FRANCIS WILSON - AUTOGRAPH 1896 CO-SIGNED BY: FRANK DANIELS - HFSID 323539

FRANCIS WILSON and FRANK DANIELS
Signatures of the popular comedic stage actors dated in 1896. Extremely rare!
Signatures: "Francis Wilson/1896", in brown ink, and on verso, "Frank Daniels/ May 16th '96" in purple pencil, 7x4. FRANCIS WILSON (1854-1935) was an American actor and founder of the Francis Wilson Playhouse. Originally from Philadelphia, Wilson began his career in a minstrel show, later becoming a popular player at the Chestnut Street Theatre in 1878. He enjoyed a brief stint in comic opera with the McCaull Comic Opera Company and as a performer with the New York Casino Theatre. In 1889, he made his first starring appearance in The Oolah, followed by top billed roles in The Lion Tamer (1891), The Little Corporal(1898) and The Bachelor's Baby, which he wrote (1909). A skilled playwright and novelist, he was the author of several works including The Eugene Field I Knew (1898) and John Wilkes Booth, Fact and Fiction of Lincoln's Assassination (1929). In 1930 he established the Francis Wilson Playhouse, a community theatre in Clearwater, Florida. In 2006, Wilson was honored during the theatre's 76 anniversary with the play Francis Wilson the Musical (The Man and His Theatre), an original musical based on the actor's life on stage. FRANK DANIELS (1856-1935) was a comedian, actor and singer who performed on stage and in early black and white films. After training at the New England Conservatory of Music, Daniels made his theatrical debut at Gaiety Theatre in Trial by Jury (1877).  His professional debut came in 1879 in Chimes of Normandy, and later he joined the McCaull Comic Opera Company.  Several of his notable performances were in the following plays: A Rag Baby (1884), Little Puck (1888), Princess Bonnie (1895), and his interpretation of the title role in Victor Herbert's The Wizard of the Nile (1895). Moreover, he was one of the major stars of the Vitagraph Company, appearing in Harold Lloyd (1919) and Among Those Present (1921) among others. Toned. Left edge slightly frayed. Otherwise, fine condition.