Daniel E. Bandmann

Daniel E. Bandmann
Born Daniel Edward Bandmann
(1837-11-01)November 1, 1837
Cassel (today Kassel), Germany
Died November 23, 1905(1905-11-23) (aged 68)
Hellgate Canyon near Missoula, Montana
Occupation Shakespearean Actor

Daniel E. Bandmann (November 1, 1837 – November 23, 1905),[1] was an internationally known German-American Shakespearean actor who after retiring from the stage became a noted Montana rancher. In 1885 Bandmann published An Actor's Tour: or, Seventy Thousand Miles with Shakespeare, chronicling his repertoire company’s near four-year tour of the Asia-Pacific region over the early 1880s. Bandmann was later credited for introducing McIntosh red apples for cultivation in western Montana.

Early life

The son of Solomon and Rebecca,[2] Daniel Edward Bandmann was born in Cassel a city in the German State of Hesse. He first came to America in 1852 [3] where at some point he became involved with German amateur theatre productions at New York’s Stadt Theatre.[4] During this time Bandmann reportedly attended the Cooper Institute where he studied English under Alexander Graham Bell.[5] This is questionable, since Bell was nearly ten years younger than Bandmann and did not come to America until much later.

As an American citizen,[6] Bandmann returned to Germany in 1858 and shortly thereafter made his professional stage debut at the Court Theatre in Neustrelitz. Later, with the sponsorship of the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg, Bandmann embarked on a successful series of mostly Shakespearean productions staged in Germany, Prussia and Austria.[7]

Bandmann as Hamlet by William M. Hunt

Theatrical career

In November, 1861 Bandmann returned to New York [8] where on January 15, 1863, he was well received in his English language debut at Niblo's Garden as Shylock. Soon his Hamlet gained considerable attention from critics for his introduction of a number innovation from German theatre, such as bringing his Ghost up from beneath the stage with leaves twitching to and fro matching Hamlet’s anxiety. On September 1, 1863, Bandmann appeared at Niblo’s in the first performance in New York of John Guido Methua's adaptation from the German of Emil Brachvogel, entitled Narcisse: or, The Last of the Pompadours. Soon afterwards Bandmann began a five-year tour of North America principally in the roles of Hamlet, Shylock, Othello, logo, Gloucester, Macbeth, Benedict and Narcisse.[7][9]

Bandmann made his first appearance in Britain at London’s Lyceum Theatre on February 17, 1868, in Narcisse. Over the follow decade Bandmann would embark on tours visiting a number of the principal cities in Australia, New Zealand, the Hawaiian Islands, North America and Great Britain. During this period he performed in front of King Kamehameha V, Brigham Young and Queen Victoria. Bandmann’s most ambitious tour sailed from San Francisco late in 1879 and did not return until January, 1884, after staging nearly 700 performances in Tasmania, New Zealand, Australia, the Malay Peninsula, China, India and Hawaii.[10]

Personal life

Bandmann first married Anne Herschel, a native of Davenport, Iowa, on June 22, 1865. His second marriage, in February, 1869, was to the British actress Millicent Palmer, who starred in his London production of Narcisse. This union ended a few years later after their Pacific and North American tours and the birth of a daughter and son. Bandmann then had a long relationship with the young Canadian actress Louise Beaudet, a member of his 1879 Asia-Pacific tour. Though it’s unclear whether the two ever married, after his marriage to actress Mary Therese Kelly in the early 1890s, Bandmann was obligated to compensate Beaudet to avoid a messy court entanglement. With Mary Kelly, Bandmann had four children born between 1892 and 1905.[11]

Later life

In 1887 Bandmann purchased two ranches near the abandoned settlement of Hell Gate, not far from Missoula, Montana. Though new to ranching, Bandmann would co-found the Montana Board of Horticulture and introduce to the area McIntosh red apples, Percheron horses, Holstein cattle and exotic breeds of chickens and pigs. Today the site of his property is called Bandmann Flats and hosts a golf club.[11]

Death

Bandmann died suddenly at his Montana ranch on November 5, 1905, just a few months after the birth of his last child, and was laid to rest at the Missoula Cemetery.[11]

Maurice Edward Bandmann (1872-1922), his son by Millicent Palmer, later became a theatrical impresario credited with building a number of theatres throughout the Far East.[12] He died in Gibraltar at about age 50.[13][14]

References

  1. ↑ SS Fanny Kirchner Passenger List, November 11, 1861, Daniel Bandmann, age 24, Ancestry.com - 1839 and 1840 are also listed as his birth year in various publications
    (1837) Houghton, Walter Edwards The Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals, 1824-1900: Volume V 1986, p. 48, Google Book
    (1837) Kirk, John Foster-A Supplement to Allibone's Critical Dictionary of English, 1904, p. 87 Google Book
    (1839) Cooper, Thomas-Men of the Time: A Dictionary of Contemporaries, 1875, p. 62, Google Book
    (1837) Morais, Henry Samuel The Jews of Philadelphia, 1894, p. 379 - Google Book
    (1839) Hewitt, A.-The Canadian Year Book vol. 2, 1899, p. 104, Google Book
    (1839) Graham, Franklin-Histrionic Montreal: Annals of the Montreal Stage, 1909,p. 240Google Book
    (1837) Thomas, Joeseph- The Universal Dictionary of Biography and Mythology, 2010, p. 257, Google Books
    (1839) Porter, Charlotte Endymion, Shakespeariana - Volume 2 Shakespeare Society of New York - 1885 p. 548, Google Book
    (1840) Bigelow, John-Retrospections of an Active Life 1867-1871, 1909, p. 234, Google Book
    (1840) Landman, Isaac-The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Volume 2, 2009, p. 63, Google Book
  2. ↑ Family Genealogy Research, Ancestry.com
  3. ↑ Daniel Bandmann, Hellgate, Montana, 1900 US Census, Ancestry.com
  4. ↑ Wilson, James Grant (editor) The Memorial History of the City of New-York, 1893, p. 495 accessed 12.15.2012
  5. ↑ Brown, Firman Hewitt Brown - A History of Theater in Montana - Volume 4 -p. 548
  6. ↑ U.S. Passport Application, Daniel Bandmann, 28 Jul 1858, Ancestry.com
  7. 1 2 Graham, Franklin, Histrionic Montreal: Annals of the Montreal Stage, with Biographical and Critical Notices of the Plays and Players of the Century, 1901, p. 240 accessed 12.12.12.
  8. ↑ SS Fanny Kirchner Passenger List, November 11, 1861, Daniel Bandmann, age 24, Ancestry.com
  9. ↑ Classified Advertisement. New York Times, January 14, 1863, p. 7 - Amusements. New York Times, September 4, 1863, p. 4
  10. ↑ Bandmann, Daniel Edward An Actor's Tour: or, Seventy Thousand Miles with Shakespeare accessed 12.16.2012
  11. 1 2 3 Daniel Edward Bandmann - City of Missoula accessed 12.15.2012
  12. ↑ Shope, Bradley (2016). American Popular Music in Britain's Raj. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press. p. 44. ISBN 9781580465489.
  13. ↑ US Passport Application, Maurice Edward Bandmann, born April 11, 1872, New York City, Ancestry.com
  14. ↑ Death of Mr. Bandmann. Times of India, March 13, 1922
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