
Girl: I hate to recall the sad-eyed look you gave me last night when we parted
– I hope and pray only temporarily – but I want you to feel just as I told you,
dear. I do not want to place you in a position wherein your mother is not
aggregable to you; and yet, dear, I cannot give you up. I cannot do this. I
love you so dearly. Forgive me writing you, dear. I cannot resist it. And
possibly you want to forget me too, and yet I will do these things to you to
ever remind you of me. Some sad, old day today. I am glad I have many things to
think of, and I am sorry you have not too many things to do that would relieve
your mind. With all the love in the world to you dear. Your sweetheart,
PHILIP.”
In the same article Mrs.
Ackerman asserted her that husband also wrote, “My Dear May: You little rascal.
Here I have been in the studio all day and you did not call me up. Did you
forget me, dear? It is nearly 6 and I am pounding away at a sketch. I would
love to be with you, dear, but if I stick at this and finish it can be longer
with you tomorrow.” Mrs. Ackerman further accused her husband of lavishing Miss
Smith with vanity purses, hats and plumes. She also reported that Mrs. Ackerman
believed her husband had introduced Miss Smith as his secretary, his cousin,
his niece and even once as Mrs. Ackerman. She also added that he “got his
mother to take out adoption papers for Miss Smith, so that the girl may pass as
his daughter.” What a tale to tell the newspapers; it certainly brought the
entire family into the public eye. In
response to his wife’s accusations, Ackerman denied his wife’s charges and said
that Miss Smith visited their home as Mrs. Ackerman’s friend. The newspaper
article reported, “He admitted calling Miss Smith ‘my dear’ facetiously and
only in his wife’s presence.”
Although Ackerman denied
familiarity with the girl, two years later he listed Mrs. May Ackerman as his
wife on his WWI draft registration card. The couple was residing at 140 West 39th
St. At the time, his occupation was listed as a theatrical scenery manufacturer,
running P. Dodd Ackerman Studios Inc., also at 140 West 39th, NY, NY.
Ackerman’s physical appearance was described as medium height and medium build
with light blue eyes and blond hair.
This had to have been an
extremely awkward time for the Ackermans. As drama encircled the couple, their
daughter was forging ahead in life, finding love and a marriage all her own.
In the midst of scandal, their
daughter married Howard Turner in 1917. She
is listed as Emma B., Emmie, Emily and Bell. in various historical records. Her
wedding announcement in “Brooklyn Life” announced, “Miss Bell Ackerman’s
marriage to Mr. Howard Turner has just been announced. The wedding took place
in Jersey City on the thirteenth of last month. The bride is the daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Philip Dodd Ackerman, formerly of Rockville Centre, and a Packer girl
of the class of 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Turner will reside at 275 Ocean Avenue”
(Brooklyn Life, Oct. 17, 1917, Vol. LVI, No. 1441, page 15). She later remarried
and was listed as Mrs. Fred Barrett at the time of her father’s passing.
Philip Dodd Ackerman (1875-1963) was an actor, scenic artist, designer and producer. He
became an extremely well-known and well-respected Broadway designer, and has
numerous entries in the Broadway Database (https://www.ibdb.com/).
Ackerman is credited with ninety-one productions from 1897-1939, but this is
just a small percentage of his work throughout the duration of his career.
In 1929, the “Daily News”
announced, “P. Dodd Ackerman who has created the settings for 800 productions
intends to become a full-fledged producer. He is reported to have been the
nameless angel of more than one show, but now he comes out in the open and
announces that he will stage “Montana Fury” by David Davidson, jr. It is all
about an idiot hill-billy, and the role will fall to Barry McCollum. Ackerman’s
800 scenic production is A. H. Wood’s German play, ‘Hokus Pokus.’ His first
play was Harrison Gray Fisk’s “The Privateer” (NY, 28 Jul 1929 page 162).
Philip Ackerman is quite
an interesting character, and possibly one of the more fascinating personalities
that I have encountered to date. The 1880 US Federal census listed the Ackerman
family living in Mobile, Alabama. At the time, Joseph Ackerman (b. 1848) was a
salesman. His wife Frances and two young sons, Philip and Earle, were living
with him. Joseph came from a relatively large family, one of eight children
born to Joseph Chandler Ackerman (1812-1867) and Sophia Belinda Vanburen
(1821-1892). Joseph Ackerman was born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1848. At the age
of twenty-six, he married Frances T. Dibble in 1874. Philip was born in
Atlanta, Georgia, on June 16, 1875, Phillip was the son of Joseph Van Buren
Ackerman (1848-1882) and Frances T. Dibble (1842-1916). Two years later, his
brother Earle Van Buren Ackerman arrived was born in Pensacola, Florida, on
July 29, 1877. E A. Akerman (1877-1970) also became a scenic artist. There is
no indication of how, or why, the world of theater beckoned both sons, luring
each to New York. However, when they entered the scenic art profession
opportunities were abundant and financial prospects high.
Ackerman became a scenic artist when he was about twenty years old. Typically, scenic artists began their careers at the ages of sixteen or seventeen. Later advertisements suggested that his studio was founded in 1890, but the 1892 New York Census listed Ackerman’s trade as a “gilder”; he was seventeen at the time It is possible that he took an interest in painting and art in 1890, but wouldn’t enter the theatre for another five or six years. Ackerman repeatedly cited that his first stage show was “The Privateer” Harrison Gray Fiske. Lew Morrison purchased Fiske’s melodrama in 1895 with the intent to produce it the following season (The Richmond Item, 18 Feb 1895, page 3). By 1897, Fiske took Morrison and Abram to court for violation of their contract with “The Privateer,” citing that they failed to provide “adequate scenery and a competent company” (Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY, 22 Aug. 1897, page 15). Fiske asked for a temporary injunction for Morrison and Abram to have the opportunity to live up to their contract. Therefore, Ackerman either delivered scenery for the failed attempt in 1896 or the revised production in 1897.
Regardless, 1897 was a
turning point for Ackerman. He married Marguerite “Margaret” Meyer in Manhattan,
New York on July 16, 1897. At twenty-two
years old he was rapidly making a name for himself, and soon became associated
with the Empire and Novelty Theatres. The couple celebrated the birth of one
daughter by 1899, Emma Bella Ackerman. At the time, the small family was living
in Brooklyn, New York.
In 1898 Ackerman painted
special scenery for the James-Kidder-Warde Company’s productions of “The School
for Scandal.” When the three-star combination toured Lexington, “The Morning
Herald” reported, “Special scenery from the brush of Mr. P. Dodd Ackerman,
scenic artist for the Empire Theatre, New York, has prepared for all of the
plays” (Lexington, 29 Oct. 1898). That year Ackerman also painted scenery for
the “A Fair Rebel” at the Novelty Theatre. The “All the scenery necessary for
the production has been under the direction of P. Dodd Ackerman” (The Brooklyn
Citizen, 4 Dec. 1898, page 10).
By 1899, “The Gazette”
described Dodd’s scenic contribution to Howard Hall’s “A Soldier of the Empire”
(Montreal, 21 Sept. 1899, page 5). The review reported, “The costuming is of
the Directoire fashion, while the elaborate scenic investiture is perfection of
the artist’s skill. The latter is by P. Dodd Ackerman whose work for the
Frohman productions, particularly “Under the Red Robe,” called for so much
praise in the past.
At the turn of the
century, newspapers refereed to the scenic artist as “that international famous
artist, P. Dodd Ackerman” during his work for “The Honest Blacksmith” (Courier-News,
Bridgeport, NJ, 8 Nov. 1900, page 2). During this same time, he was also
responsible designing scenery for the revival of “M’liss,” a comedy drama of
western life, produced by A. J. Spencer of Jacob Litt’s office (Democrat and
Chronicle, 13 May 1900, page 14). Ackerman was quickly becoming a rising star
in the scenic art world.
The 1900 US Federal Census
listed Ackerman as an artist and living at 878 Driggs Avenue I Brooklyn, NY. That
year, he briefly partnered with Homer F. Emens to deliver scenery for the
production of “Aria” at the Columbia Theatre (Evening Star, Washington, D.C.,
17 March 1900, page 20). Reviews noted, “’Aria’ is to be very big scenically,
and the picturesque settings by Homer Emens and P. Dodd Ackerman.” The
partnership continued into 1901 with the pair designing and painting scenery
for “The Power Behind the Throne” (Brattleboro Reformer, 17 Sept. 1901, page
1).
By the fall of 1901,
Ackerman was again working solo with assistants. The “Brooklyn Citizen” noted
that Ackerman and his “assistants” were the scenic artists for the Orpheum
theatre, and delivering scenery for all the upcoming shows at the Gotham
Theatre, formerly the Brooklyn Music Hall, after its renovation (15 Sept. 1901,
page 10). They were responsible for new scenery. He also designed scenery for
the Elite Stock Company’s production
“All the Comforts of Home” (The Brooklyn Citizen, 10 Nov. 1901, page 10),
as well as scenery for “Russian Serfs,” a melodrama dealing with the Crimean
War (The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 29 Dec, 1901, page 16).
In 1902, business was going so
well, that Ackerman bought a house on Warwick Street in Brooklyn from Catherine
Rose (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 18, Jan 1902, page 16). “The Buffalo Review” reported
“Four complete sets” for “The Lily and the Prince” were being painted by Homer
Emens, P. Dodd Ackerman, L. W. Seavey and Church & Wheeler (17 Feb 1902,
page 5).
It was in 1902 that
Ackerman formed a partnership with Lemuel L. Graham, Thomas G. Moses’ former
business partner. Purchasing a studio on Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, New York.
The property was described as “s w s, 100 n w n e 56.3; John C. Schenck to
Philip D. Ackerman and Lemuel L. Graham” (The Standard Union, 13 Aug. 1902,
page 10). By July 1903, ownership of the
property was transferred from Graham to Ackerman (The Standard Union, 22 Jul
1903, page 10), effectively forming the P. Dodd Ackerman Studio. The same
property would be transferred to Louis Jacobs by 1904 (Time Union, 4 May 1904,
page 13), yet Ackerman’s business address would remain the same.
1903 productions with
scenery by Ackerman included “Mayor and The Judge” – with the Scranton
“Tribune” reporting the show was “painted by the celebrated artist P. Dodd
Ackerman of New York City” (The Tribune, Scranton, 9 Dec. 1902, page 6).
Ackerman was also credited with the Gotham Theatre production “Pearl of Savoy”
(Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 20 April 1902, page 52), the Elite Theatre Company’s
“The Unknown” (16 March 1902, page 24); “Tracy the Outlaw” (Brooklyn Citizen, 5
Oct. 1902, page 16); “Beacon Lights” (Times Union, 8 March 1902, page 17); “A Rough
Rider’s Romance” (Brooklyn Citizen, 22 Feb 1903, page 16)’ “Deserted at the
Altar” (Times Union, Brooklyn, 14 Nov. 1903, page 13); and “The Lost Paradise
(The Standard Union, Brooklyn, 18 Jan. 1903, page 15). When “Deserted at the
Altar” appeared at the Novelty Theatre, newspapers reported, “P. Dodd Ackerman,
the celebrated scenic artis, worked three solid months on scenery for the
‘Deserted at the Altar’” The Fall River Daily Herald, 28 Nov. 1903, page 2).
That same year P. Dodd
Ackerman was listed as the scenic artist for both the Gotham and Orpheum Theatres
in Brooklyn, NY (The Brooklyn Citizen, 22 Feb. 1903). He advertised in “Julius
Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide” under “P. Dodd Ackerman, Scenic Artist”
adding, “now occupying my large Studio building devoted exclusively to this
business.” Ackerman’s business address was still listed as 1576 to 1580
Bushwick Ave. He advertised, “Productions carefully prepared and models
designed from Author’s descriptions,” offering “estimates gladly furnished for both
Painting and Constructing scenery, properties, electrical apparatus, etc.”
Ackerman expanded his firm the next year, changing the name to “P. Dodd
Ackerman & Co.” The company was advertised as “Scenic Artists and
Constructors.”
P. Dodd Ackerman advertisement in “Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide,” 1903-1904.
1904, the scenery for
Burlington’s New Theatre was credited by P. Dodd Ackerman & Co., of Brooklyn,
NY (Burlington Clipper, 15 October 1904, page 5). By 1905 the firm’s services
included “Electrical scenic productions for parks, etc. scenery for theatres,
halls and exhibitions, act drops and asbestos curtains, fireproof scenery and
storage.”
In 1905, Ackerman
transferred the Warwick St. home to his wife, Margaret M. Ackerman (Times
Union, 6 May 1905, page 9). This is likely the year that marriage troubles
accelerated for the young couple. Yet their marriage seemed to struggle along
for another decade. That same year, P. Dodd Ackerman’s studio and the studio of
Gates and Morange delivered scenery for “The Lightning Conductor”
(Courier-News, Bridgewater, 18 Dec. 1905, page 4). In 1906, the “Greensboro
Dispatch” reported P. Dodd Ackerman was part of a team dispatched to Alaska’s
Klondyke country to gather images of atmosphere and scenes for “The One Woman”
(17 Oct, 1906, page 8) – “The hunters after atmosphere and scenes spent three
weeks wandering about the Alaska goldfields and returned to New York City with
enough stuff for half a dozen shows…The three scenes in Alaska are actual
sketches from life and will be recognized by many who have visited the
Klondyke. The electrical effects, which include the play of the aurora borealis
on the sky, and its reflection on the snow-capped mountains, the lurid gleams
of red and blue lights on glaciers and the snow drifts, the curtain of light,
the Alaskan cloud effect, the sun shining at midnight, and the prayer fires of
the Esquimaux, or ‘witch lights,’ as the miners call them – with the usual
stage lights make an unusual equipment.” The stage electrician that went on the
trip was Charles Hayman.”
P. Dodd Ackerman & Co. advertisement in “Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide,” 1905-1906.
On Aug. 24, 1907, the
Brooklyn Daily Eagle listed P. Dodd Ackerman’s purchase of a new home from
Edwin G. Wright in Nassau County, in Riverside Park, Rockville Centre (page
20). By 1910 Ackerman moved to Hempstead, New York. He seems to have been
living with his wife and daughter again; daughter Emma was eight years old at
the time.
By 1911, the studios of
Ackerman and John H. Young delivered scenery for Paul Wilstach’s dramatic
version of “Thais” (The Gazette, York, Penn, 14 Feb 1911, page 9). John H.
Young was also a close friend and colleague of Moses whom I have covered
extensively in past posts. By his point in his career, Young was also a
well-known and well-respected Broadway Designer.
In 1912 the “Washington
Herald” reported Ackerman’s involvement with “The Chimes of Normandy.” The
article reported, “Edward Temple, formerly stage director of the new York
Hippodrome, had staged the production, while Reisig, late of the Metropolitan
Opera and P. Dodd Ackerman have built the succession of cyclorama scenes, and
the armor and costumes have been imported from France especially for this
production (20 Oct 1912, page 22). “The scenes have been built on a cyclorama
plan” (Burlington Free Press, 22 Sept. 1913, page 6).
Then there was a decided shift;
a shift in his life, his marriage and his career. It is not that he began
failing in his career, but his love life became quite complicated.
By 1914, Ackerman
partnered with his brother E. A. Ackerman, establishing Ackerman Brothers
Scenic Studio. Previously, brother Earle was also running his own studio,
renting the old Harley Merry space in Flatbush until it burned to the ground in
1911. The 1914 “Gus Hill’s Theatrical Directory,” included an advertisement for
Ackerman Bros. The ad stated, “scenery painted and constructed,” also offering “motion
picture settings.” Their studio was listed on Bushwick Ave.
This is about the time
when everything changes for Ackerman and his first wife; their marriage appears
to start falling apart, with their separation making the newspapers by 1916.
That will be a separate post tomorrow.
The scenic art world was small in 1920. Then, just as now, personalities circled around one another as if dancers at a ball, occasionally changing partners along the way. Today’s post is about P. Dodd Ackerman, a friend and colleague of Thomas G. Moses who made the papers in 1920. The next few posts will explore the life and career of P. D. Ackerman and his brother E. A. Ackerman.
Advertisement for scenic artist P. Dodd Ackerman in “Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide” for the 1903-1904 season.
On Feb. 29, 1920, Ackerman was featured in a “New York Tribune” the newspaper article. The headline for the article announced, “Work of the Scenic Artist Has Advanced Materially Says P. Dodd Ackerman” (New York Tribune, 29 Feb 1920, page 34). The most interesting section of the article for me was the section: “Theatrical managers are now accepting designs from men who do not make the scenery. Ackerman does not believe in this and has come to be one of the pioneers in coming out against the practice. He believes that the man who is the artist, who is practical, who understands stagecraft and has education can do the type of work now required in the theater, although he has been a member of the old school of stage design.” Times were changing and the scenic world was turning upside down with the appearance of designers without a full understanding of stagecraft.”Here is the article in its entirety, as it provides an interesting perspective of the scenic art world in 1920, viewed from a member of the “old school”:
“J. E. Dodson, the English character actor in the late Charles Frohman’s companies, liked stage interiors to match the socks he wore. When P. Dodd Ackerman and Ed Unitt, the scenic artists with the producer, were at work on scenery for a new play he would come up, show them his socks and say:‘Boys, be sure to get the right shade for these.’“Now Ackerman has a very different problem. He is trying to design a room which will be the setting for the three acts of Max Marcin’s new play, ‘Three Live Ghosts.” It must not be ornate, it must not be highly furnished and yet it must hold the interest of the audience throughout the play.‘Sounds very simple, doesn’t it?’ he asked in the office of his studio opposite of the Metropolitan Opera House. ‘Yet I have been going about for ten days trying to dream of just the right room.’In these two instances there is summed up the advance in scenic art, an advance which has come in the last six or eight years, starting in Europe. When Dodson was acting and even years after his retirement, stage decorations were supposed to be reproductions of nature or of a locality or room. They were copied line for line, and the element of imagination, although present, did not enter into the designing of the scenery. Simplicity and suggestion are the keynotes of modern stage designing. Imagination is called upon, both the imagination of the artist and the imagination of the audience, and much is only hinted at, sometimes very faintly. Big, blank wall spaces are being used and are believed to be more decorative than the highly ornate hangings of a few years ago.Scene painters until four or five years ago, designed, created and made the scenery themselves Theatrical managers are now accepting designs from men who do not make the scenery. Ackerman does not believe in this and has come to be one of the pioneers in coming out against the practice. He believes that the man who is the artist, who is practical, who understands stagecraft and has education can do the type of work now required in the theater, although he has been a member of the old school of stage design.‘Many studios have allowed managers to hand them so-called designs and have made them possible through their efforts,’ he said. ‘The man who did only the very primitive part of the work got all the credit and the studios were never heard of. But it meant an income to them and they were satisfied. I have consistently refused work with any except of my own designs, and I have had a hard battle to convince managers that a man with an established reputation in the old school can change the order of things and do the new. How many theatergoers who laugh at the situations and admire the acting give even a moment’s consideration to the thought, the time and the expense of the stage decorations which often help make or ruins a production? It is doubtful of the ratio is more than one in ten.Briefly Mr. Ackerman, who has designed and built scenery for many Winter Garden productions, for ‘The Magic Melody’ and ‘The Passions Flower,’ now current on Broadway; for ‘Le Coq d’Or,’ at the Metropolitan and many other plays, described the steps leading from the manuscript to the completion of the scenery and its erection of the stage.The manuscript is turned over to the scenic artist, and frequently the playwright confers with him and suggests what he desires to bring out in various scenes. After reading the manuscript and noting the locale or setting, the artist designs the scenes in colored studies. These are submitted to a manager and at a conference at which the author, the stage director and the artist are present, they are discussed and either accepted or rejected.‘Sometimes it is necessary to make a great many studies before one is accepted. It is just like writing a play or a story. You might hit it at the first attempt, or you might have to wrote and rewrite until you are successful,’Models, drawn to scale and planned as carefully as houses, are made from the sketches and are also submitted. When they are passed, working drawings for the builders are made, and they are charged with determining the mechanical details of the work. For example, every piece of scenery must be no more than five feet ten inches in width in order to make railway transportation of the sets possible. The scenes are usually all fitted up before the painters start on them, and when completed are set up in the theater by the mechanic who built them from the plans, usually not until the day of the dress rehearsal.‘Lighting is a very important element,’ Mr. Ackerman said, ‘and I stipulate in every contract that I make that it must be under my supervision. I know the play, and working with the stage director it is possible to bring out the desired effects. Stage lighting, I find, is largely a matter of patience and experiment. In costume plays, it is necessary to have the actors on the stage during the experiments to see the effect of the lights on their costumes.The average time necessary to design and build the scenery for a play is from six to eight weeks, but seldom is enough time given.‘It is necessary then to think quickly and have a great source of knowledge at the tips of one’s fingers,’ Mr. Ackerman continued.To prepare for his work, Mr. Ackerman studied at the Art Students League, at Cooper Union, and Beaux Arts in Paris. He has also traveled and read extensively. Ed Unitt and he were the artists for the late Charles Frohman, and this, he says, was the best job he ever had.Through the lofty-ceilinged studio he led the way. Huge canvases, many colored, were stretched out on frames, waiting for the artist’s brush. Yet no scaffolds or ladders were visible. Simply by pulling a rope, which adjusts a system of weights, it is possible for one man to place the gigantic easel in any position he desires.‘Scenery,’ he concluded, ‘must be a background. When it gets beyond a background, then it is stage scenery. It should never intrude so much that the audience overlooks the play, the costumes or the people on the stage.”
To place Ackerman within the context of the Thomas G. Moses story, both Moses and Ackerman partnered with the same artist – L. L. Graham. In 1882, Thomas G. Moses left the Sosman & Landis Studio for the first time. He partnered with Lemuel L. Graham for just over a year. Graham later partnered with P. Dodd Ackerman in Brooklyn, New York. Their studio building was at 1576 to 1580 Bushwick Ave, New York. They purchased the Brooklyn lot in August 1902. By this time, Moses was also working in New York and had partnered with William F. Hamilton, forming Hamilton & Moses.I will continue to explore the life and career of Ackerman in tomorrow’s post.
