The White Rats was a fraternal organization formed in the United States by vaudeville performers, led by George Fuller Golden, as a labor union to support the rights of male performers.[1] Women and African-American performers were not allowed to join. The White Rats attempted to combat the monopolistic practices of the United Booking Office (UBO) and the Vaudeville Managers Association (VMA), groups formed by vaudeville theater managers to keep performers' wages low and control when and where performers were allowed to work. It was based on the Grand Order of Water Rats, a British entertainment industry fraternity and charity.[2] It received a charter from the American Federation of Labor in 1910.[3] The union staged several strikes but ultimately disbanded.
The White Rats
Program cover for the 16 March 1915 Masque Ball of the White Rats Actors' Union of America
Golden wrote a book about the White Rats, My Lady Vaudeville and her White Rats, which was published in 1909 by the Broadway Publishing Company.[4] This book lists the following members:
The White Rats met on Twenty-third street in New York City, in a space above Koster & Bial's Music Hall between Broadway and Sixth Avenue. 565
Strike of 1901edit
Soon after the White Rats union was formed in 1900, its leadership committee attempted to negotiate with the VMA, led by E.F. Albee and B.F. Keith, to reduce or remove a 5% kickback each act was forced to pay in exchange for being booked on the lucrative VMA circuit. After negotiations failed, the White Rats called a strike in February 1901.
The Western States branch of the VMA gave in to the union's demands, and the Eastern branch went without vaudeville for two weeks. Keith and Albee called a meeting with the performers in which they claimed they themselves had been against the 5% commission, and would ask the other members of the VMA to remove it. Albee and Keith also agreed to go on the record in the press as being against the 5% commission if the strike was called off, and they did so.[5] As a result, the strike was called off, and performers began to sign contracts with the VMA again in order to secure valuable long-term performing contracts.[2]
Strike of 1916edit
The White Rats staged a strike in 1916 to protest poor treatment by vaudeville bookers. In retaliation, Vaudeville managers, led by Albee, created a blacklist that prevented any known members of the White Rats from working in any of the 10,000 to 15,000 theaters under his control. Performers often couldn't afford to be out of work, or to work at a reduced rate because of suspected union membership, and the strike collapsed within a year. The White Rats disbanded not long thereafter.[3]
^"ACTORS GO ON A STRIKE(2) - Members of the "White Rats" Organization Refuse to Play. Every Syndicate Vaudeville House in the Country Said to Be Affected - Object to Paying Comm..." (PDF). timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
^ abTrav S.D. No Applause - Just Throw Money: The Book that Made Vaudeville Famous (New York: Faber and Faber, Inc., 2005)
^ abSmith, Bill. The Vaudevillians. (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1976)
^Golden, George Fuller (February 25, 1909). "My Lady Vaudeville and Her White Rats". Pub. under the auspices of the Board of Directors of the White Rats of America. Retrieved February 25, 2023 – via Google Books.
^Samuels, Charles & Louise. Once Upon A Stage: The Merry World of Vaudeville. (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1974)
External linksedit
Media related to White Rats at Wikimedia Commons
, archived at the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine on August 10, 2007.
January 01, 1970
white, rats, america, white, rats, fraternal, organization, formed, united, states, vaudeville, performers, george, fuller, golden, labor, union, support, rights, male, performers, women, african, american, performers, were, allowed, join, white, rats, attempt. The White Rats was a fraternal organization formed in the United States by vaudeville performers led by George Fuller Golden as a labor union to support the rights of male performers 1 Women and African American performers were not allowed to join The White Rats attempted to combat the monopolistic practices of the United Booking Office UBO and the Vaudeville Managers Association VMA groups formed by vaudeville theater managers to keep performers wages low and control when and where performers were allowed to work It was based on the Grand Order of Water Rats a British entertainment industry fraternity and charity 2 It received a charter from the American Federation of Labor in 1910 3 The union staged several strikes but ultimately disbanded The White RatsProgram cover for the 16 March 1915 Masque Ball of the White Rats Actors Union of AmericaFounded1900HeadquartersNew York CityLocationUnited StatesAffiliationsAmerican Federation of Labor Contents 1 Membership 2 Meeting places 3 Strike of 1901 4 Strike of 1916 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksMembership editGolden wrote a book about the White Rats My Lady Vaudeville and her White Rats which was published in 1909 by the Broadway Publishing Company 4 This book lists the following members George Fuller Golden President Ezra Kendall Secretary and Treasurer Directors David C Montgomery John L Rixford Mark P Murphy Junie McCree Fred Stone Horace Goldin James F Dolan Frank Gardiner Charles T Aldrich George B Reno George Felix Ren Shields George W Monroe Sam Morton Walter Leroy M J Sullivan Nat M Wills Chas McDonald Harry Hayes Joe Birnes Harry Luken Eddie Foy Bobby Gaylor George Evans Todd Judge Fred Niblo Felix Patty Only white male performers were allowed to join Meeting places editThe White Rats met on Twenty third street in New York City in a space above Koster amp Bial s Music Hall between Broadway and Sixth Avenue 565Strike of 1901 editSoon after the White Rats union was formed in 1900 its leadership committee attempted to negotiate with the VMA led by E F Albee and B F Keith to reduce or remove a 5 kickback each act was forced to pay in exchange for being booked on the lucrative VMA circuit After negotiations failed the White Rats called a strike in February 1901 The Western States branch of the VMA gave in to the union s demands and the Eastern branch went without vaudeville for two weeks Keith and Albee called a meeting with the performers in which they claimed they themselves had been against the 5 commission and would ask the other members of the VMA to remove it Albee and Keith also agreed to go on the record in the press as being against the 5 commission if the strike was called off and they did so 5 As a result the strike was called off and performers began to sign contracts with the VMA again in order to secure valuable long term performing contracts 2 Strike of 1916 editThe White Rats staged a strike in 1916 to protest poor treatment by vaudeville bookers In retaliation Vaudeville managers led by Albee created a blacklist that prevented any known members of the White Rats from working in any of the 10 000 to 15 000 theaters under his control Performers often couldn t afford to be out of work or to work at a reduced rate because of suspected union membership and the strike collapsed within a year The White Rats disbanded not long thereafter 3 See also editList of vaudeville performers L Z List of vaudeville performers A KReferences edit ACTORS GO ON A STRIKE 2 Members of the White Rats Organization Refuse to Play Every Syndicate Vaudeville House in the Country Said to Be Affected Object to Paying Comm PDF timesmachine nytimes com Retrieved February 25 2023 a b Trav S D No Applause Just Throw Money The Book that Made Vaudeville Famous New York Faber and Faber Inc 2005 a b Smith Bill The Vaudevillians New York Macmillan Publishing Co Inc 1976 Golden George Fuller February 25 1909 My Lady Vaudeville and Her White Rats Pub under the auspices of the Board of Directors of the White Rats of America Retrieved February 25 2023 via Google Books Samuels Charles amp Louise Once Upon A Stage The Merry World of Vaudeville New York Dodd Mead amp Company 1974 External links edit nbsp Media related to White Rats at Wikimedia Commons The White Rats page at Vaudeville org archived at the Internet Archive s Wayback Machine on August 10 2007 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title White Rats of America amp oldid 1220648553, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
