The Famous Mittenthal Brothers

From Burdick Street to Broadway

The Mittenthal name itself has been linked to successful enterprise since the mid-nineteenth century. Joseph M. Mittenthal was a prolific New York based songwriter and lyricist during the early years of the twentieth century. Composer Aaron Copeland’s mother was a Mittenthal, as was the mother of Minnie Marcus, board member and wife of Herbert Marcus, who co-founded fashion giant Nieman Marcus.

But one Mittenthal family placed Kalamazoo closer to the popular entertainment limelight than ever before (or perhaps since). Originally from Germany (or possibly Poland), Henry M. Mittenthal and his family—including six sons and five daughters—lived in Detroit for many years before moving on to Kalamazoo, where they successfully cultivated several family businesses for nearly two decades. Four of the Mittenthal sons later went on to gain worldwide attention as stage and screen producers during the first two decades of the twentieth century.

Michigan Fruit Production

During the latter half of the nineteenth century, Michigan’s fruit industry was growing (quite literally) at an unprecedented rate. In the peak years between 1884 and 1906, tens-of-thousands of bushels of apples, cherries, grapes, blueberries, and especially peaches were shipped each day from southwest Michigan to eagerly waiting markets, processing plants and distilleries in and around Chicago. High market prices and low competition created a lucrative industry for both the growers and the wholesale brokers.

Isaac Mittenthal

According to the 1880 US Federal Census, Isaac M. Mittenthal (born about 1862) was a peddler, living at home in Detroit with his parents and nine of his ten siblings. The Detroit city directory from the same year tells us he had already become a fruit dealer by that time. Regardless, by 1884, Isaac had apparently sensed opportunity in southwest Michigan and moved to Kalamazoo to become a wholesale fruit broker, opening I. M. Mittenthal’s New York Fruit House at 106 North Burdick Street. His brother, Harry E. Mittenthal (born about 1869), a young cigar maker by trade, joined Isaac in Kalamazoo soon thereafter and went to work for Lilies Cigar Company.

By 1889, their father, Henry M. Mittenthal (born about 1835), had joined the boys in Kalamazoo and was working in a home furnishing store on North Burdick St. A third son, Samuel S. Mittenthal (born about 1864), had also joined the family in Kalamazoo by this time, along with his sister Lottie Mittenthal (born about 1873) who worked as a clerk. By 1895, much of the rest of the family was living and working in Kalamazoo, including a fourth son, Aubrey Mittenthal (born about 1872), and his younger sisters, Esther Mittenthal (born about 1866), Eva Mittenthal (born about 1875), and perhaps others.

Sam Mittenthal

After settling in Kalamazoo, Sam Mittenthal opened a retail fruit stand at 204 East Main (now East Michigan). By 1889, Sam and Isaac had combined their operations and formed the Mittenthal Brothers, Inc. Isaac still maintained the wholesale portion of the company in his original location on North Burdick Street, while Sam continued his retail fruit and confectionary stand on East Main.

Mittenthal Brothers, Inc.

By the summer of 1893, it seemed that all roads were leading to Chicago, especially for anyone associated with the wholesale produce industry. The World’s Fair was in full swing, and Isaac had opened a Mittenthal Brothers office at 114 South Water Street in the heart of Chicago’s world famous South Water Street produce market, while Sam continued to manage the family businesses back in Kalamazoo. With a direct connection between the growers in West Michigan and the thriving Chicago marketplace, the brothers stood poised to capitalize on the industry like few others could have.

214 East Main Street

Later the same summer, Isaac and Sam purchased a building at 214 East Main St. (now 228 East Michigan Ave.) in Kalamazoo for $6,000 and consolidated the local portion of the Mittenthal Brothers fruit and commission operations into the new location.

It’s worth noting at this point that while running the day-to-day business of his wholesale fruit operation in the Chicago marketplace (and perhaps at the World’s Fair), Isaac would have undoubtedly gained a great deal of valuable experience and made numerous business contacts that would prove extremely useful to the brothers in their future endeavors.

Aubrey Mittenthal

While Sam and Isaac continued to work the fruit brokerage business between Chicago and Kalamazoo, their brother Aubrey had already developed a keen interest in the theatrical world. From about 1887, Aubrey began playing prominent roles in theatrical productions in and around New York. By 1893, Aubrey had become a theatrical manager and the following year, took on the ownership and management of “The Great Brooklyn Handicap,” a large scale theatrical production with quite an elaborate stage set (for its time), including real cable cars, bicycle riders, and some fourteen thoroughbred race horses!

“The Great Brooklyn Handicap”

After recruiting his kid brother, Harry, as an advance agent, Aubrey opened “The Great Brooklyn Handicap” at New York City’s Grand Opera House on September 17, 1894. The two brothers continued to tour the country with the production for two relatively successful seasons.

“The Great Brooklyn Handicap” made its first appearance in Kalamazoo on Friday, December 14, 1894, at the Academy of Music on Rose Street with Aubrey playing a leading role and Harry performing “buck and wing dancing” as a comic interlude. Though the lavish production was rather cramped on the small Academy stage, the hometown crowd cheered wildly and demanded multiple encores.

Interestingly, the lines between the Mittenthals’ fruit brokerage business (Isaac and Sam) and theatrical management business (Aubrey and Harry) soon became rather blurred, and the various brothers’ roles within their companies appeared somewhat interchangeable. In August 1894, Sam took over the Mittenthal Brothers office in Chicago for Isaac, who then went on tour with Aubrey’s theatrical company as treasurer. In turn, their younger brother, Herman H. Mittenthal (born about 1870), moved from Detroit to Kalamazoo and took Sam’s place in the local fruit operation. The following year, Sam became treasurer for “The Great Brooklyn Handicap,” while Isaac returned to Chicago and Herman again took care of business in Kalamazoo.

Agnes Herndon

By the spring of 1896, the elaborate “Great Brooklyn Handicap” show had proved to be too expensive for extended touring and was disbanded. Aubrey and Harry went on to manage one of America’s leading actresses, Agnes Herndon, and took her company on a national tour. Equipped with a rail car full of scenery, the company played to full and gracious houses throughout the Eastern Seaboard.

Aubrey and his brothers soon achieved enormous success by organizing and underwriting small touring companies such as these. After a year or so with Ms. Herndon, Aubrey reorganized his operation as the Aubrey Dramatic Stock Company, and began booking theatres and touring with his own entertainment troupe. Aubrey’s company included several cast members from the Herndon tours, including the comedy team of Victor Morley and Lillian Bayer, who would soon become favorites of local audiences.

Lake View Park and Casino

Back in Kalamazoo, Lake View Park (on Woods Lake) had become the summer entertainment center of the community. To increase patronage during evenings and weekends, a small stage on the eastern shore of the lake had been converted into an outdoor theater, complete with professional stage scenery and permanent seating for one thousand on the hill directly behind. Named the Lake View Casino, the facility (somewhat akin to today’s Barn Theatre in Augusta) was designed to host theatrical and musical productions, plays, and light opera throughout the summer months and (hopefully) attract large crowds.

Unfortunately, the first two seasons didn’t go so well for the Lake View Casino. Several shows were staged, and the crowds did indeed come, but the park managers were plagued by erratic scheduling and were deeply embarrassed when entertainers failed to show.

Manager Mittenthal

Aubrey Mittenthal recognized the potential of the Lake View Casino in his ol’ hometown and quickly seized the opportunity. During the spring of 1898, Aubrey leased the Casino and surrounding grounds with the hope that he and his brothers could bring a fresh offering of new talent and experience to the fledgling summer theatre.

And who better than Aubrey Mittenthal to properly promote the Casino and finally bring the excitement of “big city” outdoor theatre to Kalamazoo? After several years of managing theatrical productions in New York and elsewhere, Aubrey’s company was able to secure nationally recognized acts, and provide the local audiences with high quality entertainment they could depend on. One week of comedy and variety followed by a week of theatrical drama. Then a week of light opera followed by a week of musical comedy—non-stop feature performances, seven days a week.

Summer Park Circuit (1898-1903)

The Lake View Casino in Kalamazoo was included with other similar outdoor summer theaters that were being booked by Aubrey and his company. With a solid roster of good entertainers and venues throughout Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin, the Mittenthal Brothers were able to create their own circuit, with performers traveling in rotation from one theatre to the next in a series of one-week engagements.

“Brother Sam’s Little Playhouse in the Woods”

With the Lake View Casino now operating smoothly, Aubrey Mittenthal returned to New York in August 1898 to make pre-season arrangements for the next winter theatrical tour by Agnes Herndon. Although Aubrey’s company was still handling the talent arrangements for Lake View, he left the Casino’s day-to-day operations in the capable hands of his brother, Sam, a wise move indeed.

Sam Mittenthal went on to manage the Lake View Casino and its entertainment activities for four more highly successful years (1899-1903), and left his own indelible stamp on Kalamazoo’s local entertainment scene. The park patrons loved “Brother Sam,” as he was often referred to by the press, and his shows were extremely well attended. Sam finished out the 1898 season at Lake View Park with a highly successful two-week run by the Deshon Opera Company, a performance by the Barlow Brothers Minstrels, and a highly popular celebrity cakewalk contest.

‘Fruit Belt’ to Footlights

By 1898, Michigan’s fruit industry had reached its peak. With the advent of refrigerated rail cars, local growers now faced formidable competition from producers outside of Michigan’s “Fruit Belt” region. But just as the fruit brokerage business appeared as though it might be leveling off for the Mittenthals, the popularity of theatre and vaudeville was beginning to explode. With already established connections in New York, Chicago, and throughout the Midwest, the Mittenthal brothers found themselves in the midst of a theatrical entertainment boom.

Chicago Theatre District

With Aubrey, Harry, and now Sam all active in the entertainment industry, Isaac soon found his own interests shifting toward theatrical talent. While wholesale fruit operations carried on in Chicago at the Mittenthal Brothers office on Water Street, the city’s bustling theatre district was only a few short blocks away.

Isaac began scouring the many theatres and playhouses on and near the likes of Randolph, Clark, Wabash, Halsted, and Monroe in search of undiscovered (and inexpensive) talent, and his diligence soon paid off. Though priced for popular audiences, performances on the Mittenthal circuits were said to be some of the best in the business.

Aubrey Dramatic Stock Company

The Aubrey Dramatic Stock Company was experiencing tremendous success during this time, as well. For the 1899-1900 season, Aubrey’s company acquired the rights to at least eight plays and was planning a fifteen-state tour from New York to Florida and throughout the Midwest. For the following summer, the company had already booked a circuit of nearly a dozen cities in four states, and was becoming well known for its quality stage presentations.

Good Times, Bad Times

But all that glittered certainly wasn’t gold for the Mittenthal Brothers. Agnes Herndon had to be discharged from her second tour with the Mittenthals for being disagreeable, and in the spring of 1899, Sam found himself in the midst of a lawsuit in Kalamazoo over his violation of a local ordinance banning theatrical entertainment on Sundays. To make matters worse, the Aubrey Dramatic Company was staging a show in Fort Worth, Texas, on 12 September 1900 when a wooden prop cannon exploded, accidentally killing a man in the audience. As a result, Isaac Mittenthal was sued for $10,000 in damages. But as the saying goes, “The show(s) must go on,” and indeed they did.

Mascagni Grand Opera (1902)

In 1902, Aubrey and Harry traveled to Europe to engage Italian opera conductor Pietro Mascagni for a fifteen-week US tour in an attempt to break into the full-scale Italian opera business (heretofore a rarity for American audiences). Mittenthals’ association with Mascagni proved disastrous, however. The tour was an enormous failure for a variety of reasons, with both sides claiming exorbitant financial losses amid a tangled mess of law suits. After the experience, Aubrey told The New York Times, “Forget it - We’re going to stick to melodrama hereafter!”

The Mittenthal Brothers Amusement Company

Despite their problems with legitimate opera, the Mittenthals’ road troupes were doing landmark business with “light opera.” The Mittenthal Brothers Amusement Company was incorporated in Albany, New York, in November, 1902, with B.E. Forrester and Leon Laski as directors and capital stock of $20,000 (nearly $500,000 in 2009). But by the summer of 1903, it became evident that Aubrey and Harry needed more help still.

In July 1903, Harry Mittenthal left New York and returned to Kalamazoo to visit friends and family. He also came back to persuade his brothers Sam and Isaac to sell their fruit emporium on East Main and join the Mittenthal Brothers Amusement Company in New York. The brothers evidently liked the idea, and arrangements were made to join the theatrical production and promotion business in September.

Herbert Levey

The Mittenthals sold their wholesale fruit and commission business in Kalamazoo to their brother-in-law, Herbert Levey, who continued to manage the business under the “Mittenthal Brothers” trade name until about 1909. Levey and his wife Lottie (Mittenthal) remained in the wholesale fruit business locally at various locations until about 1915, at one point even (re)forming a brief partnership with Herman Mittenthal in the 300 block of North Rose.

Kalamazoo to New York (1903)

After five successful seasons managing the Lake View Casino, Sam was to finish the 1903 season, then join Aubrey and Harry at the Mittenthal Brothers office in New York, located in the famed Knickerbocker Theatre building on Broadway at West 38th St., adjacent to New York City’s famous theatre district.

The years that followed were very productive indeed for the Mittenthal Brothers. With four brothers—Sam, Aubrey, “Ike,” and Harry—now collectively devoted to theatrical management, the Mittenthals’ business skyrocketed.

Forrester & Mittenthal

With Aubrey focusing on his road companies, Harry Mittenthal and company director B.E. Forrester began producing shows under the Forrester & Mittenthal banner. From an office (probably Forrester’s) in the New Amsterdam Theatre Building, 214 West 42nd Street, the Forrester & Mittenthal team managed such productions as “A Desperate Chance,” “A Russian Tyrant,” “A Midnight Marriage,” “The Vacant Chair,” and “Custer’s Last Fight.” Forrester & Mittenthal also managed the popular singer and long-time actress, Florence Bindley, who produced a moderate hit for them with Hal Reid’s “The Street Singer.”

“Gentleman Jim” Corbett

In addition to strictly theatrical entertainment, the brothers reportedly became great fans of boxing. Naturally, when one of the sport’s leading contenders, the famous James “Gentleman Jim” Corbett, expressed an interest in acting, the Mittenthal Brothers jumped at the chance to incorporate him into the lead role in their own 1906 production of “The Burglar and the Lady.” The resulting “Burglar” tour with Corbett was wildly successful, making some 473 appearances in 120 locations from New York to California.

Mittenthal Bros. Theatrical Productions 

As the company grew, so did their audiences. By 1907, the Mittenthal company had nine different productions on the road, including seven melodramas and two musical comedies, encompassing 250 employees and an annual payroll of $400,000 (nearly $9.6 Million in 2009).

By 1908, B.E. Forrester had gone on to become an independent booking agent, and the Mittenthals were (re)incorporated as two separate organizations. The Mittenthal Brothers Amusement Company, Inc., was now directed by Harry, Isaac and Sam, with Harry its president and Sam the treasurer. Aubrey Mittenthal’s Attractions (apparently a shell for Aubrey Stock productions), was directed by Aubrey Mittenthal (president), William D. Fitzgerald (secretary), and Charles McClintock. Both companies were by then located in the same office at 116 W. 39th Street in Manhattan, just around the corner from their original office in the Knickerbocker Theatre.

The Aubrey Stock Company had grown to become three separate circuits: Aubrey Stock Eastern, Aubrey Stock Southern, and Aubrey Stock Western. The brothers continued to manage and underwrite theatrical productions in theaters and on the road all across the country throughout the first decade of the twentieth century and into the nineteen-teens. With such productions as “The Parisian Model,” “Wanted by the Police,” “Custer’s Last Fight,” “The Millionaire’s Revenge,” “The Convict and the Girl,” “How Hearts are Broken,” “House of Mystery,” “The Prosecutor,” and many others, the Mittenthal Brothers shows drew large crowds from coast-to-coast.

Variety Entertainment

Though drama and light opera were the mainstays of theatrical entertainment at the time, vaudeville was becoming extremely popular. While its roots were in the saloons and variety theatres of eastern cities (often laden with bawdy humor and risqué subject matter), savvy promoters were finding great success with a less offensive, more refined “cleaner” version of vaudeville. Stripped of its harsh language and directed toward simple humor, so called “polite” vaudeville was designed to entertain the masses. Successfully combining music, comedy, dance and drama into a neat (and somewhat respectable) package, vaudeville quickly found massive new audiences of all ages, both in metropolitan areas and especially on the road in smaller communities and rural regions.

Southern Circuit Company (1912)

In 1912, the Mittenthal Brothers took their theatrical management and promotion to a new level when Aubrey and Harry formed the Southern Circuit Company Incorporated with southern vaudeville giant Jake Wells and partner Clarence Weiss. With capital stock of $300,000 (nearly $6.5 million in 2009), the new company took control of theatres in some fifty major markets across the country, including Detroit, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, New Orleans, and all points in between.

High Quality Vaudeville

In somewhat of a departure from the Mittenthals’ recent successes, theatres booked by the Southern Circuit Company focused on high quality vaudeville rather than theatrical stage productions. Assembling a vaudeville show was a craft in itself, whereby taking a seemingly random collection of unique, often bizarre and sometimes ridiculous acts, and combining them into a single, seamless performance of merit. Managing stage presentations had long been the Mittenthal Brothers’ mainstay, but the popularity of vaudeville brought with it a host of new opportunities. With established circuits throughout the eastern states and the Midwest, the Mittenthals had much to offer in terms of access for promoters of other new and exciting forms of entertainment. This was a deliberate return to their variety entertainment roots in an attempt to capitalize on the popular trend, but it was a part of the industry that the Mittenthals’ knew well from their earlier days on their own Midwest circuits.

The Mittenthal Film Company (1913-1917)

Interestingly, Harry Mittenthal told one newspaper reporter that there would be no “picture shows” on this new circuit, only “the best vaudeville acts.” But the “picture shows” did indeed come when in May 1913, the Mittenthal Brothers made another bold move and announced that they were going into the motion picture business.

From their small film studio in Yonkers, New York, they formed the Mittenthal Film Company and that year produced a single film, The Man from the Golden West. But the film proved successful enough that the brothers soon signed a distribution deal with film giant Pathé for a film series they were planning called “Starlight Comedies.” Through their association with Pathé, the Mittenthal Film Company went on to produce some seventy films before the beginning of 1917.

The Mittenthal Brothers meet Oliver Hardy

While the Mittenthal Brothers were indeed a very small company by film industry standards (even then), they did see a significant amount of success, and even played a part in launching the career of one of the best known actors of the time. A Mittenthal produced comedy short called Fatty’s Fatal Fun featured a 23 year old actor billed as Babe Hardy, who would later become better known as Oliver Hardy, of “Laurel and Hardy” fame.

“The Dancing Widow” (1918)

By 1917, Sam had returned to Chicago, leaving Isaac, Harry and Aubrey in charge of the Mittenthal Brothers Amusement Company. In 1918, Aubrey returned to stage production with “Cheating Cheaters,” a play in four acts penned by A. H. Woods. He also ventured out with a musical comedy called “The Dancing Widow,” but despite favorable attendance, increased railroad rates made the production far too costly for extended road travel. After stops in Texas and Oklahoma, the show returned to New York, where it was reorganized and returned to the road on a more manageable eastern circuit.

The Mittenthal Brothers continued to produce plays and underwrite theatrical productions as a company until at least 1920. Sam remained in Chicago where he lived and worked until his death in 1929. Aubrey Mittenthal lived in Manhattan until his apparent death about 1931. Copyright entries were made in Aubrey’s name (and address) during March 1930 for two four-act plays, “Custer's Last Fight” and “What a Man,” and a third in April 1930 for a revised version of “What a Man,” this time in three acts. Subsequent entries for “Custer's Last Fight” (a dramatic composition in 4 acts) and “The Mississippi Flood” (a drama in 3 acts) were made (still in Aubrey’s name, but with Isaac’s address) in February and March of 1931, presumably following Aubrey’s death. Harry remained in New York City until at least 1930, as well, and Isaac evidently lived a long life, as the remaining affairs of his own estate were still being settled in Kalamazoo in the late 1960s.

“...I shall never forget Kalamazoo”

In Sam Mittenthal’s own words, “No matter where I may go, or with what success my future may be crowned, I shall never forget Kalamazoo. Some of my happiest days have been spent here and the public have been good to me in more ways than one. I don’t know of a place I would rather spend the summer in than dear old Kalamazoo.”

Continuing Research

This essay is by no means a definitive study, rather it is very much a work-in-progress. If you have new information, corrections, or items to share, please contact the author or the Local History Room.

Written by Keith Howard, Kalamazoo Public Library Staff, 2009. Updated 9/22/2009.